Aako Travel :: Trip to Topslip (Pollachi), Valparai and Athirappally falls!!

        The idea of traveling is to explore new places and to learn new things along the way, and we all learnt a lot of things during our trip to Topslip and Valparai. I would like to share the experience with you so that you can go better prepared. Planning for this trip started few months back… First we booked train tickets to and from Coimbatore junction. Then we checked out Valparai tourist sites and booked tempo traveler for the entire trip and a cottage to stay in Valparai.

 

Day 0 (15th July 2010) :: Central Station:

 

         After lots of confusion and last minute drop outs 14 of us were supposed to board the Nilagiri Express in central station exactly @ 21:00. The train started exactly @ 21:05 and only 12 of us boarded the train. Our friend Prabhu was near the train’s engine and Super Hero Satish was near the parking lot. After lots of frantic calls we found out that Prabhu got into the “Ladies Compartment” and Satish into the “AC Coach”. After few hours they joined us when the train stopped in Arakkonam junction.

Day 1 (16th July 2010) :: Pollachi, Parambikulam and Topslip:

       Time - 05:00 AM. A cool breeze announced that we had arrived in Coimbatore junction. Had breakfast in Coimbatore and proceeded towards Pollachi. We stopped at a place called Ambaram-palayamPollachi to get permission letters to stay in top slip. The office of the Forest department opened only at 10 and we got permission to enter Top slip and also got a dormitory where 16 people can stay for Rs.1300. Only forest guest houses are available in top slip so contact “Department of Forestry in Pollachi (Wildlife Warden Office, 178 Meenkarai Road, Pollachi, Ph: 04259-225356)” for accommodation. Tree Top houses, Dormitories and other cottages are available at affordable rates...
       Then we proceeded towards Top Slip. The drive uphill was very pleasant. It was slightly drizzling and rain clouds were all over the hills and as we reached the top of the hills it started to pour. The first view of Top Slip was breathtaking... It was green everywhere and animals like Elephants, Bisons, Deers and Wild  boars were wandering freely...I felt really close to nature.

       We refreshed in our dorm and then we went for an Elephant ride. For four people it cost  around Rs.400 per ride. Since it was raining heavily we were not taken deep into the forests. This was both exciting and unusual. I have never been on an elephant and for the first time I felt pity for all the kings and others who rode Elephants for so many centuries... Elephant ride is something like driving a car in a hilly area with lots of bumps... You need to have a pretty good grip always. The road was pretty decent but to the left it was steep and one wrong move by the elephant would have proven really dangerous... Somehow we managed to finish the thrilling ride and saw lot of cute deers on our way back. The next thing one can do is to go on a Wildlife Safari in a Van to a place where the Forest department maintains lot of Elephants. On the way you could chance upon some Tigers if you are lucky!! Unfortunately, we went a little late and missed the safari van.

       Since we had nothing else to do we just roamed around top slip enjoying the scenery and took lot of pictures. Then someone suggested that we play football and that proved to be the real twist in our trip. We went back to our dorm, changed our clothes and quickly made goal posts in a field nearby. It was still raining and so the field was slushy and slippery. We were having a good game of football with the “Banian Team" and "T-Shirt Team" when an unfortunate incident happened. My friend Ananth was trying to kick the football, lost the grip, slipped and fell down. His Left hand Broke (Twisted) from that fall. We all were shocked and rushed towards him. We were not sure if it was a fracture. I immediately ran to the forest office to get some help. Meanwhile my other friends tied his hand to a stick to prevent further dislocation.

      It was around 6:30 PM and already the place was looking deserted... when I went to the forest office there were only two attendants and they said there were no hospitals in Topslip only a small clinic. I then rushed there only to find out that the doctor had already left. The nurse was about to leave. We brought Ananth to the clinic and the nurse told that it was a clear fracture and advised us to take him to a hospital downhill near Ambaram Palayam. We took him to Alva Hospital and the doctor treated him and fortunately it was just a dislocation and not a fracture. The doctor said that it would heal in 10 to 15 days and advised that we can continue our trip.

       We can never forget the incident in our lifetime. We all learnt how to deal with an emergency in the most challenging situations. Heavy Rains, slippery ride downhill, getting our friend to a hospital in the remotest of locations, dangerous drive uphill around midnight, constant fear of attack from wild animals we saw and endured it all. One had to be there with us to feel how much pain and anxiety we went through. Added to all this there were no lights near our dormitory and there was a large group of Bisons and a group of elephants near our dormitory. We used the faint lights from cameras, handy cams and mobiles as torch lights and made our way back to the dormitory. When we ventured out of the dormitory we had nothing to defend ourselves. We carried my tripod, belts and other things to defend ourselves in case of any surprise attack.

       A piece of advice if you are touring any forest area.... carry a torch light, gear to protect yourself from rain and something strong to defend yourself in case of any surprise wildlife attack. You never know...anything happen in a jungle. Recently we did hear about the news of a panther attacking a little girl in Tirupathi right? So it is better to go fully prepared. Respect nature and enjoy your trip without disturbing any aspect of Nature.

       We all were physically and mentally exhausted after that eventful night. But we all were happy that our friend Ananth was not having any serious fracture. We had decided to cancel the trip and return to Chennai the very next day, but Ananth himself persuaded us to continue the trip. Since the doctor too assured that we can continue the trip, we changed our minds and decided to continue the trip. We had dinner (Chappathis, Veg Kuruma and Chicken Kuruma) which we got from the forest canteen and slept off after playing few card games.  

Pictures from Day1 - Topslip:


 

Day 2 (17th July 2010) :: Valparai:

Woke up and strolled around the lush green gardens of Top Slip for some time and left to Valparai. The ride downhill was a pleasant and interesting experience

Aliyar Dam:
    We then stopped near Aliyar Dam to have breakfast. After breakfast we entered the park which was situated near the Dam. It looked like the parks that come in old MGR, Shivaji songs. We walked for some time and reached the top area of the dam and the view was seriously breathtaking. Mountains, Clouds and Water everything together was simply stunning. After the mandatory group photo sessions there, we proceeded to Valparai. 

Monkey Falls:

    Monkey falls is very famous in Valparai and we stopped there to take bath. True to its name the place was full of monkeys and we had tough time to negotiate them. The waterfall was wonderful. Since it was rainy season there was lot of water and so we all had lot of fun bathing there.

Loms View Point:
  
    The drive uphill to Valparai consisted of 40 hairpin bends and we heard that the 9th hairpin bend would be very scenic. So we stopped there and experienced a wonderful panoramic view of Valparai hills. One could see the Aliyar Dam from that viewpoint. Clouds floating around and Aliyar dam offers a wonderful picture.

Valparai is a place full of Tea Estates, Streams and Waterfalls. On our way we stopped at an estate to check out the tea estates. One has to be really careful as these places were full of leeches. We had some refreshing tea and also went to another waterfall and took some pictures.

Then something wonderful happened on our way. We were close to Valparai and there was mist all around. We can’t even see what lay in front of us for some 50 meters or so. It felt like as if we are entering heaven and yes it is no surprise that Valparai is called as “The Seventh Heaven”. I just couldn’t stop from admiring the mist all around. We all stopped near a temple and enjoyed the view for some time.

        After going to few more waterfalls and streams we reached Valparai. The hill station was beautiful and there was a panorama shot to be captured in every possible angle, such was the beauty of the place. After having lunch we went to our cottage to take some rest. Our cottage was really great if you are going to Valparai you can check it out. 


Cottage details: “Pavin Home Stay” 8/262, Kamaraj Nagar, Valparai, www.valparaitours.net. Mob: 94431 94353. The entire cost for a night stay, tea, coffee and dinner for 14 came to something around Rs.4000.

Balaji Temple:

There is a famous Balaji Temple in Valparai. When we visited it was raining heavily and when we reached the top we could see nothing of the temple. It was totally covered in mist….  There are no words to describe the feeling…. It was truly like entering heaven itself... The place was totally calm and the mist was adding to the spiritual power of the temple. Unfortunately cameras were not allowed in that place and so I couldn’t capture any of those wonderful moments.
After that we came back to our cottage, had our dinner and relaxed by watching TV.


Pictures from Day2:



Day 3 (18th July 2010) :: Athirapally Falls & Vazhachal Falls:

As usual we went for an early morning walk and enjoyed the chilly weather and beautiful locations. We then checked out of the cottage in Valparai and proceeded to Sholayar Dam.

Sholayar Dam:

Sholayar dam was on our way to Athirapally falls from Valparai. There was no water in the dam when we went but we went to the park near the dam and also went to the top of the dam to enjoy the viewpoint from there.

After that we proceeded to Athirapally falls. It was a long journey of 3 to 4 hours. So most of us slept through the journey. It had also started to rain by then.

Vazhachal Falls:

We then went to Vazhachal falls and enjoyed the rushing Chalakudy River. We had lunch in true Kerala style with the gundu gundu rice :P

Athirapally Falls:

Finally we reached Athirapally falls. Should I say anything more about Athirapally falls? We have seen the beauty of Athirapally falls in numerous films right? But still we were excited to see the falls directly in front of us. There are two things to do once you are in Athirapally. You should climb up and see water from the river falling down. The view along with the thunderous sound of the waterfall with the mountains gives you an unique experience. Then you can go down and enjoy a view close to the waterfall, near the foot of that hill amongst rocks. Pictures speak more than words so here are some pictures of the beautiful Athirapally falls.

After that we drove back to Coimbatore to catch our train and that was the end of our most thrilling trip ever.

Here is the contact details of our tempo traveler driver in case you plan to go to Valparai.
Pandian, Pandian Travels,

Saravanampatti, Coimbatore. Mob: 9488188426.

Pictures from Day3 :