[nibedk]

Jan 16 2016 - Day 5

We woke up pretty early around 5:00 AM to catch the sun rise. Unfortunately the sun rose from some mountains which were behind the mountains that we could see from our balcony. But still it was pretty good sight early in the morning.

Just as the sun was rising



After sunrise



View of the road and tea estates from our balcony



Little disappointed we hurried to get ready so that we could view some more wildlife on the way back. Unfortunately for us it was pretty foggy that day and it wasn’t until close to 7:00 when we actually started.

Ready for the drive back



Gorgeous early morning light



One more



Tani all set for the drive back home



We spotted the peacock on the way back



Twisties … Taurus was going to miss them



Some more mountain goats



Through the mountains

[nibedk]

The route taken for Bangalore



It was SH78 to start with till we crossed Pollachi. Then we touched NH 209 after crossing Pollachi which is a two lane road. Then it was SH166. A pic below. It wasn’t possible to drive too fast.



After we crossed the ghat roads and crossed Pollachi wife took over and continued driving till we reached Salem. Once we touched NH7 it was all good again. Speeds were up again and we covered good distances.



Beautiful roads all the way till Salem



Pretty scenic as usual …



Roads were pretty straight and inviting. But as decided at the start of the journey we never crossed 120 kmh. And even if we did the buzzer reminded us.



Some University on the way … err forgot its way



Finally we touched Salem around 12:30 PM



We crossed Salem and stopped by for lunch @ Sarvana Bhavan



We had planned to be @ Hebbal, Bangalore by 2:00 PM max so that we could have had the lunch together @ my friend’s place. Since lunch was already cooked for us we fed our daughter and shared one mini thali together just that we do not go hungry. It was 1:30 PM when we started again. I took over the driver’s seat again. Wife was a little sleepy and chose to have a quick nap.

I drove @ 120 km/h throughout slowing down only when required. Covered the close to 250 kms in the next 2:30 hours with average speeds close to 100 kmh.Finally around 4:00 PM we reached Hebbal. Filled our empty stomachs and had a quick one hour nap. We all partied late into the night and slept well after midnight.

We were a little sad though that such a great trip was coming to an end. But the driver in me was happy that still 600 odd kms needed to be covered to get back home.

Stats Valparai – Bangalore



Start Time: 7:00 AM.
End Time: 5:00 PM
Distance Covered: 527.5 kms
Travel Time (In car): 8:40 hours
Average Speed: 60.86 km/h
Total Time: 10:00 hours
Break Time: 1:20 hours
Mileage: 18.4 km/l

This being a weekend the traffic was pretty thick throughout. But since we drove not more than 120 km/h we never really had to sow down too much and were in control always. The average speed was a little on the slower side due to ghat roads, quite some distance on the SHs and finally the (in) famous Bangalore traffic.

[nibedk]

Jan 17 2016 - Day 6

We woke up pretty “Aaram Se” and with a heavy heart started getting ready for the trip back. We ate to our fill and started exactly half past 10.

The route taken was the usual NH7 one finally merging in ORR.



HYD – BNG NH7 now seems to be backyard drive only. We got stuck in the traffic for some time till we Taurus had his share of fill. It wasn’t until we crossed Bangalore airport that we started driving with good speeds



The clouds and the mountains … The drive back was pretty boring. This is the only time when destination is important and the journey is immaterial. We just wanted to reach back home



Straights again but weren’t inviting any more. We started discussing for next trip. That seemed more interesting



Windmills again ….



Bling .. Bling … Bling … Got so bored that I started fiddling with various modes in the camera.



Jai Bajrang Bali …



Isckon Temple



Wife drove around 250 kms and close to 2:00 PM we stopped for lunch



I took over after the lunch and drove till the end. Some more bling



Closing in on our destination



And the final one



We took a tea break around 5:00 PM close to HYD. Around 7:30 PM we finally reached home.

Stats – Bangalore - Hyderabad



Start Time: 10:30 a.m.
End Time: 7:20 p.m.
Distance Covered: 629.8 kms
Travel Time (In car): 7:36 hours
Average Speed: 82.87 km/h
Total Time: 8:50 hours
Break Time: 1:14 hours
Mileage: 18.2 km/l

The stats were pretty similar to first day stats between HYD and BNG. Just that a few additional kms within BNG slowed us down a little till we crossed the airport. The average speed and mileage are precariously similar to the earlier stats.

Well that’s all I have for the last trip we did. Planning on for the next trips. June I will be taking a trip to native and some trip will be planned for sure may be the temple cities of TN( Mahabalipuram, Madurai, Rameswaram and Kanyakumari or trip to Kerala. Bye for the time being catch you all soon again.

[nibedk]

Originally Posted by arvind71181

Come on, get quickly to the Valparai section of the travelogue will ya .

The travelogue has been completed now. Hope me and my camera have done justice in showcasing the pristine beauty of Valparai

Originally Posted by DImPo

Nice to read your detailed travelogue. I get reminded of my trip to Valparai in December 2015. We too stayed in the Misty Creek, was informed about elephants in various tourist spots and was allowed to visit only the Nirar Lower Dam. Had sightings of elephants on the Valpari Chalakudi Road, Great Hornbill and lots of other birds but missed out on the Nilgiri Tahr and the LTMs.
Waiting for your next post.

The travelogue is completed now and thanks for reading through. I do hope to travel there again. We were so exited that we missed some spots where we could have had more sightings of other animals.

I have other posts as well in the travelogue sections. The link is there in the first post of this travelogue

[nibedk]

Originally Posted by varunanb

wow. nice write up and great photos nibedk. you must be lucky for seeing a tusker in ur first visit. Ive been to Valparai twice in the last 5 months for a tusker darshan, but couldnt. Had a close meeting with a special fella - the lion tailed Macaque just infront of our cottage. Had a great time watching them play on my car.

One needs to have good observation skills. Locals in Valparai can exactly pin point the location where animals can be found. We too were guided but out of excitement we would either miss the place completely or reach there before or after time.

Thanks for reading through mate. I too plan to be there again but there are just too many destinations left to be covered.

[roby_dk]

Originally Posted by nibedk

Start Time: 10:30 a.m.
End Time: 7:20 p.m.
Distance Covered: 629.8 kms
Travel Time (In car): 7:36 hours
Average Speed: 82.87 km/h
Total Time: 8:50 hours
Break Time: 1:14 hours
Mileage: 18.2 km/l

Wow nice trip with some nice pictures. Your car also gave a handsome mileage.

[nibedk]

Originally Posted by roby_dk

Wow nice trip with some nice pictures. Your car also gave a handsome mileage.

Thanks mate for having the patience to read through. Not sure whether its good or bad. My overall mileage after covering close to 53 K kms is a paltry 15.7 km/l. Usually get between 17-18 on highways and 14-15 in city. No too worried about it though.

[vdm295]

That was an excellent write-up & the pictures were just too good. You were very lucky to spot the tuskers. I have been to Valparai a couple of times but never ever spores any wild animals.

[jacs]

Glad to see more and more travelogues for Valparai. Enjoyed reading it, keep writing

You had been lucky to spot the Nilgiri Thars and Elephants which I missed in most of my Valparai trips. And some decent bird spotting too. Infact Puthuthottam area is rich in wildlife but depending on season animals move to other belts like Urulikkal in search of food.

Also check out my travelogue on Manampally, may be you could arrange some permissions for a day trip if interested.

[nibedk]

Originally Posted by vdm295

That was an excellent write-up & the pictures were just too good. You were very lucky to spot the tuskers. I have been to Valparai a couple of times but never ever spores any wild animals.

Thanks mate for reading through. Glad that you liked it.

Lot of folks have mentioned that we were lucky to have spotted tuskers. I am now convinced that we really were. Early morning we had the maximum sightings. As the day goes by animals retreat to avoid contact with human population I guess.

This family of tuskers were near Valparai through out the day and we were not allowed to visit a lot of places by the forest guards. These were part of a bigger group I guess which had strayed into Valparai that day.

[locusjag]

Wonderfully captured travelogue sir. This and the other Karnataka trip, both. You cover such long distances without a fuss that it's amazing, with due credit to your daughter as well. I'm itching to do long trips as well but my lack of 'DIY' basic car repair skills has always troubled me. I'm my extended family's preferred chauffeur for long drives but I couldn't change a tyre or check the battery! Nevertheless, I'm plotting long trips while I accumulate enough vacation days.

[CornerCarver]

Thumbs Up for such a detailed travelogue covering Kodai and surrounding places from Hyderabad. Thats really an applause deserving feat covering close to 1400Kms from Hyderabad to Kodai with a 4yr old Kid. Stumbled upon this travelogue of yours Sir as i am planning a visit to Kodaikanal or Munnar this May with family via Bangalore. Will try to reach atleast till Salem from Hyderabad on Day 1.