Suryanelli - Kolukkumalai

Trip members: Karthik and family

Trip date:  12, 13 and 14 June 2026

Trip Plan : Chennai - Dindigul - Bodimettu - Anayirangal - Suryanelli - Kolukkumalai - Suryanelli - Chennai

This was quickly re-planned trip, first planned with train to Body/Theni form Chennai; and replanned as a roadtrip all through. The main plan was to see places before Munnar - Bodimettu and dams-estates around Suryanelli and if possible - the offroad jeep safari to Kolukkumalai.

Given that it was mid-June and monsoon was setting in Kerala, the safaris were not happening because of rains. I had registered online and waited for any updates. I still thought to go ahead and enjoy the monsoon rains.

Day-1

On a Friday early evening, around 4 PM, we started from Chennai and drive towards Dindigul. We planned to do break-journey to Suryanelli (~550 kms) with overnight stay at Dindigul. We had dinner at Hotel Aswins around 7:30 PM and reached Dindigul by 10 PM. Being a weekend, there was considerable traffic till Trichy. We checked in to hotel Chendur Park near Dindigul railway station and hit the beds immediately.

Day-2

We started quite early around 5:30 AM, and had vadai and tea before entering the highway. We planned to visit Kumbakarai waterfalls. Closer to the trip, we got locals say there is no water as the monsoons are delayed and not worth visiting.

We reached our friend's house around 7:30 AM for breakfast at Periyakulam. We spent a good 1 hour reminiscing some past and had hot idlies, vadai and tea for breakfast.

Around 8:30, we started from Periyakulam and set directions to Anayirankal Dam. The whole path from Bodi checkpost onwards became quite interesting and the temperatures dropped across the hair pin bends. We crossed the Bodimettu junction and took the road towards Munnar. Enroute, the Kolukkumalai hill view was inviting!

Anayirankal Dam

Anayirankal Dam comes 22 kms before Munnar, well ahead of Chinnakanal waterfalls. This place is a beautiful picnic spot and known for elephant spotting. The dam also has boating and is popular for elephant sighting. The whole place just before Bodimettu to all along is through tea estates. The morning mists were just giving way and was a very beutiful sight to see.

Traveling through the beautiful tea gardens all across route is a visual delight as well as a great driving experience.

We thought of doing boating here and got down.Since there was not much water, boating was stopped. That was disappointing as it was one of the things to do on this short trip. We got down and moved around the catchment area and spent some time as there was not much to do.

That moment, I tried looking for updates in Jeep Safari and they had opening the safari booking just few hours back as it did not rain from morning. Hurray! I got the booking done and the jeep driver called immediately and advised to go before 2 PM and return by 5 PM so as to not get stuck in the rains.

I treat local advice as gold dust! We started immediately from Anayirankal Dam and started driving to Suryanelli.

Suryanelli

Suryanelli is part of Idukki district and is a small village off the road on the highway to Munnar. Just at Chinnakanal one has to take a narrow sharp left to enter a rocky road to Suryanelli. Suryanelli, at an elevation of 4600+ feet above sea level, is the gateway for Kolukkumalai. This is a perfect tea estate and dense forests locked tiny village with small hotels, many homestays and few resorts. Suryanelli is 15 kms from Chinnakanal - accessible through a rough narrow road.

We had booked our rooms at Double Tree Villa just around a km from the Kolukkumalai jeep safari starting point.

When the driver called us, he enquired where we are staying and said he would be there for us to be picked up around 1 PM. Enroute, we had quick lunch of chapatthis, dal, paneer sabji and veg rice at the only veg restaurant at Chinnakanal - Sree Mahaveer Bhojanalaya. The food was ok and we were in an excitement that the jeep safari is on and the driver is ready for us!

Kolukkumalai

Kolukkumalai is the highest tea plantation is the whole of this planet established during the colonial era. The striking thing that awaits you in Suryaneli is the Kolukkumalai Jeep Safari. The highlight of experiencing Kolukkumalai is witnessing the sunrise or sunset from the Kolukkumalai peak. Jeep Safari is through Upper Suryanelli Tea Plantation on mud laden and rocky pathway for close to 11 kms. Jeeps are available from the town of Suryanelli and it takes you about 90-120 mins to reach the drop-off point after which you trek for a short distance for the Sunset view point. Passes for Jeep Safari should be booked online from their official website. While booking, one gets the driver number allocated. It is quite streamlined and no extras anywhere talked about.

Visit their website for online booking, safari timings, prevailing cost and more details.

https://www.jeepsafarikolukkumalai.com/

We did not plan for Sunrise safari as the rains were persistent and it would be cloudy in the morning. We just want to experience to jeep ride and not be a part of crowd. For sunrises, there would be 100s of jeeps reaching to the top and expected to be crowded. When we went by the evening, there were hardly 15 jeeps and we spent time at leisure enjoying the views from the top. For sure, Sunrise view will be  unbeatable though.

Jeep Safari

The jeep safari can take upto 6 people in a jeep and the payment is done online while booking along with a valid govt. ID card. We paid Rs.2500 as per the online costs during booking - changes time to time. The off-road ride is expected to be quite bumpy and uncomfortable. So, be prepared for the same. There are no laid roads, but pathways turned on because of frequent jeep rides and is on muddy and rocky terrain.

The first 2 kms is on a well laid road, till the Surynelli Plantation village. Post that, the real adventurous journey starts. We can also stop by at the tea estate outlet - we bought few varieties of tea and spices. The tea was well cheaper than the the market price. Tea factory visits are also available; but we opted out and proceeded with the journey.

We reached the parking space at the Kolukkumalai safari end point - Kolukkumalai canteen. All through the route, stunning landscape of the hills surrounded by lush green tea estates make it a visual treat to watch and forget the pain involved in the ride.

The Grand Views

One has to climb on steep muddy space for close to 100 m to reach the view point. The viewpoint is famous for its dramatic sunrise. We get to see the Kolukkumalai peak, Mesapullimalai peak and sprawling acres of tea estates plus the grand view of plains - Theni and surroundings!

We spent close to an hour to enjoy the views; cloud covering and clearing and temperature dropping slowly. From the parking space, Bose peak trekking is permitted. This is allowed only for moderate-plus trekkers. This is quite a difficult trek at higher inclination; and not recommended for those who dont trek frequently.

We had hot tea at the canteen and started the adventure back! It took almost the same time to return. Camping facilities are available at the top and can be pre-booked and enjoyed as well at the top.

Driving around

We got dropped back at our stay and refreshed. We then took our car and had tea at one of the few shops at Suryanelli and went on a ride towards the other side. The whole route was packed with dense forests, a waterfall and looked very serene everywhere.

We then drove towards the Munnar route and stopped at Chinnakanal waterfalls. There was quite a bit of water; we spent some time walking around and enjoying local snacks and the momentary rains.

We next drove further up toward Lockhart Gap road and stopped for the beautiful views of sunset. We spent around 20-30 mins walking around, enjoying the views and returned back as it was getting dark and rains intensifying.

Around 7 PM, we went for dinner at the only recommended place by locals - Hotel Vincy. Our stay did not have working kitchen. Vincy is a pakka local hotel serving dosas and parottas for dinner and they close strictly by 07:30 PM. We got to know about the closure timing when we went for tea and planned to come accordingly. As said, they closed exactly 07:30 PM - because they open early in the morning to cater for morning safari people - breakfast open at 05:30 AM!

Day-3

We woke up around 5:30, took bath and went for breakfast to Vincy - hot piping idlies and super crisy big vadai! We gulped whatever we could and started our journey back to Chennai through the other route towards Bodimettu that we thought of exploring. The Munnar route is 35 kms to Bodimenttu while this is shorter.

The narrow curvy roads through thick forests early in the morning was quite interesting to drive through. It was challenging in few places with steep downs and steep ups! 

We hit the main road around 08:30 and on a cruise mode to Chennai. We had few stops to have tender coconuts, Manapparai murukku, lunch at Trichy Sangeethas, coffee at 99 kms shop and reached Chennai around 6 PM. 

Quite a memorable trip, escaping the 43+ degrees of Chennai for a weekend! Tripmeter - 1350+ kms.