Exploring Rural India at Perugamani & Mukkombu (Trichy - Tamil Nadu)

After plans to go to Trichy from Karur flopped on Sunday, a friend of mine and I decided to go exploring rural India at this place called Mukkombu. We took off in the morning around 9 after a light breakfast. From Karur any bus that went to Trichy had to pass through Mukkombu. We boarded one of such Trichy bus, only to find that it won’t stop at Mukkombu. As usual, the private buses had their own set of rules and regulations. Well then we got in the reliable TamilNadu State Road Transport Cooperation’s PUV (People Utility Vehicle, as compared to that of SUV’s – Our own Government Buses). We got down at Pettavailthalai, a stop beyond Kulithalai, and took a town bus (local bus, as it is referred to locally) to reach Mukkombu.

Perugamani Railway Station

Rural tourism at south indian village of Perugamani

MUKKOMBU DAM
Mukkambu, pretty much says by itself that it’s a tourist spot. Its one of the famous places to see in Trichy (Tiruchirappalli). It has a huge arch that welcomes you. And as soon as I entered, like any other ditto tourist place, this place too had a ticket couter and a check gate for vehicles to enter only after getting a ticket. It was a Rs. 10 ticket for us and Rs. 15 ticket for my dearest camera.
In there, was a little pond with a little boat, and I lost hopes of boating in that less than 1 foot deep water which hardly covered 1 ground. There were 2 parks with every other game and loads and loads of children on them. A typical tourist place on a Sunday. I found it heartening to see the kids play like that. It was long since I’ve seen such a scene. With the advent of video games and X Box’s, I’ve always had this feeling of kids losing touch with real world. Now, this scene had meaning in it. 
Walking down further, we reached the dam – Upper Anaicut (The anglicized Tamil word for Dam). The Grand Anaicut is the Kallanai, past Trichy. Like many other dams, this too lost its luster and charm and was almost dry. 
We reached the other side of the dam and enjoyed the site of the lovely river. I could reach the middle of the river, thanks to the low water level. With the typical instincts at a river, I picked hyacinths, pebbles, gave my legs to the fishes for ‘natural pedicure’. It was perfect. Then came the not-so-perfect incident. Thanks to a broken alcohol bottle, my skin tore on my leg. Band aid in my own handbag proved handy.
Our lunch was a appetizing set of 2 ‘vazhaikkai bajji’s’ (Kele ke pakore), which is one of the mouthwatering, best street food in Tamil Nadu, and some chips with juice. And then we planned to start back to Karur. Waiting for a bus at Mukkambu to reach Pettavathalai, we had our mini snacks again. Raw mangoes with chilli powder – a delicacy snack of south Indian summer, another must-have street food in Tamil Nadu which you can have even in major cities like Chennai, Madurai, Trichy etc. 
We couldn’t get a bus to Pettavaithalai, but instead we had to get our bus to Perugamani. Now that was blessing in disguise. We reached Perugamani and waited for a bus. After seeing about 3 overly packed buses, we opted to take the passenger train. So, we went to the railway station and had a relaxing half an hour wait.  

Monarch butterfly in Perugamani, Tamil Nadu, India

Perugamani railway station, Trichy, Tamil Nadu, India

PERUGAMANI VILLAGE IN TRICHY
It was the Perugamani railway station. That itself looked like a my-kinda destination. The stretch of the platform and an almost ancient building with hardly few people and surrounded by trees and little huts on the opposite side. Picture Perfect.
With hardly any trains that pass thru the place, it was a perfect excuse to walk in the tracks. I crossed the tracks and on the opposite side were these huts followed by huge acres of cultivation. With cows and hens that share the place with humans, this was a perfect ecological balance, far from the cry of the concrete jungle. I seriously felt like never leaving the place, when it was almost time for my train!!!

OTHER PLACES TO SEE NEAR MUKKOMBU & PERUGAMANAI ALONG THE RIVER CAUVERY
A good idea would be to hire a car at Trichy or Karur for a day, and visit all these places! Mukkombu dam is perfectly located half-way, to stop for lunch and spend the time when temples are normally closed for afternoon 'Nadai Moodudhal'

HOW TO REACH MUKKOMBU & PERUGAMANI:

Mukkambu:
From Karur: 50 km. Any bus to Trichy will pass thru Pettavaithalai. Then a local town bus Mukkombu
From Trichy:28 km. Any bus to Kulithalai or Karur will pass thru Pettavaithalai. Then a local town bus to reach Mukkombu; Also passenger trains to Kulithalai will pass thru Perugamani. Then take a local town bus to reach Mukkombu

Perugamani:
From Karur:45 km. Any bus to Trichy will pass thru Pettavaithalai. Then a local town bus Perugamani. Also passenger trains to Trichy will pass thru Perugamani
From Trichy: 33 km. Any bus to Kulithalai or Karur will pass thru Pettavaithalai. Then a local town bus to reach Perugamani. Also passenger trains to Kulithalai will pass thru Perugamani 

Dedicated to Nancy
Perugamani Mukkombu Pinterest

Bhushavali

An ardent traveler by passion. Being an ex - Art History Teacher, my area of interest especially lies in Nature and Heritage. Visited 85 UNESCO World Heritage sites as of June 2022. I've been listed among the Top 7 Women Travel Bloggers of India, Top 50 in UK. I have been interviewed in a couple of TV Shows, Radio Channels and Events as well. Read more about me and read the testimonials of different brands

22 comments:

  1. You didn't reach the other side of Mukkombu. Gunaseelam is located on the other side. I don't remember the deity. some famous temple is there.

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    1. BTW, how to reach the other end (Gunaseelam) from Mukkombu. do we have any means of transportation if we want to go? i am planning to travel this weekend, hence ur input in this will be very helpful

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    2. Regular buses are available, both govt. and private! :)

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  2. @Nara,
    Ya. There is a famous temple both at Gunaseelam and Kulithalai. Gotta go to bath the places. Will go and write bout 'em.

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  3. We visited this beatiful place last year during our Thanjavur Temple Tour. Mukkombu is located on the Karur Trichy Route (18 kms before Trichy) - where the mighty Cauvery branches in two - Cauvery & Kollidam (or Coleroon). The Upper Anicut,which facilitates this,was built by Karikala Cholan around 2000 years ago. These two rivers encompass Srirangam turning it into an island before they meet again at Kallanai or Grand Anicut. This is an immensely beautiful place & serves as a sanctuary for a weekend getaway.

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  4. B,
    Nice. I would definitely try to visit that place sometime later. Sounds interesting. The train station pic is awesome. Nice shot. Even romantically challenged people like me are forced to recollect DDLJ's climax. ;)
    -AI

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  5. Ramakrishnan Sir,
    Thanks for ur comments.. Hafta visit Srirangam too... Gotta make plans...

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  6. Avi,

    Ha ha... 'Romantically Chanllenged'- Fun terminology.... Thanks dear...

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  7. Hey Bhush... I visited Mukkombu on December 24th 2008...its a nice place.. as Mr.Narayanan said other side there is gunaseelam.. been to that temple too.. Perumal kovil it is... sooper place... I loved MUKKOMBU :D

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  8. btw.. who is that iskool friend.. namma iskool huh?

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  9. @Sowmi,

    Yup da. Remember Helen Christina, Pure Science Grp.? Met her only.

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  10. Oh wow.. helen christina.. the witty gal... I cant forget her :P

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  11. Sowmi,

    Witty..??? Any particular incident that makes u say so.???

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  12. hmm...have visited trichy for several times.. but never have got the chance to visit those places...

    may be a plan to make it possible the next time i visit there.....

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  13. Hi Mitr, I am afraid I dont know anything about the butterfly in this post. There are some 1400 different species of Butterflies in India. Check out this link that I have found. It could be a species of Checkerspot like they have in America.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_butterflies_of_India

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  14. Hey Roy,
    Thanks for the link. And thanks a ton for your efforts.. :)

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  15. I AM SURENDAR AM LIVING IN PERUGAMANI I AM VERY HAPPY TO LIVING HERE

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  16. madam thanks very nice and beautiful to ur camera ur theems
    arvisu2010@yahoo.com

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  17. @Surender,
    Great to know you dear, a native of Perugamani!!!

    @Viswanathan,
    Its my pleasure.. :)

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  18. Oh my god my native place....

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