Valparai — Very, very green!
June 20th, 2007 | Published in Adventure, India, Living, Nature & Wildlife, Personal, Travel | 68 Comments
Located in the Annamalai range in Tamil Nadu, Valparai is a tiny hill station that is home to several tea estates and plantations.
We spent a lazy and green weekend in the first week of June enjoying the beauty of the place. Cyberscorpion had organized the accomodation in a bungalow, situated the middle of a tea garden.
We (Apra, Deepsan, Cyberscorpion, Reena and I) hired a vehicle so we could save the time in taking public transport as we only had two days to spare.
The drive up 41 hairpin bends after Pollachi up to Valparai was beautiful and afforded some gorgeous views of the Aliyar reservoir, blue skies and the green hills around. We stopped for a while on the 9th bend and drank in the view.
The bungalow that was organized for us was a charming little place — it had a lovely garden with a swing, a patio and a dining room with lovely views of the tea gardens and the hills beyond. The weather too sided with us and we had loads of sunshine, intermittent with clouds and a light drizzle : just perfect for walking around.
We walked around, played badminton, lazed around, read, sketched, went looking for a mysterious tunnel, walked, ate mangoes and generally had ourselves a really nice weekend.
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We left the place around 2 in the afternoon and reached Bangalore late on Sunday night. A quick trip where we covered around 1000 kms on the road, but enjoyable none the less.
More:
- My Valparai Album on Flickr
- Reena’s Album
- Deepsan : Words & Pictures
- Cyberscorpion : Pictures
June 20th, 2007 at 3:37 pm (#)
Hey,
These pics look amazing.. Can I have more info on the accomodation/rates.. Also how long does it take to reach Valparai?
BTW is it the right season to visit this place? wudnt it be too hot in TamilNadu??
June 20th, 2007 at 6:17 pm (#)
your photo’s are absolutely breathtaking.….
and so are the pictures taken by your trip mates.
you also do a wonderful job capturing the beauty of some of these places.
grande!
June 20th, 2007 at 7:59 pm (#)
You are a RockStar Anita!
Your travel tales & pics amaze me all the time.
Rock On Girl!!
~~Mehak
June 20th, 2007 at 10:40 pm (#)
You are a awesome photographer. I love the pics!
June 21st, 2007 at 1:02 am (#)
So much greenry and vibrant colors.
What a wonderful weekend you had :)
June 21st, 2007 at 1:19 am (#)
[…] Anita shares some wonderful photos from her trip to Valparai, a hill station in Tamil Nadu. […]
June 21st, 2007 at 1:47 am (#)
Nice composition on most of those pics…
June 21st, 2007 at 12:10 pm (#)
Awe-inspiring,:) no doubts the place is filled with beauty.You are awonderful photographer.My kind of place, n my next trip, :)thx a lot
June 21st, 2007 at 3:46 pm (#)
@ Travelers: thanks! the place we stayed was a private bungalow. but you can try http://www.valparai.com for more info about acco and hotels. it wasn’t hotter than bangalore. and it kept drizzling so the weather was largely pleasant!
@ sukanya: thank you!
@ mehak: rock star? haha :-) first time anyone’s called me that!
@ Shantanu: thanks! glad you liked them!
@ Paavani: yes, was a lovely green place!
Born a libran: thank you!
@ Libran: thanks! definitely worth a visit. not the usual holiday destination and quite off the beaten track.
June 21st, 2007 at 5:28 pm (#)
Looks like Ooty from forgotten days!
June 21st, 2007 at 7:10 pm (#)
nice pictures. Love the pic of the bungalow. What camera do you use?
June 21st, 2007 at 7:19 pm (#)
Hello!
I would like to introduce myself as a travel writer based in Bangalore.
Anita, your photographs were really amazing. It has truly brought out the beauty of Valparai.
Incidentally, one of the options to stay in Valparai is the Briar Tea Bungalow’s hideaway there. One can check out their website at http://www.teabungalows.com
With warm regards,
Sanjay Sivadas
June 22nd, 2007 at 12:41 am (#)
Hey,
Your pic reminds me of my college days. I have a friend in pollachi and we went to valparai once, long time ago.
If you get a chance check out this place called kodiveri its in Erode dist. right accross the border into TN from Chamrajnagar. Nothing great but a beautiful checkdam and a little village…
neways, enjoyed your pics as much as I enjoyed my trip there a loooooong time ago.
vasu
June 22nd, 2007 at 12:54 am (#)
Wonderful pics. Did you guys hit the green valley in vaalparai?
June 22nd, 2007 at 1:18 pm (#)
Amazing pics… M sure lotta people would be inspired to head for Valparai now.
June 22nd, 2007 at 3:12 pm (#)
Lovely pics, as always! :)
June 24th, 2007 at 2:25 pm (#)
Just chanced upon your blogsite. Really good. Interesting fact is that my Dad lived in Annamalai and Akkamalai tea gardens when he was working with a tea company there. Even I spend some first four years of my life there. Good to see the pictures.
June 25th, 2007 at 8:47 am (#)
U lucky .….Gone in the perfect of the seasons to get the ever catchy Green Blanket of Earth, Lovely 9th bend snap — CyberScorpion shot the perfect of the 9th bend, but he seldom replies for the comment !! Well watch my space in couple of days for my Malaysian adventure and joy is doubled as I bought my first DSLR :-), so I will try to get good snaps like u !!
June 27th, 2007 at 3:51 pm (#)
Stunners to say the least. I was wonderin’ if Coorg’s the only green belt around b’lore.. thanks for the eye opener!
~Apurv
June 27th, 2007 at 3:58 pm (#)
Guess what, you are tagged.
June 28th, 2007 at 8:47 am (#)
Gopal M S: Ah! Not sure what Ooty used to look like before, but I can just imagine!
Shek: thanks! i have a DSLR!
Sanjay Sivadas: hello! thanks so much. and for the link! will try it the next time :)
@ vasu: hey what you doing online the day before your wedding? ;0) glad it brought back memories!!
@ Ashok: not sure what the green valley is, but it all looked green to me!
@ Lalit: thanks!
@ Chitra: thanks!
@ Siddharth: wow! you lived there? lucky :)
@ Invisible China: will do! and congrats on the DSLR.
@ Apurv: there’s lots of green places in and around!
@ Tanay: will get around to it sometime, hopefully!
June 28th, 2007 at 9:33 pm (#)
[…] Posted by பிரேமலதா on June 28th, 2007 Anita Bora posts on her lazy and green weekend at Valparai. She has beautiful photos too. […]
June 30th, 2007 at 10:48 pm (#)
Love your posts! Have taken the liberty of adding your site to my June roundup (http://www.shantanughosh.com/2007/06/june-jaunt-thru-blogworld.html).
July 2nd, 2007 at 7:14 pm (#)
Gorgeous! I love india and I also love your site! give me a visit
cheers xx mimi
M.M
Editor at Large
http://www.hautemimi.blogspot.com
hautemimi@gmail.com
July 3rd, 2007 at 1:06 pm (#)
These pics are just amazing. I had added you in my blogroll loooooong back to visit you often, I would have just liked you, being a noted blogger, to check out my blog and review and gimme a feedback for any improvements if possible.
July 13th, 2007 at 5:37 pm (#)
kindly tell me how to book the room in valparai
thanks
July 16th, 2007 at 9:04 pm (#)
Hi,
Nice pics. Can you tell me the following things.
1. How to go from Bangalore. (what is the distance?)
2. Where did u stay and how to reserve it from bangalore?
July 18th, 2007 at 9:44 pm (#)
@ Shantanu: thanks!
@ MIMI: thank you!
@ Abhijeet: thanks! will drop by sometime!
@ ramesh: this was through a friend. you can check http://www.valparai.com and also http://www.teabungalows.com
@ Abhijit: It’s 500 kms from Bangalore. We hired a private vehicle at about 1000 bucks a day. For rooms, look at my answer above.
August 7th, 2007 at 9:59 am (#)
Love to visit this heaven & the lush green touches the bottom of heart.…Simply Great in India !!
August 8th, 2007 at 4:29 pm (#)
HI,
Any one can say about valpari and also the near by placse to visit.
August 9th, 2007 at 12:43 am (#)
Hi
Very beautiful place,would love to go there
can u plz lemme know how far is it from b’lore and some guesthouse or hotel names
thanks in advance
September 28th, 2007 at 11:14 am (#)
Hi Superb photos, please do me a favour, get me the contact number of the bungalow where u had taken accomodation in valparai.
Thanks and regards
Babu.N
October 13th, 2007 at 1:22 am (#)
Hello,
Pls could you tell me how to book the cottage? I plan to visit in December 2007. Awaiting your earliest response. Thanks!
Mrs A Singh.
October 14th, 2007 at 5:53 am (#)
your photos are amazing! they make me really miss valparai.
October 23rd, 2007 at 5:57 pm (#)
Hey,
These pics are too amazing… Can I have more info on the accomodation/rates… & what time will be best ?
October 25th, 2007 at 1:52 pm (#)
Hi..Very nice photograp I love the nature beaty
u got excellent pictures.
Gr8
thankx
Rajinikanth
December 10th, 2007 at 1:53 pm (#)
Hello There,
Congratulations on your wonderful trip to Valparai. I live in Bangalore and planning a trip to Valparai. Need some tips from you, Can I contact you?
Thanks,
Vish
January 30th, 2008 at 9:45 am (#)
i been in vaalparai for many days .. i like this is place very much especially pulmedu and akkaa malai
January 30th, 2008 at 10:52 am (#)
i been in vaalparai for many days .. i like this place very much especially pulmedu and akkaa malai
March 29th, 2008 at 1:32 pm (#)
Indeed got hooked onto Valparai after going thro’ your lovely snaps. Yearning to visit it at the earliest. Shall be favoured if you can furnish me with further details viz reaching there, accommodation, scenic spots etc.
April 17th, 2008 at 10:30 pm (#)
Had been to valparai this weekend.……The place looks exactly as you see in the pics above. This is 100 times more beautiful than ooty or kodai. There are lot of lodges for accomodation. Among the most hotel green hill view and krishna lodge look decent from outside, I was not able to get the accomodation as it was totally booked, saw a lot fo cars, families out there, so it seemes to be a decent place for family too. I tried a lodge named JBR lodge, from outside it looked like a crap place, but the rooms were so neat, with ceramic walls, I would recomed this place, I saw even some families staying. I was charged Rs 120 for singel room although the double room with tv would cost you around Rs 220. There are some more lodges arround, the ranga lodge, myna lodge etc which i have not tried, the traiff would be mostly b/w Rs 75 to Rs 250. May be Krishna lodge and hotel grren hill view would be arround 500, im not sure. For food, one can go to Laksmi mess at the bustand. although its not a posh place, the food tastes great and its the most recommended place. I thought valparai would be a small remote village, but its quite bid, the bus will stop at the market road from which you could make out that the place is quite big.
This not only for batchlors, but a perfect get away for family too.
Except that the bus journey from pollachi to valparai takes 3 hrs and mostly crowded. If you are not lucky enough to get a less crowded bus, better hire a taxi (may be Rs 1500 one way). Because i had to do a standing journey for the entire 3 hrs strech, it was a pain.
Once you are at valparai, commuting becomes easy and cheap(max Rs 8 per person, mostly Rs 3.50).
I would suggeest you that, just catch hold of a less crowded bus to any destination/direction, take a ticket to the last stop and enjoy the journey. I swear it would be a feast to your eyes.
If you need more info.. please feel free to mail me at praskuma@gmail.com
Bye
Prasanna
April 25th, 2008 at 3:36 pm (#)
Just pasting the reply i had send to a query.…
Places to stay in valparai.…
Hotel Green Hill: 04253 – 222262
Also try Krishna Lodge: 04253 – 222234
they both look clean.…
(you can book via phone)
But other wise I stayed a lodge called GBR lodge.…if you look at that from outside.….you wont even feel like getting in.…but the room was pretty clean for me and got away with just 120 Rs per day :-)
FYI.….….PLEASE DO NOT EXPECT ANY POSH PLACES HERE, ITS AFTERALL A SMALL VILLAGE.
May be you could enquire some of the bunglows if you are really looking for POSH PLACES.…
The STANMORE BUNGALOW is one such place.…It might be very expensive unless your comapny is sponcering
They will take care of all meals(i have read comments that the food is really good).
http://www.homestayskerala.com/php/listHStayDetails.php?hid=33
June 4th, 2008 at 2:29 pm (#)
Visit
http://praskuma.googlepages.com/valparaitrip
for more details on valparai trip.
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:35 am (#)
Also visit
http://valparaitrip.blogspot.com/
for more details on valparai trip
July 21st, 2008 at 9:29 pm (#)
Last month i went to valparai, it’s really a seventh heaven, only couple of decend hotels are there in valparai, i stayed in TREAT HOTEL (restaurant attached), i think this hotel is quite economic and the rooms are quite good, i enjoyed the stay here, they did all arrangements to visit the tourist spots in valparai.
you can book via phone
Treat hotel– 09443322981, 04253222381
August 9th, 2008 at 5:13 pm (#)
if you want any staying places at valparai.
can i help you.
contact
caresuresh@yahoo.com
August 20th, 2008 at 8:25 pm (#)
hi Anita,
I am Debi from bangalore.
great snaps. my heart is so stuck at “paccha bungalow” where you stayed and i am unable to find any details abt the same. is it ok, if you could send me the details at my email address at your convinence. in case its a trouble no issue.
have a great day. Debi_bhowmick@rediffmail.com
September 2nd, 2008 at 4:26 pm (#)
It’s absolutely breath taking. Beautiful shots. In fact I had read about this place in Bangalore Mirror newspaper on 25th august, 2008. I am planning to go to this place and was collecting information. Thanks for the information, would like to know more about accomodation, cost etc.
Thanks
September 20th, 2008 at 10:43 pm (#)
grt place,looking forward to visit this virgin land
September 26th, 2008 at 7:15 pm (#)
Hi We(with my friends) are planning to visit Valparai at the end of next month. Hoping ahead for a good trip. Thanx for all these infos.
October 25th, 2008 at 3:11 am (#)
Hi..
Good Photos.…. Anita.,
Click for Video
November 15th, 2008 at 10:50 pm (#)
Dear discerning travellers to valparai,
we run an exclusive home stay service attached to one of the tea companies in Valparai. you are welcome to make bookings over phone. you may call +919487575703,+919486245345. please make your bookings well in advance as these facilities are always booked up.you may clarify any further queries over the phone
November 28th, 2008 at 12:26 pm (#)
Amazing Place…Very Nice Photography.….
January 4th, 2009 at 11:39 pm (#)
Valparai is one of the most beautifull place i have seen in my life,it is not crowded as other place like ooty or kodaikanal, its a very peacefull place to enjoy, every one has to visit that place at least once in their life.
I stayed in Treat hotel valparai they guided me for transport and visiting all good places of valparai,the hotel is pretty good and you can book by phone, here is the number and website that could help you in booking.
Phone no– 09443322981
04253222381
Website– http://www.valparaitourism.com
January 7th, 2009 at 11:49 pm (#)
I had thoroughly enjoyed my valparai trip.…..six months ago and wanted to visit some un explored place and i made it to MEGHAMALAI last week.
Trip blog at
http://meghamalaitrip.blogspot.com
May 23rd, 2009 at 2:03 pm (#)
I have lived in valparai upto 10th std.…a very very veryprecious day’s those are…really I love my birth palcevery much..I thank u to vsit such a beautiful place..n it’s my place.….
June 3rd, 2009 at 10:45 am (#)
hai
we are arranging in a beautifull stay in valparai with good british bungalows and foods arranged contact : +919962014699
krishnan
June 8th, 2009 at 10:59 pm (#)
Dear Krishnan,
I am planning to come to Valparai on sept3rd morning, Can u arrange a good british bunglow for the stay.
Total — 10 members(Bachelors)
Vehicle — 2 cars.
Duration — 2 days
Can u please mail me with full details:
email id — informsuni@gmail.com
Please send me the tariffs also.
More interested in Individual wood houses, British bunglows.
July 3rd, 2009 at 5:55 pm (#)
I AM GOD
July 31st, 2009 at 6:42 pm (#)
Any one can give the contact numbers for Pachai bunglow.
cyber scorpion & Anita bora over to you..!!!
I am planning to go with my frnds on sept 3rd only few weeks left.
Please help us, Call to my mobile if there is any tour operators trying to reach me,
+91–9846198460(Moni)
Cyber scorpion,
August 21st, 2009 at 5:48 pm (#)
fantastic location,good photographs,beautiful falls and greeneries. started booking tickets for the next holidays to VALPARAI that is 2nd october 2009.…..
September 14th, 2009 at 3:07 pm (#)
Guys!
Can somebody get me the phone number of GBR lodge at Valparai? I have been googling it for a while, but in vain.
Thanks in advance!!
Sundar
September 16th, 2009 at 5:59 pm (#)
pictures are very beautiful. thank you every one for your commands, because valparai is my birth place. thank you anitha
November 5th, 2009 at 1:11 am (#)
Hi,
Visit kolli hills, explore the unexplores. visit kollihillresorts.weebly.com to know more.
Manimaran
December 21st, 2009 at 1:44 pm (#)
Dear Friends,
The natural is gift of god. So try to enjoy the nature without spoiling and detroying. Loe the Nature and spend it with your family and friends. Also advise everybody not to go for destruction of the nature.
Thanking you,
Yours lovingly friend,
Singai Dhans.
December 29th, 2009 at 1:42 pm (#)
this is the first time i ever visited valparai and poii had worst experience. I called up one person named jebaraj joshwa and he had arranged stay at deepika’s guest house. He asked us to deposit meagre amount in his account. He confirmed the room rent to be Rs.3000/- per day and he said the cottage is in outskirts of valparai. We were given instructions to reach rotikadai and give deepika’s guest house a call. To our shock, guest house is 21 kms down valparai and the place was quite hot, a typical chennai as i would call. When we reached guest house another shock awaited us. We all settled down, one of the employee’s of the guest house informed the room to be 4000/-. I called Jebraj joshwa and he claims he has sent an email stating that the room rent is 4000/- per day and also never said the rent was 3000/- per ay. Employee of the lodge asked to vacat the lodge as we would not pay 4000/-. Finally after long talks he agreed for 3500/- per day. My point is dont get fooled by this middle men, please try to get in touch with owners of the lodge and confirm it.
December 30th, 2009 at 8:09 am (#)
Hi Kamal
Sorry for what happened to you, please don’t book the cottage through an individual who takes a lot of commission from you,I know about the cottage you are talking about, the actual tariff of that cottage is just 1500 rupees. So before booking see that everything it is a recognized hotel or cottage.
February 19th, 2010 at 2:10 pm (#)
Don’t book rooms through middle men you will end up spending a lot and they cheat you in the end. I experienced same as Kamal when i visited Valparai last time.