[sachinpk]

Folks, finally made the road trip via Manjur. A quick summary
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A road trip through the not-very-famous town of Manjur was in my todo list for quite some time. And finally the time to cover that route came up during the X'Mas holidays of 2014. The original plan was four of my friends/relatives to travel on this route, but that got changed at the last moment. Two folks backed out at the last moment. So finally my brother & me decided to take this journey.

We started from Mannarkkad at around 0900hours and decided to take the Elachivazhi route. This route has unpaved roads for around 5kms. After we left Mannarkkad town, and started climbing a small mountain with quite a number of hair pin bends, we were stopped at the Forest Check post of Kerala Govt. A young forest officer checked the interior of the vehicles, and asked basic questions like origin point & destination. And then he waved us off.

Soon a friend called up and suggested that we break off our journey. It seems Maoists/Naxals had just torched the local Forest Office at Mukkali. Mukkali was on our way, and it is from here that visitors to Silent Valley start their journey to the forest. But I did not notice any extra police presence or any other dangerous activity going on the road. So we decided to carry on. We soon crossed Mukkali (one street) town. There is another junction - Thavalam - from where we have to take a left turn to proceed to Elachivazhi.

Elachivazhi is a tribal colony, and the road is quite narrow. But this route also offers some good scenaries, and good for a leiseurely drive. After Elachivazhi there is one stretch of the road which is unpaved. But I did see APE type diesel auto rickshaws, Innova car etc. easily going through this road. And then we reached Mulli check post. Just before the check post, there is an even more messy stretch of a road with a steep incline. It is like one of those points in a road rally, where vehicles just go into this dip and comes jumping out at great speeds. The check post is manned by Tamil Nadu Vana Thurai (forest dept.) and the lone forest officer took down the details of the passengers and vehicles. There is a tip/bribe to be given here, and that is Rs.50/-. Did not bother to argue much on this.

From Mulli, the road is quite narrow but seems to be decently maintained. An Innova with three families (three men & three women) from Pattambi going to Ooty and a gang of Tamil bikers were the only folks who we saw on this route. My brother likes driving so I happily moved into the navigator's seat. Soon we crossed a hydro-power generation unit. There is a good view of the Penstoke pipes from the road. As we went up the mountains, the fog/mist presence also increased. And by around 1330Hrs we were approaching Manjur. At this point, the fog was so dense that we had to use the fog lamps. No wonder this place is called Manjur (land of mist).

The only decent place available for lodging at Manjur, seems to be Bellucks. An old gentleman maintains this very tiny lodge. If I get it right, he has around four rooms, and two of them are very small. But the they are neat and tidy and also has clean toilets & bath rooms. I had a very wrong impression that this may be a kind of home stay out side the main town. But Bellucks is just at the main part of the town, in its most crowded area. There is no specific parking area, and vehicles have to be parked on the road (the road leads to Keel Kundah). We did scout around a bit of the town (on our way to Upper Bhavani) but did not find any lodging establishments. Upper Bhavani reservoir out-of-bounds for civilians unless they have a permit from the DFO. The only vehicles we saw zooming past us were a bus of the Tamil Nadu Kaaval and one jeep of Kerala Police.

We soon settled down at our tiny room at Bellucks. The next day we went to the Annamalai temple on another hill. This place has an excellent view point which gives you a beautiful picture of Manjur. The only eye-sore early in the morning were the umpteen number of mobile towers now present in that area. After having breakfast from Amman Mess (suggested by Bellucks land lord), there was nothing much to do in Manjur. We started our return journey by around 0900hours and opted for the better roads leading to Conoor (through Selas etc.). After Conoor it was the crowdy road towards Mettupalayam. From there we experimented with another less crowded route. Mettupalayam->Karamadai->Dhayanur->Anaikatti. We reached the Vazhiyoram KTDC restaurant by around 1330Hrs, just in time for lunch. The news of the attack by Maoists (one at Chandra Nagar, another at Mukkali and yet another one at Wayanad) was now widely reported. There were more police vehicles on the roads, but there was no additional checkings etc.

Some tit bits:-
1. After Mukkali, there are lots of points which is out of coverage area for cell phone networks. Even BSNL is not an exemption.
2. MapMyIndia navigation maps also are a bit dicey. Between Karamadai and Anaikatti, there are routes which are not marked on MapMyIndia maps. Google Maps seems to have better coverage.
3. I feel that between Manjur and Mulli, mobile phones again may loss connectivity. Though we did not explicitly check it. Mobile towers are less in this route any ways.
4. When coming from Ooty/Conoor side, we only see one part of Manjur. The actual town, a very crowded one; is still uphill. Bellucks etc. is in this part of the town.
5. If you go with the view points/points of interest in this route there is pretty much none. But the entire route, and a slow leisurely ride may be the benefit we get.

[mallumowgli]

Originally Posted by sachinpk

We soon settled down at our tiny room at Bellucks.

Do they have a contact number?

[sachinpk]

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

Do they have a contact number?

Mobile: +91 98425 09869
Land line: 04232 509869

I am attaching a few snaps which I had taken.









View of Bellucks Guest House/Lodge.

[JohnnyBoss]

Nice, detailed and useful review. Thanks Sachin.
It'll very much help those venturing out on that route.

[sachinpk]

Hello all, I am attaching three JPG files, which shows the route we have taken. I do have the .kml files which can be viewed in various mapping applications. But don't think the forum allows upload of such files.
1. Our failed trip to Upper Bhawani :(



2. Route from Mannarkad to Manjur



3. Route from Manjur to Mannarkad (Return journey)

[sachinpk]

Made a small video during the trip to Mulli. Uploaded this to Youtube today.

http://youtu.be/hBFHzO6EsOo

It is around 18 odd minutes in duration.

[Rajeevraj]

Any recent updates on the Manjur-Mulli-Mannarkad route? Is it as good/bad as described in the recent posts?

Also anyone has feedback on the Coonoor-Manjur Route. Google Link (Road Conditions, Traffic, Scenery)

Have a plan to visit Coonoor and then need to proceed to Calicut. After reading this thread, interested in exploring the Manjoor route as opposed to the regular routes.

Also, any feedback on the Kotagiri-Mettupalayam route?

[Rajeevraj]

Took the Coonoor-Manjoor-Mulli-Mannarkad route last weekend. Detailed updated posted in the Roads to Kerala Thread

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post3834921

[Red Liner]

Hi Guys,

Planning a trip from Bangalore to Manjoor and thereabouts. This is my route plan: https://goo.gl/maps/4JRx5iDmsvF2

Are these roads good to go? Or would you suggest alternatives?

Mode of transport: Motorcycle.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Hi Guys,

Planning a trip from Bangalore to Manjoor and thereabouts. This is my route plan: https://goo.gl/maps/4JRx5iDmsvF2

Are these roads good to go? Or would you suggest alternatives?

Mode of transport: Motorcycle.

Assuming you are taking this route to go via the Mulli-44 Hairpins-Manjoor route. If so, should be the right route. Not sure about the current conditions, but I assume it should be good enough.

If it is about the destination, you can also get to Manjoor via the Coonoor-Kundah route. Will probably be faster.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Assuming you are taking this route to go via the Mulli-44 Hairpins-Manjoor route. If so, should be the right route. Not sure about the current conditions, but I assume it should be good enough.

If it is about the destination, you can also get to Manjoor via the Coonoor-Kundah route. Will probably be faster.

Its about the route rather than the destination...hoping to be back in Bangalore the same day.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Its about the route rather than the destination...hoping to be back in Bangalore the same day.

Not any kind of expert, but won't that be a little aggressive? The map shows 17+ hours and a large percent will be on 2 lane roads and hills, so I assume more strenuous.

One other point to note is that there is almost no cell phone coverage between Mulli and Manjoor and traffic is also almost non existent. If it is a solo ride, might want to set some check point with someone before you enter this section.

[JohnnyBoss]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Hi Guys,

Planning a trip from Bangalore to Manjoor and thereabouts. This is my route plan: https://goo.gl/maps/4JRx5iDmsvF2

Are these roads good to go? Or would you suggest alternatives?

Mode of transport: Motorcycle.

I did this route one month back (from Ooty to Mulli, then to Karamadai). Roads are good till Geddai Power Station, thereafter it deteriorates and become bad as nearing the Mulli CP. But no issues, any car can do it. Seen Altos and Eons doing it without much effort.

Mulli to Karamadai route is also bad till the forest border.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Hi Guys,

Planning a trip from Bangalore to Manjoor and thereabouts.

Mode of transport: Motorcycle.

I tried to go beyond Geddai Substation a couple of years ago through Manjoor in my Safari but the locals advised against it. The roads were too narrow for a SUV. But the road was horrible at that time. Seeing your profile image, You have been to the Himalayas in your ride. So it shouldn't be too much of a problem. For a motorcycle it is an advantage as there will be almost zero traffic in that route.

Originally Posted by JohnnyBoss

Roads are good till Geddai Power Station, thereafter it deteriorates and become bad as nearing the Mulli CP. But no issues, any car can do it. Seen Altos and Eons doing it without much effort.

Yes. Only small cars can ply that route. This is one of the reasons why small cars are so popular in hilly regions. It gives me goosebumps just thinking of negotiating Elk Hills in upper Ootacamund in a Safari.

[JohnnyBoss]

Originally Posted by Prowler

Yes. Only small cars can ply that route. This is one of the reasons why small cars are so popular in hilly regions. It gives me goosebumps just thinking of negotiating Elk Hills in upper Ootacamund in a Safari.

I don't think so. I was in a Safari and faced no issues with the size of the car. This is also a bus route, the TN "Small Bus" do regular service, i.e., Manjur - Mulli - Karamadai route.