I’ve been meaning to visit Ayikkara for a while now. It’s a harbour and one of the main fishing ports in Kannur district. Fishing boats bring in their daily catch and often the fishermen sell the fish right on the beach.
After I got down at the government hospital bus stop (in Kannur city), one needs to walk through a fishermen’s housing colony to get to the beachLaying salted fish out to dry
I had a picture of what I thought Ayikkara beach would look like. Brown sandy shores, fishermen’s boats all coming in fresh catch and a chance for the public to buy fresh fish cheap right off the boat.
The reality?
This. Just look at the amount of trash on the beach :/ And of course this being India, there’s a cow here too!Although there was variety on offer, a lot of it wasn’t very fresh to be honestWe bought some crab and some fish. Prices weren’t that low either.
I also saw trucks being loaded with fish. I guess all the good stuff gets sold at higher prices for exporters and suppliers to the big hotels & restaurants. And we locals get left with the stuff the big guys didn’t want.
There were people selling from the boats tooBirds and a pot-bellied man — both waiting for fishMe and my father walked around the area after buying the fish
What was surprising is how here too, most of the workers are not Keralites but Bengalis and others from the Eastern states The boats were done for the day I guess
I wanted to explore the area a bit moreSeemed like a good place to sit & relaxEagles were flying above… or they could have been Kites
I guess that’s the actual beach for AyikkaraI saw some people walking on the jettyWant your own catch but too afraid to go out to sea? Come here and fishThis open field was full of these pink flowersDon’t know the name of this flowerBut it was a pretty sightThis is Ayikkara Muhyidheen masjid, just opposite the harbour
After this we left Ayikkara. Mappila Bay could be turned into a tourist attraction if the authorities wanted to make it one. But first, the whole beach and the area needs a massive clean up. Then they need to establish a line of small eateries serving fresh seafood to visitors. It can be done but as is the case with our politicians… they couldn’t care.
Sri Subramanya Temple in Peralassery in Kannur district is home to the largest step well in Kerala. Located 14 km from Kannur town, it is located in the neighbourhood of Peralassery, just metres off state highway 38 (Kannur-Kuthuparamba road).
Local myth has it that Ram and Lakshman halted at Peralasseri temple on their way to Sri Lanka to rescue Sita. (The tale of Ramayana for the uninitiated). The temple in itself isn’t what makes Peralassery famous. The reason for its fame is a massive step well just outside the temple.
The step well is the largest of its kind in Kerala (and probably all of South India)If you visit the temple on any given weekday, you should find ample parking space just outside the temple
I was at Peralasseri temple one weekend for a cousin’s wedding. The bride’s family wanted to conduct the wedding ceremony (garland and thaali exchange) inside the temple premises.
The wedding ceremony didn’t take long as there are other wedding groups waiting for their turnI couldn’t take too many photos of the temple. I was outside the inner sanctum and photography is usually restricted. Also, it was quite muddy inside due to the rains and I was barefoot.I’ll take stone-carved snakes over real snakes (sorry Lord Vishnu).
But in all (religious) seriousness, the snakes represent ‘Sarpam/Nagam Dosham‘ (Sarpam = snake). Devotees visit the temple to shed themselves effects of ‘serpent curses’ based on their individual horoscopes.
It was still raining outside which made taking photos toughYou have to leave your footwear outside if you wish to enter the stepwellStepwells of this design are indigenous to India
Stepwells were built deep where groundwater was abundant and the steps make it easy for people to reach the water especially when water levels fluctuate throughout the year. The steps also make it easier to maintain the well, as supposed to a traditional cylindrical well which is harder to clean over time — unless you want to risk going down one.
The rain was non-stop
It wasn’t the best weather to shoot photos but I’ll probably come back some other day when it is sunny and try to get some better photos and update this blog.
Peralassery temple is an impressive sight and one of Kannur’s best attractions. Best come here during weekdays — and obviously when there is no rain. Stepwells are more common in states like Rajasthan and Gujarat, so it’s quite unique that Kannur, Kerala has one.
Getting to Peralassery temple
From the Kannur city bus stand, or any other stop in the city, board any bus going to Kuthuparamba (കൂത്തുപറമ്പ്). Just ask for a ticket to Peralassery.
By car, it’s an easy drive from Kannur city as it’s one straight road. Once you reach the Peralassery bus stop, take a left turn towards the temple. Ask any local, they can guide you.
Done with my Philippines series, I had no other trip report to write about after that. Being in Kannur, I had always wanted to go to Bekal Fort in Kasarkode district, north of Kannur. Bekal Fort is the largest fort in Kerala. I had vague memories of visiting the fort when I was very young… but my mom insists I had never been there. She say it must have been St. Angelo’s Fort I got confused with and said she herself has never been to Bekal Fort!
So on a fine Sunday morning, we went to Kannur’s ‘private bus stand’. We chose to go by bus thinking it would be easy to get one as Bekal was only 90kms away. The route on Google Maps showed one long road up north and it would take no less than 2 hours. Trouble is, there was some railway crossing repair work going on along the way and because of that, the route buses would be taking today would be longer. But we were only told of this while we waited for the bus to arrive. We (myself, my mother and my cousin brother) contemplated going by train but because we wasted more than half-an-hour waiting for the bus, we missed the trains going north. Finally we boarded a bus going to Kanhangad as we were told we could catch another bus going to Bekal Fort, or Pallikere (the place), from there. So at 9:45 am, the bus finally left Kannur ‘private bus stand’ and we began our long journey to Bekal.
A bus ticket to Kanhangad costs Rs. 50 ($0.80/€0.60) per person.
One of the reasons why I wanted to go by bus is to the see the places along the way. While coming back we decided to take the train for a different view.There were quite a few timber, wood and tile factories along the way
The bus filled up with passengers after picking up more people from the municipal bus stations along the way. It was a good thing we got seats.
We would pass many farms along the wayAnd a few churches
As I looked at the time, I realized we would only arrive at Bekal Fort past noon. I was disappointed knowing I would miss the morning blue skies and would instead be shooting during the dreaded 11am-1pm time slot — the period during which the sun is at its brightest and washes out all the blues in the sky in photographs.
Still, I enjoyed the sights along the wayI also realized how sparsely populated and barren Kannur district is outside of Kannur town
Past noon, we had reached Kanhagad. From there, we saw a bus with Bekal Fort written on it (in English) and so we knew that was our next bus. We boarded it (Rs. 10 for ticket) and it was another 30 minutes until we reached the road leading to Bekal Fort.
From here it was just a short walk to the fortGood parking space for cars right outside the fortFinally we were at Bekal fort!InstructionsThis was the Mukhyaprana TempleTickets cost Rs. 5 for Indian citizens and Rs. 100 for foreigners. I don’t agree with this sort of dual-pricing, but it’s what it is. Archeological Society of India (ASI) should raise it to at least Rs. 10 for us. Rs. 5 is too low. Every Indian can afford Rs. 10!I could already see how big Bekal fort wasAnd I was also pleased with how clean and well kept it wasThis was an observation tower. I just had to climb it to see what the views from up there were like.They have a CCTV installed up hereI took a panorama but oddly the camera wouldn’t focusThe ‘black’ you see below is because they burnt the dry grassAnother panorama. That’s Bekal beach in the distance.Through the rocksAnother panorama
Unlike St. Angelo’s Fort in Kannur, which was built by the Dutch, Bekal Fort was built in 1650AD by Shivappa Nayaka, an Indian ruler. You may read about the fort’s history on Wikipedia.
A panorama of the other sideThat’s the entranceWe went back down
That’s my motherThis is what they were looking down atWe walked along the outer wall
I wanted to get to that beachThis was the way to get down below
You have to go down a few (large) stepsFrom the extension. Bekal Fort was the setting for the song “Uyire” from Bombay.There was a sign saying not to enter the beach or the water. I’m assuming it was largely because there is no one to watch over you if something were to go wrong.You have beaches on either side of Bekal fortA view from back up the fort
There was little else to seeWe were making our way back to the entrance
The final panoramaOne photo of ourselves
… and we were out. It was 2pm and we were hungry. There weren’t any restaurants to be found outside Bekal Fort, so we had to eat from the closest resort.
Nirvana Resort is the nearest hotel to Bekal Fort. Like, right outside the fort — that near! We didn’t find any other restaurant nearby so we just ate here. The food was nothing special and not really worth how much they were charging, but you don’t have any choice.We then left Bekal fort and figured how to get to the beachWe walked down a small village pathThat led us just outside the fence bordering Bekal FortMy cousin isn’t peeing, just keeping the phone back in his pocket 🙂The path we took was far from the right way to get to the beach, but it’s a shortcutFinally… time to walk barefoot!The beach was filled with small green shellsGoodbye Bekal fortPretty big beachBlademon, which literally translates to “blade son”. Okay Blademon 🙂Funny, both the boat and the airline have a chance of sinkingFishing boats have registration numbers much like vehicles have license numbers
When we reached Bekal Beach Park, a security guard ran towards us and told even if we walk across on the beach without even entering the park, we still need to pay Rs. 10 per person.
Rs. 10 to enter a state-run park? Hmmm.Camel rides in Kerala
There’s a “zoo” but that costs extra and it was largely domestic animals, so we just walked away. Instead my mom bought us “kids” some cone ice cream.
When I went to use the park’s toilet, even there they were charging Rs. 5 for using it! So Rs. 10 is for you to walk in the vicinity. Rubbish! And so was the condition the toilets were in going by how much they were charging.
Anyway, we asked the security guard how to get to Kanhangad railway station and he gave us the directions to the main road from where we could board the bus.
We crossed a railway trackAnd got a bus going to Kanhangad town
When we arrived at the town bus stand, we crossed over to the other side to get to the railway station. The next train to Kannur was only at 5:20pm, but we had no choice. We bought three tickets (Rs. 50 per person for General class) and went out to drink some chai.
We sat at Kanhangad railway station platform for an hourThe Mangalore -> Chennai Express train arrived at 5:20pm… with a few extra minutes added to it
It was crowded inside the general compartment, as expected, but I had no issues standing because I wanted to take photos.
The sights along the journey were largely that of village life and paddy fields…… and a lot of football being played on the now dry paddy fieldsNorth Kerala (Malabar) has a long history with IslamMe and my cousin stood by the door to make sure I could get photos of the sunsetThat’s a houseboat in the distance. Quite the glorious way to catch the sun set.This train would only stop briefly at two stations before stopping at KannurBeautiful Kerala
The sun had set by the time we crossed the river you see in the very first photo above
The train reached Kannur station a few minutes before 7pm. After helping a French tourist who was in the same train with some travel advice, we all left the station.
Overall, the trip was good and I’m quite pleased with the photos I got using only my Sony Xperia Z1 phone camera. This is the first trip taking photos only using my phone and I am now confident that even if I don’t have my DSLR, the photos I get from my phone would still serve me fine.
But a bit of advice, if you wish to visit Bekal Fort from either Kannur or any other cities south of Kerala, just take the train. The buses aren’t as frequent as I thought they would be and it takes longer depending on the time of the day. The ticket rates are the same anyway and although you may not get a seat in some of the general class trains, you get to Kasragod district a lot quicker. Also, try and get to the fort by 9am or post lunch so you can watch the sun set from Bekal Fort itself.
Kannur may have St. Angelo’s Fort but trust me, Bekal Fort is a lot bigger and well worth the views.
