All around Palakkad - Attapadi - SVNP - Malampuzha

Trip members: Karthik, Selva, Viswa, Santhaseelan, Karthikeyan and Dhana
Trip date: 28, 29, 30 Nov 2015
Trip Plan : Chennai - Coimbatore - Attapadi - Silent Valley National Park - Palakkad - Coimbatore - Chennai

Day-1

Started from  Chennai by train to Coimbatore. We had a vehicle booked earlier itself for 3 days. We had tea at KR Bakes near the railway station, took the permit to enter Kerala and quick early breakfast at Hotel Annapoorna in Coimbatore.

We had booked Vision Nature Resorts, Attapadi for Day-1. The Vision Nature Resorts is around 45 kms from Coimbatore and takes around 90 minutes to reach. We reached there around 10 AM. This resort is in Varagampadi Village, Attapadi hills. We checked-in and the rooms were having small issues. On request, they changed our rooms immediately. However, proper service should ensure every room is proper in all means. We were planning to checkout around 5:30 AM next day to accommodate Silent Valley. So, we were offered breakfast on day-1 itself. The resort has quite spacious rooms and a small area for play and camp fire. The package includes 3 meals plan. The climate was quite sunny.

On the way to Attapadi...

Vision Nature Resorts

During the trek....

After refreshing, we were by ourself going around the small hilly place. We spent close to 2 hours going around - climbing and returned back to the resort for lunch. The meals were all served fresh and the spread was quite elaborate. It had soups, starters, salads, chapatthis, rice and dessert. All 3 meals were satisfactory and refilled almost well.

Post lunch, we spent time playing cards and chit-chatting. Later, we spent time playing cricket for few hours - finishing with high tea. The evening though was not too cold, it was quite enjoyable and again spent playing cards and fine dinner.

Day-2

Checked out by 05:30 AM and drove down to Mukkali. Mukkali is present on the road from Anaikatti to Mannarkkad. Mukkali is the starting point for the Silent Valley National park visit. No personal vehicles are allowed inside the forest area. One has to seek permission upfront and register to visit the national park. Through of the one friends, we had registered our name couple of days earlier and were present there promptly by 7:15 AM. The national park forest office opens by 7:45 and registered people are sent on FCFS basis through the Kerala Government operated jeeps. The tariffs are nominal and its always good to be first person in the morning to visit a national park.

On the way ... on forest ride...

Our journey started around 08:15 after lot of receipts and signatures. We had a very quick breakfast of aapams in a small shop just opposite of the forest department office and the trip was ON !

We went in a Bolero. The total trip timings is 5 hours. 3 hours is for driving two-way. There are 2 attractions to see in SVNP - a watch tower and a hanging bridge. The driver was giving information as we went on. The whole area is thick forest and is a rainfall forest - rains 10-11 months in a year. It homes almost all the wild animals, birds and huge variety of butterflies. We were only lucky enough to see a Sambhar deer on the way. We also stopped for a short break near a small waterfalls. After a journey of close to 1:30 hours, we reached the watch tower.

From the watch tower....

From the watch tower....

The watch tower is 100 feet tall and gives a massive and amazing view of the Silent Valley. Climbing the watch tower itself is quite exciting given the wind and height ! The view is very exhilarating.  a 360 degree view of thick, dense, green, evergreen forest !!! We spent around 20 minutes on the tower and then started the trek to the hanging bridge. The hanging bridge is 2.5 kms from the watch tower and the trek is quite easy when going downwards.

We reached the hanging bridge in 30-40 minutes. The bridge is on top of rapid waters. We carried some snacks and water with us. We spent around 15-20 minutes clicking photos and emptying the snacks. We then were asked politely by the driver to start the trek back. The trek back was quite difficult as it was a climb-up all the way. We were back on the jeep by 11:30 and drove back to Mukkali in 1 hour.

The hanging bridge...

We bought some bananas and soft drinks at Mukkali and decided to have lunch at Mannarkkad. Mannarkkad is 19 kms from Mukkali and takes around 30-40 minutes to reach. We tried to locate a restaurant and got to a small eatery sort of place. There were parotas and lunch - quite average or below; but something was ok for lunch.

Our next destination was Meenvallam Waterfalls. This is on the way to Palakkad from Mannarkkad. It is 22 kms from Mannarkkad and around 3-4 kms from the highway. Use maps to navigate to the location. From the parking space, we need to walk 1 km to reach the waterfalls. Tourists are allowed from 9 AM to 4 PM here and the charges are Rs.20 per person. One cannot really reach the falls but from some distance; there is a big pool like place where the water falls and we can bath there. It has got quite some depth, which only swimmers can go; however, others can go half the way and enjoy the cool waters. We spent close to 2 hours in the water - a great enjoyment after a trek in SVNP.

We came out around 5 PM and reached Palakkad - 29 kms from this falls. We had booked rooms in advance here at Sayoojyam Residency. The rooms were very comfortable and clean. The room service was also quite good to serve water or any other amenities requested. We had a 24-hour checkout here. We relaxed the evening here and had dinner at Hotel Kapilavastu - a pure vegetarian hotel near Palakkad bus stand - 1 km from the hotel we stayed.

Day-3

After a relaxed sleep and yummy buffer of breakfast at Hotel Sayoojyam, we had planned to go to 2 places - Palakkad Fort and Malampuzha Dam. We started to the Palakkad Fort - which is just 1 km from the hotel we stayed by 9 AM. The Palakkad Fort is maintained clean and the whole area is being now used for a temple and few administrative offices. The fort is open from 8 AM to 6 PM and entrance is free. We spent around 1 hour in the Fort and an adjoining park - which is not worthy enough unless you have kids and time to kill.

We then started to Malampuzha Dam. The dam is located around 10 kms from Palakkad town. Malampuzha dam has lot of attractions to see and experience. It has a rope car that takes you all over the dam for Rs.60 per person. They have 3 big parks, few eateries, snake park, Aquarium, rock garden, hanging bridges, boating and a walk on the dam front. One can plan to spend 5 hours easily in the dam. People of all ages can enjoy and spend time provided you are able to walk.

The rope car is must-to-do here. The rope carriageway is near the parking area. You need not enter the dam area to go by rope car. The rope car operates from 10 AM to 12:30 PM and again from 2 PM to 6:30 PM.

We went through the rope car, boating and walk on the dam. Row boats and motor boats are available. We paid Rs.500 for a motor boat for 6 members and it was only a 5-min drive. It is quite
costly for the distance covered. The parks are maintained very clean with fountains, rest rooms.

We reached back Palakkad for lunch - hotel Kapilvasthu again. We checked out from Palakkad and reached Coimbatore by 6 PM - visited Maruthamalai  - return to Chennai by train.

Overall, a good trip all around Pollachi - mostly not so popular but very nice and pleasant places.

We did not cover Dhoni falls alone, though was planned - mainly because one needs to trek 4 kms to reach the falls ! Dhoni falls is only 7 kms from Palakkad.

Distances:

• Coimbatore - Vision Nature Resorts, Attapadi Hills – 43 kms – 1.5 hours
• Vision Nature Resorts – Mukkali – 37 kms – 2 hours
• Vision nature – Mannarkad – 52 kms
• Mannarkad – Meenvallam waterfalls – 22 kms
• Meenvallam waterfalls – Palakkad – 29 kms
• Mannarkad – Palakkad - 47 kms
• Malampuzha Dam - Dhoni falls – 12 kms

Yercaud and around Salem

Trip members: Karthik and family
Trip date: 31 Oct and 1 Nov 2015
Trip Plan : Chennai - Salem - Yercaud - Salem - Mettur dam- Salem - Chennai

Day 1:

A quick weekend trip to Yercaud was beckoning for a long time. Having booked the train from Chennai to Salem, cab and hotel room in Yercaud, all set ! We reached Salem railway station around 06:30 and requested the driver to take us to a cheap hotel room for 1 hour - to freshen up. The driver guided us to Hotel Vedha mansion - Rs.500 for one room; we refreshed and ready for breakfast by 8 AM at Hotel Annapoorna. We had some good Idlis, Pongal, Vadai and Dosais at Hotel Annapoorna. The tiffen was excellent and homely.

First - direction was set to Yercaud. The driver gave us 2 options : One - the conventional one and  the other through the Salem - Thirupattur Road leading to Kuppanur - Yercaud Ghat road. The driver said the second option is very scenic and very nice to go. We chose the same. The whole ride was very cool, excellent roads and scenic. They were lush green all around and almost no traffic.

The first point we visited was the Pagoda point. It gave a very good view from a cliff. The clouds were just coming out of the valley beneath and was excellent to see. One can spend around 20 minutes in this location and enjoy the view. There is a small view tower as well here.

Next, we went to Yercaud lake - boat house. The lake is quite small when compared to other hill stations in Tamilnadu. However, the water was clean and no great rush for the boating. There are motor boats, pedal boats and row boats for rentals. We took a row boat - charging Rs.120 for a 15 minutes ride. The pedal boats are self pedalled; whereas the row boat and motor boat are driven by boatman. The ride was quite peaceful and enjoyable.

There is a park nearby the lake - Deer park and an aquarium. We visited the deer park - there is an entry fee of Rs.10 for adults and Rs.5 for children. The small park had couple of deers, peacocks and white rats. Nothing great but a good walk on a perfect weather day. Kids would like it.

Our next stop was the Servarayan temple (Shevaroy Temple). This is a small cave temple for Lord Rama near a view point. The temple is quite auspicious and the cave is believed to lead for many kms. Elder people may find it difficult to get to the temple. The view point was very nice. There is a relay station here - the highest point of Yercaud. The view point was quite picturesque too.

There is a Sri Chakra Mahameru Temple - around 7 kms from this view point. The temple closes by 12 noon. We were the last to visit this temple. The temple is quite divine and heard that special poojas are carried out on special days and there would be crowd on those days. The Sri Chakra Mahameru Temple hosts gopuram in the shape of Sri Chakra and Mahameru with the Goddess Lalitha Tripurasundari being the primary Goddess of the temple.

It was lunch time and  the driver guided us to Hotel Malar - part of the Shevaroys. This is a pure vegetarian restaurant. We had meals, chapathis and fried rice. They were okay and pricing was like a budget hotel for chapthis and fried rice; however quite costly for the meals served. There are no great restaurants in Yercaud. This one is a okay restaurant.

We had booked rooms in Golden Nest. The place is closer to the lake however, the road connecting is very very bad to drive. The facility is situated on a slope and might be difficult for elder people to access. The rooms are very spacious; a front room is available with a sofa set cum bed and chairs-table setup. It also has microwave oven, electric kettle, TV and few bowls, plates and spoons. The bedroom is spacious too with a queen sized bed, TV and dressing table. The cleanliness is good; the only issue being access for elder people.

The rooms also have a great view all around from the balconies. The restaurant is on the edge of a cliff, giving a grand view for the valley beneath. The view from the cliff in late evenings and early mornings are mesmerizing. There is an open gym for play area. The food was good.

After refreshing in the rooms, we visited Ladies seat. This view point is one of the best to see in Yercaud. One gets to see the roads leading to Yercaud across the hills from this view point. The location is quite scenic and one can spend around 20-30 minutes here. There are small shops selling green pepper, the special 'kilangu' of Yercaud for knee pains and local fruits.

There is a rose garden at a distance of 200m from this point and it is quite beautiful and well maintained. The entry tickets and camera fees is quite on the higher side; however, given that it is maintained well; acceptable. They have a huge collection of roses and a treat for photographers. One can spend easily an hour at this place. It was getting dark and raining around 4:30 PM and the chillness was setting in.

Now, to wrap up the day, one of the important places to see - Kiliyur waterfalls. This is located around 4 kms from the Yercaud lake. The walk to this waterfalls requires a 200m start on a steep road (very bad road), then quite steep steel rails and steps followed by concrete steps. Though they are supported by side ways, it would be difficult for elder people to walk down and then climb up. The waterfalls is quite small but scenic. It is not a place to take bath, unless if you are particular about. Other than that, its a good place to go and be prepared for a difficult climb down and a climb-up !

The evenings were cold and required proper dressing to resist the chill breeze.

Day-2:

We checked out around 9 AM and started climbing down to Salem. We had planned few temples and Mettur dam for Day-2.

The first temple we visited was the Skandasramam. It is around 19 kms from the Salem junction near Udayapatti. This is one the five Skandasramams in the state. The temple is maintained well and quite clean. However, it is located far away from the town. We spent around 30 minutes there and moved to the next temple.

Uthumalai Balasubramanya Swamy(Murugan) Temple was the next stop, This is situated around 17 kms from Salem junction on top of a hill. The drive to the top is on quite bad roads; however it is only few minutes - a walk is very much possible. This is a small temple and quite special for the localites. This hill gives a grand view of the whole city of Salem. Given that we went on rainy day, the view was quite interesting too.

We then went to 1008 Linga temple near Vinayaka mission institutions. This temple hosts a giant Linga surrounded by 1008 lingas and few other sanithaanams of Lord Rama and Vishnu. We then visited the Kanchamalai Siddhar temple and the Lord Muruga temple on top a small hill. The Muruga temple is small and quite famous. The Kanchamalai Siddhar temple is one of the most famous temples for the city and has special poojas during no-moon days.

1008 lingas temple entrance

1008 lingas 

Kanchamalai Murugan Temple

Kanchamalai Murugan Temple

Kanchamalai Siddhar Temple

We had lunch at Hotel Salem Saravana Bavan and started the journey towards Mettur Dam. The dam is around 40+ kms from Salem and takes close to 1:30 hours to reach, The approach road is a single road and mostly under moving traffic. The dam was around 60 feet filled when we went. We had to take detour through the Mettur Thermal power plant to reach the park area of the dam. The view of the dam is facilitated through the Pavala Vizha Building. This building was built to commemorate 75 years of dam usage in 2005 and is 75 feet tall. There is a lift for a cost of Rs.20 per person to reach to the top of the building and have a view of the dam.

Mettur Thermal Power Station

Pavala Vizha Building

View from the top - Pavala Vizha Building

There are parks near the dam and will be closed by 5PM in evenings. We spent close to 1 hour in the dam on various views and returned back to Salem around 7 PM.

Yercaud definitely beckons one more visit.