How Pirappamankad put itself on Thiruvananthapuram’s tourism map

Discover how Pirappamankad transformed into a vibrant tourist destination with its lush paddy fields, tree house, and community farming efforts

There is a nip in the air as the sun readies for a slow reveal of lush green paddy fields with a tree house in the middle, egrets out for a stroll, an old-world tea shop brimming with early morning customers, and a few elderly women getting ready for the day’s work as a soulful devotional coming from the loudspeaker at the temple gives the perfect background score.

This picture-perfect scene unfolding before me is just another regular day at Pirappamankad, 25 kilometres away from Thiruvananthapuram city. As you soak in the natural beauty of Pirappamankad, you know why this sleepy village in Mudakkal Panchayat is now a sought-after tourism spot in the district, with people flocking here on weekends and holidays.

Morning view at Pirappamankad | Photo Credit: SREEJITH R KUMAR

All that Pirappamankad has are vast expanses of paddy fields on either side of a tarred road, the tree house and a check dam. Over the last one year or so, however, that has been enough for the social media-savvy crowd to make a beeline for the spot to shoot videos and make reels/shorts. Its popularity peaked last Onam.

Pirappamankad owes its fame to the people who worked to reclaim paddy fields that had been unattended and overgrown for over two decades. Today this village stands as a fine example for how community farming can bring a change for the better.

Leading from the front is Pirappamankad Padashekhara Samithi, a collective that has been making efforts to revive paddy farming. “People stayed away from cultivation for want of profit. Shortage of labour also hit them hard,” says Sabu VR, a farmer and president of the Padasekhara Samithi.