[samarjitdhar]

Fauji sir ji. How I envy you with the opportunity to get around to so many places . Wonderful TL and photos. Such a beautiful place, must be stunning during the monsoons.

[Ketan]

Awesome pictures and TripLog.
Another great find from Fauji sir. You look to be on a travel spree these days. Keep it up and we will continue to enjoy the quality Travelogues.
I liked the bench, especially the one at night, continue to see the stars and disappearing lights down the hills.
Wonderful pictures and travel information about the place. We wanted to go and check this place out during our trip to Parambikulam las december but we thought that one days is not enough for this place and we didnt have much information abou the place to stay and so on. So, we decided that we shall plan a couple days for Valparai some other time. Now I know some more about the place and will be useful whenever we plan.
thanks for shairng.

[addyhemmige]

Fauji Saar!!! hats off to you for churning out Travelogues by the dozen!!! The travelogue has come out very well. Valparai was on my list for a trip but, could not do it (as usual). Hopefully, I can try it sometime during/after the coming monsoon.

Btw, the LTMs are a great catch. A couple of years ago, me and my friends went on a trek in Parambikulam (which is supposed to be contiguous with the Anamalais, of which Valparai is a part of). Even though Parambikulam is supposed to have a good concentration of LTMs, we could not even sight one. Our trek was not a total loss though, we spotted Pug marks of a tiger, scat of a bear and a couple of Dholes (Indian wild Dogs). The wild dogs were the highlight of the trip

[pypkmsrikanth]

Fauji, you are the first one to check the Sinna Dorai Bungalow, I was planning to go there for the Ugadi weekend, but my brother could not make it so we cancelled it. Thanks for sharing the lovely pics of the place. Puthuthottam of Woodbriar & Paralai of EID Parry seem to have good presence of animals. What you would have seen is possibly the resident herd of gaurs which seem to have become very comfortable staying in and around the Paralai estate.

Incidentally Sholayar is the second deepest dam in Asia. It is credit to the amount of rains the area receives that the dam still has water by the next summer considering the size of the backwater it boasts.

EID Parry do a lot of supporting for NCF's work in Valparai, it is worth reading about it for those interested. You seem to have missed out on the Sidhi Vinayak of the Birlas and Balaji temple at Karumalai, two lovely temples, not to forget the Velankanni church on the way to Karumalai.

The best thing about Valparai is the wake up call which you get from the birds, when we went there we could not sleep beyond 5:00 in the morning, such racket they were creating.

[ranjitp1]

Lovely find the Sinna Dorai bungalow.Our next trip is finalised now thanks to youShall pm you for more specifics.Thanks a ton for sharing.

[.sourov]

Fauji Sir what can I say? Just awesome!!

Wonderful pictures and narration, was thinking of escaping this Bangalore heat for few day and thanks to you have a great option in hand. Which route did you take and what are the road conditions?

[DieselDestiny]

Those are some very neat photographs Capt. , almost felt like I was touring around Valparai with you!!

2 trips over 2 long weekends, thats one luck man. Waiting for my turn to spin the wheel farther

[Fauji]

Originally Posted by laluks

Brought back a lot of memories.
Valparai like you pointed out is not in the leagues of Ooty/Munnar etc.. To me it had always been a transit station during my long drives. But the place is heavenly.

Thanks Lalu. I loved the Fire flies pictures in your TL. We could not capture as the numbers were small. Yes, the place is heavenly and hope it reamains like that.

Originally Posted by ampere

I liked Valparai more than Munnar/Kodai for its un-explored status. Also if one wants to stay for 3-4 days without doing anything but walk and go water-body hunting, this is the place. With the planter's bungalows, the place adds to old world charm as well.
Brought back memories. Also, while returning, there is a way to avoid Avinashi. Pollachi-Palldam-Kangeyam-Perundurai. The roads are in beautiful condition. You dont have to endure the construction at Avinashi at all.

Thanks Ampere. You are absolutely right. This is a place to relax like a typical planter!! Ofcourse, if some one is interested to move around or trek, he has lot of options as well.

Regarding the other route, i checked on the google. Wont it be better to take Perundurai - Kannakam Palayam (The place weher the four lane starts) - Tiruppur - Palladam - Pollachi?

Perundurai, Tamil Nadu to Pollachi, Tamil Nadu - Google Maps

This will save some detour. I am not sure how the road from Kannakam Palayam to Tiruppur. Should try next time.

Originally Posted by B.R.S.Rao

Fauji Sir,
Once again 5 star travelogue indeed. Really a feast for eyes and a delight for mind. Thx for crisp photos.
Regards.

Thank you Rao sir. No doubt the place is a feast for eyes.

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Wonderful Travelogue! Superb Pics. A well deserved 5* rating for the travelogue. This brings back memories of this place with the first rains in the monsoon. Thanks for Sharing.

Thanks Krishna. This place should be awesome after the rains with many water falls around.

Originally Posted by hvkumar

With so many gaurs (and elehants) around, looks like it is quite a dangerous thing going for a quiet morning or evening walk!Here is a photo of the Aliyar Reservoir during a mobike ride I did to Valparai in Apr 1989. Looks like it had more water in those days!

Thanks HVK. We were cautioned by Sujatha not to venture on our won and always take Murugan with us. Incidently, the herd of Bison had come to bungalow on the second night of our stay!!

Originally Posted by rakirank

Awesome. If this is how it looks pre-monsoon, it must be fabulous post the rains.Lovely pics. Looks like the Scorpio is being fully road tested

Thanks Rakirank. You are correct, this will be fabulous after rains. Specially the drive to Sholayar dam with its huge expanse of backwaters. Yes, Scorpio had good time!!

Originally Posted by VindyWheels

And my favorite - the bench! I am sure you would have enjoyed some silent moments there. There is a similar bench in front of the Indraprashta Bunglow of waterfalls, we loved that bench then. The inital picture of the bunglow resembles Monica Bunglow of woodbriar, but this one is surely done-up much better. The interiors look great and the rooms are tastefuly done. Wondering how the "Periya Durai" bunglow woud be if this is where Chinna Durai lived! Considering the lovely property, the treks and the animals around, the elevation and valley-view from the bench, I would rate Captain's new find higher than Woodbriar and Waterfalls (I havent been to the Stanmore bunglow of Woodbriar, so this rating could be modified later )Cheers

VW

Thanks Vinod. The over saturation happenned while post processing and i corrected it in the photographs later. Thanks for your observation. Yes, i saw the picture of the bench in your TL as well. The valley view from this just too good. Stanmore estate by Wood briar is not at a height like this one. Since this place is at a height, it is much cooler from the Valparai town. We should check out Periya Dorai bungalow next!!

Originally Posted by Rajesh K R

Sir, What can i say? Envy you captain. Churning one T-log after another. Super photos and narration. I think you are one of the elite few who put the long weekends and holidays to good purpose. Loved the T & P-log captain. Waiting for more snaps and snippets from your trip.

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

Fauji sir ji. How I envy you with the opportunity to get around to so many places . Wonderful TL and photos. Such a beautiful place, must be stunning during the monsoons.

Thanks Rajesh and Samarjit. April is the time when you get couple of long weekends and it is worth spending in these places

Originally Posted by Ketan

Awesome pictures and TripLog.
Another great find from Fauji sir. You look to be on a travel spree these days. Keep it up and we will continue to enjoy the quality Travelogues.
I liked the bench, especially the one at night, continue to see the stars and disappearing lights down the hills.

Thanks Ketan. Yes, the valley view at night looks totally different. With many vehicles plying on the road at distance - which we could not capture in camera - and fireflies on the trees would be even better.

Originally Posted by addyhemmige

Btw, the LTMs are a great catch. A couple of years ago, me and my friends went on a trek in Parambikulam (which is supposed to be contiguous with the Anamalais, of which Valparai is a part of). Even though Parambikulam is supposed to have a good concentration of LTMs, we could not even sight one. Our trek was not a total loss though, we spotted Pug marks of a tiger, scat of a bear and a couple of Dholes (Indian wild Dogs). The wild dogs were the highlight of the trip

Thanks Addy. You are corect on LTMs. They are shy animals and don't come down so easily. The attraction seems to be the jack fruit trees which are on the road side. We were lucky and they seems to be people friendly as well. Thanks to volunteers who keep a watch on passers by and prevent feeding etc.

Now i know whom to catch if i want more details on Parambikulam trek. Was this trek on the disbanded railway track?

Originally Posted by pypkmsrikanth

Fauji, you are the first one to check the Sinna Dorai Bungalow, I was planning to go there for the Ugadi weekend, but my brother could not make it so we cancelled it. .

Thanks Srikanth. You are absolutely correct and this place is heavenly. You should try Sinnadorai bungalow. Nice to know that Parry group is supporting the activities of NCF. Sholayar dam after monsoon must be treat for the eyes!!

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Lovely find the Sinna Dorai bungalow.Our next trip is finalised now thanks to youShall pm you for more specifics.Thanks a ton for sharing.

Thanks Ranjit. Most welcome any time.

Originally Posted by .sourov

Fauji Sir what can I say? Just awesome!!

Wonderful pictures and narration, was thinking of escaping this Bangalore heat for few day and thanks to you have a great option in hand. Which route did you take and what are the road conditions?

Thanks Saurav. The best route is the one Ampere has suggested which will help you avoid Avinashi. One can also try another riute i suggested to Ampere in my post above.

Originally Posted by DieselDestiny

Those are some very neat photographs Capt. , almost felt like I was touring around Valparai with you!!

2 trips over 2 long weekends, thats one luck man. Waiting for my turn to spin the wheel farther

Thanks Dieseldestiny. When are you planning??

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Fauji

Thanks Ampere. You are absolutely right. This is a place to relax like a typical planter!! Ofcourse, if some one is interested to move around or trek, he has lot of options as well.

Regarding the other route, i checked on the google. Wont it be better to take Perundurai - Kannakam Palayam (The place weher the four lane starts) - Tiruppur - Palladam - Pollachi?

I went to Valparai, same time last year. (Was there at waterfall )
It was fun walking every day morning and evening around the estates.

Regarding the route, the main issue is crossing Tiruppur town.
It can become quite a pain. (@ajitbr and @luvuride were the guys who mentioned this then)

Taking the Perundurai route is much easier as Perundurai-Kangeyam-Palladam routes are in pristine condition.

[punto_]

Lovely! I really envy B'lore geographical location, there are many options within 500-600 kms. From Hyd it becomes complicated.

I will mark this place and need to visit this place for sure! Thanks a lot for sharing. Rated it 5*! :-)

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by Fauji

Now i know whom to catch if i want more details on Parambikulam trek. Was this trek on the disbanded railway track?

Yes. It is called the Cochin State Forest Tramway Trek. The railway track no longer exists, but we can see the remnants of the same. After some distance though, the railway track bed has been converted into a jeep road.

[h14]

Simply superb Fauji sir! Amazing photography and excellent write up. I for one never miss an opportunity to visit Valparai. I've been always staying with Woodbrier's Villa Fair or Monica. But my next is gonna be Chinna Durai for sure.

[NPV]

Valparai looks beautiful ! Fauji Sir, thanks for sharing another wonderful tlog with lovely pictures
I loved the picture titled "Sun suddenly peeped out of the clouds..."
Nostalgia time - Though I've never been to the place, Aliyar Dam brings back several memories as I remember a lot of incidents/stories that my grandparents have told me about the place (grandad was in TNEB and posted there in the 1960's). A popular Tamil movie of the 60's "Kaadhalikka Neramillai" was shot there.

Is it very difficult to find the turn off to Valparai from Pollachi ? Any pointers ?

[laluks]

Originally Posted by Fauji

Thanks Lalu. I loved the Fire flies pictures in your TL. We could not capture as the numbers were small. Yes, the place is heavenly and hope it reamains like that.

Infact the fire flies were clicked at Nelliyampathy.
But then as you know we were driving with no decided destination via Valparai on that trip.

Hope Valparai, Nelliyampathy and such wonderful places stays the same. Parambikulam is atleast having a process to keep the place in its charm.

Originally Posted by NPV

Is it very difficult to find the turn off to Valparai from Pollachi ? Any pointers ?

No. Ask for Aliyar Dam, and after the Dam the ghat roads starts to Valparai.

[veyron_head]

@Fauji: Great Travelogue and Pics. You are doing free high quality marketing for valparai tourism

By the way, is valparai safe to travel with kids (I have a 1 year old)? We had a hard time in Wyanad with kids in the family with leeches everywhere in the place we stayed in.