Lake + Sea + Sea Bridge = Pozhikkara @ Anjengo

  

The long coastline, the enormous number of backwaters and plenty of greenery makes God’s own country really special. When these three meet, the view gets more impressive. I had earlier blogged about one such place – Veli, which is a popular tourist destination in Capital city of Kerala, which attracts hoards of tourists all through the year (click here to view the picturesque veli).

Little did I know that, there is one more meeting point of sea and lake very close to Veli. A small evening ride along the coastline resulted in another find. The place was historically important too.

My steed on two wheels was having some problem, which I rectified during the day after which a customary ride was necessary to ensure that everything is in order. 

 

I had a visit pending to one of my colleagues home, which was 40 kilometers away from my dwelling place. So I thought of taking a test ride in that direction which will help me meet that commitment too. Called up one of my friend, who also agreed to join.

The two of us ensured that my bullet was heavily loaded, since our combined weight was more than 180 kilograms, which made the thump even more meatier and handling even more easy since the vehicle seemed to be superbly planted on the road.

We took NH 47 from Thiruvananthapuram till Kaniyapuram, from where we turned left and took a village road. The ambience changed soon, from the busy highway traffic to relatively free but bumpy village roads and we could feel the difference of breathing in fresh air.

Passed Murukkumpuzha, Perunkuzhy and reached Chirayinkeezhu, all of which lie in the coastal belt. Stopped for a while in front of the Sharkkara Temple, which is one of the popular divine destinations and festivals of which are famed because of the participation from people having different religious beliefs.

  

After a breather at Chirayinkeezhu, we proceeded towards Kadakkavoor. Soon we reached the first of the bridges over the Murukkumpuzha river and the scenery on the sides ensured that we had another stop over here.

  

  

Since the day light was getting weaker pretty fast, we decided that we will first travel through the road between the Murukkumpuzha river and Arabian sea after which we will visit our colleagues home.

Reached Kadakkavoor, turned left (westwards) proceeded some distance and again turned left to travel southward, and we were traveling with sea pretty close to our right. The sea breeze was being felt.

Another stop ensued soon, when we found a big wall towards the right side, which was the historic Anjengo fort.

  

In local slang this place is also called “Anchuthengu” meaning five Coconut trees. There are lot of stories around on how this place got its name. But one thing is sure, this fort has lot of stories to tell, and has seen lot of blood being shed.

Since it was already 5pm, we could not enter as entry closes by this time. Also it takes almost 1 hour to explore this fort.

The Anjengo light house is also nearby. We did not venture into exploring this light house as we were sure that by the time we reach the top and return it will be real dark and we wanted to ride until road ends into sea.

  

But a climb up the top is sure to yield a breathtaking view. Something which I will soon explore and update it here. Also it is better to leave something explored which will be a boost for us to return back here.

Again the thumping started and as we proceeded further, we could see the lake on our left side and towards our right it was sea. There were lot of houses on the shore too and people here will never have shortage of water and these people are dependent on water resources for their livelihood too.

There were many notorious stories related to this place and I have heard of stories which mainly themed around the dangerous clashes in this area and in case of death people will simply throw them to sea. These stories had instilled a kind of fear in my mind.

Soon I felt like everyone is staring at us and we felt as if being part of a procession where people line up on sides to watch the entertainment. It might be that, not too many vehicles pass through this area and my ride was creating enough echo which was the main reason for the attention.

Nevertheless we proceeded ahead very slowly, only to find that there was a huge crowd assembled in the road. On seeing the crowd we thought of going back, since we were little bit afraid on asking a way. But soon we found out why the stories which we heard are only the fantasies of some writers. All the people who were sitting on the road stood up and moved to one side allowing us to go. It was some kind of prayer meeting and since vehicular traffic is almost zero they chose the road, but were kind enough to let us go, not like the local political parties who while conducting some road shows will not allow even pedestrians to cross the road just to show their strength which is a sad failure of democracy.

As we progressed more and more the road sides were getting narrower and narrower as the sea and lake was approaching closer. Finally the road ended and we had reached the meeting point. The place is called “Pozhikkara” in local slang. I had fun negotiating my bike through the rocky and sandy terrain and finally stopping at a point close to the lake.

  

Riding through this route was fun.

  

The place was deserted, but prestine. It was late in the day, but still it looked bright. The lake looked sprawling, There was a huge pile of sand on one side.

We had to climb this to reach the beach.

  

Once on top the view looked terrific. There was a man made bridge which extended to the sea.

  

This was similar to the Pulimutt at Beypore in Kozhikkode (Click here to watch the popular Pulimutt at Beypore)

The place on the other side of the lake is Perumathura.

  

We could see some people on that side. Some were tourists too. That place can be accessed from Kazhakkoottam via Menamkulam.

The view of the lake from top of this sand hill was awesome. It looked even more sprawling.

  

But just turn around and watching the sea makes everything else look much smaller.

  

The Sun was about to set and we decided to spend time here till it disappears to the horizon.

A closer view of the sea bridge revealed that the rocks used to create it was having a peculiar shape.

  

Some fishing activity was happening in the lake where fisherman were laying a net.

  

We decided to walk ahead through this seabridge, enjoying the lake on one side and the sea on other.

  

As we proceeded ahead, we got a different perspective of the beach behind us.

  

We found a small kitten on the rock.

  

It seems he was getting ready to catch this folk who was strolling around.

  

After having a nice stroll on the walkway enjoying the cool breeze and the prestine nature, we decided to return.

My steed also seems to cherish the location and I enjoyed clicking the mean machine in this ambience.

  

The light was getting much darker, before it got worse, snapped up one more frame of the route which we have to take.

  

Another fun session followed suite, when I had to negotiate those sandy roads till I reached the tarred road. By the time we hit the road, it was dark. 

The ride back was quick and we soon paid a visit to our colleagues home and returned via NH 47 with memories of the live frames ceasing to fade. Tried to recreate a panorama of the lake view and the sea view just to ensure that our memories just don't fade and for prospective tourists a glimpse of what to expect.

  

 

Quick Facts

Name of Place:
Pozhikkara / Anjengo

Places to visit:
Anjengo Fort, Anjengo Light House and Pozhikkara


Nearest Railway Station:
Varkala or Kadakkavur

Where to Stay:
No resorts here in Anjengo. Better to Stay in Varkala where lots of beach side resorts are available and come here for an afternoon visit. Another option is to stay in Kovalam (40kms from anjengo) or at Thiruvananthapuram (25Kms from anjengo)

Travel Plan:
Start from Varkala (15kms away) in the afternoon, reach Anjengo fort, climb the light house, then reach the pozhikkara beach by 5 pm, enjoy the sunset and return back.

Caution:
Never pick up an Altercation with any local, they are simple innocent people, but quite dangerous if you provoke them.

Hotels/Eateries:
No hotel or eateries around. Nearest eatery you can find is at Kadakkavur

Other beautiful places to explore nearby:
Golden Isle - An island which still retains its natural beauty, Ideal for a one day picnic which is 8km from Anjengo. Food available at the Isle. Click here to read a blog on golden isle with loads of pictures and other information
Aquaserene - A resort by the side of backwaters at Paravoor, Kollam, which is 35kms from Anjengo. Click here to read a travel blog on Aquaserene.

Now let me know your views on this place. If you feel like more information is needed please don't hesitate to contact me, you can either comment in this post or send me an email.