[lohithrao]

Pics taken during my visit couple of years back:
Munnar Trip @ Fotopic.Net

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by Surprise

Are you sure is it cent (or its acres).

If you can get an acre of land in any inhabited part of Kerala for that kind of price, I'll buy some off you.

Thats definitely per cent, and its on the lower side.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by THE-U-

Steer, I was there in June and this will be my second and last time.

Since youre from this part of the country I think you'll agree that June isnt summer. The monsoon had already begun.

I'm surprised at your other experiences, because its been quite the opposite with us. We always drive up till the Jetty (therefore no long walk) and have never had issues with the boats.

Perhaps we're lucky, but I do agree that Munnar is a much better place than Thekkady (actually not Munnar proper but the places on the road to Marayoor (way to Udumalpet) and the road to Thekkady are great. So is devikulam which is better than Munnar.

And of course Vagamon is much better than either.

[abn]

Hi ,
Lots of discussions happening about munnar, i am one of the blessed guys who got a chance to study in munnar. I did my engineering in college of engineering munnar.
Happy to see some good photos of munnar. good write up also.
thanks Mclaren.

[abn]

Hi ,
Happy to see Lots of discussions happening about muaanr. I am one of the blessed guys who got a chance to study in munnar. I did my engineering in munnar.
Nice photos and write up ,
Thanks Mclaren

[csentil]

Originally Posted by THE-U-

McLaren, Great Write Up. I missed visiting Rameswaram and Dhanuskodi earlier and am still regretting it. Munnar looks like great place to go to.



Thekkady is ok, but I would not recommend anyone to go there when there is not sufficient water in the lake. Besides, the facilities there are downright awful and the boat operators etc. have typical Kerala Government Employee mentality (read no customer service). We even had to witness an unfortunate incident of these KTDC guys beating up a bunch of tourists. After visiting there earlier this year, I am never going to go back because it is definitely not worth while and there are very few animals too.



I absolutely agree. Most TN state highways have good surfaces and amazing, the speed breakers are well marked too (at least those I have seen).

Actually the time to go to Thekkady to see animals is during the summer. There's not sufficient water inside the forest and most of the animals come to the dam waters to drink. You should take the early morning and/or the late evening boat ride. You have a jungle walk from 7 pm to 10 pm and then from 10 pm to 1 am. They only take you through a small part of the jungle near the resorts, but it is scary as hell, especially if you are surrounded by elephants trumpeting !! Only 5 persons per group with 2 guards and a tracker. They give you stockings to prevent leeches (which are almost absent during summer) and a torch. Its Rs.500/- per person and is worth every buck.

You should stay inside the Park, Periyar House is the cheapest, followed by Aranya Nivas. If you have enough money you can choose to stay at the Taj Island hotel situated inside on an island. Awesome place. The 7 pm to 10 pm batch before us even managed to spot a tiger but we saw a whole bunch of elephants and bears.

If you miss the early morning boat no point going as you will not see many animals once the sun is up !!

EDIT: Oops.. I didn't see Steeroid's post.. I've actually written almost whatever you have written here !! Sorry about that.

EDIT EDIT: U, you cannot expect animals to lineup when you go to a wildlife resort. Its pure chance. Thats the thrill of going to a jungle. I've been there and not seen a single animal atleast twice, I've been there when I could see most of them before we even got into the boat. I've seen dholes hunt down deer right next to the jetty and have also seen the dry lakebed. Its part of the charm & mystique of Thekkady.

[THE-U-]

Apologize in advance for hijacking McLaren's great thread, but here it goes for clarification:

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Since youre from this part of the country I think you'll agree that June isnt summer. The monsoon had already begun.

Actually, the monsoon hadn't come in and we were warned about the lake not having enough water. This is why people needed to walk to the boat boarding point. The real boarding point is close to parking when there is enough water in the lake.

Originally Posted by csentil

...snip... You have a jungle walk from 7 pm to 10 pm and then from 10 pm to 1 am. They only take you through a small part of the jungle near the resorts, but it is scary as hell, especially if you are surrounded by elephants trumpeting !! ...snip...

You should stay inside the Park, Periyar House is the cheapest, followed by Aranya Nivas.

Thanks for your pointers. Actually our home base is about 2.5 hrs from Thekkady so normally it is a daytrip for us. We did go to elephant junction which is about 3km from Kumily and it was much better than the boat ride. Although I generally love KTDC establishments, they've lost me in Thekkady completely.

Originally Posted by csentil

U, you cannot expect animals to lineup when you go to a wildlife resort. Its pure chance. Thats the thrill of going to a jungle. ... Its part of the charm & mystique of Thekkady.

Hey man, are you trying to be funny or what? All I was trying to say is that there are more relaxing and extremely beautiful places like Munnar, Vagamon etc. that are more worthwhile to visit. Even the drive from Peermedu-Vagamon-Petta is outstanding although you might not see any wild animals. This is of course just my opinion. Thekkady is one of the favourites of my Dad too, but as I said, it is not worth my time and I wouldn't recommend it compared to other places nearby.

[mclaren1885]

Surprise, I am sure it is a cent. It was confirmed by the hotel manager we stayed at. They had paid 10L for each cent. The guide & several other people my dad managed to talk to quoted rates between 3-5L per cent depending on the location. But certainly not close to the Munnar town.

Steer, now I have to visit Vagamon & Wayanad with my folks. Any other interesting recommended places in and around Kerala?

And I am glad you all like the travelogue. Hopefully it will make some of you take the initiative of visiting such beautiful places. Then this thread would have served its purpose.

[Desert fox]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

If you can get an acre of land in any inhabited part of Kerala for that kind of price, I'll buy some off you.

Thats definitely per cent, and its on the lower side.

That is quite a lot of dollars to buy cents!!! 100 cents = 1 acre,1 cent x 10 lakhs,100 cents x 10 lakhs = 10 crores!!

That is a lot of money.

[Harrie]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

If you can get an acre of land in any inhabited part of Kerala for that kind of price, I'll buy some off you.

Thats definitely per cent, and its on the lower side.

Near our home in wayanad its around 5-10L per acre depending on what grows there. Some plantations fetch upto 15-20L per acre.

[csentil]

McLaren, great writeup. Munnar is a great place to be.

Has anyone tried this route. We've done it and its absolutely great.

Coimbatore->Walparai->Athirapalli Falls. The drive from Walparai to Athirapalli falls is awesome to say the least. After crossing Mudees and a few tea estates you get literally lost in the jungles. There is no sign of inhabitation for quite some time. Excellent downhill. Road condition is a guess now. Suggest you have a big vehicle. Finally it ends up in Athirapalli and then the road goes on to Chalakuddy.


Then we crossed the river on one of those boats which carries cars also and got to the other side and then took a short cut towards Munnar instead of driving around to Chalakuddy, Trichur. Any Keralites know this route? All I know was we passed through some nice Rubber plantations till we got to the route that goes to Munnar.

From Munnar we went on to Thekkadi which is also a great route. There is a Munnar->Kodaikanal route which was blocked then.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by csentil

Has anyone tried this route. We've done it and its absolutely great.

Coimbatore->Walparai->Athirapalli Falls.

Search TBHP Meet section with the keywords "Rumble In The Jungle"

[s0uljah]

Hey just saw this now Rahul... nice one !! The pictures from your camera phone have turned out really well I must say. Great report, I havent been to Rameshwaram, you have provided a fair bit of info. Thanks.

Munnar is nice and all but basically the forest has been destroyed... acres and acres of tea estate gets boring after a few days.

Thekkady, Wayanad, Nelliyampathy, Vagamon... these are some places for the lovers of clean, serene and green.

Iv been visiting Kodai regularly for the last 6 years or so. When I was a toddler I remember going there with my folks, most details are sketchy except for the passing of a herd of Bison. It was pretty scary back then.

Also Kodai "tour guides" are amongst the most enterprising chaps Iv ever met. They can size up people really fast. "Photo Point", "View Point" many a times are just on the spot improvisations. Almost every place offers some scenic views!

Im not sure but I think it was Steeroid who mentioned on another thread that he had biked it from Munnar to Kodai. Thats one route I would love to do a trek.

This years trip is still pending

[mclaren1885]

Another trip being planned. Places to visit are Kumbhakonam, Madurai (once again), Trichy, Tirumala and obviously I will be throwing in some scenic places closeby. Kodai being one option .

[esteem_lover]

If you are in madurai, kodai is a must visit. And talking of temples, there are quite a few in madurai. Make sure you visit most of them if not all. If any help is required, i can arrange a few things there as i worked there for 5 years during the initial stages of my career. i still have friends there.
cheers