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One fine Wednesday at work, it just dawned to me Kungfu Panda (Jr.) has not had much adventures lately, and was doing only city duty. After his first year run of some 45K Kms, he was mostly left for smaller duties in the city and some airport runs. Why not give him an opportunity and wake him up from this slumber? Why not just switch the Exploration Mode ON?
Spoke to a colleague who likes to join me on drives, and immediately got an okay for a drive. I asked him if he'd be okay for a day off plus the weekend, and he readily agreed. Yes, its going to be the subsequent Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and I have Thursday to plan pack and leave! Well we make decisions like that these days, since well planned trips normally do not convert, sudden decisions do.
Trip of three days for me to plan, I sat at my desk contemplating the possibilities. I did not want a mile crunching drive, but an exploratory one. It flashed on mind about a trip to Kodai, but not really to Kodai, but around Kodai. Why not we find how many routes are there to reach Kodai? What are those villages nearby Kodai? What one could expect in these parts? With that theme in mind, details were put together to execute this trip. My trip partner had no clue what was in the cards for the trip.
In the end we found 7 routes to reach Kodai, while for six of them you could drive, the seventh you have to walk in from Munnar or may be a 4x4!
So here is a log of a drive to Kodai, without actually visiting Kodai and a walk from Kodai to Munnar!
Read ON
The Plan
Day 01 : 07th June 2019 : Friday : Bangalore - Kodai Outer
Day 02 : 08th June 2019 : Saturday : Kodai Outer
Day 03 : 09th June 2019 : Sunday : Kodai Outer - Bangalore
So Simple :D
The route
But the plan had all the entry routes to Kodai possible, and ask me, it was fun charting this out and executing!!
Detailed Drive Plan
The marked numbers are the entry points to Kodai.
1. Normal / Usual route to Kodai from Batlagundu via Kodai Road. Plain Boring stuff, following all those crazy guys showing their skills on the hills.
2. Turn off at Sempatty and take Sitharevu - Perumparai - Thandikudi - Pannaikadu and join the Kodai road and go on wards via Perumalmalai to Kodai.
3. Sempatty - Adalur - and join route 2 at Perumparai.
4. From Vedasandur - OddanChathram - Pachalur and join route 2 at Perumparai.
5. Palani - Melpallam - Perumalmalai - Kodai, I guess this route would be the second most popular after 1. Again boring stuff!
6. Periyakulam - Adukkam - Perumal Malai - Kodai, will make you heart skip a beat. Its via Adukkam forest range, and half of the road is not completed yet.
7. This one needs permissions if you want to take vehicles, I was told. Vehicles are strictly not allowed, even if they allow it won't be of any use. You need 4x4, but that too only till Kerala border, after that it's better to walk into Kodai!! Only the villagers who stay in between the borders use this, either they take a donkey to bring the produce to Kodai side or they take a Mahindra pickup to Kerala side. Rest of them just walk.
Day 01 : 07th June 2019 : Friday
Bangalore - Kodaikanal We then decided to drive back to Kodai via the usual route, Route 1
This is the route through which everybody lands up at Kodai, so I particularly hate this route. All newbies show their racing and hill climbing skills here, and add to it the impatience and reckless speeds of the cabs, this is not a route I would like to take. Not just here, it is the case with any major road to any hill station. But for now we need to reach Kodai faster, it was already noon and we were getting hungry.
From Batlagund Highway to Kodai Checkpost https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwjVT68cGlI
Since this is the major route to Kodai, there is a check post before the ghat section begins. Umpteen stories of harassment are heard from this place.
We were stopped at the Check post
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygV1sSqRajE
Immediately there was another car with a couple in it and the inspector got interested in that car and shooed us away.
We drove towards Kodai and stopped at Manjalar Dam Viewpoint https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n11TF3iAXA0 We parked at Manjalar Dam Viewpoint Area. The viewpoint entry itself was barricaded!
Beautiful Manjalar Dam from Kodai Road
By 14:00 we drove towards Kodai.
We reached Kodai Road Palani Road Junction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5uU3T9W95I We continued on and reached Kodai Entry Toll Booth. We paid some 50Rs for Entry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVXaSUkBiKg
Immediately after the entry is Silver Cascade Waterfall https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQn5x0oh8h0
We then continued non stop to Kodai Lake area https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=entJ7ZkNlhY We parked near the Lake and found us some food, all places were crowded like mad, and we made ourselves comfortable with a place which gave us something
continued...
Day 01 : 07th June 2019 : Friday
Bangalore - Kodaikanal
It was almost 16:00 by the time we satiated our hunger and got ready. We could really feel the crowds and impatience in and around Kodai Lake. I decided to drive out to a smaller village which is about 40KMs from Kodai Lake and check out. It was almost sure that you will not get any accommodation in Kodai, and a cursory glance on booking apps gave us minimum rates of 3000 for a double bed for the night, and that too in shady ones!! With no idea of a stay, well it was not a concern for us, since we are the types who might even drive back to Dindigul for the night if we don't get rooms :uncontrol, we drove towards Mannavanoor.
We clicked some signboards for making plans the next days, we had two more days still at hand.
We noted down Kookal, Palampudhur for next days As for today Mannavanoor was 7Kms and Kilavarai 19Kms Our plan was this go all the way to Kilavarai and come back to Mannavanoor and hunt for a stay
We drove from Kodai lake towards Mannavanoor and stopped by the viewpoint
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUdbjVOIU1w Mannavanoor lake and meadows as seen from the viewpoint. It was beautiful
From Mannavanoor Viewpoint we drove to Mannavanoor and continued on towards Kilavarai.
We found a turn off towards Berijam lake https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttv3WvWaJHc But there is a check post, and is closed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5m234HGlms
Berijam you can visit from Kodai side via entry form Moirs Point. There is a bus service these days with a ticket price of 150 or so per head which will take you to Berijam Lake from Moirs point entrance, and exit through this checkpost here and show you Mannavanoor lake and drop you back at Moirs Point. I find it a good idea and service. But the crowds are just too much. I never attempted this, dont want to.
This is the scheme of events for that trip. The bus traces the route marked in red.
We then drove all the way to Kilavarai village https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYpeskQ_uq4 We went in search of the turn towards Kadavari Pass, which will go to Munnar!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLhmKscTuSc
We interviewed the locals and found out the way to Kadavari Pass. It was almost impossible for any vehicle to take that route. The villagers told us they normally walk it out to the other side. This excited us and we wanted to explore the possibility for us to walk it out too. It was already 19:00 by then, and we decided to get back to Mannavanoor and hunt for a place to stay and explore the possibility of the pass the next day.
continued...
Day 01 : 07th June 2019 : Friday
Bangalore - Kodaikanal
By 20:00 we reached Mannavanoor. Meanwhile we found a shady place in town which had some rooms and beds.
We were quoted 1000 Rs for this room with double occupancy.
Forget double, not even one guy can fit in to the bed and the room. We did a straight bargain and got us two rooms for the night at 300Rs per room. We also decided to keep this place as our base for the next night also. So two nights, two rooms a total of 1200Rs :D. But be warned, you must have the will power to sleep in there, it is no simple feat!! We made sure we were dead tired before we hit those beds.
After the room for the night was settled it was time for settling hunger. But that too was too risky an affair as it turned out. I watched this guy again and again and asked him to fry my dosa's beyond 200 degrees to be very sure. I ate them like papad's. :D
The only food option for the night!! The mangoes we got form the orchard near Adukkam came in very very handy
We pulled out a table and made some temporary arrangement to sit outside our rooms till we become tired to get in the room. The room smelled, it was damp, the bed the blankets all of it required strength.
While we were munching on our mangoes, we missed a fruit platter. So here make one for memories sakes.
Somehow by 23:00 we hit the bed and dozed off
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