Athirappilly - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Athirappilly is a first grade Grama Panchayath with 489.00 km² area in Mukundapuram Taluk, Thrissur district

Thrissur district

Thrissur is a revenue district of Kerala situated in the central part of that state. Spanning an area of about 3,032 km2, Thrissur district is home to over 10% of Kerala’s population. Thrissur district was formed on July 1, 1949, with the headquarters at Thrissur City. Thrissur is known as...

in Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. It is located 60 km from Thrissur

Thrissur

This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...

city, 70 km northeast of Kochi city, 55 km northeast of Cochin International Airport

Cochin International Airport

Cochin International Airport is an international airport located in Nedumbassery, a suburb on the outskirts of the city of Kochi about northeast of downtown Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. It is the busiest and largest airport in the state of Kerala...

, and 30 km from Chalakudy

Chalakudy

Chalakudy is a municipal town situated on the banks of Chalakudy River in Thrissur District of the Kerala State in India. It is the base camp for travellers to Athirappilly and Vazhachal Falls...

town.

Wildlife

The Athirappilly Falls

Athirappilly Falls

Athirappilly Falls is situated in Athirappilly panchayath in Thrissur district of Kerala, on the southwest coast of India. Located on the west-flowing Chalakudy River near the Vazhachal Forest Division and the Sholayar ranges, this 24-metre waterfall and the nearby Vazhachal Falls are popular...

is situated on the Chalakudy river, which originates in the upper reaches of the Western Ghats

Western Ghats

The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...

. Many endangered and endemic species of flora and fauna are found in the forests of the Athirapilly-Vazhachal area. This area is the only place in the Western Ghats where four endangered Hornbill

Hornbill

Hornbills are a family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly-colored and sometimes has a casque on the upper mandible. Both the common English and the scientific name of the family...

species are seen. The Western Ghats is one of the most important biodiversity hot spot in the world. This valuable natural world is already degraded by mining and hydro electric projects. Environmentalists claim that Athirapally is a one-of its-kind riparian ecosystem in Kerala. V.S. Vijayan, Chairman of the Kerala State Biodiversity Board and former Director of the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), Coimbatore, has been quoted in Down to Earth magazine as affirming that the Vazhachal forest division is the second most biodiverse area in the State. The International Bird Association has declared it an "Important Bird Area" and the Asian Nature Conservation Foundation has recommended that the area should be declared a sanctuary or a national park, he points out.

The Wildlife Trust of India says it represents one of India's best elephant conservation efforts. “Any disruption to this fragile ecosystem will spell disaster,” says Vijayan.

Tourism

Athirappilly is popular among tourists. Athirappilly Falls

Athirappilly Falls

is one of the best places to visit in Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

. Another popular waterfall to visit is the Vazhachal Falls

Vazhachal Falls

Vazhachal Falls is a rushing watercourse in the Chalakkudy River in the Thrissur district of Kerala, South India. It is located 36km from Chalakkudi and 5km from Athirappilly Falls...

. Athirappilly Falls is a part of Chalakudy river and it is approximately 80 feet in height. Athirappilly is easily reachable from Chalakudy

Chalakudy

Chalakudy is a municipal town situated on the banks of Chalakudy River in Thrissur District of the Kerala State in India. It is the base camp for travellers to Athirappilly and Vazhachal Falls...

by taking a vehicle for rent or by bus from the Chalakudy private bus terminal.

Proper precautions are taken on site to prevent mishaps while swimming and a police camp is always positioned there. Athirappilly is situated on SH-21 highway connecting Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

and Kerala, night driving is not advised. But you can enjoy the adventurous drive in the middle of jungle.

Route through Valparai

Distance details are as follows:

Coimbatore-Pollachi 40 km-Valparai 65 km
From Pollachi onwards, the road climbs up steeply through tea estates to Valparai.
From Valparai, the road goes through dense wild jungles after Malakkiparai. Route is as follows:
Valparai-Malakkiparai 22 km-Sholayar 24-Peringalkuthu Dam 25-Vazhachal 5-Athirapalli 5-Chalakudy 33 km.

There is absolutely no human settlement between Malakkiparai and Peringalkuthu Dam. Wildlife—elephants and bison—spill over onto the road, and night driving is discouraged. Both Vazhachal and Athirapalli are on the same Chalakudy river.

Athirapalli falls is best visited during rains, rest of the year there is water flow but hardly the spectacle it is during Jun–Oct.

Maniratnam Connection

Noted Tamil

Tamil people

Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...

film director, Maniratnam, has a huge fascination for this spot that a lot of his movies are shot here. Raavanan was almost fully shot in this location. The movies Dil Se

Dil Se

Dil Se is a 1998 Hindi film directed by Mani Ratnam. The film stars Shahrukh Khan, Manisha Koirala, and Preity Zinta. Mani Ratnam also co-wrote the screenplay for the film...

, Kannathil Muthamittal

Kannathil Muthamittal

Kannathil Muthamittal is a 2002 Tamil drama film directed by Mani Ratnam. It stars P. S. Keerthana, R. Madhavan, Simran, Nandita Das, Pasupathy, J. D. Chakravarthy and Prakash Raj. The film's score and soundtrack were composed by A. R. Rahman. The film's title is a famous phrase from a poem...

, Iruvar

Iruvar

Iruvar is a 1997 Tamil film directed, co-written, and co-produced by Mani Ratnam, with music composed by A. R. Rahman. The film is a fictionalized account of the lives of 1980s Tamil Nadu political icons M. G. Ramachandran and M...

, Guru have songs shot here.

Proposed projects

The government proposed a 163 MW Athirappilly hydro power project but agencies such as the Chalakudy Puzha Samrakshana Samiti and other cultural societies are against this project.

External links