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

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