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9th February 2011, 20:10
| #16 | ||||
| BHPian  Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Chennai
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| Re: The South Western Drive : Valparai - Nelliampathi - Parambikulam - Kodai Quote:
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I have processed the other pics also, just not finding time to compose the t'log. would do the same ASAP. Thanks again. | ||||
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9th February 2011, 23:53
| #17 |
| BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Chennai
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| Day 2 : 27 January 2011 Day 2 : 27 January 2011 The alarm rang *Tring* *Tring* *Tring* *Tring* at 06:00 AM. Everything from head to toe was shivering in cold as soon as i came out of the bed. I could hardly open my eyes, slided back into the bed & slept for the next hour or so. The servant woke us up with a hot n fresh tea by 7:30 AM & Told us the Hot water was ready. We got ready within a hour, the sun was already out & made us comfortable. The brighter side of life..    The plan was to traverse through the Sholayar - Athirampalli stretch, and come back to Pollachi for the night. The roads were excellent till Sholayar Dam - Which is the second deepest dam in Asia. The vista's kept increasingly beautiful & did not bore us. It was a mix of waterscapes & tea estates & the hills which was inspiring. Stopped by some petty shop to get the essence of an actual fresh plantation tea. As known, Had to make so many photo-stops and thus the travel time kept increasing. Mom not having much interest towards travel nor photography was kinda pissed up waiting for me in the car & hence had to start taking pictures on the go. Next stop was at the Sholayar Dam, for some ten minutes. The Sun was so bright that the images were getting spoilt, so i did not want to waste time & memory. Sholayar Reservoir..  We were offered to stay in the PWD rest house at Sholayar if required. We did not want to come back to Valparai as i thought it was better to visit some other place than travel the same route twice. We were stopped at the Tamil Nadu - Kerala Border check-post, for a routine check. Paid the vehicle fee of Rs.15 and moved on. Tamil Nadu - Kerala Border  A kilometer or two later, again was stopped by the Kerala side of the Checkpost. It was not there when i traveled this route last time, but one thing was that the folks in this checkpost were STRICT! They the driver, me & my dad to see if we were drunk! Checked all the baggages, places under the seat & located all plastic bottles and counted them. They gave a receipt with the total number of bottles / covers we had & asked us not to leave them on the road till Athirampalli checkpost. So much to conserve forests! The roads up a head were freaked out! hardly any one on the forest road, But for a change we saw a lot of black tarmac on road and definitely not so worse like before. Unlucky for us, we could not spot any wild animals on road, but huge lot of elephant dung on road (plenty of them) - The locals told us that the elephants are found abundant on the road during early morning and only time to spot them is from 4 AM to 9 AM and after 6 PM. It was already over 11 AM, and the sun was beating down - No chance of spotting any animal. A hour later, we stopped by a view point (or some place with a view) showing us the aerial view of the Sholayar Reservoir. This is the Kerala part of it and I always wonder why the water level is more on the other side of Tamil Nadu. No wonder the landscape was beautiful - It was fresh, clean and looked serene. Sholayar Reservoir - Kerala   The Beautiful Sky..  We were on the road again, crossing many small bridges, some power house & cramped roads. The usual forest view's with trees on both the sides & a wet dung smell all the time did not really give a better impression to mom, she was kind of not so happy. She kept telling we could have gone back via valparai & atleast seen some better greenery, But for me it was kind of adventurous & always with an eye looking for any wild animal in the forest. Soon, we came across the shore of the Sholayar Reservoir. I missed spotting the wild river i spotted last year, but never the less we settled to relax for sometime on the banks of the reservoir. Had some snacks, washed my face in the fresh & clean water & moved on. Some bridge on the forest route..    Athirampalli was just about 20 Kilometers away. We did not want to waste anymore time, So kept moving faster. Next stop was at Vazhachal falls. Bought tickets for both the falls & the parking ticket here itself. Nothing much to see in the Vazhachal falls, just offers an aerial view of the gushing chalakudy river. Spent a couple of minutes to take some random snaps & moved on. Vazhachal Falls..   Next up was Athirapalli falls. There was tremendous rush, loads & loads of school kids running everywhere. Not a cool thing to do when you sweat like a pig and tired for the day already. Parked the car & went into the falls.. The walk up & down consumed a lot of energy, since we did not have breakfast - It really took a toll on my parents. Had to take lot of breaks, and reached the water only after 20 minutes! Spent like 30 more minutes fiddling with the stream water, taking snaps & admiring the kids play. Athirampalli Falls..    Now, It was already around 2 PM & we lost a lot of time for nothing. Dad was not OK to drive after 6 PM and we wanted to reach a place before it gets too dark. Had a cup of Tea & my mind started to wander within google maps & we finally decided to stay somewhere around Thrissur so that we could visit Guruvayur tomorrow morning & reach Parambikulam by late afternoon. It took us close to a hour to reach back back the parking lot. Tired & exhausted we were. Emptied a couple of tender coconuts and refreshed myself. Stopped by Chalakudy for lunch. Parents are strictly vegetarian, and finding a Vegetarian Only restaurants in kerala was a Big problem. Took time to locate one, took us close to a hour to be back on the road again. Something struck me, why not stay in a cooler, not-so-crowded place for the night! I was thinking of riding to Nelliampathi before the trip, But was not sure of night stay / possibility of any hotels there. Checked with the locals on how to reach the place, they asked me not to miss the right after Nemmara.It was around 4 30 PM when we reached Nemmara, the auto walla's refereed us to see the Pothundy Dam before climbing up the ghats to Nelliampathi. The greenery started as soon as we entered the Nemmara - Nelliampathi road. The gree agricultural farms, far off hills, cool evening breeze made it a perfect get away spot. We stopped by Pothundy for some time, the view around was not to be missed. The Reservoir had considerable amount of water stored & thus enchanting the view around. Pothundy Dam..    Nelliampathy was just about 20 Kilometers from here. We were stopped by the forest checkpost, we were adviced to book the accommodations before leaving the checkpost as we should not come back after 7 PM & there would be elephant trouble after its dark. Called up a couple of numbers they had with the forest office & blocked Hotel Green park, But it too costly at 2,000 Rs per night without food. So i did not confirm it right away, just told them would call once we reach Nelliampathy. The roads were a bliss, Lots of hairpin bends, the view of the valley - the Pothundy Reservoir was refreshing to the eyes. Just as we started climbing up the hills, we had a huge white Innova tailing us very closely, the driver was tailing us so closely that it almost hit our bumper on a hairpin. So we let the car pass over but the car stopped immediately in front of us. The stupid car driver wanted to ask us if we wanted any rooms & that he knows a few hotels in Nelliampathy. We then tailed the car & were referred us to lodge in ITC Regency hotel. We were charged 1,000 Rs for a room with 24 x 7 free coffee / tea & Hot water! Nelliampathy...     Mom & Dad then settled & rested for sometime, while i just took a casual walk across the surrounding tea estates. The Climate was so good that it was cold, but not so harsh & it was a enjoyable time out there. Took a few snaps & came back to the room for dinner post which i crashed for the day. |
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10th February 2011, 12:13
| #18 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore
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10th February 2011, 15:02
| #19 | |
| BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Chennai
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| Re: The South Western Drive : Valparai - Nelliampathi - Parambikulam - Kodai Quote:
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10th February 2011, 17:23
| #20 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Bangalore
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10th February 2011, 21:15
| #21 | |
| BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Chennai
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| Re: The South Western Drive : Valparai - Nelliampathi - Parambikulam - Kodai Quote:
--- Some Random Snapshots Day 2..           | |
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10th February 2011, 22:44
| #22 |
| BHPian  | Re: The South Western Drive : Valparai - Nelliampathi - Parambikulam - Kodai @MadBiker - brilliant set of pictures! I'm lovin' it!  I was not able to cover some places like Nirar Dam on my previous visit. I am tempted to visit this place again immediately.@MohsinRoadster - Apart from this log, there is a TL by Laluks on Valparai which would also be useful to you. |
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11th February 2011, 08:45
| #23 |
| Distinguished - BHPian   | |
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11th February 2011, 11:23
| #24 | ||
| BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Chennai
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| Re: The South Western Drive : Valparai - Nelliampathi - Parambikulam - Kodai Quote:
And yes, I got so much inputs from Laluks Civved thread & planned to visit Nelliampathy only because of his pictures! Quote:
And, I would post the Day 3's log - Nelliampathy - Parambikulam before this weekend.. Thanks for liking! | ||
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11th February 2011, 13:37
| #25 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Atlanta, USA ; Chennai India
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11th February 2011, 13:45
| #26 |
| BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Atlanta, USA ; Chennai India
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11th February 2011, 13:53
| #27 | |
| BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Chennai
Posts: 186
Thanked: 234 Times
| Re: The South Western Drive : Valparai - Nelliampathi - Parambikulam - Kodai Quote:
As mentioned in few posts before, I have a Canon 500D + Tamron 17-50 F2.8 + Sigma 10-20 + Sigma 70-300. I did process the images using Photoshop CS5 & Photomatix for the HDR's. | |
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12th February 2011, 01:30
| #28 |
| BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Chennai
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| Day 3: Nelliampathi - Parambikulam Day 3 : 28 January 2011 : Nelliampathi - Parambikulam It was a day to relax, not many miles to travel and nothing much to do anyway. Plan was to reach Parambikulam by Lunch and enjoy the forest experience. We woke up casually around 7 AM, refreshed up and got ready for the local sightseeing. A group of Jeep drivers were already at the hotel reception asking us if we would want to go for Jeep Safari, We decided against it and to use our own car. Vacated the room, Thankfully - We were charged nothing more than 1000 Rs for the room & for the not so costly dinner.. Good Morning Nelliampathy   We were adviced to visit Seetharkundu and Kesavanpara - both of them were Viewpoints which offers a panaromic view of the surrounding areas.. We reached the entrance of Poab's estate and it seemed like we were the first to reach the gate - There was no watchmen or any one and after 15 minutes the estate security asked us to pass through but to sign the register after coming back.. The roads were not that great, but it did not matter us much. We reached the viewpoint, but there was no one in the estate nor did we see any one enroute, other than the security. We proceeded to the dirt track, walked few hundred meters and tada! A suicide point! But, damn - It was amazing! I really did not expect such a place in the middle of all the greenery! We walked around, took a whole lot of pictures - But as always, my mom was worried about our security as there was hardly any one there - couldn't agree more with her and started back. Seetharkundu     The initial few kilometers of the return route offered even better vista's and the smell of nature was at its sublime best! Just for the heck of it, stopped the car, relaxed on the grass and did nothing but enjoy nature!   The roads & vista's seemed better into the estate, which happens to be a private area. We turned back to the way we started, back to the estate entrance and still we did not see any one else. Signed the register and we were the first and only one for the day! Our next stop was a place called Kesavan para - which offers a panaromic view of the Pothundy Dam. We had to walk almost 20 minutes to reach the top of the small hill - But again, there was hardly any one found. The 15 minute walk into the forest path bought back old memories of trekking in ooty during my childhood days, but that just grew up the concern of safety with my mom & dad again. They relaxed for a while at the top of the hill, thankfully - Nelliampathy is always cool and comfortable, so we did not sweat much and had our energy levels in control. We came back to our car a little later, sipped tea in a local tea stall and was on our way back - again driving the ghat section - offering spectacular views of the valley & the Pothundy reservoir.. Kesavan Para..   AVT Factory - Nelliampathy  Pothundy reservoir   It was already around 11 20 AM when we exited Nelliampathy checkpost, we wanted to reach Parambikulam for lunch which now does not seem feasible. We kept driving till we spotted a good enough Vegetarian Only restaurant, but we kept on driving for the next two hours and stopped only by Anaimalai. Called up the Parambikulam Sanctury office to confirm our presence, but no response at all! I faced similar problem while booking - They pickup the calls when they want, not when we want - Anyway, No use in trying again & wasting time. We quickly finished out lunch and was on our way to Parambikulam. The enroute places were always somewhere heard of names, as these locals villages are known for the Tollywood movies. We were stopped at the Top Slip forest checkpost. Paid entry fee for a potholed road! It took us close to 30 minutes to reach Top Slip, we did not want to stop there - and we carried on towards Parambikulam. And again we had to stop at the checkpost and pay the entry fee. But the officer was busy having lunch and his assistant wont cut a receipt as the officer was eating! There were a couple of cars and then came a van with some 20 odd people. It seemed like they were from Kerala government, so they were let off immediately. After 20 more minutes, we were given a receipt and asked us to hand it over at the reception further ahead. I had initially called to book a tent inside the forest, called Tented Niche, a bit costly at 4500 for 3 members, with food , vehicle for safari and a guide. Our car and driver had to stay out and wont be allowed near the tent.  We were given a tent called "Thirush" - It was neat and tidy , were given refreshments on arrival and also lunch was also ready. We decided to take rest for some time, as the bad roads for the last 15 kilometers made us uncomfortable. We slept for a while, we were again woken up by our guide with some refreshments, The safari vehicle was ready and I was quick enough to get the right seat for taking snaps! : ) The Forest Road..  Few others staying in the forest also joined us into the van, and the safari started. Thankfully no kids were on the van and that would stop all the screaming & shouting on seeing wild animals. First up was something called "World's Oldest Teak Tree" - Only a couple of them even poked their head out to see the tree - the guide wondered why do they even come to a safari uninterested. Next up on our way to the dam, we saw some wild elephants moving around, eating the leaves. It was in the middle of thick vegetation, so could not even spot it properly. But thankfully, as we started climbing up the hill, we spotted a lot of deers of many varieties, few more elephants and a bison.     We were then dropped off at a location and asked us to walk a little further for boating. Strange enough, two of the families said they wanted to sit back! That made it kind of relaxing for us anyway, we had to share the whole of bamboo boat with a couple from USA. They were kind enough to take some snaps of my family. It was a 30 minute boating / rafting as you call it. Spent the evening nicely, could not spot any animals though, but it was indeed refreshing. The bamboo raft getting ready..  All in a day's life..   Happy Family..  The lake..    We walked up to the van, and next up was Parambikulam Dam.. My grandpa has worked in this dam, and that moved my dad. He recalled how things were during that time, blah blah - anyway, It was good atleast he speaks his mind out! Spent another 20 minutes here, saw the beautiful sunset behind the dam and came back to the parambikulam town for some tea break.    My Mom wondering.. "What the F* is my Son upto?"!!  It was dark once we reached back, then it was time for some Tribal Dance. I did not really like it, it was like few local women dancing around with casual dress. So i came out and was buying some snacks at the petty shop. Around 7 PM, the van started back to the tent - the guide set his solar light ready and told us that we may see some animals on the way back. Interestingly, I was sitting at the edge of my seat, looking around for any animal sightings. It was pitch dark and i could not see anything in front of the van, if not for the lights. So as the journey started back, we did see a lot of deers, few bisons running across the road and then the special show started. A group of elephants on road blocking our way. We waited patiently for some 15 minutes, But then couple of familes (wonder why they came) started scolding the guide for taking us back late and asked him to take back to the parambikulam town itself. The fun continued as the elephants started charging our van, the guide and driver made some sounds, blipped lights, beamed the solar lights against it and slowly it started moving away! It was fun and worth the money spent! And more and the way back, after the elephants it was another group of Bison, running across and looked like some kind of fight with the deers or something as they kept running everywhere. Just as we were about to finish, the guide spotted a Leopard, just hunting a rabbit. I could still remember the small leopard (looked like a puma) with a small rabbit in its mouth and was hiding near the tree. Took like 25 picture's but nothing came out well due to lack of adequate lighting. We reached back our tent and Dinner was ready. We had a hearty meal and crashed for the night. |
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12th February 2011, 01:32
| #29 |
| BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Chennai
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| Attaching few more pictures of late evening safari - Parambikulam..      |
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12th February 2011, 13:11
| #30 |
| BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Chennai
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Thanked: 234 Times
| Re: The South Western Drive : Valparai - Nelliampathi - Parambikulam - Kodai Random Images - Day 3 - In & Around Nelliampathy - Parambikulam            Last edited by MadBiker : 12th February 2011 at 13:12. |
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