[Cruiser_D]

Originally Posted by jacs

Wow! You have a cousin in Valparai that too associated with a tea estate? Then you should really make use of this trip to gain permissions for visiting Grass Hills, arrange local jeep transportation for visiting Chinna Kallar during animal crossing time in the eve with permissions. Rest all locations you can anyways do.

All the best

Of course Jacs, but not sure about the weather now. I think there are intermittent heavy rains which could spoil the plans. Hope the rain gods would be merciful on those days!

Originally Posted by FuelInjector

Cruiser_D - lucky to have a cousin in tea garden. Nothing like it. All the best and hope you have a good one. If possible lets synch up while there. we can PM each other.

Sure FuelInjector. We shall try to meet. But I think I don't have PM facility yet! May I know your itenary details. I think Stanmore Garden Bungalow is located some 5 KM off from Valparai-Athirapally road near Injipara tea factory. My cousin's estate is near by Parlai factory in Rottikadai-Sholayar road. Which part are you travelling from?

[majumon]

Wow you have such good writing skills and so much of details provided, really enjoyed reading it. It really makes you want to be there and the way in which you have described gives the feeling that we have actually been there, gripping style of writing with of course excellent photographs. By the way what was with your Fusion's a/c.

[jacs]

Originally Posted by majumon

Wow you have such good writing skills and so much of details provided, really enjoyed reading it. It really makes you want to be there and the way in which you have described gives the feeling that we have actually been there, gripping style of writing with of course excellent photographs. By the way what was with your Fusion's a/c.

Thank you so much. Really glad to know you enjoyed it. To be honest, I need to thank our moderators if my writing skills have improved since 2007. You can easily make out if you go through my old travelogues like Goa or Ooty and also looking at the infractions I have received so far

Strict moderation helps to maintain the quality of contents posted in this forum and no doubt it ensures more return of investment for the valuable time one spends here.

Regarding the AC of my Fusion, I had taken the car to a mechanic who rightly pointed out the issue is due to Clutch coil of the compressor. He did little bit of cleaning, segregating the cables, testing the earthing etc and replaced the fuse again. This issue could surface again in future and I should consider replacing the coil to permanently solve the problem. I would have munched atleast 2000KMs through various terrains since then but no issues till today.

[DieselLover]

Originally Posted by jacs

Thanks Balu. I certainly recommend Monica Garden Bungalow for short stays. And with just one night in hand, I suggest you do a drive to Loam's view point in the day1 evening after checking-in and refresh (not too late!). Next morning, you could attempt Kurangumudi and Nallamudi pooncholai if rising early is not a problem. Do not plan a hectic schedule ticking a list, do it relaxed.

Hi Jacs,
I am visiting valapari on March 5th with family (including parents) and booked 2 tents at Monica garden. I am planning to start from Ekm on 5th morning around 6 30 AM and should hopefully reach Valparai by around 11 30 or so with relaxed driving. Return is planned after breakfast on 6th either via Aliyar route or Chalakkudy route.
Based on your travelogue I believe this place is before Valaparai town when we travel from Chalakkudi side. please confirm.

Should we pre-order lunch at Monica Garden? How is the food quality/rate there?

Is the places you have mentioned (Loams view point, Kurangumudi and Nallamudi pooncholai) near by Monica? is it worth visiting with elderly parents?

[DWind]

Originally Posted by jacs

Something made me curious was this Arch with a check-post towards the forest which restricts the road for public. May be part of the Save Tiger Training project? Couldn’t make out anything as it was completely written in Tamil. Anyone here who can translate?

The board is that Kadamparai pumped storage power generator and it sumarizes its functionality "Ezhumeen, Vizhumeen, Uzhaimeen" which roughly translates to Rise, Fall and Generate. This dam is used for peak power augumentation where power is generated during the day (when there is peak load) by water running though tunnel from a height via gravity. During Low Load at night, the water which falls is pumped back up using motors for generation again.

[jacs]

Originally Posted by DieselLover

Based on your travelogue I believe this place is before Valaparai town when we travel from Chalakkudi side. please confirm.

Should we pre-order lunch at Monica Garden? How is the food quality/rate there?

Is the places you have mentioned (Loams view point, Kurangumudi and Nallamudi pooncholai) near by Monica? is it worth visiting with elderly parents?

Yes. Monica is right towards Kurangumudi before reaching Valparai town. You can watch out for directions after you take take right from old valparai ( refer my earlier posts for directions and pictures ).

Since you are travelling with parents, I suggest you pre-order meals in Monica. Their rates are not very high unless you customize the menu. Food is simple and hygienic which is important.

Nallamudi would need some climb on foot but not too tiring, rest all are fine. Kurangumudi is a nice morning drive from Monica. The scenery is worth it and you could also spot some wildlife if lucky.

Originally Posted by DWind

The board is that Kadamparai pumped storage power generator and it sumarizes its functionality "Ezhumeen, Vizhumeen, Uzhaimeen" which roughly translates to Rise, Fall and Generate.

That's informative. Thanks for the details.

[grkonweb]

Amazing narration of your trip to Valparai Jacs. It is very informative and it spurs me to plan my next trip there. I'll use your travelogue as guide. Any idea how the weather be like in May? Will it be cool like other hill stations?

[jacs]

Originally Posted by grkonweb

Amazing narration of your trip to Valparai Jacs. It is very informative and it spurs me to plan my next trip there. I'll use your travelogue as guide. Any idea how the weather be like in May? Will it be cool like other hill stations?

Thanks man. Valparai might not be as cool as Munnar or Ooty. Days might be warm but nights would be cooler for sure. I did notice the fan in my tent and hotels

[i20ian]

Hi Jacs.. Nice travelogue. You have explored almost whole of Valparai I believe. I'm planning to visit Valparai next month with parents. Heard about Karumalai falls and Iraichal parai falls. In Google maps roads doesn't lead directly to these places. Have you been there? Does this place involve any trekking to reach there? Is it worth visiting?

[nevinfrancis]

hi jacs - nicely writtten. next week we are planning a bike trip to valparai with a couple of friends and have booked those tents in monica gardens. we go through athirapilly route but plan to come via pollachi - wadakkanchery - thrissur etc, back to ekm.

is there any 'rat/mouse/mosquito' trouble at night in the tents? anything particular to be worried about/ careful of while riding?

and where do we get the best tea? I plan to buy a couple of kgs to bring back home
thanks in advance

[pypkmsrikanth]

Nice Travelogue Thanks for sharing. We stayed in Monica Garden Bungalow way back in 2010 and had the entire bungalow to ourselves. There was no Tents then. My son, wife and myself used to wake up at around 5 in the morning enjoying the birds whistle. Ranganna used to dish us some amazing food.

[Mysticeyes]

Jacs, thanks to your wonderfully written travelogue with amazing pics, we were able to plan a trip to Valparai during Pooja holidays . But, we had to cut short after one day due to some emergency call for one of our friends from his home. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful experience and the highlight was the trip to Akkamalai top to explore the Grass Hills..

We took the Trivandrum-EKM-Angamaly-Athripally-Malakkapara-Valparai to enter and the Hoping to catch up Valparai-Pollachi-Dindigul-Madurai-Trivandrum stretch on the return journey. Looking forward to plan another detailed trip to Valparai soon.

[jacs]

Valparai remained my favorite getaway from Kochi and did another round trip on 30th December 2016 with wife. But this time on two wheels. A total impromptu ride. Wife got one leave unexpectedly and did not wanted to lose the day window shopping or sleeping.

Woke up around 5AM with an open mind and asked each other weather we shall do a bike trip to Valparai without night stay. Being the Christmas vacation season clubbed with New year, it was not easy to find accommodation even if we wished to.

Quickly got ready as our saddle bag already had all basic stuff except water and snacks. We were on parking lot by 5:30, fired the Phantom (TB500) and gunned non-stop till Athirappally. It was hardly 7AM as we stopped in the view point. No tourists or hawkers on road.




After few minutes of chit-chat and fresh air, we proceeded towards Vazhachaal check post. It was a cold morning and we could feel cold air penetrating through our mesh jackets. After clipping in the raincoat layer, we made entry at the gate. By then around 16 vehicles have passed so not much fear of tuskers on road. We reached our favorite spot, the green tunnel. Old pic also attached for reference of weather.








We rode in relaxed pace and chill air was pricking in even after adding the raincoat layer. We managed to ride till the Valve-house and took a pit-stop to warm ourselves as the sun got more prominent by then.






And then rode up the hill, we could spot fresh elephant dungs on road but luckily did not encounter any. Could spot some black langurs only till we reached Malakkapara. Roads were all good and very few bad patches till then. We were almost frozen as gunning through the forest stretch and badly wanted to warm up with a hot breakfast. We stopped in the first eatout while riding from Vazhachaal side. Hotel Bismi. Small but clean place. Lively cooked Appam, egg curry and hot coffee was a great relief.




We crossed the Kerala checkpost. They warned us to return before 4PM since not staying over. Roads were very recently patched unlike the previous visit while it was really broken. TN checkpost did not stop us and rode over the Sholayar dam city and gunned to Valparai.




We had no intention of visiting view points or trying luck with wildlife spotting. Only one mission, to have the special blend tea from Selva's shop in Puthuthottam. It was quite a surprise for him and we revived our friendship over his special tea. He also took effort to fry some vadas fresh for us.






It was only about 11AM. We decided to ride till Vazhachaal and have lunch. We stopped for sometime in a shade to enjoy the Sholayar view on the way back. However water level was very low and really worry some considering summer is still 3 months away.






Sun was hitting from top as it was almost noon and it was helpful to keep us warm after removing the raincoat from jacket. Cool breeze through the mesh jacket kept us comfortable and we rode all the way till Poringalkuthu reservoir for a quick view. And stopped in a small hotel enroute for a homely lunch with fresh fish fry as dam catchment is nearby. It was almost 1:30PM as we crossed Athirappally and the place was full of tourists and vehicles.

Weather was less humid but hot and we kept moving till Chalakkudy where we stopped to grab fresh lime juice and gunned further till Kochi. Clock ticked 3:30 as we checked in home with a sense of satisfaction. The satisfaction of doing a 340KMs ride in 10 hours flat without stressing much.

[mithun]

Originally Posted by jacs

Yes. Monica is right towards Kurangumudi before reaching Valparai town. You can watch out for directions after you take take right from old valparai ( refer my earlier posts for directions and pictures ).

Since you are travelling with parents, I suggest you pre-order meals in Monica. Their rates are not very high unless you customize the menu. Food is simple and hygienic which is important.

Nallamudi would need some climb on foot but not too tiring, rest all are fine. Kurangumudi is a nice morning drive from Monica. The scenery is worth it and you could also spot some wildlife if lucky.





That's informative. Thanks for the details.

Kudos for the awesome travelogue :-)

Is it safe and comfortable to stay in the tent at Monica Bungalow with my 1.5 year toddler? Does the cold wind sweep inside?

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by mithun

Is it safe and comfortable to stay in the tent at Monica Bungalow with my 1.5 year toddler? Does the cold wind sweep inside?

It is safe during summer. But can get cold during rains. We stayed during the rainy season and the zip had malfunctioned in one of our tents. So got a bit chilly. They do have rooms in the bungalow (same property) and that would be safe if you plan to go during the rainy season and also since you have a toddler accompanying you.