Welcome 2016 - A solo sojourn in Verdant Valparai

Basic information

Valparai is a hill town in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu, known mainly for its tea plantations bordering keep forest on all sides. It is 105 km from Coimbatore which is the nearest airport or rail head from most cities in India. One can reach Valparai from Coimbatore either by car / taxi or take the bus. The buses go from Ukkadam bus stand in Coimbatore and there are limited direct buses to Valparai. However, every 3 - 5 minutes there are buses to Pollachi from where one can get a bus to Valparai every half an hour.Bus timings from Coimbatore to Valparai

The journey

The much awaited New Year solo trip was finally here.  With much anticipation and a bit of trepidation (since I was reaching Coimbatore late night) I boarded the train from Bangalore to Coimbatore. The train journey was the usual one, including a delay of an hour which meant I reached Coimbatore close to midnight and it was exactly at the stroke of midnight that I checked into the hotel.  The hotel was close to the railway station, but I took an auto as a precaution.  And I was right - there were hordes of men on the roads shouting out happy New Year.  It was a daunting sight for a lone female traveler. But the hotel staff was decent and welcoming.  The rooms were not great and I had to change three times before getting a functional room.  I tucked in for a night’s sleep only at 1:30. I skipped breakfast since I couldn't wake up early and wanted to catch the 7:55 direct bus to Valparai.  However I managed to grab some pakoras with tea at the bus stand.  The people in Coimbatore are generally kind and helpful.  The front office staff helped me get change and also an auto to the bus station instructing the driver to drop me at the bus.

The bus towards Valparai goes from Ukkadam bus stand.  The distance is 105 km but since from Pollachi onwards it is ghat section it takes around four hours.  I loved the start of the first day of the New Year - fresh morning air, lots of trees, no chaos as I moved around in Coimbatore.

The bus journey was quite comfortable and the scenery was awesome once the ghat section started.  There were 40 hairpin bends till Valparai.  The Alyar dam water reservoir can be seen from 1st hair pin bend onwards and it remained in sight till 9th hair l pin bend.

View of Alyar Dam enroute Valparai

I was staying at Puthuthotham annexe - one of the properties of Briar Tea Bungalows.  So I got off the bus 3 km before the town and walked for a km.  The bungalow is about 160 years old and has an old tea factory inside which is nonfunctional.  It is situated inside a sprawling tea estate with a few coffee Plantation. This one is not the typical manicured tea estate but surrounded by forest, hence bisons, elephants and a variety of birds are frequent visitors. 

Puthutottam Annexe

This one is the least glamorous of the four Bungalows owned by Briar, but if you are looking for real solitude then this one is for you.  No one else was staying, so I had the entire place to myself, absolute silence only occasionally broken by the sounds of birds. There is a caretaker for cooking and other requirements and he makes great homely food.  I was curious to see other Bungalows as I had not got booking there.  They seemed more glamorous on the website.  The caretaker volunteered to take me to the other Bungalows on his bike.  They were indeed nice with awesome views of the tea gardens, and had multiple options of stay - inside the bungalow, in wooden chalets or in luxury tents with attached toilets. However, after seeing them I was glad I didn't get a booking there. Somehow they appeared like typical resorts - with lawns, plush furnishing and nothing much to do other than indulge in food.  However they might be better for families with kids. Stanmore Bungalow stood out in the midst of sprawling plantations and you could wake up to the smell of tea leaves every day. The river Stanmore flowed below and made for a perfect place for a quiet evening.

Stanmore River

The ride through the town amidst the tea estates was refreshing and set my heart free.  Here I was, away from daily grind of a city life and the associated stress, doing something I love the most.  And trusting people -  being a single female, I was staying all alone on an estate and roaming about with a guy I knew very little about,  but then you have to trust your instinct and take the leap of faith. 

In the evening I went for a walk in the Plantation all by myself but the operations manager later told me that I should avoid venturing alone in the evening as animals roam freely.  It felt quite exciting and adventurous to know this.  As I chatted with the manager I got to know more about the Wood Briar group and almost had a Deja vu when he told me that these Estates originally belonged to HUL and were sold to Stanmore group when HUL decided to do away with tea plantations.  I felt proud deep inside to work for HUL.After an early dinner I sat watching the pictures and fell asleep.  I still find it difficult to believe that I slept for more than 8 hours. 

I was absolutely fresh after a good sleep when the cook woke me up.  I quickly had a cup of tea and got ready for the nature walk.  The caretaker had come early morning to take me for a walk.  It was indeed a morning to cherish as I walked through the estate, spotting birds and listening to various sounds.  I am not into bird watching, hence cannot identify birds, but do enjoy seeing beautiful little creatures.  This is a must visit place for bird watchers

Tea plantations around Puthuthottam Annexe

 The Plantations in Valparai looked different from that of Coonoor or ooty.  I could not pinpoint the difference but probably these are over much larger area and steeper Hills and surrounded by forest.  The tea plants are interspersed with silver oak which adds a nice contrast to the bright green. 

Today I had decided to see some of the tourist attractions of Valparai.  Each of these was around 15-20 km from Valparai town and Annavelu was going to take me to each. 

We decided to go to Nallamudi first.  The drive to this point was awesome - really picturesque landscape with Blue Mountains in the backdrop of a green color palette of the plantations. I was enjoying every bit of this experience - a bike ride after more than ten years,  exploring alone without having to consider someone else's choices and of course the verdant landscape.  The view point per see was a bit of a letdown as the views enroute had been much better.  But I was given to believe that the place looks really beautiful in the months of January February when the trees flower.  The name of the place Nallamudi poonjolai itself means Nallamudi flower forest in Tamil.

View on the way to Nalamudi view point

After this we went towards Vagamalai only to be told by the locals that we need a special permission from forest department as it is border of Kerala.  We returned and went towards Sholayar dam.  This was a really bad patch of road - an extremely bumpy ride which resulted in pain in my thighs.  The dam was dry, nothing worth mentioning, just a tick mark

Sholayar Dam

Backwaters of Sholayar Dam

It was noon and hence very hot as the sun was straight above our heads.  I wanted to take a break but Annavelu the suggested we go to Nirar dam.  We hoped to go only midway as the forest officer at Nallamudi had told us the road is closed due to elephant activity.  But the officer at the check post before Nirar dam allowed us to go. 

Nirar Dam - receives water from all rivers upstream of Valparai and the Akkamalai Lake which receives water from the waterfall by the same name.  It is quite interior into the forest and has a 16 km long underground tunnel which takes excess water to Sholayar dam.  I was lucky as the dam gate was opened to discharge water.  Since I had a local guide, he spoke to the in charge to allow us to go to the tunnel.  It was fun wading through the dark tunnel in knee deep water

Underground water tunnel connecting Nirar dam to Sholayar Dam

The tea plantations on the way to nirar dam are owned by Tamil Nadu government.  Since these are in the midst of thick forest, there is a rustic charm to them. 

I was quite keen on seeing Chinnakallar, the place which receives second highest rainfall but due to elephant menace it was out of bound for tourists.  Many villagers confirmed a herd of elephants destroying their farms and property, and I also got to see one first hand on my way back to the tea bungalows.  

The only thing remaining on my list of must see before leaving Valparai was to see the Lion tailed macaque - an endangered species of monkey, endemic in this region - and as luck would have it, a group of these harmless monkeys crossed the road and also gave me enough time to click pictures.

 

I returned in the evening, tired from all the bike riding, but quite happy and satisfied.  It was my last day on the Plantation, so I spent the time in solitude, savouring the experiences and the surrounding. It was a great beginning of the year and I hope the rest of the year also turns out to be as fulfilling.

Some tips

• If you are travelling solo it will be a good idea to stay overnight in Coimbatore rather than making the entire journey to Valparai on a single day.  Alternatively you can take an overnight train to Coimbatore and take a morning bus from there.
• There are few direct buses to Valparai - at 2 am, 8am and 12:30 pm.  Try to catch one if you can, otherwise there are buses to Pollachi every 5 minutes and from Pollachi there are buses to Valparai every 30 minutes.
• You will need to hire a car to go to these places since the public transport is not very frequent - just one or two buses in a day to each of these places.  You could hire a bicycle or drive down yourself but in any case you need local help for directions since the GPS does not help much in remote locations 
• Since this place is not a usual tourist destination, the locals are not well versed in English, so might be useful to know basic Tamil or at least names of things you require.