[Wall-e]

Hello travel Veterans,

Planning a trip to Tirunelveli in mid-july and wanted to explore some offbeat locations around Tirunelveli. Been to the regular places like Papanasam, Kanyakumari , most visited falls in Courtallam quite a number of times, so wanted to try places with relatively less footfall. As with any less visited places there is little information available. Hence any information reg those places would be helpful.

1) I would be starting around 8 AM from Tirunelveli, tentatively the plan is Tirunelveli - Kalaikesam - Ulakkai falls - Mathur Aqueduct, Is it all 3 doable in 1 day? would be covering courtallam on a separate day.

2) Kalikesam falls
a) Do we need to get any permission from the forest office to visit this falls? Any contact details would be helpful
b) Is it safe to take bath in the falls or ponds in front of falls and not deep?
c) Any tips before visiting there

3) Ulakkai falls
a) Read that it’s a 3 km trek through the forest, are the paths marked adequately?
d) How long will it take for the trek one way?
d) Is the trekking path too rocky/too steep, My parents(60+) may join me if the trek is easy.
c) Read the place is very slippery and desolate, Is it safe enough for ladies and a 6 yr?
f) Is it safe to take bath in the falls or ponds and not deep?
b) Do we need to get any permission from the forest office to visit this falls? Any contact details would be helpful
e) Any tips before visiting there
4) Would be visiting in mid-July, will there be enough water in both the falls?

On a separate day, planning to visit shenbagadevi falls and Then aruvi in courtallam.
shenbagadevi aruvi and Then aruvi
a) How long and how difficult is the trek in the forest.
b) Is it accessible easily or would require a guide/ assistance from someone local?
c) Is it safe to take bath in the falls or ponds and not deep?
b) Do we need to get any permission from the forest office to visit this falls? Any contact details would be helpful
e) Any tips before visiting there

Thanks in advance. Cheers !!!

[hserus]

Originally Posted by Wall-e

Hello travel Veterans,

Planning a trip to Tirunelveli in mid-july and wanted to explore some offbeat locations around Tirunelveli. Been to the regular places like Papanasam, Kanyakumari ,

All these will require forest office permission from different range offices, especially as one or two are in Kanyakumari district.

You can also try the falls in the kalakad mundanthurai sanctuary such as the thalaiyanai, manimutharu etc not sure how many of those you’ve gone to.

Always use a local guide and make sure you’re physically fit and have good non slip boots. Some of the climbs are steep and rocky I hear (I’m 45 and not that fit so I don’t normally trek into forests, but Kalakad is my hometown so I do know things here and there)

[darkfantasy]

Has anyone done Chennai to Tirunelveli trip at night? How is the road at night? How about facilities like restaurants and petrol pumps? We are planning to drive for this Diwali holidays in a VW Polo with my BILs family. We are 4 of us in total and 3 of us can drive. We are planning to start from Tambaram around 4 PM and reach Tirunelveli around 4 AM with ample stops along the way. We have done multiple day trips between these cities and are quite comfortable driving in the daytime but none of us have much night driving experience.
I understand it is not advisable to travel at night, but other options are way too expensive now. So, it would be great to hear the opinion of veterans from this forum. If it is deemed too risky we would of course find alternatives.

[hserus]

You should reach Trichy well before the petrol pumps close for the night and there are several 24 hour pumps on the way. Just make sure you watch for those barriers - not all marked with reflective paint and some are supplemented by steel drums filled with stone. And consider taking some snacks for late night.

Originally Posted by darkfantasy

Has anyone done Chennai to Tirunelveli trip at night? How is the road at night? How about facilities like restaurants and petrol pumps? We are planning to drive for this Diwali holidays in a VW Polo with my BILs family. We are 4 of us in total and 3 of us can drive. .

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by darkfantasy

Has anyone done Chennai to Tirunelveli trip at night? We are planning to start from Tambaram around 4 PM and reach Tirunelveli around 4 AM with ample stops along the way.

Being Diwali eve Friday, please leave as early as possible. This way you escape Tambaram-Athur toll without much trouble. If you have to start at 4pm, check for Perungalathur-Paranur traffic and decide on alternatives like Mudichur-Oragadam-Walajabad-Chengalpattu or Kelambakkam-Thiruporur-Chengalpattu.

Most restaurants are open till 11 pm, some one off places are open till 1130 pm.

The only places that are open all night are the typical bus pit stops (where TNSTC, SETC, omni buses stop) like Aristo/Hilda. The ones that will wake up the family at 3 am with loud songs.

I would suggest to pack food for the drive and stop only for tea/coffee enroute. This way you maximize your awake time.

Sengurichi and Othakadai BPCL Ghar Dhaba are both open all night. I've personally filled at 1130 pm and 300 am in these 2. Pretty sure the one at Padalur is also open. Don't look for petrol bunks or rest stops south of Madurai, there is nothing open through Kavalkinaru late night.

There are no safety issues. This is a busy highway at night and 21st will be one of the busiest nights with traffic streaming steadily on both directions of the highway. Please stop on well lighted areas, petrol bunks are the best, toll plazas are the next but less preferred.

[darkfantasy]

Originally Posted by hserus

You should reach Trichy well before the petrol pumps close for the night and there are several 24 hour pumps on the way. Just make sure you watch for those barriers - not all marked with reflective paint and some are supplemented by steel drums filled with stone. And consider taking some snacks for late night.

Originally Posted by narayans80

Being Diwali eve Friday, please leave as early as possible. This way you escape Tambaram-Athur toll without much trouble. If you have to start at 4pm, check for Perungalathur-Paranur traffic and decide on alternatives like Mudichur-Oragadam-Walajabad-Chengalpattu or Kelambakkam-Thiruporur-Chengalpattu.

Thanks a lot for the inputs.

We drove last Saturday(22nd) night and it was a nice experience. We started at 4 PM from Tambaram and there was a steady stream of vehicles until Madurai after which it thinned out, however it never felt lonely or unsafe. There were multiple petrol bunks open until Madurai which we reached around 1 AM. It was a lot more peaceful and scenic at night when even familiar landscapes appear clothed with intrigue. Felt like driving through a fantasy land especially the stretch between Trichy and Madurai. . We kept the speeds around 80 and never exceeded 100. The engine(VW polo - 1.0 MPI) felt a lot quieter cruising at these speeds and the drive in general felt a lot more relaxed than in day time.

None of us slept until we reached Tirunelveli and kept a lively banter. Did not stop at places other than petrol bunks - having multiple drivers helped, however, I feel it is not that difficult with a single driver too. We took nearly 12 hours mostly because we were very sedate and there was moderate traffic till Tindivanam.

The only difficulty during night is those private buses with their blinding headlights when they come up behind us- we generally slowed down and let them overtake. The road infra is generally good with reflectors in almost all places. We never had to hard brake anywhere for want of lighting or reflectors.

Overall, it was a new and refreshing experience for us, and night travel is the perfect time for proper bonding with man and machine. By the time we reached Tirunelveli, there was a feeling of oneness with the car and I started missing the gentle thrum of the engine that our bodies have gotten accustomed to. I did not feel sleepy at all and actually felt sharp and weirdly excited. I believe everyone should try overnight driving at least once - pick a safe highway, follow all precautions with a sufficient safety margin, and then just drive on and on to your heart's content.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by darkfantasy

We drove last Saturday(22nd) night and it was a nice experience. We started at 4 PM from Tambaram

Its a great time to start even regularly. The only place you'll see traffic is SRM. Once past Chengalpattu it is peaceful to drive. You wouldn't see bus traffic on other weekends (except for the occasional Nagercoil-Marthandam-Trivandrum buses) and should reach Tirunelveli by 130-200 am itself.