Udumulpet Munnar Route : Kerala Tamilnadu Border route

This was not my first trip along this route; probably it must be the third. This time I am going to Munnar to meet my friend Vijay, who is working at Yellapetty Tea factory. I started from Coimbatore, the Manchester of the East which is 100 Kms away. I reached the Udumulpet Bus station by 1:15 PM

Though I was the last one to enter inside, I was lucky to get the co-driver seat of the KSRTC (Kerala state road transport Corporation) Bus. I sat majestically in the single seat and was happy that I could enjoy the very wide view of the scenic. The bus was not that crowded and there were only a few passengers standing . Most of the passengers were local villagers who  have come here for shopping, the only tourist group  was a couple from France.
Buses doesn’t run that frequently along this route, but there is at least one every hour during day time and may be one in 3 hours during night. Driving during day time is safe, be careful while making sharp turns along the hair pin bends-  Just lookout for wild elephants. I have seen elephants on the road during my night journey along this route.

By 1 :30 PM, the driver started the engine , slowly moving out of the town through the narrow streets. The road was so narrow that a few shops keepers had to pull back their in front displays in front of the shop  for the bus to move (There is a bypass when you come in own vehicle). There was only very few vehicles from the opposite site, that was the good part of it.
In another 20 minutes we got out of the busy town and proceed along the Munnar road, a straight wide level one  with very low traffic.  I could see the Anamalayis (Elephant Hill) range ahead wrapped in cumulus.  Either sides of the road was filled with green paddy fields and coconut groves. Occasionally I could spot out a few villages, and mud roads.

Anamalai Tiger Reserve Entrance From Pollachi

By quarter part 2, we reached the Anamalai Tiger Reserve Forest check post.   The bus stopped for a while to finish a few formalities. Once the check post was opened, we started moving along the narrow ghat road, like a magic, the plantations have disappeared and all around was deciduous forests, thorny shrubs, short trees and stuffs like that.
Anamalai Tiger reserve comes under Indra Gandhi wildlife Sanctuary, covering an area of 108 sq.  boasting of thick growth of trees, folds of terrain with evergreen shoals. About 800 species out of 2000 south Indian flora are distributed here. It is home to animals like lion-tailed macaque, bonnet macaque, common langur, Nilgris langur, Malabar giant squirrel and grizzled giant squirrel.

Alternatively you can enter Anamalai Tiger Reserve along the Parambikulam Route Too

We continued moving along the elevated valley gradually climbing the slopes, A very few vehicles came from the opposite direction. There was a very huge hill to our right and a shallow valley to our right.  I could see the backwaters of Amaravathi dam to my left for a long time.

At times I was delighted by the groups of Peacocks (The national animal of India) flying across the trees and a few Bisons crossing the road. We ascended higher and higher altitudes along the slope of the River Amaravathi  through the lush green rich forests.

Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary Route

It was 2:45 when we reached the Kerala Tamilnadu State Border. We were welcomed by the hoarding which said, Chinnar wildlife sanctuary, which was a good hanging point for a few local naughty monkeys. One of them came inside the bus and caught hold of the food packet of a passenger and a few others were doing their regular sunbath on the road.
As we continued our journey, the type of forests changed to evergreen, and the weather was so pleasant, blessed by the gust of cool breeze caring the fragrance of freshness. The atmosphere looked at me as if it rained just now.  The road was still narrow and sloppy along the hillside. A look to the back side presented the magnificent view of descending mountains speckled with pockets of lakes and huge trees on a green carpet.

There were more vehicles this side, most of them  must have come from Munnar to watch the wildlife after  their  wild city life. There were a few watch towers near the road which helped the visitors to get a birds eye view of the scenic. I could see young Amaravathy  river to my left side, deep down the deep valley ,vibrant with cascades of waterfalls and torrents roaring like a giant lion in the forest.  We crossed the pass and slowly descended down to the village of Marayoor.

Marayoor And Kanthalloor

Marayoor is a tiny plantation village in the Idukki district of Kerala, where you can still have a glimpse of  the Hill man, the South Indian Sherpa. The Bus had a halt for 30 minutes in the bus stand , and I had a few banana roasts and a hot tea from a local shop.  There are lots of places near Marayoor to explore, and I am sure I will come here again to do that.

Munnar is again 45 Kms away and here after there will be no forest roads but only plantations  around. These plantations included high altitude crops potato,  rice, maize, sugarcane etc. There were many houses and people around and the whole scene looked like a pocket of villages in the midst of a forest.

Sandalwood Forest At Marayoor

The most interesting part of the trip was the journey through the sandal wood forest of Marayoor. Both the sides were fenced and sandal wood tree was grown. It was there for several kilometers. The government must be keeping a good population of watch dogs to protect these artificial forests.

Tea Plantations

The narrow road to Munnar  from Marayoor was sloppy with gentle ascents and  descents cutout from  tea plantation hills. This is the  Kannan Devan tea Plantations limited which spreads to a major part of Munnar. The gentle breeze was dragging the thick mist over the tea plants giving a bad visibility to the driver, but the passengers had a very enjoyable time.

Eravikulam national Park

Finally we crossed the Eravikulam national park near Munnar. There was a heavy rush in front of the park,  with a flood of tourists from North India,  scaring the Endangered  Nilgiri Tahr,  found along the Western Ghats abundantly in  Eravikuam National Park,  the last resort to this timid mammal.

In Another 20 Minutes I reached Munnar Town and Went to Yellapetty, To see My friend Vijay.

Thanks To

    * D Vijay and Family, Yellapetty Estate, Munnar- A friend and Classmate of Mine.