[couswheels]

Should there be a reason to take up a road trip ? Yes however not always. There was a new gadget purchase during Diwali sale. Thanks to Amazon being one of the reason to take up this trip. Hence there was a need to drive to a location with lots of greenery. The gadget purchased was Canon EOS 1200D with dual lens kit. Other reason was my son who did not accompany us during our Chennai Rajasthan trip couple of weeks back before this trip.

The only hill station in South India which was not visited till date was Valparai. Hence decided to drive upto Pollachi.

Day 1 – 30 October, Friday

Left home at 5.45am and took the following route. The traffic was very minimal and could reach the first toll plaza, Paranur in 53 mins. The first break was at A2B Ulundurpet at 8.25am, a distance of approx 200 kms was covered in 160 minutes.

Chennai - Ulundurpet - Attur - Salem bypass - NH47 - Karumathampatti - Periya Negamam - Pollachi

https://goo.gl/maps/fNmFc9DxrML2



Started at 9am and Raje achieved a milestone of 25K kms in 17 months time once we took a U turn towards Ulundurpet on NH45.

Remember to take right turn towards Salem


Navigating Company


Greenery enroute Ulundurpet - Salem Bypass


Peculiar construction


Mountain and the Sky



Fuel refuel at KPN petrol pump and coffee refill at A2B next to the pump ensured our journey is delayed by 30 mins.

To explore the gadget, the booking was done in Coco Lagoon, Great Mount Resorts at Anaimalai. Took a left just before Karumathampatti as guided by Google maps. This route was taken to avoid the heavy traffic on Malumichampatty road towards Pollachi. It took 1 hour 45 mins to reach the 75 kms distance from Karumathamappti deviation till the resort. No hassles to reach the resort and Google maps took us promptly. A distance of close to 560 kms was covered in 9 hours including breaks.

Finally touched NH47




Long Road on NH47







Deviation on the left towards Karumathampatti


Two Lane Roads with sparse traffic


Coco Lagoon Great Mount Resort
The resort has lot of greenery with a small pool. There is also artificial pond wherein the colour of the water seems to be brown. Though the resort has ample space with lot of greenery the rooms are of average size and does not match the price demanded. The booking was done for 2 Adults and 1 Kid whereas the bed was of queen size which cannot accommodate a child. Have to call up the reception to add another bed which was waste of time. The food is very pricey as you do not have any good restaurants in the vicnity of 8-10 kms.

Being a leisure trip, spent rest of the day taking ‘rest’ and shot some pictures around the resort.

Artificial pond however water was brown in colour

[couswheels]

Day 2 – 31st October – Valparai

Got up around 6.30am and started the day very leisurely. The plan was just to visit Valparai and come back. Hence it was decided that leaving at 9 am would bring us back by 2pm. But the photo session after breakfast made us start only at 10 am. Initially had to manage Pollachi traffic for few kms. However once you touch Pollachi – Valparai road, the road is empty and you gain speed.

MMI took us to a small lane wherein I have to take the assistance of Google maps to reach Valparai road


Awesome two lane roads






First View of Valparai



Upon reaching the check post you need to buy tickets to enter the ghat section.






The real test starts from now as I started looking for the first hair pin bend however it took some time. The more you progress towards the ghat the more you would find the nature at its best. The first sight was the Alaiyar Dam which you would find onto your left just a couple kms after the checkpost. The roads are very narrow at some places and one have to adjust and move when you find an on coming vehicle. The 40 hair pin beds are steep and similar to Masinagudi however these are wide. Further the traffic is also sparse on this route. Just 8 kms before Valparai saw a board that branches to the right to Sholayar Dam. Hence immediately took a right and next 21 kms took us to Sholayar Dam. 90 kms took us 3.5 hours and there were lot of stops for photo session to capture the nature. We were looking for a decent restaurant near Sholayar dam and could not find one. Hence have to manage with the snacks we had with us. The return journey started at 2pm and reached the resort at 5pm. I was very much careful about not burning the brake pads while climbing down.

Let the pictures takeover from now













First hairpin bend 1 - 39 still to go








Hydro Electric Project enroute Valparai


This is the name of the place and you do not have any Waterfalls here








Sudden Mist




Finally you are there. The journey doesn't stop here and you proceed further


First View of Sholayar dam




To be continued....

[Tushar]

Travelogue looks great and the camera has really done justice to the scenic locations. There's one too many brilliant photographs for me to mention. We keep looking at jaw dropping routes in the rest of the world, but it's amazing to see how many great roads we have right here!

The hairpin numbering signs are really cool. For someone who loves corners, it's like a game and for those prone to travel sickness it's like a countdown to respite .

[ReluctantRebel]

Picture have come out well, thanks in part to the new equipment. Were you able to visit top slip? Did the authorities allow? I have been to valparai three times and haven't been able to go up to top slip as it was closed.

[DImPo]

Nice Photos and description. Please add photos of bird and wildlife sightings if any. I am going to Valpari coming Saturday.

[praveen_v]

Nice travelogue with superb pictures to compliment. I missed going up till valparai and returned after Aliyar dam last time I went there since I did not have enough time. I could recollected those beautiful sceneries where you can see the huge catchment of water in between all the hills. Truly mesmerising. Will have to cover Valparai and sholayar dam someday.

[couswheels]

Sorry folks, could not continue the TL due to recent floods. There was net connectivity issue for almost two weeks and hence the delay in completing this.

Few pictures on the way back from Valparai to Anaimalai














Few pictures of Aliyar Dam on the return drive





Day 3 – 1st November – Pollachi – Chennai

Again we had few photo sessions and hence we started at 9.50am from the resort. The rains started once we touched Anaimalai - Pollachi Road. It rained heavily the previous night and hence decided to take the normal Pollachi – Gopalapuram – Malumichampatty to reach NH47. Surprisingly the traffic was sparse and could reach NH47 in 30 mins. The moment I took a right towards Salem on NH47 could not find a single drop of rain. From there on it was a sprint till A2B, Salem on NH47. Stopped for 10 mins at IOC CoCo on NH47. The lunch break was 45 mins and started towards Chennai at 1.30pm. Choosing A2B seems to be a detour as I have to go further 2 kms to take a U turn, a total waste of 5 kms. Entered Salem Ulundurpet bypass in no time and once I crossed Mettupatti toll it was raining like cats and dogs. The rain was playing hide and seek all along till I touched Perungalathur near Chennai. Took another break at A2B Tindivanam for another 45 mins. Reached home at 7.30pm.


The greenery, mountain and water all over Pollachi and Anaimalai is still fresh in the eyes. Definitely one of the must to visit places of South India.

Thanks for your time and patience.

Few pictures before closing the TL.

[couswheels]

Originally Posted by ReluctantRebel

Picture have come out well, thanks in part to the new equipment. Were you able to visit top slip? Did the authorities allow? I have been to valparai three times and haven't been able to go up to top slip as it was closed.

Could not cover Topslip during that trip. Enquired in the hotel and I was informed that we can reach by 3pm for the last safari. Poor planning made me to miss Topslip this time. Planning to cover next time.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by ReluctantRebel

Were you able to visit top slip? Did the authorities allow? I have been to valparai three times and haven't been able to go up to top slip as it was closed.

We just visited Top Slip and Parambikulam but did not take the Elephant ride or Safari at Top Slip. Instead we drove up to Anappady for the Parambikulam Safari bus ride. We did this as a day trip from Pollachi and returned by evening.
Details are available in my travelogue that will be "taken live" by the mods soon

[roymj88]

Superb photos. The one with the clouds is just awesome. Have been vying to take this Valpara trip for quite sometime and this Travelogue surely gives the final push.

[couswheels]

Raje completed 30k on the way to Tirupati. 30k in 20 months of ownership.

Had been to Khivraj Renault Vellore to have the servicing done. Could not get the appointment earlier than 20th Feb in Chennai. Last service was done around 18k due to Rajasthan trip and hence did not want to take further chances.

Brake pad replaced which costed around Rs. 3.7k and overall bill was around Rs. 9.5k

[couswheels]

Raje got 'fasttagged' today. The process is very simple and got it less than a week's time. You don't need to visit anyone and is done at your doorstep - both documentation and tag fixing on the vehicle.

[swiftdiesel]

Originally Posted by couswheels

Raje got 'fasttagged' today. The process is very simple and got it less than a week's time. You don't need to visit anyone and is done at your doorstep - both documentation and tag fixing on the vehicle.

Can you direct me to the branch where I can get this done? I tried finding it on ICICI web site but couldn't find any address in Chennai.

[couswheels]

Originally Posted by swiftdiesel

Can you direct me to the branch where I can get this done? I tried finding it on ICICI web site but couldn't find any address in Chennai.

Initially I called up the toll free no. of ICICI Fastag who gave me the Chennai Contact - Mr Nagarajan, Contact No. is 9176832582. The guy comes and collects documents at your doorstep and personally fixes the tag on to the windshield upon allotment. Gave my documents last Wednesday and the tag was fixed today as I was travelling till yesterday. Had given a cheque from ICICI account for Rs. 586.25 and it takes 4 working days for processing and for other Bank accounts understand it takes upto 6 working days.