The MetroPlus team takes you down some of the picturesque routes in the district that will drive away ennui and show you some splendid sights. Vallakkadavu - VarkalaA long, straight road with a lot of scenery and hardly any traffic is heaven for most of us and the Vallakkadavu-Varkala coastal road is exactly that. Further ahead, the road takes you through thick woods, rubber estates and past the border into Kollam district to Arippa reserve forest – a 1,000-hectare treasure trove of birds, butterflies and rare plant ecosystems like Myristica swamps. Although the city has reached most of the places on the roadside, a detour from the main road takes you through pristine countryside dotted with rubber plantations, tapioca fields and even a rare paddy field or two. Gradually, the road begins to climb up and both sides of the winding road are flanked by rubber plantations once you leave the river behind and start going uphill.

Source: The Hindu May 17, 2017 10:44 UTC