IDUKKI DAM - HILL VIEW PARK- 

                                          BHUTHATHAN KETTU 

                                         &  IDAAMALAYAR DAM

As usual this trip was also planned expeditiously by our two families, .Mr. Lal and myself in two cars with only three people in each vehicle. We started by 7.30 in the morning from Trivandrum and reached our destination, Idamalayar on that day by 3.00 pm.

First of all we visited the Idamalayar hydro electric project .There it was raining heavely, but we enjoyed our journey. It was very interesting to get an idea of the working and power generation process of a hydro electric project for the first time in our life. We stayed in an IB inside the forest near Idamalayar dam. Food was severed by the staff, quite neat and good food for a recent rate.

Next day morning by 8 am we started to Bhuthathan kettu dam. There we rent a boat for one hour and went up to thattekkadu bird sanctuary. After sight seeing we left bhuthathan kettu and started to Idukki..Took our lunch after reaching idukki. 

.

Vehicles have to be parked near Cheruthony dam and the visitors have to walk almost 5 kms to-and-fro to reach Idukki arch dam. Ravishing beauty of the catchments area and forest was mind blowing. Visitors are also allowed to walk through the massive tunnel inside the rock.

Hill View Park is at kulamavu near the government guest house. Tickets are issued at the base of the park. Here we get the distant view of both CHERUTHONI and IDUKKI arch dam. Watch towers are also provided for better view of the exotic surroundings.

Only thing disinterested me was photography not allowed in the premises of every dam l here due to security reasons. I got only the long range photos, using my telescopic lens .   

                                                        

                                  The Idamalayar Dam 

The Idamalayar Dam is located at Ennakal. It’s a multipurpose concrete gravity dam, near Bhoothathankettu, on the Idamalayar River, a tributary of the Periyar River in Kerala, South India. 

Completed in 1985, with a length of 373 metres (1,224 ft), the dam created a multipurpose reservoir covering 28.3 km2 (10.9 sq mi) in the scenic hills of the Western Ghats. 

The reservoir storage is utilized by a hydroelectric power station which has an installed capacity of 75  MW with two units of 37.5 MW capacity, producing an annual energy output of  380 GW·h. The dam will benefit the Idamalayar Irrigation Development Project by diverting water released from the tail race channel of the Idamalayar power station. The large reservoir created by the Idamalayar Dam is operated by the  Kerala State Electricity Board to augment its peak power generation requirements.