Valparai



Valparai is a hill station in the Coimbatore District of Tamil Nadu. It is 104 km from Coimbatore and 64 km from Pollachi, 110 km from Ernakulam (Cochin) via Athirapalli, Vazhachal, Malakkarapa. There is a Kerala-Tamilnadu Border checkpost near Uppar Sholayar Dam.

Understand
A relatively pollution-free place 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 its 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.

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.

The 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 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.

By plane
Cochin International Airport is the nearest international airport to Valparai - this airport is nearly 117 km away from the town. It will take 3 - 4 hours by car to get Valparai from Cochin international Airport. Athirappilli and Vazhachal waterfalls are the other two famous locations to see in the route. International flights from the Middle East (Dubai, Sharjah, Muscat, Kuwait), Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Maldives, Europe and Sri Lanka are available from various airlines. This airport is connected to other domestic cities in India with a lot of flights.

Coimbatore airport is another international airport near 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 Scoot and Air Arabia respectively. Domestic airlines fly to Coimbatore as well.

By bus
The following 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. The route is: Pollachi - Aliyar Dam - Attakatty - Waterfalls - Rottikadai - Valparai.
 * Coimbatore to Valparai: buses leave at midnight, 1AM, 7:30AM, 11:30AM, 4PM. The route is: Coimbatore - Pollachi - Aliyar Dam - Attakatty - Waterfalls - Rottikadai - Valparai. 100 km.
 * Chalakudi to Valparai: buses leave at 7:30 AM and 1:30PM, and take 6 hr. The route is: Chalakudi - Athirapally Falls - Malikiparai - Sholayar Dam - Valparai. 108 km. It is a beautiful route, going through thick forest.
 * Palani to Valparai: buses leave at 12:30AM, 7:30AM, noon, 4PM. The route is: Palani - Udumelpet - Angalakurichi - Aliyar Dam - Attakatty - Waterfalls - Valparai. 117 km.

By train
Pollachi Junction is the nearest railway station - approximately 65 km. Another railway station near to Valparai is Chalakudy Railwaystation. Which is 109 kms away.

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 are 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.

Do

 * Trekking and cycling
 * Visit to Tea estates
 * Wildlife & nature photography

Wildlife
Valparai is a good place for watching various flora and fauna. Sometimes we see several fauna on the roads itself (both dead and alive). Please be careful while you are driving and not to hit the wild animals. Make sure you do not feed any of the wildlife you come across especially monkeys. Try to have food in Valparai town or at designated places not by the side of the road. Make sure you do not litter/throw plastic garbage by the side of the road.

Eat
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, Mary Matha Mess, Sri Lakshmi Chettinadu Mess, Green Hills 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 (such as Bharath Bakers, Top Touch Bakery) with fresh eatables, biscuits, breads and other bakery products.

Drink
Stick to water or other non-alcoholic drinks, as alcohol is strictly prohibited by forest officials.

Sleep
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.


 * Sree Vengateshwaraa Inn, 04253 222534, ₹700 - 2500

Connect

 * Police: 100
 * Ambulance/Fire: 108

Mobile phones
Vi, Airtel 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 Vi, can be patchy in the region, although Vi starts working fine almost the moment you cross the border into Kerala). In town area, Airtel will work; on other places, it won't.

Go next



 * Vazhachal
 * Athirapalli
 * Coimbatore
 * Kodaikanal
 * Munnar
 * Palani
 * Pollachi
 * Topslip
 * Udumalpet