Part 4 - Idukki The complete Picture

Reservoir view - Arch dam & Cheruthoni Dam

Continued from Part 3 - The Arch Dam Experience

The trek up through the hill view park was good. After climbing some distance, there was a ticket counter. The entrance fee was quite nominal at Rs. 5 per adult and Rs 10 for a still camera. The place was devoid of any tourists, thanks to the working day. There was a garden on both sides of the trek up path. The plants showed signs of lack of attention, but being a fertile land and aplenty of rain, they were all very healthy and was a treat to watch.

This flower caught our attention because of its resemblance to a bird sitting on a flower.



There were steep steps at some point which were shortcuts to the partly concrete laid roads which were not steep.



There were some vast area filled with longish grass which resembled a geography very unfamiliar to this part of the world



But once at the top, the view which we had was mind boggling. The Arch dam and the Cheruthoni dam (left one) in one view.


Just posting the view of the other side of the arch dam from my earlier post(click here to read part 3 - the arch dam experience) .


Its height is about 550 ft. So in the reservoir portion, see how filled up it is.


Considering the slim frame of the arch dam, we just wondered how engineering principles have been put into use for solving real world problems.

Towards one end of the Arch dam there were some huge pillar like constructions, which is sure to make one curious about its purpose.


These were actually built during the construction phase of this dam and used to lift up building materials to that height.

A zoomed view of the cheruthoni dam.



This view point of Idukki was the ultimate. We had a sense of achievement.



We could really understand the reservoir which we had heard of from schooldays, the place which lights up our homes at night, and even more familiar because of the newspaper coverage on how much water is left for power generation.

The view point was so strategically placed that, if you just turn and click, then each shot is sure to give you a different picture.
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Some more shots from the same point but pointed to different directions






Some buildings were also in sight.




This water body was formed in the park where the view point was present. Small pedal boats are available for a boating experience at such a high altitude.



The view point which presented us with all these superb scenes itself presented a good view. A snap captured from the viewpoint of the viewpoint



Overall this viewpoint experience was something which gave us an all new feel of this ultimate place. One more snap of the most catchy view before we trekked down with lot of images etched into the CCD sensors of our brain.

The day was still not over, we had one more target, that was to visit our colleagues home. We thought it will be just the pleasure of being present for the occasion, but like our experience so far throughout the day, that trip also gave another pleasant surprise.

Continued in part 5 - Click here to read Part 5