[Mr.Boss]

Unplanned to trip to Munnar last weekend. Initial plan was Valparai, Top Slip, Sholayar & Athirapally. In the last minute (Friday late night) the destination shifted to Munnar (for no reason)

Plan:

Day 1:
- Start by 07:00am from home (Palladam, Tirupur Dist)
- Thirumalai Water falls and Dam
- Lakkom Water Falls
- Mattupetty Dam & Boating
- Echo point
- Kundala Dam
- Top Station
- Night stay @ Munnar



Day 2:
- Attukad water falls
- Tea & Spice plantations
- Kallar Water falls
- Marayoor Sandalwood forest (on the way back to Udumalpet)



Thirumoorty waterfalls
We were left with a big disppiontment. Easy to guess, no water. We spent some time at the reservoir (again no boating) and started towards Munnar.

Drive from Udumalpet to Chinnar consumed a little more time than expected. Road is full of patches. After crossing 3 check-posts (TN Border, KL border, Forest dept) and entering the Kerala border, road is better.

Lakkom water falls:
- Situated on the highway
- Road side parking only (no dedicated parking space, ofcourse not to expect the same on hill stations)
- Lots of shops for eateries
- bathing allowed
- Entry fee 10 INR/person (No fee for camera)

Since the monsoon just started, water level / flow is less (but more than sufficient) Water was icy cold.

Mattupeyty Dam:
After lunch at Saravana Bhavan, we started towards Mattupetty Dam. Water level is low and by the time we reached there, it started raining and boating is not allowed. After waiting for 30 mins, we started towards the next destination.

Echo Point
Echo point is on the other end of Mattupetty reservoir. Again the low water level (to be frank, no water at-all) left us with disappointment.

Kundala Dam
No major attraction here, just another reservoir. Horse riding available.

Top Station
By the time we reached Top Station, it was around 17:30 hours. View point ticket counter closed and we couldn't visit the view point. From parking we have to walk 500m to reach the ticket counter and another 100+ steps walk down to the view point.

Night stay at Jays Munnar. http://www.jaysmunnar.co.in/

Attukad Water Falls
Roads were pretty narrow with few sharp turns. All that we could see is only GREEN. Water falls isn't accessible for bathing. There is Tea shop & a house near the water falls, we should pass through their house to reach the top of water falls

Kallar Water falls
Construction work is in progress and access to water falls restricted.

Marayoor Sandalwood forest
Good driving experience inside the sandal wood forest. Best place to buy Jackfuit (got 2 for 70 INR)

[Mr.Boss]

Second set of photos ..

[Mr.Boss]

Third set of photos ..

[Mr.Boss]

Final set of photos . .

[ghodlur]

Mr Boss,

One word, fantastic. The pics have come out real good esp a couple of pics of the Sunny are worth as desktop wallpapers.

How much distance was covered, what was the mileage?

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Mr Boss,

One word, fantastic. The pics have come out real good esp a couple of pics of the Sunny are worth as desktop wallpapers.

How much distance was covered, what was the mileage?

Thanks Bro.

Covered 414 km & MID FE was 20.6 kmpl
Actual FE is around 18 kmpl

[girimajiananth]

Nice pictures of your car . Was that person running away from the elephant ? Any information on accommodation and road condition will helpful .

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by girimajiananth

Nice pictures of your car . Was that person running away from the elephant ? Any information on accommodation and road condition will helpful .

Yes buddy, he was running away from the elephant.
If you notice the 1st snap, he was going near the elephant, and in the 2nd snap elephant started chasing him. Fortunately he escaped.





Regarding the accommodation, we had our stay @ Jays Munnar (Budget hotel, ranging from 1000 INR/room) And the road condition from Udumalpet to Munnar was horrible till Chinnar and after that it is better. Roads inside Munnar (on all directions) are pretty good.

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by Mr.Boss

Yes buddy, he was running away from the elephant.
If you notice the 1st snap, he was going near the elephant, and in the 2nd snap elephant started chasing him. Fortunately he escaped.


And the road condition from Udumalpet to Munnar was horrible till Chinnar and after that it is better. Roads inside Munnar (on all directions) are pretty good.

Fantastric snaps Mr.Boss

That guy should be crazy to do that with a tusker, it can reach him within a flash in that open land. There are too many human casulities aroung Mattuppatty belt due to wild elephants recently.

Please check if you are sure it is the Udumalpet Chinnar stretch you are referring to, I did it 3 weeks back and the road was reasonably good (may not be the best) with no potholes, but not so smooth surface.

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by gadadhar

Please check if you are sure it is the Udumalpet Chinnar stretch you are referring to, I did it 3 weeks back and the road was reasonably good (may not be the best) with no potholes, but not so smooth surface.

I mean to say that particular stretch was full of patches. (IMO other roads covered during the trip were far better)

[swiftnfurious]

Most of your car pics are stunning! Shows your love for the car. Thank you for sharing some beautiful pics!

[Soumyajit9]

Wow, Mr.Boss !! Those are simply beautiful pictures of the nature.
I had been to Munnar with parents and better half, via Bus and had roamed around in a Taxi. Driving in the beautiful hills is altogether a beautiful experience. Loved the travelogue.

Most importantly, I loved each and every shot of the Sunny. Very well thought angles and backdrops.

On a lighter note, did you get whipped for asking your parents and better half to get down from the car each time you wanted to take a snap ?
Asking because everytime I ask my wife to step out so that I can take a picture of my car, I get a mouthful !!

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Wow, Mr.Boss !! Those are simply beautiful pictures of the nature.
I had been to Munnar with parents and better half, via Bus and had roamed around in a Taxi. Driving in the beautiful hills is altogether a beautiful experience. Loved the travelogue.

Most importantly, I loved each and every shot of the Sunny. Very well thought angles and backdrops.

On a lighter note, did you get whipped for asking your parents and better half to get down from the car each time you wanted to take a snap ?
Asking because everytime I ask my wife to step out so that I can take a picture of my car, I get a mouthful !!

Thanks Bro.
Travelling in bus (especially the Govt bus) on ghat sections will be really adventurous. The way they negotiate those sharp turns will get you the experience of roller coaster.

For most of the snaps I didn't ask them to get down. And for certain areas where the scenery is pretty beautiful they get down by them self to enjoy the environment,

[hellmet]

Despite your best efforts to conceal, your vehicle number is TN 37 CY 1230, isn't it?

Anyway, beautiful pictures and makes me look forward to my trip to kerala next week.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by Mr.Boss

Yes buddy, he was running away from the elephant.
If you notice the 1st snap, he was going near the elephant, and in the 2nd snap elephant started chasing him. Fortunately he escaped.

I think he was lucky, elephant was just making his discomfort known by a mock charge (shaking front leg, ear not swept back).

Had it been charging, this could have gone very very wrong.