Puliyarai View Point: Scenic Pit Stop on the Tenkasi - Kerala Highway
It is the last village of the Tenkasi district of Tamil Nadu before you enter Kerala. It is a beautiful village that has been blessed by nature’s bounty. It is full of exotic fruit orchards like mangosteen, rambutan, star fruit, pomelo, passion fruit, longan, custard apple, guava and many more. It is also home to gorgeously green paddy fields. And all of this greenery is surrounded by the tall mountains of the Western Ghats. I am talking about the village of Puliyarai and its two view points.
The first view point presents itself just before you enter the village of Puliyarai. Here, you can see vast swathes of paddy fluttering in the breeze and shining in the sun and in the background, you can see the massive contiguous mountain ranges of the Western Ghats. This is a massive stretch and the paddy stretches on both sides. The road is kind of like a curve and it appears after kilometres of regular highway with regular trees on both sides. Hence, the view becomes extra special. You can stop here to take a few pictures of the incredible views while you sip on some fresh tender coconut water and chomp on some locally grown delicious star gooseberries.
After this first view point, you will come to the Puliyarai village with its exotic tropical fruit stalls and once you cross these fruit stalls, you will come to the other view point of towering mountains and winding hairpin roads. From here, the actual climb begins and in a few kilometres, you will cross the Kerala forest check up, thus officially entering the state of Kerala. Both the view points before and after are sublime, but the first view point of the paddyfields, the mountains and the highway is striking owing to its panoramic nature. Don’t miss to stop at these view points if you happen to be heading from Shenkottai or Tenkasi to Kerala anytime soon. My favourite past time here is to feast on locally grown exotic tropical fruits while soaking in the lush views.
Other nearby tourist attractions:
1) Courtallam: The herbal bath holiday destination of Tamil Nadu
2) Sunderapandiapuram: A gorgeous village surrounded by sunflower fields, wind mills and the Western Ghats
3) Sivasailam Temple: 1000 year old temple surrounded by the lush mountains of the Western Ghats
4) Sivasailam: One of the wettest places during the North East Monsoon in India
5) 13th century Kasi Visvanathar temple at Tenkasi
6) Mekkarai: The lush village where paddy fields, fruit orchards and mountains merge into one
7) Shenkottai to Achankovil forest route: The lesser known scenic jungle route
8) Manalar Falls: The gorgeous forest waterfall perfect for a family getaway
9) Kambhavurutty Falls: Pristine Jungle Waterfall in the middle of dense forest
10) Thenmala forest: Offbeat nature and wildlife getaway
11) Vintage Pathimoonu Kannara Bridge: Colonial charm of the Indian Railways
12) Punalur Suspension Bridge: Historical gem of Kerala
13) Lesser known Kerala Mountain Railways: Treat for Nature Lovers
14) Aryankavu Saastha Temple: Ancient temple located in the sacred forests of the Western Ghats
15) Palaruvi Falls:Kerala’s herbal waterfall that drops like milk from the sky
16) Thenmala Dam: A monsoon pit stop view
17) Rosemala: Spectacular view point of the Thenmala reservoir
