Paniyeli Poru : Calm and Quiet Picnic Spot in Kerala
Unexplored Nature Gift :
Paniyeli is a small typical village in Kerala. "Poru" is located in the banks of Periyar river in Paniyeli (Panieli) village in Ernakulam district. More than a famous tourist destination, this place is more like a picnic place for families. Paniyeli Poru hasn't got a prominent place in the tourist maps of Kerala yet and that actually comes as a blessing in disguise to this unexplored gift of nature. You won't find much crowd during any season of the year and you can enjoy the amazing natural beauty of the rain forests and rocky river in the background of Malayattoor hills.
Reach Paniyeli Poru :
The nearest towns at Paniyeli Poru are Kuruppampady, Perumbavoor, Kalady and Kothamangalam. The nearest railway stations are Aluva and Angamaly, both are at about equal distances. Angamaly is a bit closer but all trains will not stop there. The nearest airport is Kochi International Airport. You can take a taxi from the airport or railway station. It may cost you about Rs 750/- for a taxi from airport or railway station to Paniyeli Poru, one-way journey. Instead of taking a cab to this single destination, you may plan your travel to cover various destinations around Paniyeli Poru.
There is a nominal entrance fee to access the picnic areas and safe locations in the river. Entrance fee for adults is Rs 10. There is no fee for small children. During monsoon, the water level in the river can raise dangerously high and no one would want to get into the water. But during Summer season the river is very shallow, pleasant and the rocks will be exposed. You can walk through the rocks in the water and swim in the shallow water near the banks. Take care of yourself when swim because it’s dangerous to swim at unknown rivers and waterbodies as cool our home pool.
Fun at Lap of Nature:
You have to walk through the trails and woods for about 20 minutes to reach the picnic areas. Even though you can access the river from all areas in the walking trails, it is recommended to get into the water only at the designated areas where there are security guards and guides to help you.
In most eco friendly places, forest departments never entertain big restaurants or hotels to build their rooms and destroy natural calmness. So you can have stay and food at nearby destinations or towns. Fortunately there are many such good accomodation and food facilities for travellers who would like to visit Paniyeli Poru.
If you are planning picnic as a package for many days you can also explore nearby tourist destinations like
Kaprikad Abhayaranyam animal shelter, Kodanad Elephant Training Centre (11 km), Bhoothathankettu dam (22 km),
Thattekad Bird Sanctuary (28 km), Malayattoor church & Kurisumudy pilgrim centre, Bharani Kuzhy waterfalls, Athirappilly water falls (60 km), Munnar hill station (104 km).
Some of the best resorts in Kochi attracts tourists to this calm and quiet spot for providing a unique experience to foreign travellers. Wildlife photographers, writers, sole travellers all visit the paniyeli poru as good spot to relax and refresh their mind from hectic job schedule. A couple of months back, a traveller share his experience how uncontrolled tourism affect the natural beauty. The major drawback he pointouted was,travellers enjoy and leave all the trashes there, visit places after drinking alcohol and make surroundings untidy for others. So he suggested that proper training and responsibility protocols must be implemented on all tourist places to conserve them for future generation than just a business hype for few years. Most travelers prefer budget resorts in Kochi, so many of the resorts nearby airport have budget room packages for regular and occasional guests. In the coming christmas holidays if you are expecting a unique travel experience then turn your compass to paniyeli poru, have some good selfies with nature and enjoy precious moments of your life.
If you like a beautiful flower you may pluck it and keep with you, but you sincerely love a flower you won’t pluck it but enjoy the beauty as it is on the plant. The natural tourist spots are just like the beautiful flower arranged by nature for humans to enjoy and not to exploit it. So there are many hideout tourist spots in Kerala where only passionate nature lovers or photographers know and they explore them with heart not with business brain. Paniyeli Poru is such a calm and quiet picnic spot in Kochi, Kerala maintained by Government authorities.
Love Nature at Paniyeli Poru :
A true nature lover would like to visit places that are not crowded by tourists, Paniyeli Poru is an eco tourist destination for nature lovers. Paniyeli Poru is a very calm and quiet river side picnic point located just 30 km from Kochi. The forest department which manages the river side picnic areas wouldn't tolerate any sort of trashing in the area. You cannot leave any trash or waste in the picnic areas. This is a non-commercialized eco-destination and there are no shops or amenities other than an ice cream shop attached to the forest department office near the car parking area.
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