From now onwards, never ever say that you haven't seen the rain-drenched beauty of Idukki and Kottayam districts of Kerala. Come, discover the amazing landscape, draped in diaphanous misty rain. Remember, if you don't have an umbrella, you are totally under the mercy of the incessant showers, as there is hardly any place to protect you from their onslaught.
As you near Vagamon from Erattupetta, you are greeted by the torrential rain beating hard on the bald hills of the area. The moment you pass Mundakkayam, the rain changes its mood. Through the clouds, the rain lashes through the mist and it is so close, you can actually reach over and touch it. The rain surprises with yet another of its facet, when you enter into the forests. Even if the rain is actually not pouring, the water drops from the foliage above, creates an illusion of heavy rain. And in Ilaveezha Poonjira,the rain becomes thunderous and tumultuous.
At Kumarakom, the spectacular sight of the rain drops falling in all their natural glory on Vembanadu Kaayal, has stunned the International tourists so much so that Kumarakom backwater rains has found a prominent place in the world thematic map.
This rain is not mere water
There are certain factors that govern the Kottayam rains. It won't be wrong to say that the rain is made to happen here. The sandwich that is formed by the highlands, The midlands and the coastal regions make rain inevitable. When the cold waves from the sea pass through the midlands to reach the highlands, rain clouds are formed. As an imbalance takes place along the hillsides during summer, with the morning breezes blowing into the ocean, huge doubly charged rain drops fall.
Starting from Munnar, traversing through Peerumedu, via Mundakkayam to Tenmala, the rain follows you in the same pattern. Also, these are the places where you can see them in their awesome grandeur which is intriguing and compelling to watch. The raindrops in this section are bigger, ranging from 0.5 ml to 3 ml. It is only when they fall on you, you realise their might.
In Munnar, known as the paradise of rain, one can predict the strength of the showers just by looking on the ground. Such is the force of the giant drops that they make huge depressions on the ground, which is a unique feature of this place.
This region experiences heavy rains not only in monsoon seasons but also in summer. If in another highland, Wayanad, the rain decreases in strength, here, in this hilly region, it never stops. Due to the unique features of geography here, the rain water is colder and the atmospheric temperature is much lower.Rain can come from anywhere. Slanting rain is another peculiar feature of the rains.
Hasn't rain loved Keralites from time immemorial? Doesn't monsoon reach Kerala before it does in any other state? Don't the farmers of Kotta, Rajasthan, wait for the arrival of rain in Trivandrum, to decide when to plant seeds there?
Incessant fall
When Kerala gets 300 cm rain all together, it is 350 to 400 cm that just Kottayam gets. The heaviest rain fall is recorded in Kuttikkkanam. At the same time, it is below 200 cm in the Kuttanadu lowlands in the neighbouring Alappuzha district on the west coast.
Vagamon for misty rains
There is no other place like Vagamon to enjoy the beauty of rains. For those who want to get drenched in rains, this is the place. The onset of the rain on hilltops, the mist slowly giving way to rains, the freezing cold and the ever-blowing snow winds combine to give an incredible experience.
