[lipaul]

This trip was done during the Christmas holidays of 2012. I was at home, Pollachi, a small town near Coimbatore. Usually, I try to spend this week with my parents and this time too, it was no different.

After Christmas, we planned on visiting family at Thrissur. From Pollachi, the usual route is Kollengode -> Vadakkencheri -> Thrissur. Why not do the Valparai route? I have been to Valparai numerous times and from there to Chalakudy a couple of times. But this road always excites me for the seclusion, wild life and of course, the winding roads.

The day was Dec 26 and we started as planned by around 5:15AM. We exited Pollachi town and I kept my speed in check as the road to Aliyar goes through few villages. It was cold, foggy at times and most of the stretches had no street lights. Aliyar dam is 28KMs from Pollachi and we reached the dam by around 6:00AM and continued further without stopping. It was still dark when we passed Monkey Falls.

We reached the first of the forty hair pin bends by around 6:15AM

[lipaul]

The road surface is good, well marked and has sparse traffic -> A driver's delight!



We reached Loam's view point and stopped by to have a look at the Aliyar dam.



Nice and calm



The Sun was just coming out



This place also offers us with the view of the loops we did to reach here







We reached Tiger Valley after passing through Attakatty





View of the valley



I drove further and we got to see the first of the many estates en-route

[lipaul]

A beautiful waiting shed











We reached Kavarakkal. As expected, it was misty



Carver Marsh statue





At Aiyarpadi, we took the deviation to the Annai Velankanni Church. This is the waterfall on the side of the church

[lipaul]

Serene



The church at Karamalai is surrounded by lush green tea estate and on a side, there is a small water fall and a stream. We took the stairs to the church. There are a couple of benches in front of the church from where you can watch the water fall and the flowing water



The attendant there opened the church for us



The Xmas crib



The church was decorated for Xmas and we spent a few minutes inside the church in reverence



We spent some time near the stream















On the way back to the junction, I saw estates along the road. I saw a stream flowing thru the estate and I parked my car to go near the stream



I think this would join the stream we saw near the church



The bridge over the stream

[lipaul]

We had breakfast at Valparai town and then proceeded to Nirar dam. I paid at the check-post and from the guards I came to know that there was little water at the water fall and hence decided not to go there. The road to the dam was in shambles and the heat was intense



Estates seen on the way to Nirar dam



Beautiful setting















Sights from the Nirar dam







A parting shot

[lipaul]

On the way back from Nirar dam, I did see the deviation to the lower Nirar dam. I skipped it because of the heat and the road condition. We then proceeded towards the Sholayar dam.



Back waters of Sholayar dam



The road to Sholayar dam is good with estates along the way



We reached the dam by 1:00PM



The water level was low at the dam















The dam as viewed from the road





We reached Perungalkuthu dam by 3:00PM



The water level was decent and the place - calm and green. I can spend hours together just looking at this expanse of water, thick foilage and the small islands

[lipaul]

I drove further to reach Anakayam









We reached Vazhachal by 4:30PM, parked the car and bought entry tickets













We proceeded towards Athirappilly Falls. God, have they shifted the Thrissur Pooram here? It was crowded, noisy and I could find no parking space for a long stretch. Buses, cars, auto rickshaws and two-wheelers were parked on either side of the road. I managed to park my car and we walked towards the viewing point. We spent a few minutes trying to view the falls. Every body were jostling for space to pose right in front of the falls in the viewing area. I waited and managed to click a few snaps and dashed to my car.









I then drove to Chalakudy and took the NH47 to Thrissur. Even though the crowd at Athirappilly was a put off, the day was good and I end my first log here.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to Travelogues. Thanks for sharing!

[one-77]

+1

Decidedly one of the best driving routes in this part of the country. We've done this twice over the last four years, and are planning another trip soon, with a stopover at Sinna Dorai's.

What are the roads like on the Malakkapara - Vazhachal stretch after this year's rains?
One can rest assured that TN roads will be in great shape while the opposite is generally true of Kerala, which is evidenced by the quantum shift as you cross over on the Chalakudi-Pollachi road.

[iVento]

Hi Paul.
Well written travelogue with beautiful photographs.
I had a "narrow miss" of Valparai when I visited Kerala last time & had to settle with Peechi .

My cousin who was scheduled to join us could not come on time & we had to cancel the trip. I am sure that I will make it next time.

[TheARUN]

Beautiful travelogue, a literal feast for the eyes. I have an aunt who grew up in Sholayar, she always keeps talking of the place and I used to wonder what the big deal it was, now I know

The estates on the way, awesome stuff, hoping to trace your footsteps sometime, this travelogue will help me a lot then

[NPV]

Nice travelogue with excellent pictures to go with it, Thanks for sharing

Originally Posted by one-77

What are the roads like on the Malakkapara - Vazhachal stretch after this year's rains?
One can rest assured that TN roads will be in great shape while the opposite is generally true of Kerala, which is evidenced by the quantum shift as you cross over on the Chalakudi-Pollachi road.

Don't know if it's the norm or exception but we found during our trip last year (2012) the roads were excellent from Chalakudy almost till about 10Km before Malakkapara. It was bad from there even for a few Kms beyond the checkpost on the TN side as well. Then again, it became super smooth tarmac all the way till Aliyar. My guess was that the stretch with bad roads receives a lot of rain and hence the condition wasn't good.

[RajeshK]

Originally Posted by NPV

Nice travelogue with excellent pictures to go with it, Thanks for sharing


Don't know if it's the norm or exception but we found during our trip last year (2012) the roads were excellent from Chalakudy almost till about 10Km before Malakkapara. It was bad from there even for a few Kms beyond the checkpost on the TN side as well. Then again, it became super smooth tarmac all the way till Aliyar. My guess was that the stretch with bad roads receives a lot of rain and hence the condition wasn't good.

Not much changes, the road close to the checkpost are still bad, but driveable in any sedans. I have travelled in this route on 24th Aug'13. There were some landslides, but it was almost repaired that time. Roads are narrow and you should be very very careful while giving side to big vehicles. It was a real nice drive for me, I was coming from Ernakulam to Bangalore via this route.

@lipaul, nice travelogue. When I was driving through this route most of the places were covered by mist, thanks for uncovering those places ..!!

[venkatt1800]

LiPaul, so you too have done the "dream route". Very nice travelogue. The pics were superb. Peringalkuthu dam looks so serene and picture perfect. I agree with you that one can spend hours at such a place just taking in the beauty. Even after so many visits, the sheer size of Athirapally never ceases to amaze/scare me. Your pics of the falls were fabulous. The zoom captured the people both at the top and base of the falls so vividly. Can you share with us the camera details ?

[lipaul]

Originally Posted by one-77

+1

Decidedly one of the best driving routes in this part of the country. We've done this twice over the last four years, and are planning another trip soon, with a stopover at Sinna Dorai's.

What are the roads like on the Malakkapara - Vazhachal stretch after this year's rains?
One can rest assured that TN roads will be in great shape while the opposite is generally true of Kerala, which is evidenced by the quantum shift as you cross over on the Chalakudi-Pollachi road.

I totally agree. A drive through this section post monsoon is the most rewarding although the roads would have deteriorated. When I did this trip, the small stretch around 10KMS near Malakkkapara was bad.

Originally Posted by iVento

Hi Paul.
Well written travelogue with beautiful photographs.
I had a "narrow miss" of Valparai when I visited Kerala last time & had to settle with Peechi .

My cousin who was scheduled to join us could not come on time & we had to cancel the trip. I am sure that I will make it next time.

Thanks iVento! You should do it some time. I am sure you will enjoy it.

Originally Posted by TheARUN

Beautiful travelogue, a literal feast for the eyes. I have an aunt who grew up in Sholayar, she always keeps talking of the place and I used to wonder what the big deal it was, now I know

The estates on the way, awesome stuff, hoping to trace your footsteps sometime, this travelogue will help me a lot then

Thanks TheArun!

Originally Posted by NPV

Nice travelogue with excellent pictures to go with it, Thanks for sharing


Don't know if it's the norm or exception but we found during our trip last year (2012) the roads were excellent from Chalakudy almost till about 10Km before Malakkapara. It was bad from there even for a few Kms beyond the checkpost on the TN side as well. Then again, it became super smooth tarmac all the way till Aliyar. My guess was that the stretch with bad roads receives a lot of rain and hence the condition wasn't good.

Thanks NPV! The stretch near Malakkapara has always been bad at least for me

Originally Posted by RajeshK

Not much changes, the road close to the checkpost are still bad, but driveable in any sedans. I have travelled in this route on 24th Aug'13. There were some landslides, but it was almost repaired that time. Roads are narrow and you should be very very careful while giving side to big vehicles. It was a real nice drive for me, I was coming from Ernakulam to Bangalore via this route.

@lipaul, nice travelogue. When I was driving through this route most of the places were covered by mist, thanks for uncovering those places ..!!

Thanks RajeshK!

Originally Posted by venkatt1800

LiPaul, so you too have done the "dream route". Very nice travelogue. The pics were superb. Peringalkuthu dam looks so serene and picture perfect. I agree with you that one can spend hours at such a place just taking in the beauty. Even after so many visits, the sheer size of Athirapally never ceases to amaze/scare me. Your pics of the falls were fabulous. The zoom captured the people both at the top and base of the falls so vividly. Can you share with us the camera details ?

Thanks venkatt1800 for your appreciative words! The camera I use is a humble Canon SX10 IS.