Monday, April 17, 2017

A brief on my travel to Nilgiris

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Kodiveri dam-falls, created by carving 20 foot wall of rock in 1125 AD
One week has passed since I came back from my travel to Nilgiris aka Ooty and its surroundings and it was about 2am when we reached home on Sunday (April 9). Begin on 3rd April morning; we reached Kodiveri waterfalls by evening traveling about 450 km from Chennai via Salem ‘n’ Bhavani. It was very hot day and as we move close to Salem it turned terrific hot. Even the AC car couldn’t keep heat away completely and only thinking that we delayed the drive back home by wandering on hills until 2pm and leisurely dropped via Mettur ‘n’ Krishnagiri. I know the state has been going through historic drought but I still had hope there should be some water flow at Kodiveri falls come dam. And yes, there’s water more than what I expected and that surprise continued to flow throughout my travel.

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The interior of our room
Though there were few disappointments when we tried to venture certain areas that I want to explore but the journey doesn’t went that way rather unexpected routes and doors opened for me. We had a comfort stay at the Nilgiris and just outside the Ooty town, called as Funcity, the area has handful of homestays and resorts but still quite calm always. Half a km inside from the Ooty-Coonoor main road, the couple of rooms we booked for 4 days (for 6 people) had beautiful views from the balcony overlooking the Elk Hill and fields of carrot and greenhouses. The interior of the rooms are very neat and spacious enough for 3 per room and well lit by led lamps. The travel wasn’t hurriedly and we moved around leisurely checking couple of places in Ooty and Coonoor apart a long drive to Upper Bhavani.

A view from my balcony overlooking Elk Hill, Ooty
The view  from our balcony overlooking  Elk Hill
It was a long-time dream for me to check Upper Bhavani Dam. I have been to the backwater area of the Upper Bhavani (in 2011) traveling through the Avalanche forest and it was a great experience and sheer pleasure to venture the wilderness. Then, we had permission to drive up to Upper Bhavani dam but we turned back halfway as my parents hesitated to go deep into the wild forest. But that time visiting the dam doesn’t need permission to go via Kundha, which we tried this time and went up to forest check post and turned back as we denied entering the dam area due to the restriction  since some antisocial intruded the forest. When we tried to check the Pilloor Dam, while driving up to Ooty on the unusual road, we faced the same and the 3 check post we crossed had the photos on antisocial to mark the seriousness as well as warning.

A post shared by Jeevan Kumar (@jeevan.grp) on
Tea plantations  and  pristine mountains  behind

By this travel I have covered the western side of the Nilgiris to the most but I still want to go there again sometime because the wealth of nature is abundant there and words could not describe the pristine I admire there. So far I haven’t written about the western catchment of Nilgiris and I believe people who are truly interested will seek information on available, alike me. And it is a great natural source of Tamil Nadu which needs to be preserved seriously and the forest officials are doing their best. Our stay at Sathiyamangalam, before heading to Ooty, was very convenient and guest house was spacious and disable friendly where I could come around the beautiful house in my wheelchair. Located on the bank of Bhavani River and canopy of trees create cool ambiance with birds frequent around.

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@ Sathiyamangalam guest house
Look forward for more on my travel... decided to make many posts out of it

14 comments:

Gosia said...

Wow nice place to visit what a pity it is so far from Europe love and have a nice day

ashok said...

Great escape from the Summer hear!

George said...

I really like your photo of Kodiveri Dam Falls. I'm glad there was water flowing in spite of the drought. You certainly visited a beautiful area, and the accommodations look very comfortable and spacious.

L. D. said...

This is such a beautiful place to visit. I really like seeing the tea growing on the hills. You are looking good sitting out on the patio.

Sandhya said...

Beautiful pictures, Jeevan! Liked the hotel room and the view from there.

We have never visited any dam when we went there. We will make a note to do so next time! Enjoy! Looking forward to more posts!

Lady Fi said...

Those green hills look beautiful! Looking forward to hearing more about your trip.

Destination Infinity said...

I love that tea estate on the hill pic. I think you should send me six photos from this trip so that I can make an animated slideshow, as mentioned on my blog. Pls consider :)

Destination Infinity

Jeevan said...

DI - Actually i thought about it when reading your post. Sure will sent some photos soon :)

Twilight Man said...

The waterfalls looked very gorgeous and exciting. It reminds me of Niagara Falls.
I heard from the news about the heat waves that swept around Chennai. Hope you will drink lots of water always. I hope the rains will come often to cool all the plants and animals.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

What a great trip for you, Jeevan. Kodiveri Dam Falls is GORGEOUS..... Glad there was water coming over those falls despite the drought... We had a terrible drought in 2016 ---so hopefully, that is OVER for a long time for us...

Nice accommodations for you all... AND--what a beautiful area to visit... Can't wait to see more!!!

Hugs,
Betsy

GreenComotion said...

Hi Jeevan-
Ooty is one of my favorite places too.
Such great weather and lovely scenery.
I am so happy to see the waterfall and other lovely places through your photos. Plus, you are looking good too :)

My cousin and I walked close to 10 kilometers between Koonur and Ooty once when I was a younger man :)

Have a Happy Day!
Peace :)

Rajesh said...

Wonderful trip. The view from your room is very grand.

Arti said...

Ooty looks so gorgeous through your lens - The room affords such a natural view! I am so glad the dam had water despite the draught but sad to know about the antisocial intruding the forest. Never mind, always a next time. Looking forward to the rest of the trip!

Anonymous said...

It is beautiful, Jeevan. Everything from your room to the countryside, to the guesthouse, all of it was stunning. I'm glad you were able to enjoy it all at your own pace and soak it all in.