[ampere]

Originally Posted by asethi

And after a couple of days stay @ Valparai, I'll be continuing my journey to Trivandrum. Now how is the road from Valparai towards Kerala, and how much travel time should I expect considering slow pace in Kerala?

The best road to Valparai:
Bangalore-Salem-Perundurai-Kangeyam-Palladam-Valparai

Valparai-TVM:
Valparai-Chalakudy-Muvattupuzha-Kottayam-Chegannur-Kottakara-TVM.

It depends on where in TVM you are planning to stay.
This is only a suggestion. I dont know if MC road (Chalakudy-Muvattupuzha-Kottayam) is the best option today.
Need to check based on the monsoon conditions

[mallumowgli]

Originally Posted by asethi

Bhailog, I'm driving to Valparai this Wednesday from Bangalore. So want to know the best route considering the current road conditions.
The NH is always the best & safest option, but TN state roads are good too!

And after a couple of days stay @ Valparai, I'll be continuing my journey to Trivandrum. Now how is the road from Valparai towards Kerala, and how much travel time should I expect considering slow pace in Kerala?

So please help me out on this!

Check with the resort where you are staying regarding the access to the tourist spots - after the SC ruling many popular spots in Valparai are out of bounds, as they are part of Anamalai Tiger Reserve.

Also the Valparai-Chalakkudy route needs to be re-checked, whether they allow traffic. I remember there was some confusion regarding the same, whether this comes under the core area of the sanctuary

[asethi]

Originally Posted by ampere

The best road to Valparai:
Bangalore-Salem-Perundurai-Kangeyam-Palladam-Valparai

Valparai-TVM:
Valparai-Chalakudy-Muvattupuzha-Kottayam-Chegannur-Kottakara-TVM.

It depends on where in TVM you are planning to stay.
This is only a suggestion. I dont know if MC road (Chalakudy-Muvattupuzha-Kottayam) is the best option today.
Need to check based on the monsoon conditions

Thanks Ampere! I'll be staying at NIIST guest house in Trivandrum. Directions to this place will be highly appreciated.

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

Check with the resort where you are staying regarding the access to the tourist spots - after the SC ruling many popular spots in Valparai are out of bounds, as they are part of Anamalai Tiger Reserve.

Also the Valparai-Chalakkudy route needs to be re-checked, whether they allow traffic. I remember there was some confusion regarding the same, whether this comes under the core area of the sanctuary

Thanks! I'll be staying at Waterfall Estates in Valparai. Called those guys and they told the highway is open now. There was some confusion initially after the SC order, but now things have been sorted out. Probably all side roads leading from the main highway to the jungle/view points around have been closed.

Also, how much travel time should I expect from Valparai till Trivandrum, considering I'll be driving with my wife & 20 months old son and hence my pace will be slow.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by asethi

Also, how much travel time should I expect from Valparai till Trivandrum, considering I'll be driving with my wife & 20 months old son and hence my pace will be slow.

Budget for around 6-7hrs of drive time for the approx 350+ km distance.Driving through Kerala is a hugely different thing as compared to the rest of the country as an average speed of 40-50kph is considered "fast".

[NPV]

Originally Posted by ampere

The best road to Valparai:
Bangalore-Salem-Perundurai-Kangeyam-Palladam-Valparai

@asethi, route mentioned by amp is perfect and roads are in great condition. If this is your first time on this route, make sure you keep the names of the towns handy and some landmarks for the turnoff's. After Palladam, the next town on your route is Pollachi, then Aliyar Dam and onto the ghat road to Valparai from there.

Originally Posted by asethi

Thanks! I'll be staying at Waterfall Estates in Valparai

Waterfalls Estate is on the way to Valparai town so you will reach this without having to traverse all 40 hair pin bends from Aliyar

[ampere]

Originally Posted by asethi

Thanks! I'll be staying at Waterfall Estates in Valparai. Called those guys and they told the highway is open now. There was some confusion initially after the SC order, but now things have been sorted out. Probably all side roads leading from the main highway to the jungle/view points around have been closed.

Originally Posted by NPV

Waterfalls Estate is on the way to Valparai town so you will reach this without having to traverse all 40 hair pin bends from Aliyar

There are many entrances to Waterfall estate. And as @NPV said the first one is on the 26th hair pin bend. The good thing is that, these hairpins
bends are not like the ones on the Ooty Masinagudi section.

The other good part is that of the total distance of 450 km to Valparai, ghat sections comprises of only 20km to the Waterfall estate. Also as @NPV said following are the exit points:

1. Beyond Salem get into Perundurai town (You will see a exit board for the town about 2km before on the GQ). Ask for the Kangeyam road.
2. At Kangeyam you come across a huge cross road. Turn right to Palladam.
3. At Palladam, before the main circle/signal you should see an exit to the left for Pollachi.
4. At Pollachi confusion is the word! You will have to ask some one for the road to Aliyar or Valparai.


You can break for lunch at Pollachi. Two places which I can recommend: Nivethas Inn and Sri Shakthi resorts

[asethi]

Thanks for all the help & suggestions guys! I returned from a just awesome trip last night! The ultimate destination was Kanyakumari, and it was worth it!
Here's a picture uploaded on FB just for reference:

Ankush Sethi's Photos | Facebook

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Budget for around 6-7hrs of drive time for the approx 350+ km distance.Driving through Kerala is a hugely different thing as compared to the rest of the country as an average speed of 40-50kph is considered "fast".

It took me 12 hrs to reach Trivandrum, really! It was a thrilling experience to drive through the jungle in full rain, but driving in Kerala was real pain.
Took me 1.5hrs to just cross Kochi, followed by an average speed of 25kmph after that. Rain & drizzle added to the woes. But I loved the Trivandrum city, neat & clean!

Originally Posted by NPV

@asethi, route mentioned by amp is perfect and roads are in great condition. If this is your first time on this route, make sure you keep the names of the towns handy and some landmarks for the turnoff's. After Palladam, the next town on your route is Pollachi, then Aliyar Dam and onto the ghat road to Valparai from there.


Waterfalls Estate is on the way to Valparai town so you will reach this without having to traverse all 40 hair pin bends from Aliyar

Followed the above said route, and reached Waterfall estates without any issues. What a place man, awesome is simply the word!

Originally Posted by ampere

There are many entrances to Waterfall estate. And as @NPV said the first one is on the 26th hair pin bend. The good thing is that, these hairpins
bends are not like the ones on the Ooty Masinagudi section.

The other good part is that of the total distance of 450 km to Valparai, ghat sections comprises of only 20km to the Waterfall estate. Also as @NPV said following are the exit points:

1. Beyond Salem get into Perundurai town (You will see a exit board for the town about 2km before on the GQ). Ask for the Kangeyam road.
2. At Kangeyam you come across a huge cross road. Turn right to Palladam.
3. At Palladam, before the main circle/signal you should see an exit to the left for Pollachi.
4. At Pollachi confusion is the word! You will have to ask some one for the road to Aliyar or Valparai.


You can break for lunch at Pollachi. Two places which I can recommend: Nivethas Inn and Sri Shakthi resorts

Thanks, everything was taken care! And I found the directions easily, thanks to the GPS and it even allowed me to pass Polachi easily!
For the lunch, we stopped at a dhaba just before or rather at the right turn to Palladam, and food was decent.

[mpksuhas]

Planning of Valparai trip on 1st Nov. Plan is to start early (~3AM) from Bangalore and take Salem- Avinashi - Palladam - Pollachi route since read that NH widening till Avinashi from Salem side is done. Else would have taken the Perundurai-Kangeyam deviation. Any input on how Avinashi - Palladam road is?
Planning of reaching Valparai (Sinadoorai) by around 2.30 PM since there will be couple of breaks in between (breakfast, Aliyar dam etc)

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Planning of Valparai trip on 1st Nov. Plan is to start early (~3AM) from Bangalore and take Salem- Avinashi - Palladam - Pollachi route since read that NH widening till Avinashi from Salem side is done. Else would have taken the Perundurai-Kangeyam deviation. Any input on how Avinashi - Palladam road is?
Planning of reaching Valparai (Sinadoorai) by around 2.30 PM since there will be couple of breaks in between (breakfast, Aliyar dam etc)

Sinnadorai should begin to offer discounts to Tbhpians

[ampere]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Planning of Valparai trip on 1st Nov. Plan is to start early (~3AM) from Bangalore and take Salem- Avinashi - Palladam - Pollachi route since read that NH widening till Avinashi from Salem side is done. Else would have taken the Perundurai-Kangeyam deviation. Any input on how Avinashi - Palladam road is?
Planning of reaching Valparai (Sinadoorai) by around 2.30 PM since there will be couple of breaks in between (breakfast, Aliyar dam etc)

Dont go via Avinashi-Palladam. Take the Perundurai-Kangeyam-Palladam option. Thats much better,
If you start by 3AM, there wont be much options for BF. If you start at 4/4:30 you should be in time for a BF in Salem at around 7AM.

Assuming an hour max and if you start by 8, it takes 1 hours to Perundurai, 0.5 hour to Kangeyam, 40 minutes to Palladam and another 1 hour
max to Pollachi. You should be in Pollachi by 12PM. Aliyar is about 20km from Pollachi.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Planning of Valparai trip on 1st Nov. Plan is to start early (~3AM) from Bangalore and take Salem- Avinashi - Palladam - Pollachi route since read that NH widening till Avinashi from Salem side is done.

Originally Posted by ampere

Dont go via Avinashi-Palladam. Take the Perundurai-Kangeyam-Palladam option. Thats much better,
If you start by 3AM, there wont be much options for BF. If you start at 4/4:30 you should be in time for a BF in Salem at around 7AM.

Assuming an hour max and if you start by 8, it takes 1 hours to Perundurai, 0.5 hour to Kangeyam, 40 minutes to Palladam and another 1 hour
max to Pollachi. You should be in Pollachi by 12PM. Aliyar is about 20km from Pollachi.

Suhas - As Amp has suggested, take the Perundurai-Kangeyam-Palladam route, very good roads though 2 lane it has sparse traffic. Since you're starting early you will not encounter much town traffic as well in Perundurai and Kangeyam.
Refer Post #136 and #140 here for more information on the route.
For breakfast stop you can consider Sri Annalakshmi at Perundurai on the NH47 itself, details here

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Sinnadorai should begin to offer discounts to Tbhpians

Had called them up to talk about room preference. As soon as I said I wanted specific room, Mr Rajeev asked if Iam from TBHP.

Originally Posted by ampere

Dont go via Avinashi-Palladam. Take the Perundurai-Kangeyam-Palladam option. Thats much better,
If you start by 3AM, there wont be much options for BF. If you start at 4/4:30 you should be in time for a BF in Salem at around 7AM.

Assuming an hour max and if you start by 8, it takes 1 hours to Perundurai, 0.5 hour to Kangeyam, 40 minutes to Palladam and another 1 hour
max to Pollachi. You should be in Pollachi by 12PM. Aliyar is about 20km from Pollachi.

Ok, will take Kangeyam route itself then. Had thought of a start around 3AM so as to be in Valparai around 2- 2.30 PM. Since planning to stop at Aliyar dam and also for breakfast on way. Also I will be the only driver. So thinking will start at 3 AM from Bangalore itself and instead of Salem will stop at Perundurai.

Originally Posted by NPV

Suhas - As Amp has suggested, take the Perundurai-Kangeyam-Palladam route, very good roads though 2 lane it has sparse traffic. Since you're starting early you will not encounter much town traffic as well in Perundurai and Kangeyam.
Refer Post #136 and #140 here for more information on the route.
For breakfast stop you can consider Sri Annalakshmi at Perundurai on the NH47 itself, details here

Narayan, thanks for the hotel information. Will plan breakfast at Perundurai.

[mpksuhas]

Did Bangalore- Valparai- Chalakudy- Bangalore trip last weekend.

Stay in Valparai was at Sinnadorai Bunglow, as mentioned by many found the place superb and worth the money. Mentioning Google map direction till turn to Sinnadorai, road from this turn (between Rotikadai and Valparai) to Sinnadorai is Parrys estates private road and not displayed in Google maps. You need to travel around 4Km's inside estate road to reach bunglow-
Sinnadorai direction from 40th hairpin bend to Sinnadorai turn - http://goo.gl/maps/XpmU1

Sinnadorai location on map - http://goo.gl/maps/4fef2
Though in map if you check location of Sinnarodai you will find it mentioned as Balaji temple road that is another location by itself. So please dont get confused by the same.

Roads all the way from Bangalore is fine, only bad patch is on GQ between KA border to Krishnagiri. 6 laning and rains have done their bit on making road not worth the toll you pay. Once you cross Krishnagiri traffic thins and roads are butter smooth. As per suggestions in posts above by NPV and ampere took deviation from Perundurai after having breakfast at Annalakshmi (Point B) on map and then took Perundurai-Kangeyam-Palladam- Pollachi route.
Timing:
Bangalore 04:00
Salem 07:00
Annalakshmi hotel (Perundurai): 08:10 - 30 Mins break
Kangeyam: 09:25
Palladam: 10:15
Pollachi: 11:30 (Lost about 15mins in Pollachi after missing turn to Valparai)
Aliyar Dam: 12:20 (About 15 mins break)
Valparai -Sinnadorai Bunglow - 14:15 (Could be done bit more faster, I had stopped for pics about 4 times and it started raining heavily from 20th hair pin onwards).

For Sinnadorai after 40th hairpin bend you need to take right (towards valparai) and continue for around 3 kms, you will reach place called Rotikadai, there you need to take left proceed for around 500 mts and then you will find entry to Parrys estates on left (final point on map I shared). You need to proceed in that road for around 4 KMs to reach Sinnadorai.

http://goo.gl/maps/4v0gA

[ravib]

Did a trip to Valparai early this week and stayed in Waterfall Estate - Valley View bungalow. The experience is simply amazing.

I must say, if you really want to enjoy the trip & stay at valparai, staying at Waterfall Estate cottages gives you a memorable experience, although it is in half-way (28th hairpin bend) towards valaparai town.
Don't ever think of staying in regular hotels inside valparai town just to save few hundred bucks, unless you are dependent on public transportation to use bus facility. It is not worth it, rather spend little more and enjoy the stay thoroughly.

Special mention to the care taker/cook in Valley View bungalow. His name is Raja Durai (Ph: 09486209641) and he is a very humble/loyal employee to his boss for couple of decades. He cooks really really yummy & hygienic vegetarian food. It is again one of the compelling reasons to stay in Valley View bungalow and you won't forget this person. I couldn't find any "pure veg" restaurant anywhere in valparai, so those who are not comfortable in eating veg food in a non-veg hotel, Valley view is the place to go to get home food.

Also, all Waterfall Estate - bungalows accommodation is handled by Rasha (she is the Estate director's wife) and was very kind and helpful in all aspects, although most of the discussion with her will be through phone.

To reach Valley view bungalow- after you cross 28th hairpin bend, you will come across Waterfall Postoffice / Police station in one of the turns. Don't go beyond that. In that police station / post office turn itself, there is a small road going inside. Get into that road in which you can see a small school in front of you (in 100 metres) and a side road going down towards right. Take the small right road and keep going, and you can see the boards for Valley View.

I did took a quick look at next high end cottage (Indraprastha) of Waterfalls Estate, which is about 1000 rupees more than valley view. It gives even more royal experience & spacious, but it is bit more expensive.

On return journey, started from
Valparai at 11:30 am
Aliyar dam - 12:30 pm
Pollachi - 1 pm
Palladam - 2 pm
Kangeyam - 2:30 pm
Perundurai - 3:15 pm to 4 pm (45 mts break at annalakshmi hotel in perundurai which is in Salem-Coimbatore highway)
Salem - 5:15 pm
Krishnagiri/Chinnar A2B (1 hr break)- 7 pm to 8 pm
Silkboard at 9 pm

The roads are awesome throughout. 2 lane widening is in progress between pollachi-palladam & they are tarring the road again between Kangeyam-perundurai which is already in good condition.

-Ravi

[kirantp]

Friends,

I am planning a trip to Valparai with family next week so wanted to confirm on doing the suggested route in this thread considering the current road conditions and the ride:

Drive: Honda City (ANHC)

Route:

Bangalore-Salem-Perundurai-Kangeyam-Palladam-Valparai

Stop for breakfast at Annalakshmi (Perundurai)

Otions for Lunch: Nivethas Inn and Sri Shakthi resorts

Awaiting inputs/suggestions

Thanks in advance
Kiran