Bangalore-> Kolli hills-> Bangalore

k149in · 16th November 2009, 23:41

The place was very bright and therefore the pictures could not come any better using our PNS cameras. The pictures are not very crisp.

k149in · 16th November 2009, 23:55

We spent close to an hour admiring the beauty of the place. We had decided to vacate the rooms by 12:00PM. Therefore we could not offer to stay any longer in the view point and we decided to leave

17th November 2009, 09:15

Nice review and photographs, k149in. Now, I am planning a trip to Kolli hills with my family.

PearlJam · 17th November 2009, 10:10

Thanks k149in, for letting us know about this beautiful and relatively unknown place. Nics pics too!

ravibhat · 17th November 2009, 13:45

This is amazing stuff, great help to many viewers here I am sure. Should qualify for 5 star rating!

Ravi.

mjothi · 17th November 2009, 13:56

very nice one. Kolli malai - great. Love those falls. Keep them coming.

muralisk · 17th November 2009, 14:17

Awesome snaps and great write up. Looks like a great place and we did discuss about this over the weekend and here comes a great travelogue. Thanks for sharing and keep it going.

k149in · 18th November 2009, 00:46

We did not want to miss the artificial lake that the hills had. The place looked beautiful in one of the photos taken in early morning in one another travelogue. Therefore, we decided to check it out next. From the viewpoint, we reached the lake in 15 minutes or so. The lake was very small, not even 1/4th of the Ulsoor lake and there were couple of boats on it. There was hardly anything in the place other than the natural greenery. Some photos taken on the way and in the lake.

Also, on the way, there was the botanical garden. We had to skip that as we had to leave Kolli hills in an hour time.

@Gandhi, ampere, laluks, J.Ravi, PearlJam, ravibhat, mjothi and muralisk; thank you very much for the appreciation.

k149in · 18th November 2009, 01:00

I just have one more set of photos remaining to be uploaded. These photos were taken while driving down the hill. I will upload them as soon as possible.

I would like to add some more information:

1. Food could be a problem for people living in cities going to Kolli hills. Breakfast was very good (dosas, idly, chutnies etc were good). We had food only from Nallathambi resorts. I heard from local people and from other visitors in that place say that the restaurent in the bus terminus in Semmedu serves pretty good food (though the looks of the restaurent will not be good). But I did not have time to validate it.

The food being served is safe but lacks in taste. I would suggest to stick largely to veg food (which was better than non-veg) and may be try one or two non-veg dishes.

Plus, its beneficial if you carry other eatables that will stand replacement for food.

2. Power supply was very intermitent in the day. In the night, they were stable. It will be good if you can carry 4/5 candles, just as an emergency.

3. Mobile network connectivity was very less (almost no network). Airtel and Vodafone were the ones we had. In very specific points we had connection. Practically, it is not possible to go that point everytime to speak. You can just go there to convey back home "I have reached safely".

4. If you are planning a two day trip, its best if you reach the base of the hills by 8:00/9:00AM on the first day. You can have a leisure drive uphill and take some rest before you start for the waterfalls. It will take 35-45 minutes just to walk down to the waterfalls. An average nature lover can easily spend 4-5 hours in the waterfalls. I guess you can also trek from the waterfalls.

Please carry required amount of drinking water and some eatables to the waterfalls. You may be burning calories in this place.
Its best if you can return before dusk back to the hotel from the waterfalls. Being a less populated place, finding directions was difficult after dusk and not many people you will find to assist.

5. In the resort, we could find many come as whole family like 10-15 members and stay there for a week. They infact had stoves and they were cooking themselves. I did ask the resort guy if they can provide us with cooking gas cylinder. He said, its a possibility. You can buy vegetables, chicken etc from the Semmedu town. Being a very inexpensive place, for those who want to break away from city life for a week, this may be a good place. And the best thing was; there were not many things to do and you will have to sit with your family members.

6. People who want to have a real trekking experience, can trek from base of the hills (Puliyancholai) to the hill top. Puliyancholai is on the other side of the hill when compared to the side that has the entrance to the Kolli hills. To reach puliyancholai, you have to take Rasipuram-> Thammampati route. Or you have to take Namakkal-> Thuraiyur route. I have seen one good travelogue written by a person who did the trek from the base to hill top. Please search in Google for more details.

7. Alternate accomodations. There was a lodge called PA lodge. Not much information is available in the internet and I saw the lodge. By the looks, I felt it may be okay for bachelors.

A software person in Bangalore has started a resort there. Details are available in:

Kolli Hill Resorts - kolli hills

From the photos, the swiss cottages seemed to be more comfortable. But, we wanted to go on a shoe string budget. This person quoted Rs.800 for a person in this Kolli hills resorts. In Nallathambi, we paid Rs.840 for two rooms (for four of us)

9. Its best you enquire if there was sufficient water flow in the falls before you decide to go; as that was the main attraction there. People there told its a perenial waterfalls, but amount of water that flows may depend on the season.

10. The local people were very good. They were helpful and they were happy to help. When I stopped the car to ask for directions, I found many people approach to help me.

ampere · 18th November 2009, 08:49

Good snaps, esp. boy with the fish ! How come resort folks allow food to be cooked in their premises?
This seems surprising! Any way, it may not matter much, as most folks wont prefer to cook.

They are actually here the beat the cooking blues !

Nice Info. Thanks

sylvan · 18th November 2009, 09:49

What was the total distance till the foot hills from bangalore?
Thanks for letting us know of this hidden treasure.

funda2max · 18th November 2009, 10:14

Nice pictures and travelogue. Kolli malai is a wonderful place during North east monsoons. As far as i know, It is the highest waterfall in TN.

Ramsagar · 19th November 2009, 17:20

Never knew there was place called Kolli hills near-by. Thats a great piece info for the Bhpian's. Even the room traiffs in resort seems to be fair enough.
How is the other food? herd a some comments on chicken 65.

akas_chauhan · 19th November 2009, 18:06

Hey nice pictures and TFS. Did you purchase that fresh caught Fish? It's looking so nice.

k149in · 28th November 2009, 23:31

@ampere How come resort folks allow food to be cooked in their premises?

Yes, I infact saw couple of large families cooking themselves. My guess is that they lack resources to provide food for large number of people and they are happy as long as the rooms are booked.

@sylvan
The distance from Bangalore to foot of the hill would be around 250-260 KM approx.

@Ramsagar
Yes, the food may taste average for the city people. But ofcourse, we can manage for one or two days. Vegetarian food was good and breakfast was awesome.

@akas_chauhan
No, that boy was fishing on-demand. So you had to place the order and wait for the delivery

@fund2max, thank you for the feedback.

16th November 2009, 23:41	#16
k149in BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Chennai Posts: 127 Thanked: 89 Times	More photos The place was very bright and therefore the pictures could not come any better using our PNS cameras. The pictures are not very crisp. Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

16th November 2009, 23:55	#17
k149in BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Chennai Posts: 127 Thanked: 89 Times	Few more photos from the view point We spent close to an hour admiring the beauty of the place. We had decided to vacate the rooms by 12:00PM. Therefore we could not offer to stay any longer in the view point and we decided to leave Attached Thumbnails Attached Images
	() Thanks

17th November 2009, 09:15	#18
J.Ravi Posts: n/a	Nice review and photographs, k149in. Now, I am planning a trip to Kolli hills with my family.
	() Thanks

17th November 2009, 10:10	#19
PearlJam BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 652 Thanked: 1,786 Times	Thanks k149in, for letting us know about this beautiful and relatively unknown place. Nics pics too!
	() Thanks

17th November 2009, 13:45	#20
ravibhat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,256 Thanked: 37 Times View My Garage	This is amazing stuff, great help to many viewers here I am sure. Should qualify for 5 star rating! Ravi.
	() Thanks

17th November 2009, 13:56	#21
mjothi Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 3,290 Thanked: 232 Times View My Garage	very nice one. Kolli malai - great. Love those falls. Keep them coming.
	() Thanks

17th November 2009, 14:17	#22
muralisk BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Hyderabad, Bangalore Posts: 711 Thanked: 13 Times View My Garage	Awesome snaps and great write up. Looks like a great place and we did discuss about this over the weekend and here comes a great travelogue. Thanks for sharing and keep it going.
	() Thanks

18th November 2009, 00:46	#23
k149in BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Chennai Posts: 127 Thanked: 89 Times	Photos in the lake We did not want to miss the artificial lake that the hills had. The place looked beautiful in one of the photos taken in early morning in one another travelogue. Therefore, we decided to check it out next. From the viewpoint, we reached the lake in 15 minutes or so. The lake was very small, not even 1/4th of the Ulsoor lake and there were couple of boats on it. There was hardly anything in the place other than the natural greenery. Some photos taken on the way and in the lake. Also, on the way, there was the botanical garden. We had to skip that as we had to leave Kolli hills in an hour time. @Gandhi, ampere, laluks, J.Ravi, PearlJam, ravibhat, mjothi and muralisk; thank you very much for the appreciation. Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

18th November 2009, 01:00	#24
k149in BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Chennai Posts: 127 Thanked: 89 Times	Some information I wanted to share I just have one more set of photos remaining to be uploaded. These photos were taken while driving down the hill. I will upload them as soon as possible. I would like to add some more information: 1. Food could be a problem for people living in cities going to Kolli hills. Breakfast was very good (dosas, idly, chutnies etc were good). We had food only from Nallathambi resorts. I heard from local people and from other visitors in that place say that the restaurent in the bus terminus in Semmedu serves pretty good food (though the looks of the restaurent will not be good). But I did not have time to validate it. The food being served is safe but lacks in taste. I would suggest to stick largely to veg food (which was better than non-veg) and may be try one or two non-veg dishes. Plus, its beneficial if you carry other eatables that will stand replacement for food. 2. Power supply was very intermitent in the day. In the night, they were stable. It will be good if you can carry 4/5 candles, just as an emergency. 3. Mobile network connectivity was very less (almost no network). Airtel and Vodafone were the ones we had. In very specific points we had connection. Practically, it is not possible to go that point everytime to speak. You can just go there to convey back home "I have reached safely". 4. If you are planning a two day trip, its best if you reach the base of the hills by 8:00/9:00AM on the first day. You can have a leisure drive uphill and take some rest before you start for the waterfalls. It will take 35-45 minutes just to walk down to the waterfalls. An average nature lover can easily spend 4-5 hours in the waterfalls. I guess you can also trek from the waterfalls. Please carry required amount of drinking water and some eatables to the waterfalls. You may be burning calories in this place. Its best if you can return before dusk back to the hotel from the waterfalls. Being a less populated place, finding directions was difficult after dusk and not many people you will find to assist. 5. In the resort, we could find many come as whole family like 10-15 members and stay there for a week. They infact had stoves and they were cooking themselves. I did ask the resort guy if they can provide us with cooking gas cylinder. He said, its a possibility. You can buy vegetables, chicken etc from the Semmedu town. Being a very inexpensive place, for those who want to break away from city life for a week, this may be a good place. And the best thing was; there were not many things to do and you will have to sit with your family members. 6. People who want to have a real trekking experience, can trek from base of the hills (Puliyancholai) to the hill top. Puliyancholai is on the other side of the hill when compared to the side that has the entrance to the Kolli hills. To reach puliyancholai, you have to take Rasipuram-> Thammampati route. Or you have to take Namakkal-> Thuraiyur route. I have seen one good travelogue written by a person who did the trek from the base to hill top. Please search in Google for more details. 7. Alternate accomodations. There was a lodge called PA lodge. Not much information is available in the internet and I saw the lodge. By the looks, I felt it may be okay for bachelors. A software person in Bangalore has started a resort there. Details are available in: Kolli Hill Resorts - kolli hills From the photos, the swiss cottages seemed to be more comfortable. But, we wanted to go on a shoe string budget. This person quoted Rs.800 for a person in this Kolli hills resorts. In Nallathambi, we paid Rs.840 for two rooms (for four of us) 9. Its best you enquire if there was sufficient water flow in the falls before you decide to go; as that was the main attraction there. People there told its a perenial waterfalls, but amount of water that flows may depend on the season. 10. The local people were very good. They were helpful and they were happy to help. When I stopped the car to ask for directions, I found many people approach to help me. Attached Thumbnails Attached Images Last edited by bblost : 20th November 2009 at 12:52. Reason: mention of alcohol strictly prohibited. Please refer rules before proceeding. Thanks.
	() Thanks

18th November 2009, 08:49	#25
ampere Team-BHP Support Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 18,260 Thanked: 13,498 Times View My Garage	Good snaps, esp. boy with the fish ! How come resort folks allow food to be cooked in their premises? This seems surprising! Any way, it may not matter much, as most folks wont prefer to cook. They are actually here the beat the cooking blues ! Nice Info. Thanks
	() Thanks

18th November 2009, 09:49	#26
sylvan BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Bangalore/Chennai Posts: 151 Thanked: 3 Times	What was the total distance till the foot hills from bangalore? Thanks for letting us know of this hidden treasure.
	() Thanks

18th November 2009, 10:14	#27
funda2max BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 377 Thanked: 26 Times	Nice pictures and travelogue. Kolli malai is a wonderful place during North east monsoons. As far as i know, It is the highest waterfall in TN.
	() Thanks

19th November 2009, 17:20	#28
Ramsagar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: BLR_Nellore(AP) Posts: 1,396 Thanked: 255 Times View My Garage	Never knew there was place called Kolli hills near-by. Thats a great piece info for the Bhpian's. Even the room traiffs in resort seems to be fair enough. How is the other food? herd a some comments on chicken 65.
	() Thanks

19th November 2009, 18:06	#29
akas_chauhan BHPian Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: San Antonio Posts: 596 Thanked: 26 Times	Hey nice pictures and TFS. Did you purchase that fresh caught Fish? It's looking so nice.
	() Thanks

28th November 2009, 23:31	#30
k149in BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Chennai Posts: 127 Thanked: 89 Times	@ampere How come resort folks allow food to be cooked in their premises? Yes, I infact saw couple of large families cooking themselves. My guess is that they lack resources to provide food for large number of people and they are happy as long as the rooms are booked. @sylvan The distance from Bangalore to foot of the hill would be around 250-260 KM approx. @Ramsagar Yes, the food may taste average for the city people. But ofcourse, we can manage for one or two days. Vegetarian food was good and breakfast was awesome. @akas_chauhan No, that boy was fishing on-demand. So you had to place the order and wait for the delivery @fund2max, thank you for the feedback.
	() Thanks