Day Zero 8th July 2015
It’s a hot day, two bikes(Pulsar 220 &CBZ Xtreme) four
people(Ramees, Naveen, Suresh & Sharon) are ready to vroom into the
craziest round trip from Vellore covering Salem, Valparai, Chalakudy, Munnar,
Udumulapet. Unfortunately Ramees could not accompany us, But still Naveen
stimulated the craziest plan should happen. Some failures are always stepping
stone towards success. Our meeting hub is vellore, Naveen from Tripathi, Andhra
Pradesh reached vellore at 4PM, Suresh from Chennai at 4PM and I took some time
to get ready and we all started our ride around 5PM. Before our journey, we
read many blogs for reference. Many blogs stated that going in July is a worst
idea, and some highlighted the dangers around the forest, some detailed the
adventures and thrills that we are going to experience. With some fear fuelling
our trip, one among us withdrawing himself from the trip, we started our trip
with all good hopes.
Around 5:30 PM we were nearing Ambur we had a pit stop, and
was discussing about our road plans, then we started our bikes, Me and Suresh
on P220, and Naveen alone in CBZ. Our plan is to reach Salem before 930. With
an average speed of 80 to 100 we reached Krishnagiri around 8 PM. It was an easy drive, traffic was less. Then we started driving towards
dharmapuri highway. Lot of tea shops were
there between vellore to salem so no worries over pit stopping. In between dharmapuri and salem curvy curvy roads and greenery will be awesome. We reached salem by 9:45 PM. Finding room in salem which is ought to be
easy was not that easy for us. Finally we got acquainted in AMR EverGreen Park. It had
Parking facility, Non – Ac room costed us rupees 2100 with Complimentary
breakfast. Room was good but no window, Since climate is cold, no
window is not an big issue. Around 12 we settled and slept thinking of getting up
and starting early.
Day 1 - 9th July 2015
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| On the Way to valparai |
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| Pollachi to Valparai Road |
Morning was pleasant; we got ready and checked out of the
room around 9:30 AM. Then we fuelled our machines, and started towards Pollachi. Again vrooming
into highway, road does not have any path holes, less traffi, favourable climate with little rain showers.
We were nearing avinasi and our
pit stop
destination is between Avinasi and Bhavani. Some road deviations lead us into
tirupur, it had heavy traffic and it took us more time then we expected to
come out of Tirupur. Our mistake made us to waste one hour and we missed
visiting Bhavani. Then we took the palladam to pollachi state highway. Lot of
windmills are there, if u want to take photo of it spend some time in choosing
location. Some stretch will be full of windmill, so choose perfect spot in
getting the perfect picture. Road was awesome single lane, full of coconut
grooves, pleasant weather with little showers - like a welcome
shower. We reached Pollachi by 2:30PM and had our lunch, it was good very economical. After having lunch we started our
journey towards Valparai around 3 PM.
Valparai- Untold Natures Delight
After our lunch, we bid goodbye
to pollachi and started towards Valparai. We were on the right track after
riding through some silent roads; we were astonished with the view of clouds surrounding
the Mountain. After riding along stretch of highway, real joy surrounded us. we reached
Aliyar Dam, superb reservoir with the background of mountains, it will
be a eye catching experience and will be candid moment for any photographer.
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| Aliyar Lake |
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Aliyar Lake
|
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Towards Valparai
If you want to visit the Balaji temple before entering the Valparai town, you have to take left while riding towards valparai. Lot of sign boards will guide clearly so no worries just enjoy your ride.
|
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| Valparai Road |
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| En Route to VAlparai |
Even after passing the aliyar dam you will get many photo opportunities, But standing along the roadside will cause unnecessary traffic issues, Monkey fall it did not appear has great sight, so we passed it. Then zig zag roads, 40 bends, chances of rain, bus and lorries added adventure to our ride. 40 bends were enjoyable, after few bends it will sink to our driving. If you want to take the photo of zig zag roads don’t wait till 1/40 th bend. Go for it after passing 5 to 6 bends ensure that you are having some parking place to take the shot. Tea estates will become, as common sight, fresh teas will be available enroute to Valpari. Mist
interpretation area is must see area of Valparai, try to pass that area by
evening u can have a sudden mist passing through you. Few viewpoints are there which we dint
concentrate, since our adrenaline rush seeing the bends Naveen started vrooming
his bike like driving in highway, causing me little panic.
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Nearing Valparai
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Finally we
reached valparai around 4 PM small town with more then the expected
population. In one post we read about not getting room in valparai, So
we pre booked two rooms with Hotel Holiday break Valparai. The hotel has a good parking facility and very nearer to the town bus stand.
OK OK lodge we paid 990 rupees for one room. You cannot expect good
view but fine it has ventilation. We lodged into our rooms and took some rest suddenly suresh SLR got stuck with
blur images, and he is going crazy over the issue. Then we took it to the
camera man, a shop blended with studio and Xerox shop situated next to green
hill hotel, he was such a nice guy. When we described him our problem, without
giving a second taught he took it from us and fixed it. And he refused to take
money from us for fixing it. Then Suresh became normal, and synced his mood with
the trip. We went for some tea and withdrawing money from ATM, having some
eatables buying comb etc.
Food is a
major issue in valparai, you
cant get good cuisines here and all shops will close before 9 PM.
Lakshmi Mess near bus stand will be a better destination for food.
Everything will be bit costlier, except tea and fruits. We settled in the room , its already time, and Ramees
called us and
enquired about the
possibility to reach Valparai. Then we enquired, Holiday break Incharge, he is a nice guy and gave tips in reaching valparai by morning.
Day 2 - 10 th july 2015
Valparai To Munnar Via Chalakuddy
It was a pleasant morning, no one ready to get up from the bed. Finally, we all got up and went to have black tea. Cold weather and black tea are the must have combination. We are planned to start at 8 Am and to reach Munnar by evening 6 PM via chalakuddy. Ramees joined us in valparai It was raining till 9 Am, so we all waited. We had our brakefast in Lakshmi mess (Where most of the local used to eat) near the valparai bus stand. Comparing hotel green hill, Lakshmi mess is better to have food. We did not have enough time to visit all the valparai tourist place.
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| River in valparai nearer to bus stand |
So we just thronged here and there and took some photos. Valparai needs more than one day to get explored. We checked out of the holiday inn, then tried to start our bikes (10 30 AM). No hassle, they both started like a charm. Then we fuelled in valparai petrol bunk (This is the last bunk for the next 100 km). After fuelling, we began our journey towards chalakudy through sholayar. We pit stopped here and there to take snaps of tea estates.
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| Around Valparai |
Our bad luck dam was closed, so we continued our ride towards chalakuddy. After sholayar, road is not that good, full of bumps and holes. Finally, we reached chalakuddy check post around 1130Am. After clear checking our bags and writing details of our address they left us inside the forest. Full of the dense green forest, if u have luck, then u can see some jumbos. Many small waterfalls, pin end bends, trees blocking the road and many more thrills all over the road. But its not a lonely road, less traffic and bikers is evident.
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| Starting to Chalakuddy |
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Sholayar Water Reserve
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| Exiting Sholayar Water Reserve |
Tips for the chalakudy road: stick to your road, go with a minimum speed, enjoy the nature and watch out for big vans and cars. No barricades, no dividers so if anything goes wrong, then your soul alone will enjoy the nature. So be cautious in riding as well as enjoying the woods. Some sightseeing points are there don’t miss it. Take a pit stop just to feel the calmness in and around you.
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| Near Chalakuddy checkpost |
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| Water source via chalakuddy |
Then hydel power generator this is a place to shoot pics, long pipes can be seen from the bridge. U cant reach them. The single bridge is an attractive place to take a photo but if any vehicle comes then u need to go back. Only one four wheelers can pass the bridge at a time. After that, we started our ride and reached the chalakudy ending check post. After routine checks, we reached Vazhachall falls and athiripally falls. Since we came out of the fresh air, these places felt so humid, and we all started sweating. We parked our bikes and started to check out the falls. The sound and the power of water can be felt in these places. U can reach close to the falling water, for that enquire about the way else u will miss the chance of taking some good snaps. Don’t feed monkeys with juice and ice cream. After monkey finishes the drink u will be asked to throw it into dustbin (Kerala Rules).
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| Valparai Chalakuddy Road |
It is almost 3 PM, and then we stopped in some hotel and had some light food. Then we started our journey towards chalakuddy. It’s a kind of city so u can get whatever u want. Kochi is so near, if u want u can go to Kochi then can make a stay there then can start towards Munnar.
In no blog we read about it, so it was full of thrill and we didn't expect it. Again we started playing with hairpin bends and seeing waterfalls. It started to rain, and flashy high beam headlights of cars and larger vehicles turned joy ride into survival ride. We decided not to ride during night, but all of sudden we need to drive in heavy rain to reach our destination. Roads are heavily damaged; fog will dull your vision, so its better not to drive in the night unless u dont need adventure. Chances of an encounter with Jumbos is high in these roads more then valparai to chalakuddy. No petrol pumps will be there until u reach Munnar. So be cautious in driving.
When we entered Munnar it was 10 PM and we all were drenched in rain. A guy in road seeing us asked, whether we need the room. Cold weather and total unexpectedness we experienced made us to say yes for his question. Then he showed us a room, parking lot and told the room wage. All was good, and we all settled in our rooms. Finally after having our dinner we slept.
Day 3 Riding towards vellore
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| In Munnar |
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| On our Way To Udumulpet from munnar |
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| Nearing Udumulapet |
Again the cold weather made
us to stick to bed, making us not to go out of the room. After brakefast we all
started by 10 30 AM. No time to visit the tourist places in munnar. We
refuelled, withdraw money from ATM and started our ride. Road was in okie okie
condtition. Climate was good then we started our travel. Many water sources and
waterfalls can be witnessed along the drive. After taking some photos of us we started to
drive, around 40 to 60 range. Maximum 80 kph can be reached but its better to
ride between 35 to 45 Kph. Once u reach, tamil nadu border u can feel the heat
and drought.
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| Nearing Vellore |
We dint stop for lunch just kept on riding. In
this area another checkpost will be there, so people carrying any liquor be
cautious. After this straight way we ridded towards salem. Roads are single lane but u can drive in good speed in some places. From munnar to udumalapet
chances of finding good hotel is less. We had some tea when we reached ground
level and started our ride towards salem. We sticked to speed of (60 to 80).
After avinsahi, u can take the national highway. We reached salem around 6 PM. We had our
lunch in salem. After eating in salem, we passed little bit time and took some
rest then again started our ride. Salem highway is one of the busiest highway
so its better to start early from salem. We reached our next point at 8Pm. We then
rided towards vellore and reached vellore by 1 AM.
So we just thronged here and there and took some photos. Valparai needs more than one day to get explored. We checked out of the holiday inn, then tried to start our bikes (10 30 AM). No hassle, they both started like a charm. Then we fuelled in valparai petrol bunk (This is the last bunk for the next 100 km). After fuelling, we began our journey towards chalakudy through sholayar. We pit stopped here and there to take snaps of tea estates.
Then hydel power generator this is a place to shoot pics, long pipes can be seen from the bridge. U cant reach them. The single bridge is an attractive place to take a photo but if any vehicle comes then u need to go back. Only one four wheelers can pass the bridge at a time. After that, we started our ride and reached the chalakudy ending check post. After routine checks, we reached Vazhachall falls and athiripally falls. Since we came out of the fresh air, these places felt so humid, and we all started sweating. We parked our bikes and started to check out the falls. The sound and the power of water can be felt in these places. U can reach close to the falling water, for that enquire about the way else u will miss the chance of taking some good snaps. Don’t feed monkeys with juice and ice cream. After monkey finishes the drink u will be asked to throw it into dustbin (Kerala Rules).
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