[jacs]

Guys, I did my 3 year graduation from one of the hill stations in Idukki which is Kuttikkanam . Let me tell you, there are hell lot of small view points and wildlife spots but unknown to most. Had many opportunities to visit places since we had some localite friends who were from Idukki and now my wife is from Idukki.

If you are travelling via Kuttikkanam to Kumily route, dont miss "Paruthumpara" which is a panoramic view point. We had been there somewhat recently during our Christmas trip to native and it was breathtaking in the eve. Shall try to share some snaps. Also in Kuttikkanam to Kattappna route, there is a place called "Anjuruli" which is another water marvel. Many unamed spots too

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by ampere

Nice snaps of the fall. Amazing zoom. Also the wet snaps look good.
Munnar to Udumalpet is like one wanting to stop every now and then to take snaps.
It really slows you down.

If you are going the opposite way to Munnar, then there is a constraint.
One needs to reach the top before dark and hence cant afford to stop every now and then.

Thanks Ampere. All credits to my Lambu friend who took the pain in capturing it at various stages! Infact he was out photographer for the trip and he thoroughly enjoyed doing it!

Oh interesting you mentioned it, I've actually done this trip from Udumalpet to Munnar in the night! This trip was a get together with my school friends in a Bolero!

We reached the first checkpost before 6pm so they let us pass! This was my first(infact for all of us in the jeep) through the route and we were traveling all the way through Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary unaware of the possibility and high probability of sighting wildlife! But ofcourse we were indulged in some interesting conversations(recollection of good ole memories!) that we could have missed the sighting!

I still remember one of my friends who was driving saw a cat(domestic ofcourse!!) crossing the road in the middle of the ghat section and pulled over for sentiments and asked me to take the wheel.

We reached Marayoor by 8.30 or so, had dinner and then finally reached Munnar by 11.30. We were scouting for hotels and couldnt find any available. We were told to drive by the road toward Madurai as most of the resorts were located there. And found CLOUD 9 just before the Periyakanal falls and Club Mahindra. Sadly this resort has been completely evacuated because of the eviction racket of unauthorized constructions by the Munnar town planning authorities.

Thanks to you for reminding me about this trip!

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by jacs

Guys, I did my 3 year graduation from one of the hill stations in Idukki which is Kuttikkanam . Let me tell you, there are hell lot of small view points and wildlife spots but unknown to most. Had many opportunities to visit places since we had some localite friends who were from Idukki and now my wife is from Idukki.

If you are travelling via Kuttikkanam to Kumily route, dont miss "Paruthumpara" which is a panoramic view point. We had been there somewhat recently during our Christmas trip to native and it was breathtaking in the eve. Shall try to share some snaps. Also in Kuttikkanam to Kattappna route, there is a place called "Anjuruli" which is another water marvel. Many unamed spots too

GREAT so next time I'm traveling there I'm gonna come to you for guiding to these exotic places! I hate going to the obvious crowd pulling tourist destinations!

[ampere]

Sir Jacs,

You hereby are COMMANDED by tbhp to compile a photologue of your place with lots of descriptions and travel (read driving) options!

It would be amazing to know about such points, especially when there are no crowd in these places.

@luvurride

BTW I also almost did it in the night. In spite of my break at Salem, I could not start early and by the time I started it was almost 10:30. So when we crossed Udumalpet it was about 3:30 in the noon. Since it was december, lights faded fast and by the time we reached Munnar it was 6 already and was pretty dark with fog rushing in. Thats when I realized that resort (Siena Village) is in Chinnakanal which is another 22Km from the place. That drive was something which I wont forget. It was pitch dark, my wife was scared to death, as there was no one in the front and back on the road. I was doing 10Kmph as there was zero visibility. Finally I was able to reach the place safe and sound.

All this because of the delay at source plus numerous breaks on-route from Udumalpet and Munnar.
Partly due to snaps and partly due to feeding the baby (she was nicely tucked in car seat).

[luvurride]

DD great pictures! Looking at them actually makes me travel through the route again! And driving a SWIFT through the mountains is the greatest fun! Great responsive Steering, decent power and exceptional road handling manners- makes me sometimes even feel like playing Playstation!

[SafeDrive]

[quote=luvurride;1812354
“Are we still in Kerala?” I said “Yes”. He asked, “When do we get into Tamilnadu?” I said, “Don’t worry buddy, you’ll know when you see it!” [/quote]

This holds true even if you are flying. If you're going Chennai to Trivandrum on a clear day, you'll see brown below you all the way until you hit Kerala . Neighbouring states - but what a contrast!

[dsr_rpm]

Hi,

Your mention of your house being on the Kangayam-Erode road got me curious. I am a [COLOR=black][FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']frequenter[/FONT][/COLOR] in this route as my uncles house is in this route.

[lsp]

luvurride
Beautiful beautiful travelogue. And the pics are so amazing. You brought back a lot of memories my friend!!!

It was about this time of the year, 7 years ago that I was in Kerala for my initial training program in Trivandrum. Fresh out of college and with a group of about 300 similar people. We had a ball every weekend visiting one or the other places in Kerala. Munnar, Thekkady, Ponmudi, Kovallam, Kochi, Kollam, Allepy....and many more. We used to go in groups of 25-50 odd people. Oh!! Those were the days. We call that training as a 'paid vacation' in our company and quite rightly so.

Some of the places seem very familiar and some must've changed over the last 7 years. But I can understand the feeling and enjoyment of traveling with friends to such places.

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by SafeDrive

This holds true even if you are flying. If you're going Chennai to Trivandrum on a clear day, you'll see brown below you all the way until you hit Kerala . Neighbouring states - but what a contrast!

Can't agree with you more! I think the presence of Western ghats is the reason for it.

Originally Posted by dsr_rpm

Hi,

Your mention of your house being on the Kangayam-Erode road got me curious. I am a [COLOR=black][FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']frequenter[/FONT][/COLOR] in this route as my uncles house is in this route.

Great! It's where my parents live.

Originally Posted by lsp

luvurride
Beautiful beautiful travelogue. And the pics are so amazing. You brought back a lot of memories my friend!!!

It was about this time of the year, 7 years ago that I was in Kerala for my initial training program in Trivandrum. Fresh out of college and with a group of about 300 similar people. We had a ball every weekend visiting one or the other places in Kerala. Munnar, Thekkady, Ponmudi, Kovallam, Kochi, Kollam, Allepy....and many more. We used to go in groups of 25-50 odd people. Oh!! Those were the days. We call that training as a 'paid vacation' in our company and quite rightly so.

Some of the places seem very familiar and some must've changed over the last 7 years. But I can understand the feeling and enjoyment of traveling with friends to such places.

I'm glad my travelogue invoked your nostalgia! It sure is unbeatable fun to spend time with friends!