Photo: Hellowikidoc · CC BY-SA 4.0

Nagercoil & the Pass · Dam

Mukkadal Dam

முக்கடல் அணை

A royal earthen dam ringed by forested hills

Move across the photo, or drag it on a phone, to look around.

You arrive

The road out of Nagercoil climbs gently, the town falls behind within ten kilometres, and the hills begin to close in. You reach the long earthen embankment and walk up onto it, and there is the reservoir, lying still with forest on three sides. After the noise of the city the silence feels like a physical thing. A little breeze comes across the water, and you stand for a moment simply getting used to it.

Mukkadal Dam · Photo: Samemohamed · CC BY-SA 3.0

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On the embankment

Walk along the top of the dam if access is open, keeping to any marked areas. This is a natural earthen dam built of clay and granite stone, so it looks more like a long grassy ridge than a concrete wall. On one side lies the reservoir with its reflected hills, and on the other the land that it serves. Respect any restrictions, as this water supplies the town of Nagercoil.

Mukkadal Dam · Photo: Samemohamed · CC BY-SA 3.0

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The park beside the water

Go down to the park that sits next to the dam and find a place in the shade. Families come out here to escape the town, and the mood is easy. Watch the light on the forested slopes as clouds drift over them. There is not a great deal to do, which is exactly the point, so sit for a while and let the afternoon go by before heading back.

Being here

You see

Still water and forested hills rising on three sides.

You hear

Birds and the small lapping of the reservoir.

You smell

Damp grass and forest air.

You feel

A cool breeze across the water after the heat of town.

The story

Mukkadal Dam was built in 1945 by Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, the Maharaja of Travancore, across the Vambaru River near Thuvarankadu village. It is a natural earthen dam of clay and granite, and its reservoir sits against forest with hills on three sides. Its purpose is the water supply of Nagercoil, about 10 km away. The original capacity of 84 million cubic feet was raised in 1979 to 105 million, but supply is still considered inadequate, and plans have been made to draw more from the Paraliar river. It stands as a late work of the Travancore state, still serving a city long after that state ended.

Sources: Wikipedia: Mukkadal Dam

Close by

Waterfall

Ulakkai Aruvi

A twin-tiered forest waterfall on the Pazhayar

Temple

Kumarakovil Murugan Temple

A Murugan shrine among paddy, banana and coconut

Heritage

Nagercoil Paddy Country

Green fields and palm lines at the foot of the Ghats

Fort

Udayagiri Fort

Barracks and gun foundry of the Travancore army

Photo: Aviatorjk · CC BY-SA 3.0

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