Sunday, August 5, 2018

Valparai



Valparai Tea Estate


Valparai is a Taluk and hill station in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu, India. It is located 3,500 feet (1,100 m) above sea level on the Anaimalai Hills range of the Western Ghats, at a distance of 100 kilometres (62 mi) from Coimbatore and 65 kilometres (40 mi) from Pollachi. There are 40 hairpin bends on the way up to Valparai from Azhiyar. While major portions of the land are owned by private tea companies, large forest areas continue to be out of bounds. As of 2011, the town had a population of 70,859.

It is 104 km from Coimbatore and 64 km from Pollachi, 110 km from Ernakulam (Cochin) via Atirapally, Vazhachal, Malakkarapa.


Valparai is located at 10.37°N 76.97°E. It has an average elevation of 3,914 feet (1,193 m).



The pollution free heavenly land. Valparai is located 3,500 feet above sea level on the Anamalai mountain range. Valparai is not just a small town. It stands majestically with Green Spread Mountains and forest all around. Valparai shares it's boundaries with Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, Eravikulam National Park and Vazhachal forest division. People are approachable and very friendly. This is a one of the places that you shouldn't miss in your life.

Valparai Road


The unique grass forests, Grass Hills, is also located near Valparai. The hill sports tall grass and houses elephants, wild pig, leopards and other wild animals. In addition one can drive around the mountain tea estates enjoying the pleasant climate and forget the once dense forest that have paved the way for tea bushes. 64-km drive from Pollachi to Valparai is itself an exotic experience. En route is the Indira Gandhi Wild Life Sanctuary where lion-tailed macaque, the Nilgiri and the common langur, Malabar giant squirrel, elephant, gaur, spotted deer, sambar, barking deer and wild boar reside. From Valparai you can visit the Aliyar, Sholaiyar and Nirar dams. Tunnels bored into the mountains and canals to harness the water from Parambikulam, Aliyar, Nirar, Sholaiyar Dam, and several tourist spots.

 
Attractions in Valparai:Valparai is a mid-elevation hill station (Ootacamund is considerably higher). The tea plantations are surrounded by evergreen forest. The region is also a rich elephant tract and is known to have many leopards. The drive to the town from Pollachi passes through the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary noted for elephants, boars, lion-tailed macaques, gaur, spotted deer, sambar, and giant squirrels. The area is also rich in birds, including the great hornbill. Water bodies at Monkey Falls and Aliyar Dam are also seen en route. Valparai receives among the highest rainfall in the region during the monsoons (around June).
The Valparai range is also habitat to the Nilgiri tahr, an endemic wild ungulate. These mountain goats inhabit the high ranges and prefer open terrain, cliffs and grass-covered hills, a habitat largely confined to altitudes from 1200 to 2600m in the southern Western Ghats. Their territory extended far and wide all along these hills in the past, but, because of hunting and large-scale habitat destruction, they now exist only in a few isolated sites like the Anaimalai Hills. The human-elephant conflict here is a delicate issue. The tea plantations are a hindrance to the movement of wildlife, particularly elephants who walk large distances to reach water bodies and feeding areas.

  • Aaliyar Dam. Aliyar (ஆழியார் azhiyar) Dam is a reservoir located 27 KM away from pollachi on the foothills of Valparai, in the Anamalai range of the Western Ghats. The dam offers some ideal getaways including a park, an aquarium and a mini Theme-Park maintained by Tamilnadu Fisheries Corporation. It is an ideal picnic spot.
  • Athirapally Falls. It is near to the entrance of the Sholayar range is a place of great scenic beauty. Here, the water plunges from a height of nearly 80 feet before joining the Chalakudi river. This picturesque spot is adjacent to dense green forest, and is a part of Chalakudi River, 50 Km from Valparai towards Chalakudi, Kerala.
  • Balaji temple. Balaji temple is owned by the Peria Karamalai tea Industries. Situated in Karamalai. Very famous beautiful temple. Situated at a distance of 10 km from Valparai. 
  • Chinnakallar. Chinnakalar is a geographically important place. It is the second highest rain fall area in India. Always found wet and misty. A greenish dense forest with tall majestic trees all along the road to Chinnakalar a pleasure to enjoy. There is a falls in Chinnakallar which sounds like a roaring lion. Situated at a distance of 15 km from Valparai. 
  • Chitti Vinayagar Temple. Chitti Vinayagar Temple is owned by Jayshree tea Industries, Sholayar. The temple is situated in a beautiful garden environment and It only of 5 km from Valparai town. 
  • Grass Hills. Its a part of Indra Gandhi wildlife sanctuary & national park. It is surrounded by a green grass environment. Its a beautiful site of high green grasses on a mountain slope, which is a protected area. Visitors has to obtain permission from the wildlife warden to enter the Grass Hills. Situated at a distance of 15 km. from Valparai. Grass hills is a picturesque spot located in the Valparai hills range, at a height of approx: 2400m msl, with cool climate getting cooler at night, a part of Indira Gandhi Wild Life Sanctuary. Right now all efforts are being undertaken by the government to preserve the flora and fauna of this location. Nilgiri Thar is native of this place apart from Elephants, Bison, Indian Gaur, Bear, Nilgiri Langurs etc.. and a wide variety of birds including Hornbills. 
  • Kadamparai Dam. This is a beautiful place to visit. Prior permission from the forest department is necessary to visit this place. While visiting the dam, it is also worth visiting Kadamparai PSHE power station situated in a tunnel complex by getting permission from TNEB. 
  • Karamalai Annai Vellankanni Church. Lot of miracles happened by Vellankanni Matha. Fesitival takes place every year during September 8th. New church was built in the year 2003. A place to enjoy spiritual peaceful environment. Many people visit this Church daily. Situated at a distance of 10 km from Valparai. 
  • Loam's View Point. A beautiful view point from where you can see Aliyar Dam, the surrounding mountains of western Ghats and the Pollachi town. This is situated in 9th hairpin bend towards Valparai from Pollachi. 
  • Monkey Falls. Monkey Falls is located at the 29th KM junction on the Pollachi-Valparai road. An entry fee of ₹15 per head must be paid at the check post located along Aaliyar - Monkey Falls route. 
  • Nallamudi Poonjolai. A beautiful view point located near the Sangiliroad in Valparai. One must walk for about 1 km inside the tea estate to reach this view point. 
  • Nirar dam. This dam is built for multipurpose project such as irrigation, Hydro electricity production. Dam is situated in a wonderful location covered by a dense forest. There is a waterfalls near by the dam which resembles the Cascade. Situated at a distance of 15 km from Valparai. 
  • Number Parai. This is also a beautiful view point. Near by Sangiliroad near Valparai. 
  • Sholayar Dam. It is the second deepest dam of Asia. Situated at a distance of 20 km., from Valparai. An active tourist spot found always busy. A beautiful place to visit. 
  •  Tiger Valley. From here you can see Upper Aliyar reservoir.
Sholayar Dam Site
 
 
Upper sholayar dam



Things To Do:

  • Trekking and cycling
  • Visit to Tea Estates
  • Wildlife & Nature Photography

Cuisine:

The weather of the hill station is conducive to having a hot tea and it’s definitely worth drinking tea in any small/medium tea stall for the taste is very good. There are a lot of tea estates in Valparai, and people sell tea packs for wholesale. For something more substantial, Green Hills Restaurant and Plaza Restaurant serve good vegetarian and non vegetarian foods during the breakfast, lunch and dinner times. If you plan for long trip to Valparai and you have the means to hire your own personal cook, that will work out well for you, as you can get anything from the market there. And for the strict vegetarians it’s not so easy to manage as you can hardly find vegetarian restaurants. There is a small mess for vegetarians named “Sabari Mess” which is located on the market road which offers delicious vegetarian food at reasonable rates. Apart from them there are lots of good bakeries with fresh eatables, biscuits, breads and other bakery products. 


Stay:

As most of the land in Valparai belongs to tea estates, there are only limited options for staying in Valparai. There are a few decent hotels, estate bungalows and cottages.
  • Green Hill Hotel, ☎ +91 4253 222262. 2-star hotel with 42 rooms. restaurant & bar attached. Room rates vary from ₹700 - ₹2500. 
  • Hornbill Castle - Bed and Breakfast, Pollachi Road (1 km outer from town, near Puthuthottam Estate), ☎ +91 9443 758472. Check-out: 10am. This bed & breakfast offers ensuite double and twin bedrooms. All rooms have color television and well stocked hospitality trays. Three of the ensuite rooms are on the ground floor. 

Telecom Facilities:

Vodafone, Tata Docomo and Bsnl are the mobile networks which cover this region; the rest simply doesn't work. Of these, BSNL is far and away the most reliable (the others, especially Vodafone, can be patchy in the region, although Vodafone starts working fine almost the moment you cross the border into Kerala). In town area, Aircel will work; on other places, it won't. 

Local Transport to get around:

By bus

Every 30 minutes, there is a bus from Pollachi to Valparai. However, these buses will be fully packed and may take 4 hours to cover a distance of 64 km.

By car

Taxis will be the viable option, especially if you are planning to get off now and then, take pictures and enjoy the scenery.

By bike

Bike trips will be quite adventurous.It is the best way to go through small estate roads.


 

How to Reach:

Valparai is about 64 kilometres (40 mi) from Pollachi and 80 kilometres (50 mi) from Udumalai. The road from Pollachi to Valparai has 40 hairpin bends. It takes about 2 hours to reach Valparai from Pollachi on State Highway 78. TNSTC operates buses from Valparai to Pollachi, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Udumalai and Palani. Valparai is connected to Athirappilly Falls by road and is 130 km from Valparai to Chalakudi.

By Air:

Coimbatore airport is the nearest international airport to Valparai - approximately 124 km (the journey up winding roads towards the end means that you should budget 3-4 hours to get there by car from Coimbatore airport). International flights to Singapore and Sharjah are provided by Silk Air (A subsidiary of Singapore Airlines) and Air Arabia respectively. Domestic airlines fly to Coimbatore as well.

By Bus:

The follwing are the bus routes to Valparai with timings:
Pollachi To Valparai:
Public buses are available every 30 minutes from Pollachi Bus Terminal.However, they will be overcrowded and may take more than 4 hours to cover the distance of about 64 km. Visitors arriving via Coimbatore must visit Pollachi and then catch a bus to Valparai bus from there.
Bus frequency : every half an hour.
The route is : Pollachi - Aliyar Dam - Attakatty - Waterfalls - Rottikadai - Valparai.
Distance : 64 km.
Coimbatore To Valparai
Bus Timings
Midnight - 1.00 A.M Morning - 7.30 A.M Fore-Noon - 11.30 A.M Afternoon - 4.00 P.M
Route : Coimbatore - Pollachi - Aliyar Dam - Attakatty - Waterfalls - Rottikadai - Valparai
Distance : 100 km
Chalakudi To Valparai
Bus Timings
Morning - 7.30 A.M Afternoon - 1.30 P.M
Travel Time : 6hrs
Route : Chalakudi - Athirapally Falls - Malikiparai - Sholayar Dam - Valparai Distance : 108 km.
It is a beautiful route... going through thick forest...
Palani To Valparai
Bus Timings
Midnight - 12.30 A.M Morning - 7.30 A.M Noon - 12.00 P.M Evening - 4.00 P.M
Route : Palani - Udumelpet - Angalakurichi - Aliyar Dam - Attakatty - Waterfalls - Valparai
Distance : 117 km

By Train:

Coimbatore Junction is the nearest railway station - approximately 105 km. Coimbatore has got train services to most Indian cities.

Other nearby places:

Topslip, Monkey Falls, Aliyar Dam, Attakatty, Anaimalai Tiger Reserve, Indhira Gandhi National Park, Anaimalai, Thirumoorthy Hills.
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