Munnar-kodaikanal, the shorter tougher cut... - Team-BHP

fireblade007 · 12th July 2009, 11:30

I am writing this travelogue for my brother, who is studying in munnar. He did this trip in a group of 10,on four pulsar 150s and a unicorn. The trip was the result of a challenge from their seniors who did the same trip before.
From munnar to kodai there are usually two routes which people take. They are 1)Munnar-marayur udamalpetta pazhani kodai route 2) Munnar pooppara theni kodai route.Both these routes are about 170-190 kms long. There is also another route which is just 95 kms long. That is the Munnar-topstation-vattavada-poondi-kodai route. Even though it is shorter, it is a tough route,as about 15-20 kms is through forest, through a very bad road.Munnar to topstation is 34 kms,from there a few kms to vattavada and then the forest starts.
The only four wheeler that will go through this forest road(15-20 kms) is the four wheel drive mahindra jeep.In this stretch the road is very rough with very steep slopes. Many a time, for the bikes to climb they had to give a nice amount of throttle in the first gear with 2 or 3 persons pushing it from behind.Sometimes the petrol wont properly flow from the tank on the steep slope and they had to push it up with out the help of the engine. Once they where helped in pushing up the bikes by two persons who came through this route on horses.You could have the company of elephants too.They were lucky that they didn't have that company. To add to the pain, one of the pulsars broke down during the trip and they had to push it for about 10 -12 kms through this stretch.They got it repaired from poondi.
A bit about the timings..They started the trip from munnar at 3.45 pm. They reached this forest stretch at 5.15 pm and crossed it by 12 midnight. They got rooms at poondi which is at about 4kms from the end of this forest stretch. In the morning interestingly they had the local people in poondi staring at them and their bikes in disbelief.They took off form poondi at about 8am after repairing the pulsar.They covered the remaining 40kms to kodai in about 2 hours.
So if anyone is interested in an adventure trip, this would be a good choice,I believe.It would be less straining if you opt for a four wheel drive jeep with an experienced driver and of course start the trip in the morning.

f

laluks · 12th July 2009, 16:27

did they do this now?
Was there no problems from the forest officials?
Was told by many police guys as this would amount to trespassing. Wonder how you guys did it.

Any way was a risky business.

get us some pictures.

I have done this route in 1994. Was bad then too, but not as steep / adventurous as mentioned here. Normal big buses used to ply here.

fireblade007 · 12th July 2009, 17:20

@laluks
Yes they did that 3 months back. They didn't take permission from any forest officials. but I am not sure whether there is any rule like that. There wasn't any forest checking on the route.I will tell them to enquire about this. It was risky and they came back the normal route on the way back from kodaikanal.
Got only a few pics as it was night time, and they were busy in getting their bikes through the road.This is the link to album in photobucket
Pictures by rahulkk007 - Photobucket
I am doubtful about which link to give when inserting pictures to team bhp from photobucket(there are 4 different types of links for each picture)

fireblade007 · 12th July 2009, 19:23

here are the pics

that is the team from munnar engineering college

at poondi

easier regions in the trip

snaronikar · 12th July 2009, 19:28

Looks like they had a streneous journey to the top. What was the challenge with their seniors? To climb the hill in night time???

fireblade007 · 12th July 2009, 19:54

@snaronikar
the seniors challenged them to go to kodaikanal via this route. I think the "night time" condition was not included.

hvkumar · 12th July 2009, 21:53

I have done this route in my bike in 1987. It was also teh route for the Popular Car Rally in those years. The road was non-existent and it was driving on a rough jungle path.

In recent years, this route has been closed down thanks to rampant cultivation of ganja. As fas as I know, driving on this route is prohibited, there being a check post (unmanned) at Top Station and the other at Berijam Lake on Kodai side. I am told that no permission is granted nowadays. In 1987, there were no such restrictions and no traffic on this road except that eucalyptus trees were being felled for industrial purposes on TN side. YOu are supposed to see the best kurinji bloom on these mountain sides.

jack33 · 12th July 2009, 22:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by hvkumar

I have done this route in my bike in 1987. It was also teh route for the Popular Car Rally in those years. The road was non-existent and it was driving on a rough jungle path.

In recent years, this route has been closed down thanks to rampant cultivation of ganja. As fas as I know, driving on this route is prohibited, there being a check post (unmanned) at Top Station and the other at Berijam Lake on Kodai side. I am told that no permission is granted nowadays. In 1987, there were no such restrictions and no traffic on this road except that eucalyptus trees were being felled for industrial purposes on TN side. YOu are supposed to see the best kurinji bloom on these mountain sides.

@hvk, The route you have done in 1987 is closed now.It is same till topstation check post and from there it deviates to Koviloor.From koviloor it is mainly 4wd trail for about 20 kms to Klavera,(tamilnadu border).From klavera to pondi is again 4 kms of 4wd and pondi to kodai is tarmac which is about 30 kms.This route is part of the new Kochi-Kodai road alignment.You can see the route conditions in the 4wd sections.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-ex...t=munnar+kodai (Offroading in God’s Own Country: The Munnar MGE & JT Event)

hvkumar · 12th July 2009, 23:17

Thanks, jack33. This looks like a lovely route too, have been upto Koviloor but never knew the road extended further. The new road looks quite similar to the earlier closed one in condition, gradient and surroundings!

Is this Kochi-Kodai road in the making? When is expected completion? What a way to spoil such fantastic forest and kill a OTR trail!!?

BaCkSeAtDrIVeR · 12th July 2009, 23:50

So what about the yet another route described by mod Samurai in the 4x4 section? His article was about the Munnar Jeep thrills event. It that a private road?

jack33 · 13th July 2009, 08:56

Yup, This is the kochi-kodai route in the making and new tarmac has been laid till koviloor except the two kms stretch that runs through tamilnadu.Unlike the other road, this one goes through mostly eucalyptus plantations and not through any sholay forests.
@backesatdriver, No, it's not a private route.

gadadhar · 13th July 2009, 12:56

Many thanks for sharing this info, never heard about this route (had done the other route in 97) though I belong to close to Munnar.

deepclutch · 13th July 2009, 13:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Is this Kochi-Kodai road in the making? When is expected completion? What a way to spoil such fantastic forest and kill a OTR trail!!?

I read in local news papers some time back that Government or GCDA are planning to bring back the old Aluva-Munnar Road along with Nedumbassery(kochi airport) to Kodaikanal Road.I think this is the route which hopefully will be connecting to kochi airport.

hvkumar · 13th July 2009, 13:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by deepclutch

I read in local news papers some time back that Government or GCDA are planning to bring back the old Aluva-Munnar Road along with Nedumbassery(kochi airport) to Kodaikanal Road.I think this is the route which hopefully will be connecting to kochi airport.

Good thinking, Fantastic idea since Kerala Tourism will also reap the benefits of the tourist flow to Kodai, most of it which transits via Madurai airport currently.

beejay · 13th July 2009, 19:07

Whats the easiest route to get to Munnar from Coimbatore.

12th July 2009, 11:30	#1 (permalink)
fireblade007 BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Thrissur,Kerala Posts: 68	Munnar-kodaikanal, the shorter tougher cut... I am writing this travelogue for my brother, who is studying in munnar. He did this trip in a group of 10,on four pulsar 150s and a unicorn. The trip was the result of a challenge from their seniors who did the same trip before. From munnar to kodai there are usually two routes which people take. They are 1)Munnar-marayur udamalpetta pazhani kodai route 2) Munnar pooppara theni kodai route.Both these routes are about 170-190 kms long. There is also another route which is just 95 kms long. That is the Munnar-topstation-vattavada-poondi-kodai route. Even though it is shorter, it is a tough route,as about 15-20 kms is through forest, through a very bad road.Munnar to topstation is 34 kms,from there a few kms to vattavada and then the forest starts. The only four wheeler that will go through this forest road(15-20 kms) is the four wheel drive mahindra jeep.In this stretch the road is very rough with very steep slopes. Many a time, for the bikes to climb they had to give a nice amount of throttle in the first gear with 2 or 3 persons pushing it from behind.Sometimes the petrol wont properly flow from the tank on the steep slope and they had to push it up with out the help of the engine. Once they where helped in pushing up the bikes by two persons who came through this route on horses.You could have the company of elephants too.They were lucky that they didn't have that company. To add to the pain, one of the pulsars broke down during the trip and they had to push it for about 10 -12 kms through this stretch.They got it repaired from poondi. A bit about the timings..They started the trip from munnar at 3.45 pm. They reached this forest stretch at 5.15 pm and crossed it by 12 midnight. They got rooms at poondi which is at about 4kms from the end of this forest stretch. In the morning interestingly they had the local people in poondi staring at them and their bikes in disbelief.They took off form poondi at about 8am after repairing the pulsar.They covered the remaining 40kms to kodai in about 2 hours. So if anyone is interested in an adventure trip, this would be a good choice,I believe.It would be less straining if you opt for a four wheel drive jeep with an experienced driver and of course start the trip in the morning. f

12th July 2009, 16:27	#2 (permalink)
laluks Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,607	did they do this now? Was there no problems from the forest officials? Was told by many police guys as this would amount to trespassing. Wonder how you guys did it. Any way was a risky business. get us some pictures. I have done this route in 1994. Was bad then too, but not as steep / adventurous as mentioned here. Normal big buses used to ply here. __________________ Honda Civic 1.8S MT May 2007 (53k) Suzuki Swift ZXi Jan 2007 (31k) Kinetic Honda Dx Sep 1999 (30k) Sold : Esteem, 800, RX100 Last edited by laluks : 12th July 2009 at 16:29.

12th July 2009, 19:28	#5 (permalink)
snaronikar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 2,801 View My Garage	Looks like they had a streneous journey to the top. What was the challenge with their seniors? To climb the hill in night time??? __________________ Love your job but Never love your company because you never know when your company stops loving you-NRN

12th July 2009, 21:53	#7 (permalink)
hvkumar Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 4,025	I have done this route in my bike in 1987. It was also teh route for the Popular Car Rally in those years. The road was non-existent and it was driving on a rough jungle path. In recent years, this route has been closed down thanks to rampant cultivation of ganja. As fas as I know, driving on this route is prohibited, there being a check post (unmanned) at Top Station and the other at Berijam Lake on Kodai side. I am told that no permission is granted nowadays. In 1987, there were no such restrictions and no traffic on this road except that eucalyptus trees were being felled for industrial purposes on TN side. YOu are supposed to see the best kurinji bloom on these mountain sides. __________________ Kumar 2005 Mahindra Scorpio 2.6 1999 Daewoo Matiz SE 1994 Mahindra Commander 1986 TVS Suzuki AX100

12th July 2009, 23:17	#9 (permalink)
hvkumar Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 4,025	Thanks, jack33. This looks like a lovely route too, have been upto Koviloor but never knew the road extended further. The new road looks quite similar to the earlier closed one in condition, gradient and surroundings! Is this Kochi-Kodai road in the making? When is expected completion? What a way to spoil such fantastic forest and kill a OTR trail!!? __________________ Kumar 2005 Mahindra Scorpio 2.6 1999 Daewoo Matiz SE 1994 Mahindra Commander 1986 TVS Suzuki AX100

12th July 2009, 17:20	#3 (permalink)
fireblade007 BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Thrissur,Kerala Posts: 68	@laluks Yes they did that 3 months back. They didn't take permission from any forest officials. but I am not sure whether there is any rule like that. There wasn't any forest checking on the route.I will tell them to enquire about this. It was risky and they came back the normal route on the way back from kodaikanal. Got only a few pics as it was night time, and they were busy in getting their bikes through the road.This is the link to album in photobucket Pictures by rahulkk007 - Photobucket I am doubtful about which link to give when inserting pictures to team bhp from photobucket(there are 4 different types of links for each picture)

12th July 2009, 19:23	#4 (permalink)
fireblade007 BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Thrissur,Kerala Posts: 68	here are the pics that is the team from munnar engineering college at poondi easier regions in the trip

12th July 2009, 19:54	#6 (permalink)
fireblade007 BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Thrissur,Kerala Posts: 68	@snaronikar the seniors challenged them to go to kodaikanal via this route. I think the "night time" condition was not included.

12th July 2009, 23:50	#10 (permalink)
BaCkSeAtDrIVeR Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Kochi Posts: 1,731	So what about the yet another route described by mod Samurai in the 4x4 section? His article was about the Munnar Jeep thrills event. It that a private road? __________________ ɹǝʌıɹpʇɐǝsʞɔɐq An audiophile and his money are soon parted.

13th July 2009, 08:56	#11 (permalink)
jack33 BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: kochi Posts: 125	Yup, This is the kochi-kodai route in the making and new tarmac has been laid till koviloor except the two kms stretch that runs through tamilnadu.Unlike the other road, this one goes through mostly eucalyptus plantations and not through any sholay forests. @backesatdriver, No, it's not a private route. __________________ 2009 Toyota Fortuner 2003 Skoda Octavia done 140000 kms 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer done 110000 kms 1997 MM540 done 165000 kms

13th July 2009, 12:56	#12 (permalink)
gadadhar BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 320 View My Garage	Many thanks for sharing this info, never heard about this route (had done the other route in 97) though I belong to close to Munnar. __________________ Regards, Bobby Hyundai Elantra CRDI Hyundai i10 Ford Ikon (sold) Maruti Esteem (sold) Maruti 800 (sold)

13th July 2009, 19:07	#15 (permalink)
beejay Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: The Nilgiris Posts: 1,572 View My Garage	Whats the easiest route to get to Munnar from Coimbatore. __________________ I am going to pursue Galileo Galilee`s philosophy: my world is also round." Luigi Colani

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