If you did your schooling in Madurai during 80s – 90s or earlier, chances are that you had at least one cycle trip to Pulloothu. It is one of those nice little secluded spot, that doesn’t grow into a tourist spot but remain endearing to lads.
Pulloothu seemed far from the madding crowd, on a tree-shadowed road from Kochadai to Sholavandan. After about 7kms from Kochadai, a small board on left side, indicating ‘Boys Town‘ is the mark that directs towards Pulloothu.
It is a small stone canal from a water spring that gives a steady but small stream of water throughout the year. Eventhough there isn’t any facility nearby, it’s very secluded & a sudden change into a hill like terrain, makes it a worthy trip.
The city & the development is inevitably inching closer to Pulloothu. The new 4-track North-South National Highway No.7 (Kashmir to Kanyakumari) now goes very close to the place where we make a left turn to Pulloothu.
The small path along side the tiled houses is the original road to Pulloothu. Now this entry looks like any ordinary lane. The place & surroundings are still green. Hope Pulloothu will retain it’s uniqueness & become a regulated picnic spot.
Next to the Kuruvithurai temple, there is a small road that seems to end in paddy fields. But it is not. The metalled road turns into sand road for about a km, and it becomes metal road again.
The road is just wide enough for a lorry, so if a lorry or a tractor comes opposite your car needs to go beyond the end of the road and into the roadside wild growth. No public transport available in this side.
With the far-end nagamalai hills running parallel to the road, at about a km distance, on the left, and the vaigai river on the right, the farm road itself is a treat. You would feel far far away from the crowded city life.
Some 8 kms from Kuruvithurai temple, the road leads to a minor dam across river Vaigai. The village near the dam (Anai) is called Anaipatti. There is a Aanjaneya temple on the river front with lot of sand filled open space between the river and the temple.
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Two days back I had to make a trip to an interior part of Theni district. The entire district was part of Madurai district till 5 years back. Now after the creation of new district, it is blooming into a cool, quaint & attractive holiday hill country.
The temperature at Theni is always noticiably cooler than Madurai. But it dips further if you travel further west. The scene is also beautiful with green hills and fields with occasional water canals.
Theni is 2 hours by bus and about one and half hour by car. If you travel further west, there are two routes, one leading to Thekkadi and another leading to Munnar (pronounced Moo-naar – Three rivers) . Both were well known hill resorts in Kerala filled with foreign tourists.
Now with improved roads and mobile access, these village areas were much better places to live than Madurai.
Kuruvithurai is a lesser known village about 30 kms from Madurai. It is about 8Kms from Cholavandan, the well-known village on the north / north-west direction. There is an ancient temple in this village, which is now becoming famous on Guru Peyarchi days.
We decided to explore the route and visit the temple on an un-important day.
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