[i20ian]

Nelliyampathy situated in Palakkad district of Kerala is popularly known as poor man's Ooty and is bestowed with a lot of natural beauty. Presenting here a few pictures taken by me during recent visits to this natural paradise.

A yellow browed bulbul. A Western Ghats endemic species..



Brown cheeked fulvetta spoilt for choice



Rufous babbler on its favourite thorny perch



The ever elusive Wayanad Laughing thrush



The commoner.. Red whiskered bulbul



The cute little heart spotted woodpecker



The frowning Crested Hawk Eagle



The busy Velvet fronted nuthatch



Nilgiri Langur Mom n child



The skulky Muntjac or Barking deer



Vernal Hanging parrot



The vibrant Orange minivet



The winter visitor.. Verditer flycatcher



The pride of Kerala.. Great Indian Hornbill



The curious square tailed bulbul



Grazing Elephant



The rare Legge's Hawk Eagle



Another visitor.. The Green warbler



Fairy blue bird



The endangered Lion tailed Macaques





Bar winged flycatcher shrike



Dollar bird



Malabar trogon



Cinerous tit



The boisterous Indian white eyes


Blue capped rock thrush



The Malabar giant squirrel



The rare Nilgiri wood pigeon



Dark fronted babbler



The natural beauty of Kerala and it's rich flora and fauna cannot be expressed in these pictures alone. Hope everyone enjoys these pictures.

[Dhar's]

Beautiful and sharp pictures. Thanks for sharing Nelliampathy's biodiversity.
Which month these were captured?

[Thermodynamics]

Fantastic pictures, could you please share details of dates, travel, accommodation and jungle trails.

[avinashsg]

Amazing pictures.
Thanks for sharing the inputs, have included it in my "MUST VISIT" place list.

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by i20ian

Nelliyampathy situated in Palakkad district of Kerala is popularly known as poor man's Ooty and is bestowed with a lot of natural beauty.

Truly mind-boggling images i20ian

I'd rather spend time in such pristine "poor man's" country than spend money in some of the over-rated places.

Can you please share more details on the place, your stay, camera gear?

[krish3]

Beautiful pics @i20ian. Please do share details on where you stayed and the must visit areas.

This is not a poor man's Ooty, this is a paradise compared to the commercial crap that Ooty has unfortunately become.

[C300]

Beautiful pics i20ian. Any pointers to good Birding guide in Nelliyampathy? We are planning a Birding trip early next year.

[ranjeet_sam]

Nice photos i20ian! Can you please provide more details on the Road condition from Bangalore, travel time and accommodation details? Also, would Dec be a good time to visit this place?

[peterjim13]

Originally Posted by i20ian

Attachment 1939471

Nilgiri Langur Mom n child

Attachment 1939483

The endangered Lion-tailed Macaques

The natural beauty of Kerala and it's rich flora and fauna cannot be expressed in these pictures alone. Hope everyone enjoys these pictures.

Thanks, i20ian for the wonderful pictures. This is for me is a formidable textbook and learning in terms of how beautiful the birds are. Every time I go through or drive through the forest, I (we) keep out looking only for larger animals and never the birds. Great photos.

I hope you could detail on your travel there, travel recommendations, accommodation etc as Nelliyampathi and Parambikulam have been some places that I intend to make it in my next family trip.

On a quick note on - on the first picture where you had tagged a mother and baby monkey as "Nilgiri Langur" - arent they also the "Lion Tailed Macaques".

[aqualeo2040]

Faboulous pictures and stunning colors!

Could you also share the kit details? Very interested in knowing how you got those pics as well (perch??) since most of the images are almost at eye level!

[lifeat100k]

Such beautiful pictures! Thank you for sharing the photos.it was a joy getting to know more about these lovely birds.I feel kerala still has some unexplored and untouched places like this.Thanks again!

[gadadhar]

Wonderful snaps from Poor Mans Ooty. My favorite is framing of the Barking Deer. I am sure it would not have been easy to spot and capture so many feathered friends...

[Sunil2307]

Wonderful clicks. Whats are your camera gear?

[Hazi.Kin]

Beautiful and refreshing pictures. Please post your travel experience and some scenic nature photos also.

[i20ian]

Originally Posted by Dhar's

Beautiful and sharp pictures. Thanks for sharing Nelliampathy's biodiversity.
Which month these were captured?

Thank you. Nelliyampathy is a couple of hours drive from the place where i stay. These pictures were captured during different months of the year. The ideal season would be from October to January.

Originally Posted by Thermodynamics

Fantastic pictures, could you please share details of dates, travel, accommodation and jungle trails.

I have stayed at a few locations in Nelliyampathy. There are a few decent accommodation facilites available. A few are:
1) Greenland Farm house
2) Misty Valley resort
3) KFDC Pakuthipaalam
4) ITL Residency

To name a few. There are also a few estates which offer stay. The facilities are basic. All the above resort details are available in Google.

Originally Posted by avinashsg

Amazing pictures.
Thanks for sharing the inputs, have included it in my "MUST VISIT" place list.

Thank you Avinash. Nelliyampathy is surely beautiful especially in winter and after the monsoons.

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Truly mind-boggling images i20ian

I'd rather spend time in such pristine "poor man's" country than spend money in some of the over-rated places.

Can you please share more details on the place, your stay, camera gear?

The place can be accessed from Nemmara in Palakkad district of Kerala. The drive up the Ghat roads is scenic and you can leisurely enjoy the views of Pothundy dam as you wind up the Ghat roads.

I used Nikon D500 and 200-500 for the above pictures.

Originally Posted by krish3

Beautiful pics @i20ian. Please do share details on where you stayed and the must visit areas.

This is not a poor man's Ooty, this is a paradise compared to the commercial crap that Ooty has unfortunately become.

Unfortunately Nelliyampathy too has started getting crowded on holidays and weekends. But due to restrictions from forest department there has not been a rapid pace of commercialisation.

It would be better if you could plan a trip on weekdays as it will be less crowded and peaceful.

The must visit places are
1) Seethargundu view point
2) Keshavanpara view point
3) Karappara waterfalls
4) Karashoori jeep trek. You'll have to hire jeeps from Nelliyampathy to go there.
5) Orange farm

Originally Posted by C300

Beautiful pics i20ian. Any pointers to good Birding guide in Nelliyampathy? We are planning a Birding trip early next year.

Thank you. Guides are generally not available at Nelliyampathy. If you are able to spend some time along the Ghat roads early in the morning, you'll come across a lot of bird varieties. Also Karappara would be interesting for bird watching.

Originally Posted by ranjeet_sam

Nice photos i20ian! Can you please provide more details on the Road condition from Bangalore, travel time and accommodation details? Also, would Dec be a good time to visit this place?

Bangalore- Salem- Coimbatore- Palakkad- Erimayur- Nemmara- Nelliyampathy is the route. The ghat roads start after Nemmara from a place called Pothundy. The roads are good throughout except a few stretches on the ghats were the roads are a bit bad.

If you want to feel cut off from the rest of the world you can book accommodation at Misty Valley resorts. It is located deep inside the jungle and you'll need to park your vehicle in Nelliyampathy town and take an off-road jeep to reach there.

Also KFDC Pakuthipaalam is a Government owned accomodation which is deep inside the forest.

Originally Posted by peterjim13

Thanks, i20ian for the wonderful pictures. This is for me is a formidable textbook and learning in terms of how beautiful the birds are. Every time I go through or drive through the forest, I (we) keep out looking only for larger animals and never the birds. Great photos.

I hope you could detail on your travel there, travel recommendations, accommodation etc as Nelliyampathi and Parambikulam have been some places that I intend to make it in my next family trip.

On a quick note on - on the first picture where you had tagged a mother and baby monkey as "Nilgiri Langur" - arent they also the "Lion Tailed Macaques".

Thank you. Good that you liked the pictures. Next time when you travel do keep an eye out for birds and you'll be surprised at the sheer variety of them.

Nelliyampathy will be good for a two day trip and you can surely club Parambikulam with that if you have 4 days at your disposal.

Nilgiri Langurs are a separate species and their tails and appearance itself is different.

Originally Posted by aqualeo2040

Faboulous pictures and stunning colors!

Could you also share the kit details? Very interested in knowing how you got those pics as well (perch??) since most of the images are almost at eye level!

Thank you very much. All these pictures are taken from the birds natural habitat without using any feeds, perches or unethical means. If you become a part of nature and be patient you'll be eventually rewarded.

Originally Posted by lifeat100k

Such beautiful pictures! Thank you for sharing the photos.it was a joy getting to know more about these lovely birds.I feel kerala still has some unexplored and untouched places like this.Thanks again!

Thank you very much.

Originally Posted by gadadhar

Wonderful snaps from Poor Mans Ooty. My favorite is framing of the Barking Deer. I am sure it would not have been easy to spot and capture so many feathered friends...

Thank you. The Barking deer shot was taken from my car and at the very slightest disturbance it got off into the thickets. As i said patience is a virtue especially for bird photography.

Originally Posted by Sunil2307

Wonderful clicks. Whats are your camera gear?

Thank you. I use Nikon D500 and 200-500.

Originally Posted by Hazi.Kin

Beautiful and refreshing pictures. Please post your travel experience and some scenic nature photos also.

Thank you. I'll share a few nature pictures taken from Nelliyampathy in the subsequent posts.