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In the tea-growing region of the Cardamom (or Ponmudi) hills, about 60km northeast of Thiruvananthapuram and 77km from Kovalam, at an altitude of 1066m, is the hill station of PONMUDI. It is not a town, or even a village, but merely some accommodation along a ridge, commanding breathtaking views out across the range as far as the sea. The main reason anyone comes up here is that it serves as the only practical base for visits to the 53 square kilometers of forest set aside as Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary,which protects elephants, sambar, lion-tailed macaques, leopard, and assorted birds. Although Peppara is theoretically open all year, the main season is from January until May; check before you go with the District Forest Officer, Thiruvananthapuram Forest Division, Thiruvananthapuram (tel 0471/320674. The beautiful drive up, via the small towns of Nedumangad and Vithura, runs along very narrow roads past areca nut, clove, rubber and cashew plantations, with first the Kavakulam and then the Kallar River close at hand.
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The bridge at Kallar Junction marks the start of the real climb. Twenty-two hairpin bends (numbered at the roadside) lead slowly up, firstly in the foothills, past great lumps of black rock and thick clumps of bamboo ( iramula , then through the Kallar teak forest. You finally emerge into tea plantations; the temperature is noticeably cooler and, once out of the forest, the views across the hills and the plains below become truly spectacular - on a clear day you can see the sea. There really is nothing to do up here but the high ridges and tea estates make good rambling country.
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