Munnar, nature all around

Our Kerala travel started with Munnar. We started very early from Bangalore around 3:50 AM on 2nd Feb and reached Munnar around 2 PM. We covered a total distance of 521 kms which included 3 short ten minutes break.

  The route that we took was like (bangalore to munnar)
Bangalore-->Hosur-->Salem-->Dindigul-->Theni-->Munnar.
This road it tolled and you need to pay toll tax at five points.

  Since most of the road is NH7, so driving was easy. In some places the roads were little narrow but good and motorable.

Road from Theni to Munnar

  After reaching Munnar city centre at 2 PM, both of us were dead hungry. The hotel we had booked through makemytrip was another 3 kilometres. Since lunch time was almost up so we decided to have our lunch and then proceed to hotel check in. We went to a small roadside restaurant and had chicken biriyani. The only remaining item on the menu was chicken biriyani. With Rs 100 a plate,the quantity was enough for two people..... lucky that we did not ordered for 2 plates :)

  Munnar city center is little crowded and concentrated. Hotels there are cheap but since we wanted so stay a little closer to nature so we chose hotel "Munnar Rock" which is a little far from the city centre. And as we had our own car Sparky with us, so commutation was never a headache.

Munnar Rock Hotel

  The peak time for Kerala visit is Nov-Jan end. Hotels and all other services will charge you more at that time. Anytime apart from that, things will be cheaper. Hotel Munnar Rock was good. They charged Rs 1140 per day. They had well ventilated rooms and really big bath rooms... The bad thing is that the path leading to the hotel entrance is very steep. So car parking can be a little challenging. The hotel attendents were also courteous and mostly from Bengal. You need to order your lunch and dinner a few hours before as they will buy raw material and specifically cook what you ordered. There is also an advantage of staying here. There is an office just opposite to the hotel that sells ticket for Kathakali and Kalarippayattu (traditonal martial art). They have daily shows in the evening at a hall very near to the hotel. Ticket price is Rs 200 for each show per person.

  We had the whole after noon free so we thought of visitng Attukal Falls that same day. From our hotel Attukal Falls was within 1.5 kilometres. Since it was dry season the falls was almost dry. There is a small tea shop just near to Attukal Falls owned by Mr Moses, a really nice and jovial person. After we had tea, he chatted with us for sometime and showed us his spice garden. There were so many types of spices growing.... cardamon, black pepper, nutmeg...... we had never been to any spice garden before so this gesture of his was really generous. A big "thank you" Mr Moses.

Attukal Falls

Mr. Moses

  While driving back we saw many bulbuls, drongo 's and sunbirds happily chirping and flying. A few birds also posed for us :)

Oriental Magpie Robin

Unknown bird

Bulbul

  There was a long list of places to be seen the nest day. That included:

  Mattupetty Dam and Lake
  Echo point
  Kundala Lake
  Top Station
  Eravikulam National Park

  We started early as usual around 7:10 AM. Our first stop was Mattupetty lake. When we reached the lake there was no tourists or buses so early in the morning. It is a very big lake and looks very beautiful. We clicked to our heart's content. Boating facilities are available for tourists.

Mattupetty Dam

  We crossed the dam for our next destination Echo Point. Echo Point is near to Matupetty lake. Echo Point is a lovely place.... the water in the lake so tranquil and reflections on the water so clear. But people have made this place so dirty. There was litter all around.

Echo Point

Echo Point

  Between Mutupetty and Echo Point there is a place called Cattle Point that falls on the way. Though it is not a tourist place, the place looks beautiful and we got down from our car to take a few snaps.

Cattle Point

  From Echo Point we headed for Kundala Lake . For entering Kundala lake we had to cross over a dam. Since the dam is narrow, only two cars are allowed to cross at each time. There are two people posted on each end of the dam who coordinate this traffic flow.

Kundala Lake Dam

Kundala Lake

Kundala Lake

Gift shop at Kundala Lake

  From Kundala we went to Top Station. We kept the car at car parking and had to walk around 500 metres to reach the point. The view is stunning from here and one can get a birds eyeview of Theni city. By the way Top Station is in Tamil Nadu.

Way to Top Station

Top Station

  From there we agin retraced our way back to Munnar. When we reached Matupetty Dam again, this time it was full of tourists and vehicles. We were lucky to have seen this place early the day else with so many people around it would have been difficult to get decent shots.

  Our last destination was Eravikulam National Park. The park is famous for nilgiri tahr. Previously nilgiri tahr were found all across the Nilgiris but now Eravikulam National Park is their last resort. The park is generally closed for few months every year, mostly from Feb to April end for calving. We got to know from the local drivers that today was the last day before the park closes the season. From  next day onwards the park will be closed for calving.

  We reached the park at 1 PM. The ticket counter was closed as the counter staffs were having their lunch hours. After buying the tickets one needs to wait for his/her turn to get into the park bus that will take you to the place where the tahrs are. It is roughly 4 KM from the boarding point. Private vehicles are not allowed.

  It was very hot and there was a long queue at the ticket counter. Our rough calculation told us that it would take at least 1.5 hours of waiting to get a bus. So we had to drop the plan, because we were supposed to reach Periyar before sundown. Surely next time, when we visit Munnar, we will visit this park.

  So our trip of heaven's garden, Munnar, was over. We headed for Periyar through Devikulam. Devikulam is an ever green landscape of undulating tea gardens. And the rest of the road to Periyar was equally pictursque.

Tea Garden

Tea Garden at Devikulam

Fisheye Tea Garden

Top Station

Way to Periyar

Black Pepper Tree

An evening trip to Mudumalai wild life sanctuary, Tamilnadu

It would be around, hmm..., six months since our trip to Ooty-Coonoor. And we never wrote about it. Don't really know why, but we missed it. 

  However, there were sub-trips within that trip which had the potential to make travelogues of their own. We already dug out one such sub-trip, the Nilgiri Express... UNESCO World Heritage Site . Here is the other. The day end visit to Mudumalai National Park. 

  We did not drive to Ooty as my wife was skeptical about driving on hilly roads. So we booked KSRTC Airavat Volvo bus to get to Ooty and back to B'lore.

  In Ooty we had to rely on a local travel agent for all the sight seeing. So it was a small Swaraj Mazda with a fantastic driver cum guide. We never met such a driver before; he was very interested in wild life photography and had his own collection of some spectacular wild life photos... in his small point and shoot camera that he always carried with him.

  The bus-day-trip covered mostly "Pykara man made water falls", "Pykara Lake(we enjoyed speed boating here", some golf course where Bollywood movies were shot, a pine forest, and "Mudumalai National Park". There was a spot called 9th mile which was like a very small hillock and we could see other hill tops from there.

  When we reached Mudumalai, it was around 4 O' clock at afternoon. 

Entrance to the Mudumalai National Park

 The guide grabbed tickets for the bus ride in the jungle. It was again a Swaraj Mazda painted in forest colour(green, yellow etc.). 

The bus for the park tour

  Its around a 45 mins trip inside the park. We could see usual animals(usual meaning those we saw in other parks). Although the driver(park bus driver) was very hopeful that we would see tigers, we did not. Well, yes, he did mention that it is hard to see tigers as they mostly prefer to stay in the deeper part of the jungle.

  We were done by 6'o clock in the evening. 

   Here are some of the pics from inside the park.

Two monkeys sitting in the same pose

From inside the park bus

Bison

Spotted Deer

Another spotted deer.. the little one

National bird in National park

Wild boar

I like bamboo leaves coz I am monkey

Herd of elephants

  We visited this place around first week of November. A good idea is to take more buffer time while visiting this park. Yes, there are cheetah,wild dogs, jackals etc. in the park. We were not fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of them. There are several jungle lodges there. So if you are a wild life enthusiast, you can spend a couple of days here.

   If you prefer to spend some more time inside the jungle, you better book a jeep that is also available at a higher rate.

   So share your experience with us whenever you visit the park.

   

  

Nandi Hills - Yet another ancient hill fortress of southern India

It was 31st of August and me and my wife were browsing several posts and travelogues in the Internet since evening ... to find a spot near Bangalore for a weekend trip. http://www.bangaloretrips.info/ is a very well documented portal from which we got several ideal spots, namely Agumbe, Yelagiri, Nandi Hills etc.
 
  Ooty, Coonoor, Kancheepuram are proven places for weekend trips. But we wanted mostly a one day trip and that too withing driveable distance(according to us, drivable distance is within 250 km up+down).

Do see our 2020 Nandi Hill travel blog here:

  We were discussing Nandi hills some days back, so it anyway had a priority. But when we looked into some blogs regarding Nandi hills, we were sure that it could be done, in a day.

  So it was around 1:30 am of 1st September when we finalized Nandi Hills. Too late, because according to several blogs, the place opens for travellers around 6:30 am and to catch the much-talked-about Sunrise, we had to be there by 6 am, because there would be a long queue.

  We never drove up any hills, and I mean any. So we decided not to catch the Sunrise, rather get there early in the morning to catch the ambience of drizzling forest uphill. Because, anyway the top portion of the road to the hill would be cloudy and if we get there by 5:30 or 6 am, we have to drive in very low light.
 
  We got up around 5 am the same day, and went out by 6:30 am.
 
  Google map came up handy. We looked up the map and jotted down certain major turning points to the Spot.

  To put it simply, we got to Nandi Hills from Whitefield pretty much like this:
  WhiteField -> Kadugodi (towards Hoskote) -> NH 4 -> NH 207 -> NH 7 -> Nandi Hill Road -> Hill Station
  (I will provide pointers later in the post)

  It was us and our good old Sparky (Chevrolet Spark) and the unknown road.

  Whitefield To Nandi Hills -- The Road:
  You have to drive past Kadugodi (towards Hoskote) and take NH 4 to follow it to the right.

  Within 1.3-1.5 km, you will see a Police station on your left. Take the road(NH 207)
  next to this Police station and head for Devanahalli
 

 
  You have to travel around 13-14 Km on NH 207. Keep your eye to the right to find a place called Sulibele. Just after 15-20 seconds from Sulibele you will reach a circle; take the left from there to stay on Devanahalli Hoskote Road.

  Now you have to drive around 12 Km to reah Devanahalli. You can spot it immediately as you will find big shops, makets, buildings etc. From far, you will be able to see a Bakery Shop called Mayura Bakery. Take your right from here and you will soon reach NH 7.

  Pretty much all the left bound roads on NH 7 now will lead you to Nandi Hills. We took the 1st one at Nandi Cross. After you get into NH 7 its about 500 mts to Nandi Cross, Take the left there.

  I do not need to elaborate the road from here as within 3-4 minuites you will see the Nandi Hills. You will see vast greenary, lots of grape hanging from the trees. Enjoy it.
  You will also see several people by the road selling fresh grapes. We would sure suggest
  buying those as these are as fresh as they can be.

  The Drive Up Hill:
  The hill road is very well maintained. You won't have much trouble driving there.
  As we reached the mountain base by 8 am, we found several down-bound vehicles, bikes, cars etc. crossing us. Probably they enjoyed the Sunrise and are getting back now.

  The curves in this road are all numbered. You can see the numbers on each curve/turn.
  Its smooth till turn 29. But from 30 it gets really steep. And there are around 10 steap turns like this. We maintained 2nd gear in each of these curves. Don't forget to honk and keep the headlight on as it gets very cloudy here.

 
  The Entrance, Fees, Parking:
  We reached the entrance around 8:35 am. The drive to the top from the bottom of the hill is around 8 km.
  You have an option here if you are in a 4 wheeler. You can buy a Rs.90 ticket for the vehicle and you can drive to the top of the hill, around 1 more km, by your car and you won't have to buy separate tickets for the people in the car.
  Or else, as we did it, you can park the car in the first entrance, buy parking ticket of Rs.30 and buy Rs. 5 ticket for each traveller. We did chose this option as we wanted to enjoy the walk to the top and the road was even steeper and slippery, so we didn't dare to drive.
  For bikers, you have to walk from here as bikes/scooters are not permitted after this point.


The Ticket Counter and Parking lot at the 1st Stop
(The toilet is behind this building)



Gate

 
  The Walk To The Top:
  Monkeys. Look out for monkeys. There are so many monkeys here. But they are basically harmless. Just don't carry any food packet and they won't bother you. Eat your supply in the car before walking.

  When we started walking up from parking lot, it was around 9 am. It was completely couldy. And the weather was fantastic. It was very chilly too. The wind was quite high.
  And you will feel drizzles now and then all the way up.
  You can take two roads to the top. One goes through the forest. And the other was following the motorable road/main road. As we didn't want to get much adventurous,we used the main road. Well, you have the benefit of having the sights of other hills if you follow the main road.


The forest road

The main/motorable road

   The road to the top is beautiful, but keep in mind that other vehicles go straight up from the same road. So keep your ears open.
   You will see several parks, sitting areas all the way to the top.


A park

When you see this brick road, you know you are near the top

  Our suggestion is, don't rust the way to the top. Sit and walk and relax all the way up. Enjoy it.
  As the hill was historically a fortress, you can see some watch stations by the road, these are good places to have a look at the surroundings.


The parking lot at the top.
(Tea stalls, restaurants etc are all up here)

  The Top:   
  The top is very beautiful, windy, cloudy, and the cloud is all around you. 
  There is a place called Tipu's drop. Its a steep cliff which used to be used to execute prisoners as we found in wikipedia.
  Apart from the temple at the top, you can find several parks. The most fascinating thing at the top is the weather, the fresh air. We miss it a lot in the croud of the city, so we enjoyed that to the fullest.
  You can also find the origin of a river up here.
  The boundary of the top is well fenced and well maintained. You can have a cup of tea and enjoy the enviornment. You can also stroll aroud into the bushes and feel fresh air.

  Here are some of the shots we took at the top:

 
  Places To Lodge:
  We found 2 lodging spots. Perhaps several others are there.
  Both of these are at the top.
  1) Hotel Mayura Pinetop (KSTDC)

  2) Neheru Nilaya Guest House

  Words of Advice:
  Please don't feed the monkeys. Don't beat them up if they try to snatch food from you.
  It is anyway forbidden not to bring plastic bags up there; but people do carry them and when some monkey comes for a bite, they use stone to target them. We found one idiot doing the same.

  Please use the dustbins. There are several dustbins up there, but most are empty.

3 idiots

  Please don't act like a hero. We found a group of tourists doing daring but foolish acts on the top just for a daring shot to be posted in social networking sites. We think there should be police appointed up there to stop such activity. But your safety is in your hands.


Please don't act like this

  Sum up:
  We stayed at the top for about 3-4 hours. Then headed home.
  It takes around 2 hours to reach Nandi Hills from Whitefield. It took a little more
  for us as we missed some directions and we drive very slow.
  Its a fantastinc day outing and if you want to enjoy the night also, I believe you can book the guest houses there and enjoy. For any other specific query, please post comments.
  Here are some more shots:

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