Vagamon also spelt as Wagamon is a hill station located in Kottayam-Idukki border of Idukki district of Kerala and is also famous its cool climate round the year, scenic beauty, green grass lands, sprawling tea plantations, adventure tourisms activities like paragliding, trekking, mountaineering, rock climbing etc. The hill station has a cool climate with temperature ranging between 10 to 23°C in a summer mid-day. The height of the Vagamon hills reach up to an altitude of 1,100 m above sea level.
Vagamon, Idukki, Kerala
Specialities
National Geographic Traveller has listed Vagamon on their directory of the ’50 most attractive places to visit in India’.
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Vagamon is a virgin hill scape still untouched by commercialisation. This sleepy town with its scenic valleys, beautiful green meadows, enchanting pine forests, mists, fogs, tea estates, waterfalls with the overall greenery is really striking. The landscape is mostly hilly bald with green meadows.
The beauty of Vagamon lies in the chain of three hills, the Thangal hill, the Murugan hill and the Kurisumala which represent the chief religions of Kerala, the Hindu, Muslim, and Christian. This shows the cultural harmony of Vagamon. A trek to these hills is really refreshing.
Vagamon has grassy hills, velvet lawns and cool mountain air with an exciting blend of religious mysticism and European legacy. Like a lot of other beautiful things in life, Vagamon too has to be experienced, not read about or its stories merely listened to.
Vagamon is at the fringe of the Western Ghats and the foot hills on its lower side reach up to Teekoy with a gradual descent. This narrow strip of descending land gives a vital connectivity to the plains as both sides of Vagamon up to Kuttikkanam on the south west and Moolamattom on the north east, are marked by steep and inaccessible hill slopes.
Travelling by the hill highway in this section is an exhilarating experience with deep valleys and magnificent views all around. Vagamon presents very spectacular views with an ethereal touch. Vagamon’s charm is worth experiencing and is indeed one of the must see places for tourists. Reaching Vagamon itself is an extraordinary experience. The meandering road to Vagamon is cut in solid rock lined with pine forests. And as you wind your way through green capped hills, the rolling plains come into view thousands of feet below you.
Vagamon was discovered by the British who found the place ideal for tea plantations and they were followed by Christian missionaries who built their abode of service at Kurisumala in Vagamon.
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The road to Vagamon from Erattupetta opened an easily accessible and direct route to Vagamon from the plains. This road which was constructed in the 1950s was an engineering marvel and is rated a state highway. The road was made in treacherous and dizzying terrain under the initiative and leadership of Acharya Francis who established the Kurisumala Ashramam. About a dozen workers died during the construction at the hanging cliffs and a 20 foot tall memorial tower stands in honour of those who gave their life for this road project at the beginning of the road in Teekoy town junction.
Business interests are trying their best to exploit and sell and market Vagamon for tourists. How much benefits the local people are receiving from tourism boom is to be seen. The efforts made by the Kurishumala Ashram have helped the farmers of Vagamon to improve their earnings by ensuring better price for milk and marketing opportunities.
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Vagamon is also home to a large variety of flowers and orchids. One more speciality is there IBM Software Company is getting developed in Vagamon near Management College.