Vagamon ki Vadiyon Say...

This place feels like a spiritual yet cool place for young souls. Go here to seek solace and get your mind cleansed by doing nothing but being close to nature.

Vagamon is a secret hill town in Kerala, where the temperature also behaves quite differently from other cities in the state, as the chilly cold during nights is not at all common in other South Indian states.

If you’re looking for an offbeat track in South India then this place has to be on the list!

Nature has created this place only for the lucky ones who get to cherish it. And yes I was one of them ☺

After all you’re in “God’s own country” and yeah it sure did look and feel like it.

How to reach

Train- the cheapest way to reach Vagamon is by train

Take a train to Kottayam from wherever you are and then hop on a bus (2.5-3 hours) till Kurishumala Ashram junction. From here Zostel is a walkable distance.

Flight- If you’re planning to travel by flight then fly to Cochin International Airport and then take a taxi to Vagamon.

Ola and Uber are also available to make the travel easier. This will cost around 2k-2.5k for the 3 hour journey

What to do

Paragliding-

The very famous one in South India is here in Vagamon. This costs around 3k for a 20 mins flight.

I didn’t do it because I experienced this in Kamshet (again a very famous place for Paragliding in Maharashtra) a month back.

But if you’ve not tried it, then definitely your first time should be here in Vagamon, mostly because of the serene view. Usually it would be 10 mins but here you can get 20 mins for the same price. So go ahead and plan your Paragliding only in Vagamon.

Trekking-

There are a lot of hikes that you should do there and the best part is that these trails are not that popular since Vagamon is such an untouched tourist place. It makes these hikes even that much more special knowing that very few people get to experience it.

Since trekking doesn’t excite me much and I didn’t explore this much, but surprisingly this little hike became one of my more memorable experiences of the trip, because when you travel anything is possible!

Zostel-

Zostel has always played and will be playing a great role in my personal life. Zostel has changed my perspective towards people and places and it continuously moulds my travel experiences each time. It never fails to impress me and makes each of my trips just fantastically memorable.

The sunset point just 10-15 mins hike from the Zostel is just pristine that makes me wanna go there again and again.

And now for some shout outs...

I cannot complete my blog without mentioning some crazy names and the people whom I met in Vagamon with whom it took no time to become friends with.

The fantastic Manager Maheshey with the best management skills and the volunteer Sandip who voluntarily irritates and takes amazing pictures of you (donno when i am going to get these but now that i have mentioned this here he might send across immediately 😜)

You guys are fantastic in whatever you are doing right now and making each and every traveller stories so memorable and exciting that no one who arrives wants to leave Vagamon and many keep extending their stays.

This gets me to a few fellow traveller souls who initially came for only 2-3 days but decided to keep on extending.

Ashish- The way he pushed me in that jungle hike to keep going through those rocky hills. With the support of the banter I actually managed to do this trek barefoot in the pinching hot afternoon

Neeraj- Oh mahn this guy is one of those geeks who is just fun to be around with and who know that he can fuck anyones brains with his talks.

I call him Mowgli (No, he wears full clothes only 😜 in case you’re imagining him wearing anything less) because he literally can climb trees 🙈🙈

Shrenik- And we knew that we will meet again in Kerala (which did happen) and the only one from Mumbai (my town) who was not a "Fake Jain" like me.

Nidheesh- Here comes a guy who is a perfect example of leaving "Moh Maaya" (his job) and adapted a very adventurous life of just travelling. People like you motivates and lure us in leaving our source of income.

You're doing a fab job instead and yes you've that cute smile (Note from that secret admirer).

Off-roading-

You cannot miss this with this ultra crazy and adventurous guide @justin who will make you shit scared with his phenomenal off road skills. You will literally scream your head off. and to much surprise the point is named after him since he's the man behind discovering the same!

Best places to eat

At Zostel, they have a community kitchen where you can cook for yourself.

There’s also Chaichi who cooks meal for all so your food is sorted. Also, there’s this Winter Vale hotel nearby who delivers food to Zostel.

Best time to visit

Vagamon experiences pleasant and cold weather throughout the year.

By virtue of its location at high altitude, the temperature of this city is always pleasing and ranges from 10 to 25 degrees Celsius all year. Although Vagamon is an all season destination, it is better to avoid visiting this city during monsoons as heavy rainfall makes the traveling tough. Hence, the best time to visit Vagamon is during the dry seasons i.e summers (March to May) or winter (December to February). Both the seasons hide a different experience altogether.

But if you want to see waterfalls then monsoon should be on your list too as this place becomes ecstatic during that time.

The one thing you just cannot miss

For me this is going to be only an only staying at Zostel. You cannot miss this little hostel amidst the tea estates and hills.

The days here begins with greenery and breezy mornings with the sun going up and enlightening your entire day

The nights here are just magical where you can just star gaze with a bonfire going around.

The coolest thing about this little place is the giant hammock where you cannot only lie down but also roll around- coz its so big 😍

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