Malampuzha Dam and Garden

Malampuzha, a little township on the foothills of the Western Ghats takes its name from the River Malampuzha. Nurtured by this tributary of Kerala's longest river, the Bharathapuzha, Malampuzha is a lush green town is a major tourist attraction for its trekking trails and the large irrigation dam.

Around the reservoir of the dam are beautiful gardens and amusement parks. Boating facilities are available on the lake. Other attractions in the Malampuzha garden are the beautiful rock garden, the fish-shaped aquarium, the snake park, the ropeway which takes you on an aerial tour of the park, and the gigantic Yakshi (an enchantress) sculptured by Kanai Kunhiraman, a renowned sculptor of Kerala. The ropeway gives an amazing view of the whole park. It travels above the dams downstream. We could see the water flowing through.

The most interesting feature of the rock garden is that the whole place is made of unwanted and broken pieces of bangles, tiles, used plastic cans, tins and other waste materials. The garden is a master work of sculptor Padmasree Neck Chand Saini. His rock garden in Chandigarh is world famous and attracts thousands of tourists every year.

History:

The idea for a dam in the Malampuzha region to boost agriculture started from the second decade of the 20^th Century. However, it was only after India's independence on 27^th of March 1949, that the then Public Works Minister, Sri. M. Bhaktavatsalam laid the foundation stone for the project. Palakkad was a part of the Madras Presidency during those times. The dam was constructed in record time, and on October 9^th 1955, the then Chief Minister of Madras, Sri. K Kamaraj, inaugurated the dam. The work of a mini Power Station of Kerala State Electricity Board of 2.5 MW capacity is in progress since years.

The dam was conceived as a multi-purpose project to provide water for irrigation, drinking, industries, power generation, fish farming and water transport. However, plans for water transport was dropped from the initial phase itself, and later, boating services for leisure was started. Soon after the inauguration of the dam, Palakkad and Malampuzha became a part of the newly formed Kerala State. Kerala Government started the Malampuzha Gardens on the front side of the dam. Later, various other features were added like the Rock Gardens, an aquarium, Snake Park and Rope Way.

Contact details:
Malampuzha Garden, Ph: +91 491 2815280
Rock Garden, Ph: +91 491 2815140
Ropeway, Ph: +91 491 2815129

Nearest railway station: Palakkad, about 9 km
Nearest airport: Coimbatore International Airport, about 67 km and Calicut International Airport, about 106 km