The first place to visit was Iringole, a place near Perumbavoor famously known for “Iringole Kavu.”  I have been hearing the word “Kavu” for very long time, but never bothered to know the exact meaning of it. To my understanding Kavu is just another form of temple. Something instigated me to find the meaning of the term and I found the meaning of the term: “Kavu - a garden or grove, dense wood where Kaali and theserpent- God Naga are worshipped.” Well, the definition of Kavu exactly matched with what I experienced while visiting the place.  The moment we entered the jungle and started walking towards the Kavu, the first one to welcome us was a baby king cobra. From nowhere suddenly it appeared between our legs; with lot of fear and a bit of courage when I tried to get closer, it raised its head and gave me a strong warning.  

Soon we came close to the Kavu. Removed our shoes but almost all were in a hesitation to enter the Kavu because to enter the Kavu guys should remove their shirts. Nikhil took the initiative and the rest us followed him.

“Be careful about the entrance and other roof extensions inside the Kavu, they are a bit lower than usual, you might hurt your head.”

I could not understand the deity inside the Kavu, it appeared to me like Lord Shiva but I was wrong when learned the history of the Kavu:

On the top

We walked around the jungle for a little while and started to our next destination.  Kallil Temple is a 9^th century Jain temple located on the top of a small hill near Perembavoor.  The temple is built between huge rocks.  “Kallil” in Malayalam means “in stone”.  This could be reason why this temple is named as Kallil Temple.  On the other hand, there are other internet sources states that the temple belongs to Kallil Pisharody family.  Somehow, I have a strong feeling that the temple was named “Kallil” due to its very nature. By the time we reached Kallil Temple it was closed, so we could not go inside. We went around the temple, climbed over the rocks and took some snaps.

Elephant Bathe

The next destination was the main highlight of the trip: Kodanad. Elephant Kraal was the main attraction in Kodanad.  We could see two baby elephants inside the Kraal, they were very playful, cute and running around.  There were few elephants taken towards the river and we started following them.  It was a beautiful sight to watch the elephant bathe.  After the elephants leaving, we wanted to swim in the river, I went inside the river first and was waiting for others to get in. Before anyone could get in, a trainer came to the river along with a baby elephant.  It was so cute to see the baby elephant playing in the river. I wanted to go and touch the elephant and when I started moving closer the trainer warned me not to come close because the elephant will attack. After the elephant leaving Waited until the elephant go back and then we guys went to the river again.  It was so relaxing to swim in the river.

Comparing to the earlier office trips, this trip would sound very odd for the main reason that there wasn’t alcohol. Yet, I enjoyed the trip because it happened at the right time and in the right fashion. Another important thing to be mentioned is about having three kids for the trip which completely changed the feel of the trip. Felt like a family trip than the usual office trip with colleagues. So, well, thanks again for providing such a wonderful time.