Jatayu Earth Center Review: Ropeway, Stairs & Our Experience During the Kerala and Tamil Nadu Trip

During our Kerala and Tamil Nadu Trip, we visited Jatayu Earth Center while travelling from Varkala towards Poovar. If you’re travelling from Munnar, Thekkady or Alappuzha towards Varkala, Kovalam or Thiruvananthapuram, you can easily include Jatayu Earth Center on the way. It doesn’t require a separate day if you’re already travelling on this route.

Reaching Jatayu Earth Center

When we reached Jatayu Earth Center, it was the off-season in Kerala, so there wasn’t much crowd. Looking at the overall arrangements, though, it felt like they are well prepared for the peak season as well. Parking was well organised, staff members were available throughout the premises, and clean washrooms were available at the base itself.

The main attraction is on top of the hill, and there are two ways to reach it:

Take the ropeway.
Climb around 800 stairs.

We decided to go up by ropeway and come down by the stairs. Looking back, I think that turned out to be the best decision.

Buying the Tickets

The ticketing process is slightly different from what we expected.

After parking the vehicle, we first purchased the entry ticket at the ground level. From there, we walked to the ropeway building, where a separate ticket had to be purchased for the ropeway. After that, we moved through the different levels of the building before finally reaching the boarding floor.

The entire process took us around 15–20 minutes. Since there wasn’t much crowd, we hardly had to wait. Only six ropeway cabins were operating that day—three going up and three coming down—but even then, our cabin arrived within another five minutes. Overall, the process was quite smooth.

The Ropeway Experience

The ropeway ride itself took around 8–10 minutes. As we started climbing, the views kept getting better. We could see greenery all around, the hills in the distance and the landscape opening up below us. It was a peaceful ride, and honestly, the ropeway itself became part of the experience rather than just a way to reach the top.

At the Top

Once we reached the top, the huge sculpture immediately catches your attention. It is the centre of the entire complex, and you naturally spend most of your time around it. There is also a viewpoint from where you can see the surrounding hills and greenery. Since we travelled in June and it hadn’t rained much yet, the landscape wasn’t as green as we had expected. Still, the view was beautiful.

There is a small temple on one side and a small shop where you can have something to eat or drink. For us, it took around one and a half to two hours to explore the place, take photographs and simply enjoy the surroundings.

Coming Down by the Stairs

This was probably my favourite part of the visit. There are around 800 stairs, and the entire route passes through the forest. The stairs themselves are wide, but if you are not used to climbing, they can be tiring. When we travelled in June, the weather was hot and the humidity was quite high. Because of that, climbing all the way up would have been difficult for many people, and there’s a good chance you’ll feel exhausted.

That’s exactly why I would recommend taking the ropeway while going up. But even if you don’t climb up, I would still suggest coming down by the stairs if you have the time. Walking through the forest was a completely different experience. It was peaceful, enjoyable and, for me, one of the best parts of visiting Jatayu Earth Center.

One Thing That Really Impressed Us

One thing that genuinely stood out was how clean and well maintained the entire place was. At one point, it honestly didn’t feel like we were in India. Since the property is privately managed, employees were constantly moving around, cleaning the premises and making sure everything remained organised. That attention to maintenance was visible everywhere.

Our Experience

Overall, we spent close to two hours at Jatayu Earth Center. For us, the visit wasn’t just about seeing the sculpture. It was the complete experience—the ropeway ride, the views from the top, spending time around the sculpture and finally walking back through the forest. If I ever visit again, I would probably do exactly the same thing: take the ropeway up and return by the stairs. That combination gave us the best experience without making the climb unnecessarily tiring.