11th September 2009, 22:40
| #1 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Bangalore
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| Bangalore Munnar /Thekkady /Kochi in Swift D.. Route: Bangalore Munnar Thekkady Kochi Bangalore Well!! A trip to Kerala was always there at the back of my mind for quite some time now and never got an opportunity to head towards Gods Own Country. Though I was born here and lived my first 5 years of my life in Kochi, the last time I was back in Kerala was about 10 years back when in college and had beautiful memories of my childhood and visit to Kerala. A perfect opportunity arose when one of my close friends was getting married in Kochi on September 8th. I decided to make use of this opportunity to visit some places in Kerala and then head towards Kochi for the marriage, before heading back to Bangalore. Also my wifes birthday on the 6th of September was also a good excuse to have a small vacation. We decided to visit Munnar and Thekkady this time. Kerala in September/October is the greenest IMHO. So the plan was made for a 5 day trip. So its me and wifey in Swift D off to Kerala. Preparation: The car has done about 22000kms. My previous trip to Madurai and Kodaikanal was just after the 20000kms service. Just a week before we leave for Kerala, I receive an invitation for Free Service Camp from Mandovi Motors. The Swift D gets thoroughly pampered at Mandovi Motors on a Sunday morning. I get all the rattling fixed, oils and coolant topped up, filters cleaned and complete body wash. The car is sparkling clean now. I fill up regular diesel (Rs.1000/27lts.) from IOC at RV road the previous day. All the bags already packed with lots of rainwear and we are ready to go. Plan to leave Bangalore by 6:30AM the next morning. Day 1 (05th September, 2009): Bangalore Hosur Krishnagiri Dharmapuri Thoppur (Exit NH7 and turn Right) Mettur Bhavani (Join NH47) (Exit NH47) Perundurai Chennimalai Kangayam Dharapuram Udumalaipettai Marayoor Munnar Trip Meter 0kms to 463kms I am up only by 7:00AM as I came from work pretty late only by 2:00AM. Just 4-5 hours of sleep and I was pretty much excited about the long drive today. After a quick bath and the entire luggage loaded into the car we leave our house in Jayanagar by 7:30AM. I make my way through the traffic thats starting to build up at BTM layout and join the Hosur Road. We cross Electronic City junction in no time and encounter a massive traffic jam at Chandapura Junction which is caused due to a flyover construction. It takes about 20mins to get out of the traffic jam and in no time we are in Tamil Nadu. We stop at A2B at Chinnar (about 25kms from Hosur) for breakfast around 8:45AM. Breakfast at A2B was a disappointment. The place was really crowded and I had to wait a long time in the queue. And to add to this frustration the wind blew off one of the pooris I was having. I didnt have the courage to go back stand in the queue to buy more breakfast. I felt Spicy Spoon restaurant which is about 5kms before A2B is another good option. Its less crowded and pretty decent breakfast. We leave A2B by 9:15AM and I let the Swift D stretch its legs on the beautiful NH 7. I keep the speed constant at 100kmph. Pay the toll at Krishnagiri (Rs.25) and head straight towards Dharmapuri. Cross Dharmapuri, pay the toll at Thoppur (Rs.48) and take the right towards Mettur around 10:30AM.  At A2B, Chinnar  Towards Dharmapuri  Beautiful NH7  Super smooth NH7, Dharmapuri Now its a 2 lane state highway towards Mettur. The road all the way till Mettur is just average with occasional broken patches and potholes. I decided not to take the Bypass towards Mettur Thermal Station and continued ahead towards Mettur Dam. Mettur Dam was just half full with water. Enter Mettur town and head towards Bhavani. Bhavani is about 49kms from Mettur. This again is on a 2 lane SH where you can cruise at 80-90kmph. We enter Bhavani town and make our way out towards NH47. The beautiful 4 lane NH47 all the way towards Perundurai is super smooth. Exit NH47 at Perundurai and take the 2 lane state highway towards Dharapuram. Its again a 2 lane SH towards Dharapuram. Roads are pretty wide for a 2 lane SH. I maintain a speed of around 80-90kmph. After Perundurai, you join the HW from Erode at Chennimalai and continue towards Kangayam.  Mettur Dam  SH towards Dharapuram By 12:30PM we are Kangayam and decide to have an early lunch at Gayathri Veg and Non Veg restaurant just near the Kangayam Bus stand. I had stopped here earlier during my return trip to Bangalore from Kodaikanal and really liked the food here. We had vegetarian meals and spicy Chettinad Chicken just like the last time. After a heavy lunch, we leave the place by 1:00PM and make our way towards Dharapuram. At Dharapuram we take the bypass and continue ahead, and at a circle we take the right towards Udumalaipettai which is 69kms from Dharapuram. Nearing Udumalaipettai, we encounter towering windmills. The entire stretch between Dharapuram to Udumalaipettai has hundreds of windmills. We stopped at one of the windmills close to the highway to take a closer look at it. The huge blades rotating were an amazing sight to watch. The windmill might be at least 15 storeys high. After spending about 15mins at the windmill, we make our way into Udumalaipettai town. A little confusing to find the way towards Marayoor, we ask for directions and head towards Marayoor by crossing the BG railway line and head towards Amaravathi.  Huge windmills at Udumalaipettai  Huge windmills at Udumalaipettai We enter the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary check post around 2:40PM. The drive inside the forest is on a well paved single lane road. The forest was mostly dry with towering fog filled hills ahead. We maintained a speed of 40-50kmph inside the forest and were looking out for any wild animals. We did not come across any animals and then we started the climb up the hills after signing an entry book at one of the check posts.  2 Lane road towards Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary  Single lane road inside Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary  A lake inside Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary  Towering Munnar hills ahead  Starting the climb up  Roads towards Munnar inside Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary  Can see the fog filled hills ahead  Stopped at one of the checkposts inside the forest The surrounding gradually changes from dry to green. I can see small streams and the roads slightly wet with rains. Once we are at the other side of the hills the surroundings is completely wet. We stop at a point where we can see Thuvanam Waterfalls in the distance. All this time there is a steady drizzle. We continue our way towards Munnar and encounter numerous waterfalls all around us. There are like 10-15 waterfalls and green carpet of tea gardens around us. I read on the Internet that these hills are called the Kannan Devan hills owned by the TATA group for their tea brand. TATAs indeed own a small part of heaven on earth. Every turn we take opens up new scenery and we are stopping every 10mins for photographs. The roads are narrow but well paved with occasional potholes all the way up the hills and as we near Munnar the roads have rain water running across. After stopping every 10-15mins taking snaps we finally reach Munnar town by around 5:00PM.  It starts raining  Thuvanam Waterfalls in the distance  Thuvanam Waterfalls  Watersfalls everywhere  Green tea gardens  Green tea gardens  Swift D at one of the beautiful places we stopped  Tea gardens  Waterfalls beside the road  Surrounded by hills with numerous waterfalls  Road through the hills  One of the many waterfalls beside the road  One of the many waterfalls beside the road  Almost nearing Munnar We take rooms at Highrange Inn just opposite to Misha Holiday Home on the Munnar-Cochin road. We get good rooms at the top floor with an OK view of the hills. Rooms at Rs.750 after 50% discount. We check-in by 5:20PM into the cozy room with rains lashing hard outside at Munnar. My car parked outside was getting pressure washed with the heavy rains. We decided not to visit any places today and just relax listening to the rains outside as it was already getting dark. The road from our hotel to Munnar town center was in a bad state. There had been a recent landslide and entire stretch was riddled with potholes. Around 8:30PM, we decided to have dinner at Hotel Annapoorna just opposite to our hotel which is a standard North Indian Vegetarian restaurant. I was desperately looking forward for Kerala Beef dry fry and Kerala Parottas, but my wife being a veggie she was a little skeptical with restaurants serving both Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian food. So have to wait for another day for this Kerala dish. After dinner we head towards Munnar City center for some shopping and are back to the room by 10:30PM. I am a little tired with all the driving for the day and wait till midnight to wish my wife Happy Birthday and then doze off. Continued.... |
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11th September 2009, 22:50
| #2 |
| Team-BHP Support   | |
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11th September 2009, 23:19
| #3 |
| BANNED Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Gudaibiya; BAHRAIN/ Vandiperiyar; KERALA/ Wuhan; CHINA
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12th September 2009, 00:53
| #4 |
| BHPian  | DD, Yet an another in detailed pictorial Travelogue from you  , As usual awesome pics. By the way which Camera you use . Waiting for rest of the Travelogue.-- Ravi.Potla |
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12th September 2009, 09:46
| #5 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Bangalore
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12th September 2009, 10:39
| #6 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: KA17|KL65|KL41
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| Woww...!! I hope that you really enjoyed your trip to Kerala,The God's Own Country  .I really liked your travelogue and the pictures...Great pictures brother,which camera are you using..? By the way I would like to see more pictures of your trip |
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12th September 2009, 10:40
| #7 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Bangalore
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12th September 2009, 10:55
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| Senior - BHPian  | |
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12th September 2009, 11:00
| #9 | |||||
| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Bangalore
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12th September 2009, 11:11
| #10 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Mangalore
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12th September 2009, 12:32
| #11 |
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12th September 2009, 13:47
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12th September 2009, 14:05
| #13 |
| Senior - BHPian  | Great pics DD. Looks like you are feasting us only of waterfalls.. Just kidding. |
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12th September 2009, 15:06
| #14 |
| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Bangalore
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| Bangalore Munnar /Thekkady /Kochi in Swift D.. I really had a good nights sleep. The rains were continuously lashing the entire night and it was a drizzle when I woke up by 9:00AM. Its my wifes birthday today and what a place to be to celebrate your loved ones birthday. The view outside the room with mist covered hills and wet surroundings make me lazy to get ready. We both finally get ready and leave our room only by 10:30AM. We make our way towards Munnar town center and decide to have breakfast at Hotel Sarvana Bhavan. Breakfast was just good and we could not find any other better restaurants for breakfast at Munnar. After breakfast we buy some spices from a store nearby and decide to buy more spices once we are at Thekkady as I heard its the center of Spices Trading in Kerala. By 11:15AM we make our way towards Mattupetty by crossing the bridge over a river next to an IOC fuel station and turn left (right takes you to Devikulam/Thekkady). The drive towards Mattupetty is on a very well paved 2 lane road. The drive on these roads was one of the best drives I did. There was a slight drizzle all the time, well made roads and roads of curves taking you through breathtaking scenery at every curve. The Swift D cornered these curves as if on tracks and I just loved pushing the car at every turn. Mattupetty is about 12kms from Munnar town and there is a Dam and a Dairy Farm here. One has to drive over Mattupetty Dam if going towards Top Station. I was raining pretty heavy and due to narrow roads for parking I did not stop at the Dam. Just took some pictures of the dam and continued my drive towards Top Station. Idukki Tourist department provides boating facilities at the dam and due to rains boating was closed today. I have heard from friends of mine who have been to this place for boating that the speed boat rides are pretty good at the dam.  Towards Mattupetty on a rainy morning  Hill around on the way towards Mattupetty  Tea Gardens  Tea Gardens  Beautiful winding roads in the rain  Mattupetty Dam We continue our drive towards Top Station and stop at Echo Point which is about 17kms from Munnar Town. Park the car and we walk down to echo point. I guess every hill station has an echo point and this one here is no exception. But the view from here is really beautiful we find a lot of people trying to shout out loud for the echo. We walk down to the edge of the lake for some photographs and after spending about 30mins here we head back to the car and continue our drive towards Top Station.  Elephant ride on the way towards Echo Point  Lake at Echo Point  Beautiful view from Echo Point  At Echo Point About 25kms from Munnar is Kundala Dam and Lake. The drive down to the dam is about 500mtrs from road towards Top Station. We drive over the dam towards the other side where the Kundala Lake is. The road on top of the dam is really narrow with space available only for one vehicle. Have to wait for my turn, only after the opposite traffic is clear that I can proceed further to cross the dam. We are Kundala Lake by 1:00PM. The lake is at a beautiful location with beautiful hills all around and you have boating facilities here at the lake. You can hire pedal boats, row boats or Shikkara boats here. We wanted to try the Shikkara boat but that option was not open today due to rains and only pedal and row boats were available. We decided not to go for boating and took a walk beside the lake. After spending about an hour at the lake we make our way towards Top Station.  Driving atop Kundala Dam  Kundala Dam  Kundala Lake  Kundala Lake and Dam  View around the lake  View around the lake Top Station is about 34kms from Munnar Town situated at 6300ft above sea level. Top Station is situated at the border of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The last 2-3kms towards Top Station is very bad roads or no roads. Slowly make my way on the slushy road. The road ends abruptly and I make a U-Turn and find place beside the narrow road for parking. The walk towards Top Station is about 1km from the parking area and offers stunning views of the Kodaikanal hills ahead. We have to climb lots of steps to get down to the view point. Pay an entry of Rs.15 per head and only climb down half the steps and stop for photographs and taking in the beauty the place has to offer. We spend about 30mins here and slowly climb our way up back. The climb up is a little tiring with steep steps and it was a good decision not climbing all the way down to the view point.  On the way towards Top Station  Swift D enroute Top Station  View during the walk towards Top Station  View at Top Station  View at Top Station  View of the hills towards Tamil Nadu  View of the hills towards Tamil Nadu We head back up the road where my car was parked. We decide to have hot tea and roasted maize at one of the small shops. After that we are on our way back to Munnar town by 3:30PM. Drive back to our hotel in Munnar by 4:30PM and head over to Hotel Annapoorna for a late lunch. Back in the room after lunch we rest for some time and by 5:30PM we try to explore the road towards Pothamedu View Point. To go towards Pothamedu View point one has to take the road towards Cochin from Munnar and take a left after Blossom Park over a narrow bridge which more looks like a mini dam. We take the right after crossing this bridge and make our way up into the winding roads. As we keep going we see some beautiful resorts built around here. The roads get really narrow with plants growing very close to the road. At one place an electric pole was leaning against a tree across the road with just enough space for my Swift to squeeze in. We go a little further ahead and decide to turn back as road was very narrow. With lot of difficulty I take a U-Turn and head back to Munnar town by 6:30PM.  On the way back to Munnar  On the bridge towards Pothamedu View point  View of the bridge we just crossed  Views enroute Pothamedu View point  The roads get really narrow and I had to turn back We stop at a small temple near the KSRTC Bus Stand. My wife wanted to visit a temple as today being her birthday. Then I head back to Munnar town center for some shopping. While my wife is waiting in the car I head over to the friendly neighborhood Bakery and buy a small piece of chocolate cake, a pack of candles and couple disposable plates and spoons. Yes we are going to have a small cake cutting celebration back at the hotel after dinner.  We head back to the room and watch TV for some time. Birthday celebration By 8:30PM we head over to the restaurant at Hotel Hill View for dinner. Nice restaurant and I get to have Kerala Beef Dry fry today. After a nice quite dinner at Hotel Hill View we head back to our hotel by 10:00PM. Have a small cake cutting ceremony and finally call it a day around midnight. Continued.... |
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12th September 2009, 16:45
| #15 |
| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Kottayam
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