Friday, October 27, 2017

Travelogue - Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu

So it all was a planned trip to Kodaikanal on 14 October 2017,  one month after the weekend getaway at Mandalapatti . We had it all sorted out, the time we will start from Bangalore and the time we reach there. I will keep this blog very short . So the good thing about Bangalore is that it is connected to the other Southern sisters - Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala ,it just takes an overnight drive to cross the border and enter any of these states, so if you are in Bangalore, do not miss the chance to visit the hill stations in Tamil Nadu and Kerala . More will be covered in my next blogs as and when I cover other scenic spots down South.

Kodai falls

The distance between Bangalore and Kodaikanal is approximately 460 kms and it took us around 8- 9 hrs to reach . To be precise, we started from Bangalore at around 7.30 pm and reached Kodiakanal at 3 AM early morning. Kodaikanal had a freezing temperature as it was in Ooty ( the trip that I covered last year) . An interesting fact is that Kodaikanal, Cunnoor, Ooty are all adjoining hill stations (so as I believe) and can be covered as a part of one trip . The temperature would have been between 15 degrees at the time we arrived the hill station. We took the Hosur route via Nice road and covered Kumaragiri enroute. There were many hairpin turnings as we climbed the heights , I would say one hairpin every 15 seconds, but the roads are good so it was not much of a struggle to drive and ofcourse our friends who drove are proficient to drive on hills.

Day 1 - Since we are all working on weekdays , so Saturday and Sundays are the only days which get to explore the places that we could set our foot on. After early morning breakfast, we headed towards the pine forests and Kodai lake , but not before we took few clicks in the woods .πŸ‘‰


 Beware of the leeches here, so advisable to wear full covering socks. After some quick snacking on the boiled chick peas and groundnuts and corn , we moved forward to enjoy the cycle ride near the Botanical garden. The riders can choose to opt for double cycles as well and go for a round around the lake. The cycling part was real exciting and adventurous, followed by suicide point which was only a view from the top. Not really recommended . It had started to rain heavily, so we halted a place known as Pillar rocks . Also covered , the Guna caves which is actually not a cave but you can find the long thick roots of the Trees that differentiates this place from others. Day 1 comes to an end. 
Pillar rocks

Guna Caves


Day 2- We intended to cover all the waterfalls in Kodai today. The first one on the list was Bear shola falls. A good place to get some random clicks. Not a very big waterfall but is peaceful and not crowded. After covering Shola falls, we moved towards the Kodai falls. These are massive falls and you can actually climb and stand on the rocks in the midst of falling water. 

The last but not the least, the fairy falls,which is my favorite because the falls look like delicate long white veil of a bride, gently flowing down with soothing sound and of course hardly any people around. (I personally like quite places that help me connect the nature). 

shola falls

Nothing beats this- Tea stall 

Fairy falls


So was the end to another episode of - "My adventures and explorations" .
My overall rating- 3.5 /5 .

We missed the Silent valley. So ensure that you take the permission of the forest department before hand so that you can gain an entry to this wild life conservation area. For those who have time can actually include Rameswaram and Kanyakumari , which is further 5-6 hrs drive from Kodai.

Watch out for more in this blog for the next trip πŸ’›




Random Thoughts: Trip to Mandalapatti and Mallali falls

Random Thoughts: Trip to Mandalapatti and Mallali falls: A long awaited weekend trip with friends finally materialized on 19th August 2017, as we embarked on our long drive to Mandalapatti and Mal...

Saturday, October 21, 2017

She wished for romance, sentimental love, flowers and smiles, candle light and wines
but it was not meant to be,
The quest never ends..
The thirst remains unquenched..
like the arid desert yearning for some rain..

Friday, October 20, 2017

Trip to Mandalapatti and Mallali falls


A long awaited weekend trip with friends finally materialized on 19th August 2017, as we embarked on our long drive to Mandalapatti and Mallalli falls in the Coorg valley. We started off from Bangalore at 2 pm on Saturday noon. The approximately 6 hours drive was filled with jokes, laughter and songs from the latest bollywood movies comprising of both party / slow romantic numbers.

My partners in the adventure trip were - Asha, Megha, Bindu and Shreehari with their cute little kid Ganavi. I bet I learnt a few Kannada words after my futile attempt of conversing with "Ganu" as I call her.

We stopped over in between at Channapatna famous for the traditional wooden toys, purchased a few wooden stuff followed by lunch at around 3.30 pm before continuing with rest of the journey.




We reached Coorg at around 7 pm in the evening. On the way we stopped at a lake for the boat ride.






Coorg welcomed us with light drizzle, misty weather and chilling temperature of 16 degrees. We spent the night at a homestay . Our next morning began at 7 am. It was still raining, misty and the mountains looked washed with the fresh green paint.

The real adventure began on the 2nd day. Since I love low temperature, drizzle, fog, clouds, Coorg presented us with the ideal climate that made me fall in love with the nature. We got ready and started for the Mandalapatti peak in Madikeri. We could not have asked for a better day for a trekking atop the hill. Since the path was rocky , we had to hire a jeep to reach Mandalapatti. Many prefer bikes over jeep. It was a short trek to reach to the hill top. The view from the hill top was breathtaking. The visibilty was less than 30 meters and we could hear the sound of the breeze howling in our ears . Here is a short video that was taken to capture the very moment ( make sure that your browser supports the videoplay , the sound should not be missed ).





The feeling at the top was an out of the world experience, overpowering breeze sweeping us against our grip , the nature at its best which can not be imitated by humans. We were completely drenched by the clouds that shed into tiny droplets of rain . I loved the feeling of chillness in the air.

After spending 15-20 min at the hill top , we made our way back to the ground . Hunger pangs were satisfied with hot maggi and omellete bread, visibility still low. We checked out of the home stay and headed towards Mallalli falls, which was further 2 hrs drive from Coorg.

What awaited us was even more magnificent, massive and inexpressible. The first look at the falls and we were awe-struck . Mallalli falls are massive, although the falls were quite distant , the roaring of the water gushing down, could reach us as if telling-this is the sound of what God creates .




I loved visiting these two places as much as I would have loved visiting any hillstation in the North.

Suggestions : Try and visit these places during rainy season . The rains will add to the beauty.

Keep watching for this blog πŸ‘†for the next adventure !! πŸ’–πŸ’–






Thursday, February 2, 2017

Itni shiddat se agar khuda ko chaha hota ,
To khuda bhi aasman se zameen par utar aata .

Thursday, January 26, 2017

The silence of the sea



The moonless night draped in the star studded sky
The gentle breeze that brushed  against the skin.
The restless waves eagerly kissed the feet and retreated
The roaring ocean boasted of its sublime presence.
With you beside me, I could feel the vastness of the universe,
that stillness of the night breathing softly into my ears.
And yes, That was love, unspoken love.

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