Folks
Here is the Thekkady trip update.
Due to urgent work back home, I had to cut short my trip to 1 day. Instead of returning back on Sunday, had to come back on saturday itself. Nevertheless had a good time there even if it was for 1 day.
For the onward journey, i left my home in bangalore by 7 AM and took the following route
Via Hosur bye pass, Kelamangalam, Rayakottai, Palacode bye pass, Thoppur, Omalur, Sankagiri, Tiruchengode, Paramathi,Karur, Palayam, Dindigul, Vathlagundu, Theni and Cumbum
Very good roads throughout. For a change i took the road to Rayakottai via Kelamangalam. After crossing TVS factory, if you proceed further, you will reach the check post. From there, the left road takes you to Hosur town, right road takes you to Thally and the straight road leads to a 4 road junction. From this junction, the left road leads to Hosur Railway station, while the right road leads to Denkanikottai. Took the straight road which leads to Kelamangalam. Compared to the regular Hosur Rayakottai road, this route via Kelamangalam is not that good. Bridge work was going on at 2 places for which I had to take a slight detour.
Once you reach Rayakottai, I took the usual road to Palacode. This stretch between Rayakottai and Palacode is awesome. Superb roads all the way.
Likewise from Palacode bye pass to NH near Thoppur, the tarmac was simply great.
Filled petrol near Salem. Prior to this i filled petrol in Bangalore for 700 Rs the previous night. Once i reached Karur after proceeding from Salem, I took the Road to Palayam which leads to Dindigul. It is very easy to locate the road. When in Karur, ask the locals for the Karur Bus stand. From there, one has to take the road to Trichy. After covering a small distance, you reach a junction where one road leads to Trichy while the other road leads to Dindigul. I took this road via Palayam. Very good 2L roads all the way till Dindigul. Of course there are speed breakers when u pass by villages that will slow you down. Nevertheless good roads all the way.
Reached Dindigul by 1 PM for lunch. Road widening on the Dindigul Vathlagundu stretch has been mostly completed but for some sections. But there are no lane markings on the road. Keep this in mind especially if one wants to travel in the night.
Till we reach the start of the Kumily ghat road, very good roads all the way from Dindigul. Of course when you reach Theni, Periyakulam and Cumbum, the roads are rough inside these towns. I also spotted a number of wind mills near Theni.
Filled petrol in Theni too.
Here are the petrol prices as on 09.05.2013
Bangalore - 69.40 / L
Salem - 65.96 / L
Theni - 66.16 / L
Drive through the Kumily ghat road is great. Spotted a water fall near by but not sure of the name.
Reached the hotel in Kumily by 4: 30 PM . Total distance covered as per odo - 495 kms (9.5 hrs journey time with 1/2 hr lunch break at Dindigul)
Rayakottai - Palacode Road
Palacode By pass road
Karur - Palayam Road
Dindigul - Bathlagundu Road
Cumbum - Theni Road
Kumily Ghat Road
Now the details on the places i visited in Thekkady. To begin with i booked entry tickets for boating in periyar lake in the morning. This ticket is valid for the entire day. We decided to go for boating in the last batch (3:10 PM) as there was more scope for seeing the animals coming out to quench their thirst. After booking the tickets, we returned back to Kumily to fill petrol.
Kindly note that near the kumily bus stand , a HP bunk is there. One of the guides in periyar sanctuary said that adulteration was more in this bunk and cautioned me not to fill here. On the kumily-kottayam road we have a BP bunk. I filled petrol here.Price of petrol in Kumily (10.05.2013) = 65.74 / L
First we visited the spice plantations. Entry fee per head is Rs 100. The staff out there took us around the plantations and explained in depth about the various plants being grown there along with their importance.
1. Sarvasugandhi - Can be mixed in veg and non veg food
2. Brahmi - To be given for kids from 1-14 yrs of age for brain development
3. Shatavari - For ladies with harmone imbalance
4. Stawberry
5. Aswagandha - To improve immunity
6. Nutmeg plant
7. Alovera plant
8. Cocoa plant for making choclates
9. Njavara - For asthama and allergy related problems
10. Black pepper
11. Coffee plant
12. Orange tree
13. Insulin plant
14. Serpentine leaf - For skin related problems
15. cardamom
16. Sarvanaga oil - For Arthritis
17. Pomogranate plant
18. candy flower
19. Karpoora Valli - For gastric problems
20. Steevia leaf - Induce sweetness for diabetic patients. (something like sugar free).
We purchased some ayurvedic medicines out there. The staff also said that they have to renew their license for making ayurvedic medicines every year from the kerala govt.
From the spice plantations, we saw pattumala church (a famous one out there). The spice plantations is on the kumily kottayam road.
We then came back to the town , took the kumily -munnar road to visit vandiperiyar and parunthupara view point. Lots of tea estates enroute.
Finally we reached parunthapara view point. One of the rocks out here resembles the head of an eagle. Hence the name Parunthapara.
Truly spectacular sight.we spent considerable time out there to enjoy nature's beauty.
From there we then proceeded back to Periyar tiger reserve to purchase tickets for boating. The entry ticket that i purchsed in the morning is valid for the entire day as mentioned before. Now the advantage is , i need not wait in the queue behind vehicles to get the entry ticket. i showed the security the entry tickets sitting in the car and went inside the tiger reserve.
For the 3:10 PM boating, one has to stand in the queue 1 hr before itself. For the upper deck in the boat , they charge Rs 150 while for the lower deck, they charge Rs 75. For kids upto 5 yrs age, no ticket is required.
After buying the boating tickets, went back to the hotel to have lunch and again came back at the right time in the periyar tiger reserve.
Duration of boating is roughly 1.5 hrs and it is truly spectacular sight to behold.
The staff in the tiger reserve said that there are about 42 tigers and 30 leopards in the forest. During boating , we were able to see only sambhar deer, wild boar, and a lot of birds especially the snake bird. Unfortunately could not see any elephants though.
Boating in Periyar lake is worth the money we shell out. Remember this is a man made lake.
We then returned back to the comforts of the hotel room after boating to take a well dereved rest. had some plans for the next day like visiting kuttikanam view point, Pandikuzhi and chellarkovil falls but as said before had to come back to bangalore.