Hi all,
This is regarding my solo trip to Ooty on last September (2015)
Sometimes I am traveling just because i get some stress on my mind. It is also a trip that happened due to mental stress.
It was a rainy day in the month of September, 5th September 2015. I woke up early in the morning, packed up very quickly, got ready and entered my car and started at 6.10 am sharp. Started from my native place, called Mundakayam, a small village in Kottayam District, Kerala, also a border town to Idukki District. i drove my car as fast as I can just because I need to reach my destination before the evening, unfortunately i don't have an accurate destination. Two places were there in my mind, Ooty & Mysore. I reached Thodupuzha around 7.15 am via Kanjirappally, Erattupetta, and i continued driving and reached Muvattupuzha around 7.40 am. There is a restaurant in Muvattupuzha where I used to visit on Perumbavoor road, this time also i preferred the same hotel and had my breakfast. Some people say do not overeat while traveling, but i am different, i used to eat a lot during my travels.
I started again from Muvattupuzha after the breakfast and reached Angamaly between 9.30-10.00 am. I filled the fuel tank from there and started my journey in the best highway in Kerala, ie, Kanyakumari Salem National Highway. The road is really like an international highway, I say this just because as you know the roads in Kerala are not so good for long drives, most of the roads are curvy, narrow and busy all the time. I enjoyed the drive till Thrissur, as I passed 150 KMs and there was a left turn for me from the highway.
I took my turn and kept driving towards Perinthalamanna. It was around 70 Kilometers between Thrissur and Perinthalmanna. The road was busy due to the peak time, it was a Saturday morning. I took two hours to reach Perinthalmanna via Pattambi. Then after reaching Perinthalmanna i took the Nilambur route to continue driving. As the time passed by i felt hungry, it was almost 1 pm, and i was searching for a good restaurant, and i found one in a place called Wandoor. I didn't remember the exact name of the restaurant, but it was a clean and neat hotel. I asked the menu card and ordered Dum Biriyani- Chicken. It was so good, tasty and spicy. Biriyani in Malappuram district is always tasty.
After the lunch i drove the car towards Nilambur. Nilambur is an old city in Malappuram district and there is many places to visit for the first time traveller, like Teak Museum, Adyanpara waterfalls, Nedumkayam forest, Central Forest Nursery, Elembalai Hills, Valamthode waterfalls, etc. I was not a first time visiter and i didnt have much time to spend there, so i continued my drive without any sightseeing. I passed Nilambur town, and i saw the board Nilambur railway station. Shornur- Nilambur railway is one of the beautiful railways in South India. I continued my drive and passed Chungathara town and heading towards Gudallur town.
It was a beautiful road between Nilambur and Gudallur, sometimes it is busy, but one can really enjoy the drive there. There is a forest checkpost, Vazhikadavu Checkopost, i passed the checkpost and continued my drive slowly with light music.
This is regarding my solo trip to Ooty on last September (2015)
Sometimes I am traveling just because i get some stress on my mind. It is also a trip that happened due to mental stress.
It was a rainy day in the month of September, 5th September 2015. I woke up early in the morning, packed up very quickly, got ready and entered my car and started at 6.10 am sharp. Started from my native place, called Mundakayam, a small village in Kottayam District, Kerala, also a border town to Idukki District. i drove my car as fast as I can just because I need to reach my destination before the evening, unfortunately i don't have an accurate destination. Two places were there in my mind, Ooty & Mysore. I reached Thodupuzha around 7.15 am via Kanjirappally, Erattupetta, and i continued driving and reached Muvattupuzha around 7.40 am. There is a restaurant in Muvattupuzha where I used to visit on Perumbavoor road, this time also i preferred the same hotel and had my breakfast. Some people say do not overeat while traveling, but i am different, i used to eat a lot during my travels.
I started again from Muvattupuzha after the breakfast and reached Angamaly between 9.30-10.00 am. I filled the fuel tank from there and started my journey in the best highway in Kerala, ie, Kanyakumari Salem National Highway. The road is really like an international highway, I say this just because as you know the roads in Kerala are not so good for long drives, most of the roads are curvy, narrow and busy all the time. I enjoyed the drive till Thrissur, as I passed 150 KMs and there was a left turn for me from the highway.
I took my turn and kept driving towards Perinthalamanna. It was around 70 Kilometers between Thrissur and Perinthalmanna. The road was busy due to the peak time, it was a Saturday morning. I took two hours to reach Perinthalmanna via Pattambi. Then after reaching Perinthalmanna i took the Nilambur route to continue driving. As the time passed by i felt hungry, it was almost 1 pm, and i was searching for a good restaurant, and i found one in a place called Wandoor. I didn't remember the exact name of the restaurant, but it was a clean and neat hotel. I asked the menu card and ordered Dum Biriyani- Chicken. It was so good, tasty and spicy. Biriyani in Malappuram district is always tasty.
After the lunch i drove the car towards Nilambur. Nilambur is an old city in Malappuram district and there is many places to visit for the first time traveller, like Teak Museum, Adyanpara waterfalls, Nedumkayam forest, Central Forest Nursery, Elembalai Hills, Valamthode waterfalls, etc. I was not a first time visiter and i didnt have much time to spend there, so i continued my drive without any sightseeing. I passed Nilambur town, and i saw the board Nilambur railway station. Shornur- Nilambur railway is one of the beautiful railways in South India. I continued my drive and passed Chungathara town and heading towards Gudallur town.
It was a beautiful road between Nilambur and Gudallur, sometimes it is busy, but one can really enjoy the drive there. There is a forest checkpost, Vazhikadavu Checkopost, i passed the checkpost and continued my drive slowly with light music.
Ghat road started after the checkpost and there was less traffic at that time. It was a smooth drive and i got relaxed from all my worries.
It is a Tamilnadu governments public transport vehicle. Clarity of the photo is less because I took these photos from inside the car. Then I reached Gudallur town, it is a city connecting Kerala and Tamilnadu states. It is also a hub for the travellers. There are routes towards, Ooty, Mysore, Bangalore, Coimbatore, etc. When I reached Gudallur, i was in a confusion, where to go. Mysore or Ooty. I opted Mysore, and took the left from Gudallur junction. It was a nice road towards Mysore, 110 KMs from Gudalloor and its almost 3 PM. Complete village life..
Full of greeneries and beautiful road towards Mysore via Muthumalai National Park. After few kilometers i reached the entrance gate of Muthumalai National Park, cleared the checkpost in no time and continued my drive. After soome kilometers i found that the road was getting bad and worst. I drove in the middle of the jungle and road was just a name, full of gutters and all. I could not accelerate even in 3rd gear, it was always 1st and 2nd gears. Even i fed up with the road the ride gave me an immense pleasure because of the wildlife presence.
Very less traffic...
roadside findings....
Karnataka State Transport Bus..
Nilgiri Langurs
After 20 kilometers i found a signboard and got in another confusion :)
You see the board? Mysore 92, Ooty 36.. I had a second thought just because of the condition of the road and I took the right to Ooty via Masinagudi
It was a small road towards Ooty and big vehicles are not permitted through the road. When I started driving through that road i was welcomed with a narrow bridge and it was beautiful, and then narrow roads were there throughout till Masinagudi. But it was a pleasant ride through there, full of wildlife, and i was going with the nature. It was amazing..
Through beautiful forest road
And I was lucky enough to find an elephant with child.. But I could not spend more time there, because forest department's vehicles were there and they would not allow to park the vehicle anywhere between that route. It is really dangerous to park the vehicle and step out of the vehicle..
And finally i found the little beautiful village Masinagudi. Small coffee shops, small lodges, small retail shops, etc. no big deals there. And the weather was awesome. As I have no plans, i decided to take a room there and stay the night there, its almost 4pm. But after some time I changed my plans and decided to continue drive towards Ooty. May be because I was not tired of driving even after 300+ kilometers
Like way to heaven..
And when I met two riders..
There was lot of hairpin cuves on that road after this last shot. I am sad I could not capture those scenes because the light was very low at that evening time. I simply drove my car towards Ooty and I was enjoying the cool breeze by opening the glasses and switched off AC. The traffic was very less and my native place has lot of ghat roads, so it was easily manageable for me during the drive.
I reached Ooty around 6 pm and I searched for a good hotel to stay and it was off season and I found a good one with low rate..
Will continue...
