Rajakumari: It's not officially summer yet but people have already started looking for cool heavens in misty hills to escape the blazing sun.
Poopara in Kerala's Idukki district is receiving a good number of visitors.
For long, Poopara was just a barely noticed rest stop between major tourist destinations of Munnar and Thekkady. Poopara began attracting tourists in its own right about a year-and-half ago when the renovation works on the Kochi-Danushkodi national highway commenced. Once vehicular traffic on the Poopara-Munnar stretch of the NH became restricted, tourists had no way of going towards Chinnakanal. So those coming from Thekkady and Tamil Nadu started taking diversion from Poopara along the Rajakkad–Kunchithanni route to reach Munnar.
The undulating hills of tea estates and the chilly weather beckon tourists to Poopara. Situated in the lap of the Mathikettanchola National Park, Poopara boasts of breath-taking natural beauty and has long had the makings of a tourist paradise, but for the lack for basic facilities for visitors. The locals of Poopara say that a tourist information centre and hygienic toilet facilities will greatly enhance the tourists' experience at their beloved village.