[luvurride]

Originally Posted by nma83

@NPV, 3 days is reserved for Munnar. A couple of more days for Valparai if route is doable.
Is this a good route w.r.t road conditions and is the time predicted by maps (4.5hrs) practical?
https://goo.gl/maps/WbPkswB71br

@suresh_gs, thekkady got bad reviews from a few people who have visited before. Any other options?

Don't think so. It takes close to 3 hours to get to Udumalpet. Another 2-2.5 hours to get to Valparai.
Also, landscape-wise Valparai isn't much different than Munnar since Munnar has its fair share of tea estates. There aren't many 'places-to-visit' in Valparai as well. It is considered more as a quaint get away. I would still bet my money on Thekkady as taking an early morning boat ride is definitely a good experience. It also has elephant rides, traditional shows and trek spots - good enough for a day and night. If that doesn't cut it, the ride from Munnar to Thekkady is scenic at best.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by nma83

thekkady got bad reviews from a few people who have visited before. Any other options?

Thekkady can be done as a day trip also from Munnar since you have 3 days there. In fact if you plan well, you can visit thekkady, take the boat ride there and then head to Munnar, but you'd have to take the nh7 dindugal-theni route.
For valparai, you can take the marayoor route from Munnar, reach Udumalaipet and then head to Valparai. I think there is a route that can bypass pollachi and get you to Aliyar from Udumalaipet, need to check the maps for this. From Aliyar it is 40 hair pin bends and a nice ghat road leading to Valparai, serene place

Edit:the route link you shared is the one I had in mind, in fact bypasses Udumalaipet and Pollachi towns.

[nma83]

Originally Posted by luvurride

Also, landscape-wise Valparai isn't much different than Munnar since Munnar has its fair share of tea estates. There aren't many 'places-to-visit' in Valparai as well. It is considered more as a quaint get away. I would still bet my money on Thekkady as taking an early morning boat ride is definitely a good experience. It also has elephant rides, traditional shows and trek spots - good enough for a day and night. If that doesn't cut it, the ride from Munnar to Thekkady is scenic at best.

The main attraction close to valparai is athirapally falls. I wanted to visit that, but it depends on how much trouble it is to reach there from munnar.

Originally Posted by NPV

Thekkady can be done as a day trip also from Munnar since you have 3 days there. In fact if you plan well, you can visit thekkady, take the boat ride there and then head to Munnar, but you'd have to take the nh7 dindugal-theni route.
For valparai, you can take the marayoor route from Munnar, reach Udumalaipet and then head to Valparai. I think there is a route that can bypass pollachi and get you to Aliyar from Udumalaipet, need to check the maps for this. From Aliyar it is 40 hair pin bends and a nice ghat road leading to Valparai, serene place

Edit:the route link you shared is the one I had in mind, in fact bypasses Udumalaipet and Pollachi towns.

So my itinerary can look like:
- Day 1: early morning start from Bengalooru
- Day 1: late afternoon reach Munnar Club Mahindra. This seems to be reachable from the Theni route
- Day 1: evening, visit nearby places in Munnar (which ones?)
- Day 2: day trip to Thekkady
OR
- Day 2: visit places around Munnar (larger radius; again, which ones?)
- Day 3: checkout of Munnar by noon
- Day 3: reach Valparai by early evening, check-in
- Day 4: athirapally falls and other places around Valparai
- Day 5: checkout of Valparai and drive to Bengalooru

I do not know if Thekkady in day 2 is feasible or not. Please let me know how much time would other place around Munnar take and whether it would allow me to do Thekkady in a day.
I might prune out Valparai if day 3 can be otherwise filled with sight-seeing around Munnar.
Thanks for all the responses!

[ravib]

Originally Posted by nma83

The main attraction close to valparai is athirapally falls. I wanted to visit that, but it depends on how much trouble it is to reach there from munnar.



So my itinerary can look like:
- Day 1: early morning start from Bengalooru
- Day 1: late afternoon reach Munnar Club Mahindra. This seems to be reachable from the Theni route
- Day 1: evening, visit nearby places in Munnar (which ones?)
- Day 2: day trip to Thekkady
OR
- Day 2: visit places around Munnar (larger radius; again, which ones?)
- Day 3: checkout of Munnar by noon
- Day 3: reach Valparai by early evening, check-in
- Day 4: athirapally falls and other places around Valparai
- Day 5: checkout of Valparai and drive to Bengalooru

I do not know if Thekkady in day 2 is feasible or not. Please let me know how much time would other place around Munnar take and whether it would allow me to do Thekkady in a day.
I might prune out Valparai if day 3 can be otherwise filled with sight-seeing around Munnar.
Thanks for all the responses!

In my view, i feel your schedule looks pretty hectic and packed. My suggestion for you to keep it simple, doable and also you spend quality time in all the places.

Day 1 - Bangalore to Munnar (I am not sure if you will have energy to go for sight seeing after a very long drive that too in ghat roads after reaching munnar)
Day 2 & 3 - Munnar sight seeing. There are beautiful places to see around for 2 days in relaxed manner. Won't suggest you to rush up.
Day 4 - Check out from munnar and Drive to Thekkady and stay there in a hotel. Take evening boat ride. Suggest you to book it online. Am not sure if they still conduct night walk safari. If they are, suggest you to take it as well.
Day 5 - Take morning boat ride where there are high chances of wild life sighting. Drive back to bangalore. On the way, you may visit Suruli falls and kumbakarai falls, if you wish.

You can do the above trip in reverse way as well. Thekkady first and then munnar. For Valparai/Athirapally, suggest to do it as a separate trip rather than clubbing it with Munnar/thekkady.


-Ravi

[nma83]

Originally Posted by ravib

In my view, i feel your schedule looks pretty hectic and packed. My suggestion for you to keep it simple, doable and also you spend quality time in all the places.

Day 1 - Bangalore to Munnar (I am not sure if you will have energy to go for sight seeing after a very long drive that too in ghat roads after reaching munnar)
Day 2 & 3 - Munnar sight seeing. There are beautiful places to see around for 2 days in relaxed manner. Won't suggest you to rush up.
Day 4 - Check out from munnar and Drive to Thekkady and stay there in a hotel. Take evening boat ride. Suggest you to book it online. Am not sure if they still conduct night walk safari. If they are, suggest you to take it as well.
Day 5 - Take morning boat ride where there are high chances of wild life sighting. Drive back to bangalore. On the way, you may visit Suruli falls and kumbakarai falls, if you wish.

Thanks Ravi, I did get the feeling that Valparai would not fit well in this route.
I think I will take up this suggestion and plan full 3 days in Munnar and then head to Thekkady.
I will look at other Munnar travelogues here for details on the worthy places to visit thereabouts. I have a 4yr old toddler and night walk would be difficult, but the boat rides look great.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by nma83

Thanks Ravi, I did get the feeling that Valparai would not fit well in this route.
I think I will take up this suggestion and plan full 3 days in Munnar and then head to Thekkady.
I will look at other Munnar travelogues here for details on the worthy places to visit thereabouts. I have a 4yr old toddler and night walk would be difficult, but the boat rides look great.

The next time around you can plan for Valparai, Parambikulam and Athirapally falls. This will be all the more enjoyable than your current planned trip.

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by nma83

The main attraction close to valparai is athirapally falls. I wanted to visit that, but it depends on how much trouble it is to reach there from munnar.



So my itinerary can look like:
- Day 1: early morning start from Bengalooru
- Day 1: late afternoon reach Munnar Club Mahindra. This seems to be reachable from the Theni route

I might prune out Valparai if day 3 can be otherwise filled with sight-seeing around Munnar.
Thanks for all the responses!

Well, you are looking at an additional 45minutes drive to Munnar from Club Mahindra!

Considering that, I would suggest the following itinerary:

Day 1: Drive from Bangalore to Munnar. Relax in the resort since it has a great ambience.

Day 2: Start out by packing something for lunch and do the Top Station circuit. Enroute you can cover tea estates(photo shoot!), Echo Point, Mattupetty Dam(boating) and Top Station. Return back to the resort in the evening and relax.

Day 3: Tea Factory in the morning, have lunch at Munnar and head to Eravikulam National Park. Return back to Munnar, do some shopping and head back to CM.

Day 4: Leave to Thekkady. Spend the evening taking elephant ride and/or watch a traditional show(kalaripayattu/kathakali). CM Thekkady has a swimming pool which also lets you spend some quality time there if you wish.

Day 5: Take the boat ride at 6am. I strongly suggest you book tickets in advance online in which case the entry is hassle-free. Come back, check out and head back to Bangalore.

Considering you have a 4 year-old this itinerary will be relaxed and enjoyable.

[nma83]

Originally Posted by luvurride

Day 1: Drive from Bangalore to Munnar. Relax in the resort since it has a great ambience.

Day 2: Start out by packing something for lunch and do the Top Station circuit. Enroute you can cover tea estates(photo shoot!), Echo Point, Mattupetty Dam(boating) and Top Station. Return back to the resort in the evening and relax.

Day 3: Tea Factory in the morning, have lunch at Munnar and head to Eravikulam National Park. Return back to Munnar, do some shopping and head back to CM.

Day 4: Leave to Thekkady. Spend the evening taking elephant ride and/or watch a traditional show(kalaripayattu/kathakali). CM Thekkady has a swimming pool which also lets you spend some quality time there if you wish.

Day 5: Take the boat ride at 6am. I strongly suggest you book tickets in advance online in which case the entry is hassle-free. Come back, check out and head back to Bangalore.

@luvurride, thanks for the detailed plan. I happened to get only 2 nights booking in CM Munnar. And I found that Eravikulam is closed during March due to it being the calving season.
So my day 3 will be leaving from CM Munnar and heading to Thekkady (not CM there but). Any places to visit on the highly praised drive from Munnar to Thekkady?
I see that tea factory may not be possible to cover. So your plan minus day 3 sounds good to me.
I will be booking the early morning boat ride in Thekkady online soon.
Thanks again!

[avimal]

Originally Posted by nma83

@luvurride, thanks for the detailed plan. I happened to get only 2 nights booking in CM Munnar. And I found that Eravikulam is closed during March due to it being the calving season.
So my day 3 will be leaving from CM Munnar and heading to Thekkady (not CM there but). Any places to visit on the highly praised drive from Munnar to Thekkady?
I see that tea factory may not be possible to cover. So your plan minus day 3 sounds good to me.
I will be booking the early morning boat ride in Thekkady online soon.
Thanks again!

I encourage you to experience kalaripayattu/kathakali if you have not seen it ever. Also don't miss kolukkumalai. ride to top is amazing. Thekaddy - apart from boat cruise, you may opt to see some spice garden nearby.

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by nma83

@luvurride, thanks for the detailed plan. I happened to get only 2 nights booking in CM Munnar. And I found that Eravikulam is closed during March due to it being the calving season.
So my day 3 will be leaving from CM Munnar and heading to Thekkady (not CM there but). Any places to visit on the highly praised drive from Munnar to Thekkady?
I see that tea factory may not be possible to cover. So your plan minus day 3 sounds good to me.
I will be booking the early morning boat ride in Thekkady online soon.
Thanks again!

You could just opt for a plantation walk at the CM itself before departing to Thekkady.

There isn't any places-to-see on the drive from Munnar to Thekkady. It is just a scenic drive. You could may be do a detour and see Anayirankal dam.

Since you have 2 days in Thekkady, you could do all that I mentioned - elephant ride, traditional shows, boating and swimming. There is also a trekking spot called Ramakkal medu(Level:Easy) where you can spend some time. Or if you just want to enjoy a great drive, Thekkady-Peermedu-Vagamon is pretty scenic.

[nma83]

Originally Posted by avimal

I encourage you to experience kalaripayattu/kathakali if you have not seen it ever. Also don't miss kolukkumalai. ride to top is amazing.

Yes, watching kathakali is planned.
How is the road to kolukkumalai? Is it advisable given I have a toddler with me?

Originally Posted by luvurride

There isn't any places-to-see on the drive from Munnar to Thekkady. It is just a scenic drive. You could may be do a detour and see Anayirankal dam.

Anayirankal dam looks doable.

[Naetik30]

Hi All

I am planning to do Bangalore-Coimbatore-Munnar in my Verna in April. Booked Sienna Village for 2 nights. Might extend by another night if required.

Plan is as follows
Apr 13 - Start from Bangalore. Halt in my home @Coimbatore
Apr 14 - Start @5AM from Coimbatore - Udumalpet - Munnar - Sienna Village Check in
Apr 15 - Munnar Sight seeing
Apr 16 - Munnar Sight seeing and return to Coimbatore.
Might consider Munnar-Then-Dindigul-Coimbatore for return.

Is Udumalpet-Munnar route doable in Verna? Any bad stretches to watch out far? Mine is a 2014 Verna with a slightly better suspension and 3mm additional GC as compared to 2011 Vernas. Your inputs are highly appreciated. Thanks.

[mallumowgli]

Originally Posted by nma83

How is the road to kolukkumalai? Is it advisable given I have a toddler with me?

There is no road - people say it's a boulder to boulder jump uphill in a Jeep. Not sure whether it would be ok with a toddler. Bhpian NaveenRaju had visited this place and says it is not worth the trouble

[avimal]

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

There is no road - people say it's a boulder to boulder jump uphill in a Jeep. Not sure whether it would be ok with a toddler. Bhpian NaveenRaju had visited this place and says it is not worth the trouble

Better to avoid with toddler due to bad terrain. But it is worth the trouble. You may try it next time.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Naetik30

Is Udumalpet-Munnar route doable in Verna? Any bad stretches to watch out far? Mine is a 2014 Verna with a slightly better suspension and 3mm additional GC as compared to 2011 Vernas. Your inputs are highly appreciated. Thanks.

I don't think you will have major issues due to Vernas GC on this route. Chinnar forest road is a bit narrow and rough at some places but nothing unmanageable.
During Dec 2015 I had visited Amaravathi dam via Udumalaipet and there was some pipe laying work inside town and the road leading to Munnar about 3-4 km was bad but again this is manageable too.
The theni-dindugal route should be good but maybe tad roundabout as you're headed to Coimbatore ?