Distance from Bangalore: Around 400 kms
Route: Bangalore – Hosakote – Mulbagal – Chittoor – Ranipettai – Walajpet – Kancheepuram – Chengalpattu – Tindivanam – Pondicherry

I and my husband decided to visit Pondicherry over the long Bakrid-Christmas weekend. Now if I look back, we couldn’t have chosen a worse time than this.

It was Christmas eve and the looming New Year’s eve. Add to that a visit by our honorable President and you have all the ingredients to ruin your holiday plans. Tight security within the city and waiting time at every tourist place we decided to visit got us so fed up, we cut short our trip by two days. Next time, I am going to look at all our political leaders’ diaries before making a holiday plan.

Getting back to the trip, after a lot of discussions and arguments, we settled on the route given above. Even though this was the longest possible route, we decided to take it. Our route included NH4, NH45 and NH66 and this was reason enough for my husband to choose this route. And he was right – it was the best drive we have had so far. The roads were wide, smooth and very scenic. Apart from the few kilometres of potholes ridden road around Ranipettai, the drive was exceptionally smooth. We were surprised to see very less traffic on the road.

Day 1

We started from Bangalore at 5 and were out of Bangalore before daybreak. A hot cup of tea on the way and the next stop for breakfast was near Chittoor. With a comfortable four and a half hours drive behind us, we hogged the hot idli and sambhar that the lady

served. After a heavy breakfast, we set off again on NH4. Apart from a few pit stops to exchange driver’s seat and to answer nature calls, we didn’t stop anywhere. Around 50-60 kilometers before Kancheepuram, the road turned into a wide four lane one. We could reach even 100 in our Alto and envied all the more luxurious cars that were zipping ahead of us. We had to bid good-bye to this heavenly road and turn right to go to Kancheepuram. We had to do a

town darshan to get onto the road which connects to Chengalpattu, where we stopped over to have lunch. We found a good restaurant, Shri Ramakrishna Cafe in Chengalpattu. Food was awesome and service was excellent. We were so impressed with the waiter, we offered a tip and he promptly refused. Do visit this hotel if you want to have a good masala dosa or idli.

We finally reached Pondicherry around 2.45. Right from Tindivanam, which is around 35 kms from Pondicherry, we could spot a policeman every 100 metres. We actually thought there was major disturbance in the city, but later realized this is all for Ms. President. After reaching Pondicherry, our ordeal began. We entered a street only to be caught by the police saying we entered a one-way street. There was no no-entry sign in sight and moreover, we were being led by the hotel guy. After haggling for half an hour, we were let off with a stern warning. No money, can you imagine, the policeman didn’t take any money!

The first thing

that gets you is the traffic. People don’t use horns – they know nobody gives a hoot about it. Even if you honk, it doesn’t matter to them – they just go on as if nothing happened. No sense of lanes, no indicators, they only stop if they are sure they are going to hit someone if they don’t stop. I thought Bangalore traffic was bad – but nothing can be worse than Pondy’s traffic.

A quick nap and we were ready to explore the city. We stayed at Anandham Residency and since we were told it is quite close to Beach Road, we decided to walk. We walked along Nehru street and it reminded me of Lakshmi Bagh of Pune. Shops on either side of the street, small restaurants, chaat shops, kulfi stalls and the whole street was lit up. There were quite a few shops selling hanging lamps (see picture) for Christmas and New Year and this increased the glitter on the street. It was a sight to watch.

Beach Road

After a long, winding walk (restricted entry on certain roads since Raj Bhavan is near Beach Road), we finally got to see the beach. There is a wide promenade where you can spot localites taking their routine walks and tourists mesmerized by the beach.

They have laden rocks all along the beach to prevent water entering into the city. The white, gigantic waves, the black rocks, a strong wind and a full moon in the sky – perfect place to sit and while away. All our attempts of capturing this magical moment went in vain; our camera was not good enough. With these beautiful images in our eyes and the sound of the roaring sea in our ears, we ended our first day in Pondicherry.

Day 2

Owing to the bad experience of the previous day, and anticipating President saahiba to visit important places within the city, we decided to visit places on the outskirts of Pondicherry. Our first place of visit was Saneeswara temple.

Saneeswara temple

This temple is around 7 kms from Pondicherry. Proceed on Pondicherry-Tindivanam road (NH45a) and take a right on one of the mud roads (sorry, no landmarks available. We kept on asking people every 100 metres). The idol of God Sani is 23 feet tall and is intimidating. This temple also has navagrahas – all idols are around 10 feet high. This place is not well known and hence is not commercialized.

Panchavatee temple

Our next stop was at Panchavatee, temple of panchamukha Anjaneya. This temple is on Pondicherry-Tindivanam road (NH45a) and is around 9 kms from Pondicherry. It is easily spottable from the main road. The Anjaneya idol is 36 feet and is beautiful, to say the least. Even this temple is not commercialized. A bhajan was playing in the background and all the people were sitting and peacefully meditating – a rare sight.

Continuing our pilgrimage, we decided to visit Auroville. Much to our chagrin, President decided to visit the same place at the same time and we were asked to wait for 3 hours to visit the place. We refused to wait came back to the town. We went back to Beach Road and had a light lunch at Le Cafe.

Chunnambar Backwaters

We were desperate to get our feet wet in the sea water, so we decided to go to the much talked about Chunnambar Backwaters. It is on Cuddalore road, around 8 kms from Pondicherry. This offers boating and water sports on the backwaters.

Aurobindo Ashram

Back to the town and visited Aurobindo Ashram. The atmosphere was peaceful and quiet. The members (people staying at the Ashram) were meditating and the visitors had to be constantly reminded to maintain silence. Tourists do not value the serenity of this place and they are a nuisance. The Ashram should ban visitors. Serious visitors will prefer to stay at the Ashram anyway. The Ashram has a small bookshop, where you will find books in English, Hindi, Marathi, German, French and Spanish. People can buy photogrpahs of Sri Aurobindo and Mother.

Serenity Beach

Serenity beach was on our must-visit place. We almost gave up after nobody could tell us where exactly this was. Our source only said it is around 1.5 kms from Pondicherry, but didn’t say anything about in which direction it is situated. We finally found a person in the post office (in front of the Ashram) who knew where it was. This beach is on ECR road, further ahead of Pondicherry university and is closer to a small place called Mudaliyar Chavadi. As we left Pondicherry behind, we could spot the sea shore on our right hand side. We finally reached the beach and had a great time there. Not many people around and we had the whole beach to ourselves. We played in the water till we were completely drenched and started shivering. Back to the hotel and had a nice bath to get rid of the sand!

Thus ended our last day in Pondicherry.

Day 3

We bid adieu to Pondicherry at 7 and took the same route back. We were back at home by 5. On the way back, we had lunch in Hotel Green Park, near Palamner. We had Andhra meals and it was the best Andhra meal I have ever had. Do stop at this restaurant if you want to enjoy Andhra cuisine. The hotel guy was kind enough to inform us that we can call him and ask to prepare a meal for us at any odd time. The phone number is at the end of this post.

We were lucky we came back early. I heard the situation was even worse the next day. There was a traffic jam inside the city. Now if I look back, I am not very happy with the trip. We didn’t visit half the things we wanted to. All I can say is, we should have chosen a better time.

For more information:

Route and driving directions from MapMyIndia.
Pondicherry map

Panchavatee temple
Panchamuga SriJayamaruthi Seva Trust,
Panchavatee, Vanur T.K,
Villupuram Dt – 605 111.
0413 – 2678823 / 2671232

Sri Aurobindo Ashram
3 Ranga Pillai St., Puducherry 605001
0413-2339648

Tourism Information Centre
40 Goubert Avenue,
puducherry 605001, India.
0413 – 2339497
Fax: 0413 – 2330532

Chunnambar Backwater Resort
Cuddalore Road, Chunnambar, puducherry.
0413 – 2356816

Feel free to contact me if you need more information.

Distance from Bangalore: 275 kms
Route: Bangalore – Nelamangala – Kunigal – Bellur Cross – Channaray Patna – Sakleshpur – Hanubalu – Cofee Valley
Season to travel: Summer. Rainy season if you don’t mind the leeches.

It’s a shame that Outlook 52 breaks from Bangalore doesn’t list this destination. This is the ideal place for city dwellers who want a quick break from the city life and want to get lost in the woods.
Coffee Valley is an estate near Sakleshpur, whose owner decided to build cottages within the estate

and have visitors over. It has everything that one needs for a weekend break. It’s quite close to Bangalore, at 250 kms. it’s ideal for a quick drive and back. It’s quiet and calm – mobiles won’t work and no televisions in the rooms so you get to do all the introspection you want with just the cicadas giving you company. If you want to laze around and just want to relax, the greenery around and the serenity agrees with you. If you want get adventurous, then the mountains all around welcome you with open arms.

There are no ‘tourist spots’ as such. There is a sunset point which gives an incredible view.

This is the only spot I have seen from where the whole 360 degress is beautiful. Green all around, wind so strong you can barely stand, sky a mixture of blue, orange and red – you will carry those moments even after you are back. There is a small lake which has the same serenity. The water is not clean, so don’t expect to take a dip there. You can take a book and some biscuits along -

read the book and feed the fish. An ancient temple at the top of a hill is worth a look. The view from the temple is quite good. This place has lots of trek trails for the regular trekkers. With its varied vegetation like pepper, pineapple, jackfruit, coffee, guava, cardomom, cinnamon – this is a heaven for plant lovers.

The hosts are extremely hospitable. They treat you like guests rather than as customers. They take care of every small need.

The rooms are clean and well maintained. They keep a set of playing cards in case you feel like playing. They take you around for sight seeing. They don’t keep anything planned – this trip is highly customizable. The hosts ensure you get your dose of sleep – they encourage you to wake up late!

Food – yummmm….. this is probably the best part of the trip. The food is so delicious, you just can’t have enough. The dessert is most likely fruit salad custard – all fruits coming from the farm around! Cofee flows like water – it’s offered before you even ask for it.

The weather was not very pleasant. This is not a hill station – so it’s not cool. It does get hot in the

afternoon, but it gets pleasant as the sun sets. Since the cottage is right in the middle of the dense estate, it doesn’t get very hot. Serenity is definitely the biggest plus point. No vehicles, no mobiles, no television, no radio – all you hear is the cicadas, birds chiriping and the gushing wind. If you listen carefully, you will hear your own heart beat.

I am sure this place will be twice beautiful when it rains. I am definitely visiting this place in rainy season.

What are you waiting for? Pack your bags and rush to Coffee Valley. Peaceful life awaits you there.

Resources

Coffe Valley website

Distance from Bangalore: 230 kms.
Route: Bangalore-Hosur-Krishnagiri-Dharmapuri-Salem-Yercaud
Season to travel: Summer
Nearest Rail: Salem
Nearest Airport: Trichy

Yercaud is a hill station situated on Shevaroyan Hill Range in Tamilnadu. It is around 230 kms. from Bangalore and around 30 kms from Salem. It is a small, relatively unknown place and very, very peaceful. Since not many tourists haunt this place, its very serene. The main problem which for us is a big plus point is that there is nothing to ’see’ here. No museums, palaces or gardens. It’s the perfect place to spend a couple of quiet, undisturbed days with your inner self.

Day 1

Me and my husband started our journey to Yercaud at around 6 in the morning. We expected to cover the distance in 6 hours and reach Yercaud by 12, just the right time for lunch. We planned to have breakfast on the way. The journey was beautiful. The roads are Banglorish (as in bad) until Hosur. From Hosur, NH-47 is extremely good till Krishnagiri.

Once you turn towards Dharmapuri, be ready for some unexpected, really nasty potholes. This kind of road continues until Dharmapuri. From there on, the road is okay. From Salem to Yercaud, the first 15-20 kms is plain road, the last stretch of around 10 kms is the ghat section. The hairpin bends are much easier (than Ooty) and since there is not much traffic, driving on the ghat is not a big deal. The drive is good, not strenuous and the view is worth it. If you can, do drive to Yercaud instead of taking a bus.

We couldn’t find any open restaurants on the way and were forced to have breakfast in a sidey hotel in Dharmapuri. The fluffy idlis with four different varieties of chutney was good, but the coffee tasted more like juice; it was so sweet. Continuing our journey, we reached Yercaud by 1, an hour late than planned. The town was almost asleep, with hardly anybody or any vehicle on the roads. Spotting our hotel was not too difficult, considering that the town is too small. The TTDC hotel is right next to the lake and each room in this hotel have a view of the lake. This, I think, is the only reason why I decided to continue to stay here. The room was clean and more importantly, the bathroom was clean. No major cribs about the room as such, but the restaurant was awful. It was dirty, it stinked and the food was not all that good. Our evening walk revealed Hotel Shevaroy’s just a few metres away and this became our daily den for food. You get amazing food here.

The hotel itself looked decent and this is another option to stay, if you are not too keen on having a view of the lake in your room.

After the long journey, we needed some rest. We slept like logs for 2 hours and we woke up to roaring thunders. We opened the balcony door and what we saw was just amazing. It was pouring like mad and the whole lake was covered with 2-3 meters fog and it was brrr… cold.

The place was green and it was raining over the plants and the trees and the lake and it was like seeing nature in its best attire. The rain subsided as soon as it came and after a few minutes, one couldn’t believe that it rained so heavily there.

We freshened up and went for a boating in the lake. 45 minutes total and Rs.50 for a normal boat and Rs.60 for the ‘duck’ boat. Apparently, the duck boats are lighter and hence easy to paddle. We took the normal boat, went around the lake and returned the boat before time. Had a yummy plate of Tamilnadufied bhel-puri, a too-sweet tea and went for our evening stroll and came back all rejuvenated.

The next two hours were spent in the balcony, with a book in hand and the lake to stare at out if you got bored. That feeling was wonderful. You are reading something, you find the paragraph too boring or you want to turn the page, and you look up for a fraction of a second to see what’s around you and voila! you see a beautiful and calm lake which seems to be saying ‘Hey, I am giving you company’. After dinner, it was the most peaceful 8 hours of sleep we have ever had. In the midst of crickets, and the knowledge of the peaceful lake watching over us, we slept like the dead. (Not a very good simile, I know.)

Day 2

This was the sight-seeing day. We went to Rose Garden, a well maintained repository of all the rare flowers and plants you can possibly think of.

The striking observation we made is that the color of the leaves of the plants and the trees is so different from that in Bangalore. The leaves look so much livelier and healthier. I guess the pollution of Bangalore has another crime added to its committed-crimes list. They have also have a nursery there where you can pick up some plants. The officer is very friendly and he can give you free advice and tips on gardening.

Closed to the Rose Garden is a viewpoint called ‘Children’s seat’ which has a breathtaking view of the town and the hills around.
It’s so high that you can almost touch the clouds. It was peaceful and beautiful, I wish I had a book in hand. Sigh.

Two more famous view points of Yercaud are Lady’s seat and the Gent’s seat.

Both of them have really good views and Lady’s seat is especially striking in the night. Salem, Yercaud, the winding roads, the headlights of the vehicles traveling up and down, is so romantic. By 6.30, all the tourists return to their respective hotels and you have the complete ‘Lady’s seat’ to yourself. Dance the night away and the heavenly stars above and the humanly stars (town-lights and vehicle headlights) will sing for you. Do make a point to visit the Lady’s seat after the sun set. Be careful because by 7, the area around this seat is completely deserted.

After lunch at Shevaroy’s, we headed towards a waterfall ‘Kiliyuri’ waterfalls which is around 3 kms from the main town. Vehicles can’t reach the falls, so we decided to take a walk. We knew beforehand that the waterfall had absolutely no water, but we still decided to take the walk to enjoy the beauty around. It was definitely worth it. Not even a drop of water, but lot of greenery around.

Day 3

D[eparture]-Day. Had yummy idli-sambhar at Shevaroy’s and had to our fill. Started our return journey at around 10. The return journey was not very pleasant because it got hotter as we neared Bangalore. Made it to our sweet home by 4 and all’s well that ends well.

Back home, we had the lovely green memories and some green companions (plants) to remind us of the wonderful time we had there.

Other Details

Yercaud website
TTDC online reservation
Hotel Shevaroy’s (Use IE to view this site)
Sterling Resorts

This week turned out to be adventurous for me since I went for a bike ride with the bike riders of RTMC. It was a thrilling experience, a mixture of fun and fear.Our destination was Bheemeswari, which is about 100 kms. from Bangalore. We all gathered near Town Hall before the journey. All the bikies were ogling at one another’s’ bikes and comparing them! After a few Hi’s and Hello’s, we could manage to break the ice. A few smiles here and there turned to grins after a while.

The riders got ready with all the gears in place – helmets (even for the pillion rider), jackets, gloves, et al. When all the 14 bikes were started and when the engines roared, that’s when the name came alive – Rolling Thunder. One has to be there to understand how it feels to hear 14 bikes roaring! That’s one of the best sounds I’ve ever heard.

We set off for our journey at 7 and had a halt at Kanakapura to have our first meal of the day. We all stuffed ourselves with whatever we liked and we headed towards our destination.

The ride itself was smooth, errr.. mean to say my husband rode well. Sid had asked us to ride at our own speed, irrespective of what others do. We maintained a comfortable speed of 60-65 all the time, enjoying the country side and the greenery around us.

We reached a river bank at Muttatti and spent some time there. Shutterbugs clicked away and big mouths yapped away. Jude spent that time judiciously by sleeping! PP had a flat on the way because of which Karthik and Inder stayed back with him. They joined us later and we headed off to a nearby place which Ajeet promised us to be good.

This place was off the main road by around 2 kms, and people decided to take the bikes there. We were pretty confident initially and we started climbing up the muddy terrain. Little did we know that the road is not that easy to master. We lost control and had a fall. Nobody was hurt, but that did dampen our confidence. I decided to take a hike (literally) and my husband gave his riding skills one more try. He was successful this time and he managed to reach the top without much effort! I walked my way up and it wasn’t bad at all.

Once we reached the top, the view took our breath away. One could see the mighty Cauvery river with all her gushing splendor – we could actually see a long stretch of the river. The river flows between dense forest on either side and it looks like a white (or rather brown) line between two dark green lines. It was a magnificent view.

The place itself was very secluded, devoid of any living soul. Just one watch tower and a LOT of wind. It was so windy that it looked as if the watch tower would blow away.

After we satisfied ourselves with the visual treat, it was time to satisfy our tummies. So, off we went to a popular dosa joint. Apparently, that dosa joint didn’t have lunch facility and we settled for a small restaurant. The guy didn’t have anything vegetarian and he had to outsource it from some other restaurant. Savages feasted on the chicken and what-not and we veggies had to console ourselves with the tasteless meal.

Started our journey back after the lunch and without stopping anywhere, we reached Bangalore. The whole experience was awesome. The ride was very well organized and well led. Sid made a great leader. All the experienced members gave tremendous support to all the newbies and that really boosted our confidence.

At this time, PP’s quote fits in perfectly. ‘It’s the journey that matters, not the destination.’ The destination, Bheemeswari, was no doubt splendid, but the journey was much better. The bike roaring away, the beautiful country side view, the serenity and a great company – it’s the perfect get away from the daily life.

Many thanks to all the members of RTMC for organizing this trip. We look forward to our next trip.

Day 1

I went on a small refreshing trip to Kotagiri this weekend and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a 3-day trip, totally unplanned and unprepared. The only preparation we (me and my husband) had was – if something goes wrong with this unplanned trip, we are not going to let that spoil our mood.

We started at 5 on Saturday morning. This was the first time we were going on a long drive and we both were excited about driving. So, we took turns in driving and reached Kamat Lokaruchi after an hour or so. If at any time you are on this road and you spot Kamat Lokaruchi, do stop by and check it out. The breakfast they serve is fantastic. Do try it out, though its too crowded at peak hours.

We had steaming coffee to drive away the slumber and set on again. Our next destination was Mysore. Once we reached Mysore, we lost our way. On a particular circle, there were two boards which showed Ooty in two different directions and there was a traffic cop there who pointed us to a totally different route! We were so puzzled and took some random route and took a mini darshan of the city. On the outskirts, we spotted Kamat Madhuvan and stopped by. I must say I am highly impressed with Kamat group of hotels! After a decent breakfast, we started out again.

Once we reached Bandipur, then the journey was pleasant. The road is through dense forest and if you are lucky, you can spot some wild animals. We were lucky enough to spot monkeys, that’s all. The last 5% of the journey was through hills – ghat section. Since this was the first time we were driving uphill, we had a tough time. Basically, the engine got heated up and it wouldn’t pull us. At one point, we were stuck on an uphill hairpin bend and the car just shut off. We were literally sweating by the time we reached Ooty, which was at 1!

Once in Ooty, we had lunch and set out for the quest for the permission letter. We got the permission letter from the forest officer. Met the tourist officer and got the trek routes. The tourist officer, Mr. Visvan, was really very co-operative and he answered all our queries with great patience. We thanked him profusely and bid him good-bye.

Day 2

D- day or rather T- day (trek day). We started off at around 9 with just a few snacks and a bottle of water in our sack. The weather was perfect for a trek – cloudy and misty. We started walking (well, what else did you expect us to do?). We enjoyed every bit of the trek we had. The scenery was too good – tea plantations, greenery everywhere.

We even diverted and barged into a tea plantation. It was fun! We stopped on the way and had some junk food. We reached our destination – St. Catherine Falls – after 4 hours (11 kms ) of walk. To our utter disappointment, there was not a drop of water in the waterfall!

We were so frustrated that we decided we will not walk back, but take a bus! While we were waiting there for the bus, there were hordes of people in fancy dresses and fancier cars who had come to witness the magnificent waterfall. We did not turn ourselves into noble humans and tell them that there is no water. Instead, we gave them a sheepish smile which made them wonder what was wrong with us! We caught a bus and reached Kotagiri by 4. Had a wholesome lunch and decided to go to Pykara falls. (We had to see some falls, if not St. Catherine). So, we checked out from the hotel and set out on our journey to Pykara. Its about 20 kms from Ooty, so it was at a distance of 40 kms for us, which we expected to cover in at most 2 hours. By the time we reached Ooty, it was 5.30 and we were hopeful that we will reach Pykara by 6.30. We had been told that the waterfalls (and the boating) will close by 6. So, we planned to spend the night in a tourist bungalow in Pykara and see the falls the next day.

So, off we started and the road was horrible. One could see potholes literally after every foot or so! (One advice – please do not take this road. There is another road, please take that) The road is through dense forest and even though it was only 6, it looked as if it was 10 in the night. It started raining cats and dogs and fog built up very quickly. We could hardly see a few inches from the car and the roads were deserted. Not a vehicle around and dense forest and heavy rains – what else do you want? We were scared to death and were almost certain that we will bump into some tree. Luckily, we reached Pykara safely and guess what – the tourist bungalow is closed. Even the tourist office is closed. So, we had no where to spend the night. So, off we went searching for an accommodation and we ended up finding one after a tedious journey of 2 hours! It was 9.30 by the time we reached Gudalur. We thanked our stars that we were still alive and went to sleep.

Day 3

We both were in bad mood because of the disappointment and the adventure. We could have gone back and seen Pyakara – but we decided against it. So, we started off at around 10 and reached Bangalore by late evening. We were tired! The previous day’s trek started showing its effect and our body was aching like mad! As my husband put it – our legs were saying ‘Sit, sleep, stand. But, DON’T walk!’

We slept peacefully that day, happy to be back and more importantly safe. An unplanned adventure trip turned out to be just that. We had a lot of adventure and we had a lot of fun. And my husband wants to do something like this every month! God save us!

Contact Information

Nilgiris Trekking Association,
31 D,
Bank Road,
Ooty

Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation Ltd.,
Tel: (044) 560294 / 582916
Fax: (044) 561385
Email : ttdc@md3.vsnl.net.in

Tourist Officer
Tourist Office
Wenlock Road, Ooty – 643 001
Tel: (0423) 2443977
Fax: (0423) 2444369

Nilgiris Wildlife and Environment Association
C/o DFO (North)
Mount Stewart Hill,
Ootacamund, 643 001
Tel : (0423) 2447167

Wildlife Warden, Ooty Tel: (0423) 2444098
District Forest Officer (North) : Tel: (0423) 2441950
District Forest Officer (South) : Tel: (0423) 2444083

Links

Journeymart

If you need more information, send me a mail