Teak Museum,Nilambur 

    Teak Museum is located 4 km from Nilambur, a town in the Malappuram district of Kerala, south India. Teak occurs naturally in India with the main teak forests found in Kerala.The museum, a two storey building, is the world's first teak museum and is operated by the Kerala Forest Research Institute. The exhibits include comprehensive information on aspects of the use of teak in their exhibits and articles on the subject. The museum provides extensive information of value historically, artistically and scientifically.

Teak Museum

   The museum was established in 1995 on the campus of the centre of Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) because of the historical significance of teak to the area. The world's first teak plantation was planted in Nilambur in the 1840s by the British.The nearest railway station is in Nilambur, about 3 km from the Teak Museum. The nearest airport is Karipur International Airport, about 36 km from Malappuram.

Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary

Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary is a bird sanctuary located in the border Malappuram district of Kerala. The sanctuary is situated 19 km from Kozhikode and 7 km from Beypore Port. The bird sanctuary is spread over an area of clustered islands, which is surrounded by little hammocks. Kadalundi River flows through this region and joins the Arabian Sea. This place is also popularly known as Kadalundi Nagaram. The main sanctuary hill is based on a height of 200 m above sea level, from where the visitors can enjoy breathtaking views of the river and the Arabian Sea. Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary is famous for its diverse avian fauna, which include as many as hundred varieties of indigenous birds and nearly 60 species of migratory birds.

Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary

Wildlife
Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary provides shelter and ideal conditions to a number of migratory birds. These birds include Terns, Gulls, Herons, Sandpipers and Cormorants, which arrive on this sanctuary in the month of November and return to their respective regions by the end of April. Some other important bird species in the sanctuary are Whimbrels and Brahminy Kites. Apart from birds, there is considerable population of different varieties of fish, mussels and crabs in the sanctuary. The sight of thousands of colorful birds flocking to a region of 2 sq. km offer a rare and captivating moment for the visitors. There are boat facilities available for tourists to enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the lush green plantation and bird population of this sanctuary. These boats provides a great way to see turtles found here. The best season to visit this sanctuary is from December to April, since it is the season for migratory birds to stay in this wildlife sanctuary.

Kappad Beach

Kappad Beach:A Rocky Portion

Kappad Beach

Kappad Beach, a clean beach with safe waters, is located about 16 km from Kozhikode town. A plaque set on a pillar says that it was here that the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama landed on May 27, 1498, when on his first visit to Kerala. However, many historians believe that though he had anchored his ship here, he landed at the nearby port, Pandalayani Kollam.

Kappad Beach

The beach, that is popular with tourists, is quiet except for a few hours in the morning, when the fishermen launch their boats at dawn, and in the evening when they return with their catch. Sometimes, you can see them spreading fish on the beach to dry them. Other interesting sights here include a rocky headland stretching into the sea and a 100-year-old temple.The beach is ideal for relaxing and playing around with sand. Devi Temple, which is believed to be 800 years old, is situated on top of a rock near the beach. Karappula River at Elathur close to the beach is a good place for boating. Sunset is a great site to watch here, in the combination of Sea and River.

Athirapally Waterfalls

  Athirapally is the land of rivers and forests and great waterfalls!The destination houses the largest waterfall in Kerala, the Athirapally waterfall,a major tourist attraction. This patch in Sholayar ranges so beautifully intertwined with lush green forest cover and sizzling silver cascades and located central to Cochin and River Nila(Bharathapuzha),is a treat for the eyes during the monsoon.Swollen Chalakkudy river, Charpa, Vazhachal and Athirapally are ideal places where the monsoon is to be enjoyed.

Athirapally Waterfalls

   Local communities along the Chalakudy river banded together to stop the construction of a hydroelectric dam upstream from Athirapally Waterfall. The proposed dam would have submerged more than 140 hectares of forest, dried up extensive riparian areas downstream and destroyed Athirapally Waterfall, one of several scenic waterfalls important to the local tourism industry.The dam also would have destroyed the critical habitat of many important species, including the rare Cochin Forest Cane Turtle, the endangered Great Indian Hornbill, the Lion-Tailed Macaque and the Nilgiri Langur.

Athirapally Waterfalls

Athirapally Waterfalls are one of the best waterfalls in India and one of the most famous tourist destinations  in  Kerala. These are magnificent  waterfalls  on  Chalakudy  River  located at the entrance to Sholayar hill range in Thrissur district. 

Athirapally Waterfalls

  At a distance of 70 kms from Kochi & 160 Kms from Coimbatore, this waterfall drops from a height of 80 feet through several parallel streams offering a great scenic beauty. In monsoon season, the water gets strength and all the streams join together and appear like Niagara Falls.

  One can reach top of the falls with about 5 minutes walk from nearest road. It offers spectacular views of the Sholayar hills and a unique view of the waterfalls from this spot. About 10-15 minutes trek down from top of the falls will take you to bottom of the falls where the greatest beauty of the falls can be experienced. Swimming is possible in the stream at bottom of the falls.

   Chalakudy (30 Kms) is the nearest junction to Athirapally and it's connected by bus with Thrissur (55 Kms), Kochi and Palakkad (110 Kms). One can take public/private vehicle from Chalakudy to reach Athirapally.

Nilgiri Tahr 

Nilgiri Tahr Adult

  

                                The Nilgiri tahr

    The Nilgiri tahr, Nilgiritragus hylocrius, known locally as the Nilgiri ibex or simply ibex, is an ungulate that is endemic to the Nilgiri Hills and the southern portion of the Western Ghats in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in southern India. It is the state animal of Tamil Nadu.Despite its local name, it is more closely related to the sheep of the Ovis genus than the ibex and wild goats of the Capra genus.
    The Nilgiri tahrs are stocky goats with short, coarse fur and a bristly mane. Males are larger than the females, and have a darker color when mature. Both sexes have curved horns, which are larger in the males, reaching up to 40 centimetres  for males and 30 centimetres for females. Adult males weigh 80 to 100 kilograms and stand about 100 centimetres tall at the shoulder. Adult males develop a light grey area on their backs and are thus called "saddlebacks".

                                                   < The Nilgiri tahr >
Habitats
     Nilgiri Tahr family at the mountain grasslands.These tahrs inhabit the open montane grassland habitat of the South Western Ghats montane rain forests ecoregion. At elevations from 1,200 to 2,600 metres , the forests open into grasslands interspersed with pockets of stunted forests, locally known as sholas. These grassland habitats are surrounded by dense forests at the lower elevations. The Nilgiri tahrs formerly ranged over these grasslands in large herds, but hunting and poaching in the nineteenth century reduced their population to as few as 100 animals by the early 20th century. Since that time their populations have increased somewhat, and presently number about 2000 individuals. Their range extends over 400 kilometres  from north to south, and Eravikulam National Park is home to the largest population. The other significant concentration is in the Nilgiri Hills, with smaller populations in the Anamalai Hills, Periyar National Park, Palni Hills and other pockets in the Western Ghats south of Eravikulam, almost to India's southern tip. A small population of tahr numbering around 200 are known to inhibit the Ponmudi hills in the Trivandrum district of Kerala. One of the hills in the Ponmudi range, namely Varaiaadu Mottai (mottai roughly translate as a 'hill' in local language) has also found its name from Nilgiri tahr, indicating presence of the animal in that area.

Pondering and the Dead Forest

A person in a dead forest, pondering many things.

As I sit alone here in this dead forest,
I ponder the thought of sitting here forever,
Would the trees stay dead?
Would they ever once again sprout new buds,
And grow deep roots.

I ponder this as I watch a twig fall from the tallest of the trees,
As it falls, I see that others follow suit,
The branches are bone dry and fragile,
So they fall to pieces as they fall towards the ground.

They barely make a whisper of a noise,
As they hit the surface,
And I begin to ponder where all the animals have gone.

I suppose a dead forest needs animals,
Or do the animals have no need for a dead forest?
I ponder this as I watch a piece of bark being moved across the dirt floor.

The ants were interesting creatures,
And I watched as they went back and forth,
Carrying large pieces of bark to their nest.

I look up and shield my eyes as the sun shines down,
And ponder why the trees no longer grow,
And the animals no longer thrive.

I ponder why the ants still call the dead forest home,
I ponder why they do not live in a more abundant forest,
One with many different things, animals, plants, weather changes, etc.
I ponder why, even after the forest has died, the ants stay.

Then, as the sun hides behind the cumulus clouds,
I cease to ponder and continue my trek through the dead forest.

a beautiful view...

Mist Upon the Placid Morn

Bleed out your beauty, Autumn –
Give up a gentle wrist, and smear
Your bloody hues atop the green.

Cast a calming throw of heady peace
Upon the cooling land.
And as you grant the sun a final fling of warmth,
Charge the silent air
(Now lolling on a foliar deathbed)
With earthen whiff to intimate the fungal push.

Soon you’ll send a shiver down the watery spine of
Quivering ponds, punctual brooks, and
Listless lakes, to warn them of the freeze to come.

Behold! your mellow spirit
Hanging as a mist upon the placid morn –
A sight that draws a sneaking tear or two – forlorn
Observers are we all of colder climes to view!

Autumn Lady, must you be the summer waning –?
Our adieu to fairer-weather life?
Ah well, at least you hum a warming tone, ensuring
Nature’s rhythm still abounds.

But now you must prepare the mind for chilly times –
You know the drill –
Guiding us along a sloping path
To ease our psyche in to sleet and snow –
The blue-ice bite of winter.

Nature

Nature is mighty
Nature is strong
Nature is usually always right
Nature is rarely ever wrong
Nature is beauty
Nature is moody
Nature is smart
Nature always has the greater part
Nature is blue
Nature is green
Nature is every color possibly seen
Nature is dreaming
Nature is in every place
Nature is always with grace
Nature is true
Nature is me
Nature will forever be free 

http://natureheartz.blogspot.com

beauty of nature