Vilangan Hills is a hillock located in Adat Panchayat, near Thrissur city of Kerala state in India. The hill gives a panoramic view of Thrissur city and Thrissur Kole Wetlands from the top.
The hill was referred as a Oxygen Jar of Thrissur city. The name ‘Vilangan Kunnu’ is a misnomer because ‘Vilangan’ itself means hill. There is no need of adding ‘Kunnu’ after ‘Vilangan’. It is an ancient Malayalam word derived from proto-Dravidian language.
Till the 1970s the word ‘Kunnu’ was not used by revenue authorities and locals. It is a recent addition. In Tamil too ‘Vilangan’ means hill.
The Vilangan is a laterite hill which has a radius of 8 kilometres. The top of the hill is around 5 acres and the height is 80 metres from the sea level. The hill earlier was a military base and an observation camp during World War II.
Vilangan Hills ; ‘Oxygen Jar’ of Thrissur : VIDEO
The hill has an open-air theatre, children’s park, Kudumbashree canteen, Vilangan Trekkers Club and Asokavanam Samiti. The hill has a medicinal garden called Asokavanam maintained by Vilangan Trekkers Club and Asokavanam Samiti in association with Department of Tourism (Kerala) and Oushadhi.
The foot of the hill opens at the highway near Amala Hospital and the road to the apex of the hill starts from here.[9] The hill remains open from 07.00 AM to 07.00 PM in the evening.
While it’s a great place to just commune with the evening breeze and enjoy the sunset, there are a number of recreational activities available too. There is a children’s park, a trekker’s club, an awesome open-air theatre as well as the Asokanvanam Samiti. There is also a medicinal garden being cultivated here.
The splendid scenery and tranquil silence make this hillock a favourite place for all age groups, young and old. It’s a favourite haunt for young couples for private, placid short strolls away from peeping eyes and with the perfect backdrop of a picturesque locale. Even schools make arrangements to bring their children here for fun-filled picnics. The hill is lush green with a verdant cover of trees and bushes that are a balm to city-bred eyes.
Aside from this, it’s a favourite morning walk route for many people with the scenic sunrise being the perfect bonus for their efforts. However, when going up the hill in a vehicle, do be careful as the roads are pretty narrow and caution needs to be practised, especially during the rainy season.
Sitting at the top of the hill and watching the city of Thrissur spread out at its base is akin to sitting in an open-air theatre. This scenic location is being run by the Thrissur District Tourism Promotion Council and draws its fair share of tourists, local and outsiders alike.
