[Jidousha]

Completed the Kodai trip. Filled up the tank at Trichy and there was no need to fill up again, but filled up for Rs. 500 at BP bunk at Kodai near 7 road junction, seems to be a reliable bunk at Kodai

[bharanidharang]

Planning to go visit Kodai this weekend. Drive down from chennai. What route do I take if I want good roads. What would be good stopovers for breakfast and lunch ?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by bharanidharang

Planning to go visit Kodai this weekend. Drive down from chennai. What route do I take if I want good roads. What would be good stopovers for breakfast and lunch ?

The regular route is the best.

Chennai-Trichy-Dindigul-Batlagundu-Kodai.
4-lane till Dindigul, Decent 2-lanes to Batlagundu followed by ghat roads.

Break points : Ulundurpet for Breakfast (A2B) and Dindigul for lunch.
There is not much to break for between Trichy and Dindigul.

[bharanidharang]

Originally Posted by ampere

The regular route is the best.

Chennai-Trichy-Dindigul-Batlagundu-Kodai.
4-lane till Dindigul, Decent 2-lanes to Batlagundu followed by ghat roads.

Break points : Ulundurpet for Breakfast (A2B) and Dindigul for lunch.
There is not much to break for between Trichy and Dindigul.

Thanks Ampere. Any problems due to the political issues by the caste based outfit ?

[rameshnanda]

Originally Posted by bharanidharang

Thanks Ampere. Any problems due to the political issues by the caste based outfit ?

Shouldn't be.

You can also try Dindigul-Palani-Kodai once for a change. This route is scenic than the regular Batlagundu-Kodai. Also, if you are non vegetarian you have the option of Dindigul Thalappakatti just after Batlagundu.

[polopm]

Originally Posted by ampere

The regular route is the best.

Chennai-Trichy-Dindigul-Batlagundu-Kodai.
4-lane till Dindigul, Decent 2-lanes to Batlagundu followed by ghat roads.

Break points : Ulundurpet for Breakfast (A2B) and Dindigul for lunch.
There is not much to break for between Trichy and Dindigul.

Amp & All !
A group of us with families are sharing 2 cars for a trip to Kodai next week (Ramzan) break. Return is planned on 12th morning after leisurely breakfast.
We are planning to do Dindigul-Palani-Kodai onward and the Batlagundu road during the descent. Hotels are booked at Kodai.
The plan is as follows:
1. 9th Aug - ~ 4Am start from Chennai and head towards Dindigul via Trichy
2. Breakfast - ? (A2B Ulundurpet will be too early - somewhere around Trichy ?)
3. Lunch @ Kodai (is that feasible ) - All are veggies.

Also, what would be the list of spots to visit. I would like to visit the ones where there is less crowd, the travelogue on Berijam has got me hooked. I will do that..

[polopm]

Originally Posted by polopm

Amp & All !
A group of us with families are sharing 2 cars for a trip to Kodai next week (Ramzan) break. Return is planned on 12th morning after leisurely breakfast.
We are planning to do Dindigul-Palani-Kodai onward and the Batlagundu road during the descent. Hotels are booked at Kodai.
The plan is as follows:
1. 9th Aug - ~ 4Am start from Chennai and head towards Dindigul via Trichy
2. Breakfast - ? (A2B Ulundurpet will be too early - somewhere around Trichy ?)
3. Lunch @ Kodai (is that feasible ) - All are veggies.

Also, what would be the list of spots to visit. I would like to visit the ones where there is less crowd, the travelogue on Berijam has got me hooked. I will do that..

Guys
Anybody out there! Need some gyan....

Cheers!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by polopm

Amp & All !
A group of us with families are sharing 2 cars for a trip to Kodai next week (Ramzan) break. Return is planned on 12th morning after leisurely breakfast.
We are planning to do Dindigul-Palani-Kodai onward and the Batlagundu road during the descent. Hotels are booked at Kodai.
The plan is as follows:
1. 9th Aug - ~ 4Am start from Chennai and head towards Dindigul via Trichy
2. Breakfast - ? (A2B Ulundurpet will be too early - somewhere around Trichy ?)
3. Lunch @ Kodai (is that feasible ) - All are veggies.

Saw this late @polopm.

If you start at 4, you would be at Ulundurpet by 7AM, (Its about 200km I think.) You should be just in time for the restaurants to be ready for BF!

And then it should be another 4 to 4.5 hours to hit Dindigul (220 as I see in Google). And there on its another 100km from there. That means you can make it at best by about 2/3PM. A bit late for lunch.
However I dont know of many places in Dindigul (though we have heard of the famous Dindigul Biriyani!) But still you will need some place in Dindigul or some where between Dindigul-Batlagundu. Because I think you should make it to that stretch some where about 12noon.

[polopm]

Originally Posted by ampere

Saw this late @polopm.

If you start at 4, you would be at Ulundurpet by 7AM, (Its about 200km I think.) You should be just in time for the restaurants to be ready for BF!

And then it should be another 4 to 4.5 hours to hit Dindigul (220 as I see in Google). And there on its another 100km from there. That means you can make it at best by about 2/3PM. A bit late for lunch.
However I dont know of many places in Dindigul (though we have heard of the famous Dindigul Biriyani!) But still you will need some place in Dindigul or some where between Dindigul-Batlagundu. Because I think you should make it to that stretch some where about 12noon.

Thanks Ampere, I started by 3.30 but could manage Ulundurpet by 7.30 due to rains and heavy traffic. Could compensate on the Trichy-Dindigul stretch and reached Kodai by 1.30 pm via Palani.
Oh btw the stretch between Batlagundu to Dindugal is silky smooth !

[Ddrive]

Originally Posted by polopm

Also, what would be the list of spots to visit. I would like to visit the ones where there is less crowd, the travelogue on Berijam has got me hooked. I will do that..

Hi Polopm,

Missed this thread so long

Im not sure where are you at the moment ? Are you in Kodai right now ?

By the way, I too have put up a travelogue on Berijam.. Is it the one you talking about ? Are you going to Berijam ?

Regards
Ddrive.

[polopm]

Originally Posted by Ddrive

Hi Polopm,

Missed this thread so long

Im not sure where are you at the moment ? Are you in Kodai right now ?

By the way, I too have put up a travelogue on Berijam.. Is it the one you talking about ? Are you going to Berijam ?

Regards
Ddrive.

Sorry for the late reply! Yes the inspiration was your thread ! I had travelled to Kodai before Aug-15th.

We had engaged a Qualis for our group for the two days in Kodai.
My Vento had a dent from one crazy 2 wheeler nut in Kodai the day I reached there. That was the only sad part. The cabbie was a local guy who enthralled us with all the shooting spots from early Rajni-Kamal movies to the latest ones. Viswaroopam 2 shooting had started the day before we left.
Point to note is that Kodai does not have the good roads the Nilgiris are blessed with. Probably that's because Nilgiris is a district on its own and also Kodanad is situated there

[YashD]

Hello folks,

We are 5 friends driving down to Kodaikanal on 30th wee hours (Leaving Bangalore at around 2 am). The plan as of now is to chill in Kodai till 2nd early morning and leave for our next destination.

Now, we are incredibly confused regarding where to visit?
Initially, we had planned Munnar but heard there is nothing adventureous sort of in that vicinity also the road aren't in that great conditions hence we decided to skip it.

We thought of Thekkady but as per various blogs, reviews and posts on Team - BHP too, I came to the conclusion that chances of spotting wildlife in this region is low.

While reading about Thekkady, I got to know about Valparai but after going through various posts, I'm highly confused on how to do it and which route should be taken. Also, we are planning to stay in the forest accommodation. Hence, I'm not sure where to go as some reports suggest, the Valparai region is better and some say the Kerela side is better. Our basic target is to spot some interesting wildlife.

Please help on how can I plan this trip. We have to be back in Bangalore by 4th 00 hours as a friend has to catch an early morning flight. Also, I am taking the Innova Crysta 2.4 hence, I'm not much worried about the vehicle as we all know one cannot go wrong with Innova.

Another query, I just wanted to know if there are any problems that I might face as I don't know the local languages down South though I'm fluent in Hindi & English, being my first trip in South, I don't want to end up getting in some unnecessary trouble.

If anyone can suggest me a better place, I don't mind skipping Valparai, a friend suggested we can explore Bandipur but I felt its a little commercialised now hence chances of spotting wildlife there would be low. Having said that, if it's worth visiting that belt, I don't mind driving down to that region as well.

[hserus]

Valparai has plenty of resorts all the way to small home stays. It is tea garden land, not forests.

You can go to Top Slip if you want a forest lodge sort of experience.

See this for a recent bhp trip

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...eet-hills.html (Chennai BHPians Drive & Meet - To the hills!)

[nibedk]

We did Kodai - Valparai a couple of years back. There is pretty much a lot of wild life to be seen in Valparai. You can go on safaris for more wildlife viewing. There are a lot of spots where one can see wildlife at early hours in the morning as well as late evenings. Since I was with a kid we didn't risk much but still could see a lot of wildlife out in open.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...revisited.html (Pun-toured: The beautiful Western Ghats revisited)

My travelogue may be of help. If you choose to stay in Misty Creek, the owner is a wildlife conservationist and would be of immense help. You can call him well ahead of the trip and figure out stuff before you are there. We could have done a lot more but didn't want to risk with our little one around.

[varunanb]

Originally Posted by YashD

Another query, I just wanted to know if there are any problems that I might face as I don't know the local languages down South though I'm fluent in Hindi & English, being my first trip in South, I don't want to end up getting in some unnecessary trouble.

If anyone can suggest me a better place, I don't mind skipping Valparai, a friend suggested we can explore Bandipur but I felt its a little commercialised now hence chances of spotting wildlife there would be low. Having said that, if it's worth visiting that belt, I don't mind driving down to that region as well.

First, English is more than adequate in most of the tourist locations in Tamil Nadu, kerala and Karnataka.

If wildlife is your priority and confirmed travel to Kodai, there are very few places for sightings. It’s possible to sight some at Thekkady either while boating or in jeep safari. But chances are very less in winter.

Valparai and Topslip are other option again with limited options.If topslip, try to get the Ambuli Guest house. That’s a bungalow in the middle of forest.

But from Bengaluru the best place for wildlife is Bandipur or Kabini (Nagarhole). Yes they are commercialised but still when ever I go there I come with atleast a few wonderful species. Last month was there and saw a leopard @ Kabini and a full grown eagle owl @ Bandipur among others.