[Mysticeyes]

Originally Posted by raghunandanj

How about getting SUVs along this route ? Would it be too narrow for them, or can I manage to bring one along ?

the width of the road as shown in the pic is barely enough for a state RTC bus to pass by. the jeep path further up from the factory can manage an SUV easily since there would be no other traffic

Q5 surveying the scene. Was one jolly ride through the battered roads

[Mysticeyes]

“There” – he said and we all looked to the direction he was pointing and the unmistakable signs of the ‘butterflies in tummy’ overwhelmed us. There, it stood, cloaked in silence and bathed in moonlight. None of us could utter a word as the clearing made way for the grand sight to the ‘Bungalow’ which had eluded for long despite repeated attempts..the bungalow, whose discovery was implemented by forces of nature and wild animals. No other place has aroused our curiosity like Bonacaud had did and the lure of the bungalow had made us come back again and again in search of a piece of history. All said and it, it was simply this – we found the bungalow or rather the bungalow made up its mind to reveal itself to us..

Monsoon, winter, summer, monsoon – the search had spread over all seasons and had tested the suspension of vehicles like Fiesta, my Fabia, Scorpio, Q5 and finally, the fruitful drive was in a silver Fabia of a fellow B-Hpian – Shykrish. Sweet Justice. This trip was an unplanned one, with our initial plan to drive to Kottoor, 27km from Trivandrum. Kottoor is famous for its elephant rehabilitation camp and being the scenic catchment area of Neyyar Dam, amidst the forest. We left early morning to Kottoor, but with the rain being a rarity this time around, the catchment area was all dried up and presented a pathetic picture. We walked down few kilometers along the banks after obtaining permission, however, the sight of the parched up land kicked us off. An occasional glimpse behind us gave us a view of the Agasthya mountain range, with the mist descending down slowly and signs of overcast sky in the direction.
We looked at each other and the eyes meant it – “why don’t we?”. There was no hesitation and our eyes lit up as we watched the mist and clouds descend more and more over the peak. Without any further delay, we decided to move on and we rang up respective families to inform the change of plan and could hear collective sighs – “ oh nooooo..not again”.

Soon we were at the Forest check-post down Bonacaud and once again the familiar warden had a wry smile in his face as he saw us alight from the car to register our details. He put in a word of caution – pachyderms were staying put the previous day near a small temple midway. The early morning state transport corporation bus also had reported sighting pachyderm around the same area few hours before. We decided to push on carefully and on the way, we noticed couple of fresh dungs and steered clear rather than investigate the same. The upward journey went on smoothly and we could see the estate at a distance and the signs of heavy rain couple of days before were evident from the huge fallen trees on either sides. The forest made way for the abandoned tea plantations and we spotted some huge trees fallen. The size of the trees was amazing, some almost covering the size of a single storied home.

Finally, we reached the factory area and during the customary stop at the ‘hotel’, we asked the owner of he would guide us to the bungalow and ofcourse, we would compensate for his ‘day-off’..Knowing that we were serious, he agreed to join us and once again, we set off in search of ‘it’.

Some of the fallen trees during rain - partly cut off by locals


That is where we've to go..shutterbugs in action


And off they walked


And walked on..


Then, something happened out there and we saw these two brave guys running towards us (we heard a 'crack'. may be a pachyderm somewhere down below testing its ivory strength)


Negotiations with our 'guide'


The paths invited us to explore again


Walking past the abandoned structures


A dream come true..under the moonlight, we saw 'it'


And the 'address'

[mallumowgli]

So finally quest fulfilled!! Great job.
I should make a plan. Only problem is that it doesnt seem to be a ladies friendly place, and my wife doesnt take lightly on me going alone!!

[Mysticeyes]

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

So finally quest fulfilled!! Great job.
I should make a plan. Only problem is that it doesnt seem to be a ladies friendly place, and my wife doesnt take lightly on me going alone!!

Well, the place may be bit rough & wild, but with an SUV, you can easily go as far as the track can go. If there's another family with you and if you take a local as a guide, there won't be any troubles. As we were returning, we saw couple of families near the factory areas with kids playing around and on the drive back to check-post, we saw few more families driving up. But I guess they would go as far as the factory only since tarred road ends there. However, I wish this place remains relatively unexplored

[jenz]

Hi mysticeyes.... nice write up and pics. Am from trivandrum and the usual ponmudi guy....Would love to visit bonacaud now... coming on leave Oct 28th..... would love to team up for a visit.... I have a suv - mahindra jeep... and the craziness to match. do email me jenzjohn@yahoo.com

MODS NOTE: Please avoid.... typing... like... this... with.. too may dots...

[arunu]

Mysticeyes,

Take a bow!!!Great writeup and Superb pics.

Your co-relation of pics with people / abandoned buildings / loneliness etc is just superb.

It pains to see such a beautiful place to be abandoned but, slowly and surely Nature is taking over what once man took from it.

OT. There are many such factories abandoned by wealthy rich OWNERS leaving behind poor workers who have no where to go. Kirloskar company in Hubli and Harihar (karnataka) are classic examples and my ancestors were most affected.

Your Creepy Greenery / haunted bungalow / closed post office / lone survivor are all great compositions and equally great writeup.

Thanks for sharing. Long Live.

[Blue_V]

Some really wonderful pics. Nice write up. The cat is very haunting Very pristine place. You could try black and white pics on the dilapidated structures, my 2 cents.

[14000rpm]

One of the best threads. Gripping narration and phenomenal photographs.

[Mysticeyes]

Originally Posted by jenz

Hi mysticeyes.... nice write up and pics. Am from trivandrum and the usual ponmudi guy....Would love to visit bonacaud now... coming on leave Oct 28th..... would love to team up for a visit.... I have a suv - mahindra jeep... and the craziness to match. do email me jenzjohn@yahoo.com

Jenz, I'm really sorry that I missed out your communication . I was away on some trips and a career shift in-between and things are settling down now only. Hope to catch you next time around, if you're here during monsoon time, which is the best time to visit this place.

Sharing some more pics from there

evening tales..the silence hold many stories. one could stand there for hours looking at the estate/ valley below or the forest to the side..the chirp of birds gave an added beauty along with the magical light



When the ‘being watched’ became the ‘watcher’..the Bungalow was inaccessible for him during the prime-time of the estate. Now, all abandoned, he has the freedom to watch from where once his 'boss' had watched him. The view might have been distant, but the psychological effect of knowing that you are being ‘watched from the top' was evident in his words. He said that 'boss' could watch everything down in the factory area and if he spotted something unusual, the phone at the estate manager's cabin near the factory would ring instantly. Asked how it feels to be standing here and watching out from the window, he said - “It’s all gone now.. we still hope someone would watch everything again. We were always watched and there was life. Now, there is nothing here for us"



blast from the past



and this was what those lucky few who stood near the bay-window of living room at the Bungalow could watch at any time of the day. Wonder how different it would have been if it had rained

[freakmuzik]

I'm just purely addicted to this thread!!!! I'm badly wanting to visit this place, so my friend and I are planning to visit Bonacaud. I have a Wagon-R with me. Will that be enough? And are there any wildlife disturbances particularly to be careful about? I got most of the info and guidance from all these posts, but asking just in case I had missed something. Just praying that this place is preserved in the same manner without any tourism developments and stuff!

Thanks in advance

[Mysticeyes]

Originally Posted by freakmuzik

I'm just purely addicted to this thread!!!! I'm badly wanting to visit this place, so my friend and I are planning to visit Bonacaud. I have a Wagon-R with me. Will that be enough? And are there any wildlife disturbances particularly to be careful about? I got most of the info and guidance from all these posts, but asking just in case I had missed something. Just praying that this place is preserved in the same manner without any tourism developments and stuff!

Thanks in advance

Glad to note you're from TVM. The place is best for visit during monsoon season when it would be really emerald all around and covered in mist. I suggest that if monsoon sets in by early june, you can visit the place from 2nd week of june onwards. Thanks to the pre-monsoon showers over last few days, ponmudi has turned green again and afternoons are mostly rainy with mist. I guess Bonacaud might be the same too as its on the other side.

Wagon-R - the road from Vithura to the upcoming space institute near Jersey farm seems to have been relaid. Don't know the condition from thereon and during our last trip, it was pathetic. Wagon-R might hold on..but if you want to go up further from the tea-estate, it is advisable that an SUV/ Jeep would be ideal as some stretches are rocky and uneven.

Wildlife -The stretch between the factory area and the checkpost at Kannadithadam is a habitat for pachyderms (approx. 9 Km). there are many crossing spots, often marked by thick reed growth. Make sure you don't stop at such places. But, we can't predict their movement pattern and they might turn up at expected places. Sometimes, there won't be a single dung on the entire stretch..but on the penultimate visit, most of the stretch had frequent dungs which means pachyderms may have been active. Once you go up the factory, it is usually said by locals that pachyderms won't b there..but we happened to run into their dungs couple of times. It's better to pick up a local person from the factory area. Also, bear in mind that the pachyderms in the Peppara range are the most violent ones as locals have said that they tend to attack without any provocation.

[voyageur]

Great Stuff. Awesome pictures to match the write-up. I had planned so many times, to visit this place but never happened. Now it will be rainy, so I am a bit reluctant to do it. I'm planning to do the trip on a bike. Any advise for me ?

I had read this travelogue long back. I am happy to see it again.

Cheers

[freakmuzik]

Originally Posted by Mysticeyes

Glad to note you're from TVM. The place is best for visit during monsoon season when it would be really emerald all around and covered in mist. I suggest that if monsoon sets in by early june, you can visit the place from 2nd week of june onwards. Thanks to the pre-monsoon showers over last few days, ponmudi has turned green again and afternoons are mostly rainy with mist. I guess Bonacaud might be the same too as its on the other side.

Wagon-R - the road from Vithura to the upcoming space institute near Jersey farm seems to have been relaid. Don't know the condition from thereon and during our last trip, it was pathetic. Wagon-R might hold on..but if you want to go up further from the tea-estate, it is advisable that an SUV/ Jeep would be ideal as some stretches are rocky and uneven.

Wildlife -The stretch between the factory area and the checkpost at Kannadithadam is a habitat for pachyderms (approx. 9 Km). there are many crossing spots, often marked by thick reed growth. Make sure you don't stop at such places. But, we can't predict their movement pattern and they might turn up at expected places. Sometimes, there won't be a single dung on the entire stretch..but on the penultimate visit, most of the stretch had frequent dungs which means pachyderms may have been active. Once you go up the factory, it is usually said by locals that pachyderms won't b there..but we happened to run into their dungs couple of times. It's better to pick up a local person from the factory area. Also, bear in mind that the pachyderms in the Peppara range are the most violent ones as locals have said that they tend to attack without any provocation.

Wow, thanks a lot for such detailed reply! I can't manage to get any other car as this is the only one I own (other than a Nano ). So, I'l have to limit my drive based on where my car can go. And since I'm visiting there for the first time and am pretty unused to such places, I think I'l go through the safe places, what do you think? I basically want to enjoy the serenity and see Nature in its pure form! I'm definitely looking forward for a trip with someone who can guide inexperienced people like me lol. May be we can have a T-Bhp drive or something to Bonacaud?

Now since the monsoons have started and I'm planning the visit around the 3rd week of may, will it be fine?

Thanks a ton!!

[Mysticeyes]

Originally Posted by freakmuzik

Wow, thanks a lot for such detailed reply! I can't manage to get any other car as this is the only one I own (other than a Nano ). So, I'l have to limit my drive based on where my car can go. And since I'm visiting there for the first time and am pretty unused to such places, I think I'l go through the safe places, what do you think? I basically want to enjoy the serenity and see Nature in its pure form! I'm definitely looking forward for a trip with someone who can guide inexperienced people like me lol. May be we can have a T-Bhp drive or something to Bonacaud?

Now since the monsoons have started and I'm planning the visit around the 3rd week of may, will it be fine?

we're just having some pre-monsoon showers and God knows if monsoon would really knock at our door. But then, the area is bound to've heavy afternoon showers if rain in Ponmudi is any indication. Would be glad to've a TBHP drive.

I'd be a humble guide to you

[sridhar-v]

Mind Blowing Photograpy my dear chap. Sufficient for me to take a deteour when I go near the Nilgiris next time. Keep snapping!!