[jaaz]

Nice travelogue and maximum utilization of the vehicle. You have shown it's place

Is there a different route to Valparai with 70 hairpin bends? Is so, the road condition and how to make it from Bangalore?

[HappyWheels]

Wonderful travelogue! Loved the photos.

I wanted to visit Valparai but got voted out for Bekal Fort by the rest of the family!

[shankar.balan]

Valparai is a lovely place. My Dad planted tea and coffee here and in other districts in the 1960’s and 1970’s and 1980’s and 1990’s.

I had a part of my childhood here. And yes, my
Folks used to drive us down to Pollachi and Coimbatore and up to Ooty to drop us in boarding school and leave us there for the term. And then pick us up and bring us back for the holidays. We used to explore the surroundings a lot - Grass Hills and Top Slip and Nirar Dam and Sholayar and so on and so forth. We loved growing up in the hills amongst lush carpets of tea and multiple pet dogs and cows and all. Most of all when we used to be taken to the Club and left in the nursery with our ‘Ayah’s’ and then when the evening ended and we were taken back home in the back seat of the old Ambassador and what I remember best was the moon which gave the illusion of following us.
Valparai town had the old Spencer’s which sold everything from grocery through clothes and even books. A lovely shop in those days, redolent with the scent of pipe tobacco and soap and spices and tea and all.

A Good life indeed. Great memories.

I was able to re-visit Valparai just for a solo half day trip from Coimbatore last April. And I loved every moment of that drive. Not to hijack this thread but am posting just a few of the best pics from that trip. I was in the ‘right car’ hence I experienced even greater levels of enjoyment on those twisty roads with butter soft tarmac on a nice hot bright clear Spring April day.

[itwasntme]

Lovely! In a way, Valparai has stayed relatively unspoilt as it is just a bit too far from BLR for a driving holiday with family. Is there any scenic place to break journey at a halfway point?

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

Lovely pictures. Having grown up in the tea estates of Valparai, the pictures bring back a lot of memories.

Nice to know. Its really a lovely place and superb roads all around.

Originally Posted by jaaz

Nice travelogue and maximum utilization of the vehicle. You have shown it's place

Is there a different route to Valparai with 70 hairpin bends? Is so, the road condition and how to make it from Bangalore?

Thank You.

I don't think so. There is Kolli Hills with 72 hairpin bends but that this not on the Bangalore/Coimbatore - Valparai route.

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

Wonderful travelogue! Loved the photos.

I wanted to visit Valparai but got voted out for Bekal Fort by the rest of the family!

Thank You. Bekal is a nice place too.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Valparai is a lovely place. My Dad planted tea and coffee here and in other districts in the 1960’s and 1970’s and 1980’s and 1990’s.

I had a part of my childhood here.

Thanks for sharing. Both are lovely places.

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Lovely! In a way, Valparai has stayed relatively unspoilt as it is just a bit too far from BLR for a driving holiday with family. Is there any scenic place to break journey at a halfway point?

Maybe you can go to Yercaud for a day or two and then to Valparai. I don't see any other place at halfway from Bangalore.

[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Lovely! In a way, Valparai has stayed relatively unspoilt as it is just a bit too far from BLR for a driving holiday with family. Is there any scenic place to break journey at a halfway point?

I think the biggest advantage Valparai has is that most of the land is owned by private plantations or is forest land and hence there is very little scope for resorts to pop up at every corner. There are limited good stay options which are mainly estate homestays which are priced towards the premium end and hence some crowd filteration happens this way.

In addition, due the same reasons above (private plantations + forest), you really need a local contact to be able to actually see the good places. As a tourist you will not have access to the many beauties of this place.

A few pictures of these hidden gems that have access only via private property.


You can see a tribal settlement in the middle of this picture


An amazing valley with multiple waterfalls


Hornbill spotting in the jungles

[Arun_S]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

Narrow roads towards Nallamudi view point:

Attachment 2453033

This Baleno struggled a lot to give space
Attachment 2453034

Opposite traffic was asked to enter a side road to make space for this bus
Attachment 2453035

Went to Valparai in March, like the Baleno, I too got stuck in the opposite side of the bus while returning from Nallamudi View point.

There were some tense moments, I thought the bus driver is going to scratch my car, but credit to the driver gave some good directions, somehow managed to wiggle my car out.

Valparai is definitely a worthy place to visit, only problem is good hotels. I was not able to find Tea estate bungalows as it was some holiday all of them were booked. The BPCL petrol bunk owns a hotel too, I booked with them as they were the one have ample amount of parking space.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by Arun_S

Went to Valparai in March, like the Baleno, I too got stuck in the opposite side of the bus while returning from Nallamudi View point.

There were some tense moments, I thought the bus driver is going to scratch my car, but credit to the driver gave some good directions, somehow managed to wiggle my car out.

Yes, some stretches are very narrow and it is more about accessing the opposite traffic and stopping at the right spot where you can give space. We may still end-up in a tricky situation though.

[supertinu]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

Yes, some stretches are very narrow and it is more about accessing the opposite traffic and stopping at the right spot where you can give space. We may still end-up in a tricky situation though.

Posting again with quote, so that it triggers a notification

Hey Arun, any inputs on the gmap suggested route for Valparai?

BLR->Krishnagiri->Bhavani (near erode)->Tiruppur->Pollachi->Valparai, heard road conditions are good and this will avoid the salem/coimbatore scramble also. Any inputs?

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by supertinu

Posting again with quote, so that it triggers a notification

Hey Arun, any inputs on the gmap suggested route for Valparai?

BLR->Krishnagiri->Bhavani (near erode)->Tiruppur->Pollachi->Valparai, heard road conditions are good and this will avoid the salem/coimbatore scramble also. Any inputs?

I will stick to Salem/Coimbatore which has good options for breakfast/lunch stops. Also, by default google is showing me the Salem/Coimbatore route only.

Mettur/Bhavani route is not a bad a option.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by supertinu

BLR->Krishnagiri->Bhavani (near erode)->Tiruppur->Pollachi->Valparai, heard road conditions are good and this will avoid the salem/coimbatore scramble also. Any inputs?

Originally Posted by arun_josie

I will stick to Salem/Coimbatore which has good options for breakfast/lunch stops. Also, by default google is showing me the Salem/Coimbatore route only.

My suggestion: Stick to the Salem/Coimbattor highway. Drive till Avinashi. And exit to Palladam. This way you avoid both Tiruppur and Coimbattore. This is the best options. Avinashi-Palladam-Pollachi is usually a great 2-lane drive. You may encounter traffic till Palladam but beyond that its thins out.

[supertinu]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

I will stick to Salem/Coimbatore which has good options for breakfast/lunch stops. Also, by default google is showing me the Salem/Coimbatore route only.

Mettur/Bhavani route is not a bad a option.

Originally Posted by ampere

My suggestion: Stick to the Salem/Coimbattor highway. Drive till Avinashi. And exit to Palladam. This way you avoid both Tiruppur and Coimbattore. This is the best options. Avinashi-Palladam-Pollachi is usually a great 2-lane drive. You may encounter traffic till Palladam but beyond that its thins out.

Thanks Arun and Ampere. I played it safe finally and stuck to the highway 544 till outskirts of coimbatore. Coimbatore - Pollachi highway is very good and effortless to drive on. There is only a ~10km stretch of single lane from 544 to the highway which is painful but rest was ok. I did hit lot of weekend traffic leaving Bangalore on 21st though and took about 11 hrs to Valparai in total with about 1.5hrs of stops on the way.

Arun, I also stayed at Star tea estates based on your review. Lovely place in terms of location and beauty all around.