[i20ian]

After the popular festival of Vishu, had a long weekend in hand with nothing much to do. So thought of heading to Nelliyampathy commonly called Poor man's Ooty from my native place Nemmara with family.

Day 1

Nelliyampathy is about 30kms from Nemmara. Started at around 10am from home. Reached Nelliyampathy by 11.30. It was around 32 deg in Nelliyampathy. Not too cool for a hill station, but compared to the 40 deg of the lower lying areas, it was a welcome relief.

Reached the Orange and Vegetable farm maintained by the Govt of Kerala. Mom and dad decided to explore the green houses and orchid farms within the area and I decided to go around and click a few pics.

The farm




Broccoli farm


Broccoli


Bottle gourd


Orchid farm


Orchids














Hibiscus




Musambi


Passion fruit


Wild Cherry



Spent nearly an hour there and then came out after purchasing some farm fresh broccoli and beans. Also bought jamun and pineapple squash and passion fruit jam from the counter. These are specialties of the farm which are not available commonly elsewhere.

After getting out of the farm and starting the car, got a real scare. The fuel indicator was showing hardly 3 litres of petrol left and there are no petrol bunks high up in Nelliyampathy.

Suddenly it felt as if the entire mood of the trip will get spoiled. So just checked out with a few local jeep drivers and they showed a small shop where petrol was sold in black. To my horror they charged 25 Rs more per liter of petrol.

Filled another 3 liters of petrol and off we went ahead with the rest of the trip.

Next destination : Seethargundu View point
It was already 12.30pm when we reached Seethargundu view point. The idea was to have a quick look around at the view point and proceed to Green land reataurant and farms at Palakapandi which is a slight deviation on the way to Seethargundu.

Had to walk for about 1km through scenic tea plantations to reach the view point. Since it was holiday season the area was a bit crowded. But the views were breathtaking. Here are a few snaps.

Seethargundu






The solo Nelli tree



Now we were already feeling tired and hungry. So proceeded straight towards Palakapandi Green Land. To our dismay, a security guard blocked us right at the entrance and told us that lunch was not available and it had to be booked in advance.

Our next option was ITL resorts in Kaikatty which was another 9kms away. So made a quick drive down and had a sumptuous lunch. Then proceeded to our next destination : Karappara. Bought some tea from Manalaroo tea factory on the way.

Karappara is 15kms away from Nelliyampathy. It is the final motorable point of Nelliyampathy which merges with forest. The drive is scenic, winding along through tea estates initially followed by coffee and cardamom plantations. There is a newly inaugurated hanging bridge over the Karappara river. Water was less in the river. But it was a nice experience. Further down there is a small waterfall but didn't go there since locals told us that there is hardly any water left. Few more snaps.



Tea estates enroute




Ccoffee plantations


Enroute Karappara


Scenic roads


Karappara river


The hanging bridge at Karappara


Here’s the end ... forest begins


Finally with good memories drove back home to Nemmara.

Day 2 to be continued ...

[i20ian]

Day 2

The second day began with a late start. Did a tour of almost all the important neighbouring places near Nemmara. Started the drive at 10am and got out of the vehicle by 2pm for lunch. Here's the map of the route covered.



After coming back home, took lunch and then set off to my wifey's home in Calicut at 3pm. It was a solo drive. Took the following route:



The route was busy since it was a weekend. The entire road is single lane and with heavy trucks moving slowly, the progress was slow. After crossing Palakkad, there was a slight drizzle.

Since it was election season, many VIPs were visiting the towns enroute. This added to the misery with traffic jams and diversions.

Took a small tea break at Kondotty and then finally reached the destination after 5 hrs. Slept early since had to do a long drive the next day.

Day 3 continued ...