[Majic]

Originally Posted by jkdas

sj; beautiful pix. And yes the roads are sexy. I remember taking Changry route on my way up and took another route to drive down.

jk, which was the road that you took? Is there any meet coming up soon.

[rabnawaz_b]

Nice pics sj_koova..
I am planning for a vacation with wifey after Ramzan. Dates I have in mind are 2,3,4,5 October. I just love hills stations and I have covered many hills stations in south, however never been to Vagamon. Please advice if October would be good time to visit vagamon. Also, how many days would I require to briefly explore this place?

[hellstar]

nice pictures last week i also had the chance to pass through NH 220 to get to kumily on my way to bangalore , have a couple of pictures from my side , but my car looked just too dirty to be posted. I was forced to stop the car for sometime to let the zero visibility fog to clear out somewhere near kuttikanam

[sj_koova]

Started from Manimala at 2PM. My intention was to reach Bangalore at 11PM and get good sleep for next days work.
But as I crossed Mundakkayam on KK road, I started feeling that I may slip from the original plan.
Every curve on KK road was giving breathtaking views and I did not have to think twice to stop the car and click some.
The climb starts from 35th mile on KK road, that comes soon after Mundakkayam.
You travel 10-15km and the lush green on tea gardens starts welcoming you.
Peerumade is like a high point with tea gardens all around. There is turn on the left for Vagamon from here. Haven't tried this road yet.

From Peerumade you start descent a bit for Vandiperiyar. All through the tea gardens.

Vandiperiyar to Kumily is again a climb through curvey roads.



This was the first spot I stopped for a click(Soon after Mundakkayam).




Thats a church



Curvey roads leading to Peerumde->Kumily


We just drove through those roads to reach at this view point



It is again green, but not as good as Vagamon



This twin tree was beautiful



Mountain layers



Kumily is the border of Kerala-Tamilnadu on NH220. From Kumily it is another descent for Kambam-Theni. This time it is through dense forests.
But the time you reach to the valleys of Tamilnadu, you will surprised to see the difference in terrain.

Roads got better as I entered Tamilnadu. Barely any traffic on road. It was so pleasant to drive.
I had packed my camera in the bag, but realized soon that it is not time yet. I still have to stop at many spots to capture the plains and rice fields of Tamilnadu.

[yzfrj]

Great pics, keep em coming please.
I've never been through the Kumali-Kambam-Theni road.

But, once my dad and mom took that road on his way to chennai.
Lots and lots of turnings and on the way they ran through thick fog around noon

[Speed-Gladiator]

Awesome pictures dude, BTW which camera you were carrying. Finally what time did u reach Bangalore? I am also planning to take this route from Bangalore to Kottayam for the coming Pooja holidays. Please tell me about the Road conditions.

[sj_koova]

Originally Posted by yzfrj

Great pics, keep em coming please.
I've never been through the Kumali-Kambam-Theni road.

But, once my dad and mom took that road on his way to chennai.
Lots and lots of turnings and on the way they ran through thick fog around noon

Roads are in excellent condition. Kambam-Karur is 2 line, but perfectly laid. You can easly do 100kmph. Very less traffic too
Karur-Bangalore is 99% four line and I really have to praise NHAI for the excellent work they have done in Tamilnadu. Traffic increased but the road condition also improved, so you can do 120kmph.

Originally Posted by Speed-Gladiator

Awesome pictures dude, BTW which camera you were carrying. Finally what time did u reach Bangalore? I am also planning to take this route from Bangalore to Kottayam for the coming Pooja holidays. Please tell me about the Road conditions.

I own Nikon D90 with 18-105mm and 70-300mm lens.
I reached Bangalore at 1AM with relaxed driving. Hardly exceeded 120kmph even on four line roads. Should be 9 hours for drive and 2 hours for photos and dinner
More about the road details I will write in the current condition of roads to Kerala thread.

[mclaren1885]

Sj, those are some amazing pics. I remember the road trip we did to Pala & Kuttikanam. Some of these pics brings back some amazing memories I have had in Kerala. Thanks a ton.

Btw, what lens have you used?

[sj_koova]

Descended from the mountain ranges on Kerala-Tamilnadu border and now I am at kambam-Theni highway.
I feel this is the only place in Tamilnadu where you do not see barren land.
Cultivated land with vegetables, grape, coconut, rice fields and so on.
I am sure their hard work feed a large number of people in their state and adjacent ones.

With due respect to the hardworking farmers in Kambam-Theni, let me show you the panoramas I shot.

This was one large panorama, I had to split it into two and the size was huge.
Top one is the left portion and bottom one is the right portion, cropped a bit






Some more from the Kambam-Theni stretch

I applied bit of gradient tint on this one





Excellent highway and views


Coconut tree grows better in Tamilnadu now. Looks more like Alleppey if no hills in the background


And the last one from me.


It was 6PM and getting dark and also I had 400km to drive.
Zoomed on the TN highways and reached Bangalore at 1AM after lots of exploration with my camera.

[sj_koova]

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

Sj, those are some amazing pics. I remember the road trip we did to Pala & Kuttikanam. Some of these pics brings back some amazing memories I have had in Kerala. Thanks a ton.

Btw, what lens have you used?

Yeah..these place and pics are really nostalgic
Used both 18-105mm VR and 70-300mm VR on my D90

[sj_koova]

Originally Posted by rabnawaz_b

Nice pics sj_koova..
I am planning for a vacation with wifey after Ramzan. Dates I have in mind are 2,3,4,5 October. I just love hills stations and I have covered many hills stations in south, however never been to Vagamon. Please advice if October would be good time to visit vagamon. Also, how many days would I require to briefly explore this place?

Thank You.
Yes October is a good time.
expect rains/thunder showers in the afternoon-evening.
Best thing to do will be spend 3 days, explore places in the first half and chill out in the second half, enjoying the rain through the hotel window.
Be careful, there are leeches all around.

[rabnawaz_b]

Thanks sj_koova. I will bug you again end of the month if I plan to visit vagamon.
I would need the route, stay details etc.

[NRKUMAR]

Thanks for sharing your views. Whets your appetite to visit these places.

[sj_koova]

Originally Posted by Majic

SJ koova, Asbolutelty wonderful pictures, most of them are a collectors piece, which can be taken for preperation of postcards. How do i get to Vagamon from Changanacherry? Do i have to go to Pala -Erattupetta or the way to Kumily?

From Changanacherry, it would be better to reach Peerumade on KK road and divert left for Vagamon.
You can return via Erattupetta-Pala so that you get to see both sides of Vagamon.

[NIP]

Beautiful pictures !! What is the name of that resort with the tasty biryani ?