Ponmudi hill station reopens after COVID-19-induced pause

The sought-after tourist destination of Ponmudi in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram district has started welcoming tourists after a month-long COVID-19-triggered hiatus.

Besides the famed hill station, ecotourism centres such as Kallar-Meenmutty and Mankayam were also reopened.

The district collector, the other day, stated that travellers would be allowed to visit Ponmudi, albeit with restrictions, in the wake of a dip in COVID-19 cases. Following this, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) K I Pradeepkumar had informed that apart from the Ponmudi hill station, the Kallar-Meenmutty and Mankayam ecotourism centers, both under the Palode forest range, would be thrown open for visitors.

Traffic on the Mottamoodu stretch in Kallar on the Ponmudi state highway will be regulated as the safety wall is yet to be restored. The police and forest department officials are controlling the movement of vehicles on this stretch.

The travellers entering Ponmudi should follow the COVID-19 protocol. The visitors with entry tickets should either produce their vaccination certificates or negative RT-PCR test reports, which should not be more than two days old, before the forest department officials at the Kallar check post.