This was my 2nd valparai trip. That was good and only thing bad was it was the dry season. Wanted to see more greenery and had planned to do a trip after the monsoons when the forests are at their very best. Also wanted to go somewhere after a very hectic project got over. Booked the
valley view bungalow,Waterfalls Estate (Got the info from a t-bhp travelogue). paid 1000rs as advance. they called up 2 days before and asked whether we can change it to tennis court bungalow since som VIPs are coming there. We agreed as we were fine with any of the two.
Our plan was to start from here by around 6.30AM. Picked up all friends by around 6.45 and we proceeded to athirappally which was the first item on our list. Took the ankamali, karayamparambu, ezhattumukham road to athirappally through the palm plantations. We reached by around 7.30 @ ezhattumukham. Decided to have the breakfast from the hotel in front of silverstorm water theme park.
After breakfast we could reach Athirappaly by around 8am. Parked the car and had a tender coconut and we walked towards the falls. Its a distance of around 1km and the roads are paved with rocks.
We reached the top of the falls in around 10 mins. Since it was crowded there we decided to trek to the bottom of the falls immediately. The path to the bottom of the falls is a bit difficult and after the rains there were lot of rocks and craters in the path which made it was even more difficult. Each step were very carefully put and soon we had the first casualty. My friend slipped and fell down
. We all had a very good laugh. My grandmother used to say if somebody falls you have to laugh. if you dont laugh, it means the person is your enemy and you enjoyed the plight of him falling down. Bit more cautious we reached safely on the bottom of the falls. The waterfall was in full force after the monsoons. There is a rope which prevents you from reaching too close to the falls. But even with that, the spray is strong enough to make you fully wet in 5 miniutes. I went around clicking and my friends sat on the rock close to the rope enjoying the beauty of the falls. After a while I also joined them and we sat there chit-chatting while we were getting a free water wash. lol
There is also some nice bamboo canopy which helps you escape from the sun. We sat down to rest for a while and had some snacks. Got up to walk back when the crowd started to increase. It took around 15 mins to trek back to the top of the falls. We were all tired by the time we reached top. There are some benches and all scattered on the top of the falls where you can sit and relax for a moment. We all crashed down there....
After catching our breath we started back to the car park. Had another tender coconut and we started to vazhachal. Enroute to vazhachal I stopped the car on the place where I had stopped in my last trip also. I am posting the photos of the same place taken on two different times.
The rain does wonders to the forests face. But i liked the dry face of the forest more through photo and the green face of the forest through my eyes. We reached vazhachal in another 15 mins. Just roamed around the park for some time. We were all hungry by now and ecided to have lunch from the hotel near vazhachal. Good meals and fish cury (fresh water fish). yummy!!!. Our stomach filled up we decided to move on to Valaparai. We had informed the resort owner that we would be reaching by evening only.
We reached valparai by around 5PM and the first stop there was the hotel. In our last trip we stayed there and had chicken 65 and gobi manchurian fry -which is still the best i have had till date . We ordered around 3 chicken 65 and 2 gobi fries which were all finished within an eyes blink. Had tea also and we decided to proceed to the waterfalls estate. Mist was beginning to spread as we started from valparai. Soon we reached rottikadai after which the hairpins starts. Drove very slowly as there was a slight drizzle also. Visibility was very low and after the 32nd hairpin bend , we parked the car and went out to have a quick look from the view point. We couldnt view anything below the road, but it was very cold out there with a gentle breeze. After sometime we resumed our journey to the estate and reached the entry point to the estate from main road. The bungalow was around 2kms from the entry point and we reached there quickly. The caretaker n cook were waiting for us. Felt good to be greeted by the happy faces. There was a covered parking for the car. We parked the car and took the luggages and they guided us to the bungalow. Note that only BSNL mobile has coverage here.
Only one word to describe the bungalow- Its awesome with the old architecture and the well planned layout. Put the luggage on place and we went through all the rooms. The place was very comfy. Ordered for a tea and we went to take a bath. Hot water is available. Bath freshened up us and we went out to the garden and the old tennis court. The cold wind was very strong which made us get back to the warmth of the bungalow in no time. Dinner was getting ready and soon we sat down for the dinner. Food was real good and tasty. The homely feeling of it makes you feel special. Finished off our dinner and we checked with caretaker for the arrangements for camp fire which we had specifically mentioned when we made the booking. But the caretaker said they were not given any info about this. So we called the owner and asked him if he can arrange the campfire. He said he will check with caretaker and get back to us. He called back and assured that camp fire will be arranged as there is enough wood available in the bungalow. Happy to hear this we laid down on the sofa to have a quick nap while the camp fire was being set up. About half an hour later the caretaker called us and said its ready. happily we proceeded to the palce near the car park where the camp fire was setup. Punto ICE helped to set the mood for the dance right and we danced into the night........
Got up by around 7am the next day and I decided to take a walk in the estate roads. My friends were fast asleep and so made my way out quietly. The morning was chilly like the night and I wandered here and there. Met a guy on the way who said to be careful as there is a bear roaming around. Didnt want to take a chance and i turned back to the bungalow. Around 1.5 hour had passed now. My friends ahd woken up by now. We ordered breakfast and started watching the TV. Breakfast was ready in another 10 mins. Dosa, Iddli, Uppuma and chappathy was available with kurma, chutney, sambhar as side dishes. Lost count of the no of dosas and chappathies that I had. LOL. We had asked for a tea factory visit and a small trek. The guide was there by this time.
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