Valpara – Seventh Heaven on Earth🌿
This is a dream trip, a dream trip that has been kept in mind for ages in search of beautiful Valpara. The start of this journey is from Coimbatore. The day begins with the alarm set at five in the morning and waking up at four without falling asleep. Mr. and I decided to get down at six o’clock.
I called at 6 o’clock and was told that there was no petrol in the car..!
“Oh, that’s cool..!” Waited till seven o’clock for the petrol pump to open. So we put petrol in the car and started our journey at half past seven. The journey is via Pollachi. Coimbatore Pollachi Road is beautiful. There were vaka trees(royal poinciana) on both sides of the road and there were few vehicles as it was early morning. We moved towards Pollachi town enjoying the inner village beauty of Tamilnadu through the shadow of vaka trees..!
Reaching Pollachi and tucking into hot idlis and sambar, the tiredness of the journey was gone. Aliyar Dam is a major tourist attraction on the Pollachi Valpara route and a visit there is also in our plan. We reached Aliyar Dam by 9 PM.
We were the first to get tickets and enter as the visitors were just starting to arrive. I went in with no expectations. The ticket fee is Rs.5. A ticketed entrance leads to a spacious park designed for children to play and spend leisure time. If you walk a little further, you will see stairs to climb up to the top of the dam…!
Although I have visited many dams before, I have never seen a dam with such a beautiful view. Three-quarters of the reservoir is surrounded by mountains and the view of the mountains towering in the distance is beyond words..!
If you are ever going to Valpara via Coimbatore then never miss this dam. We spent half an hour there taking pictures and enjoying the beauty of the dam and came back feeling very satisfied. While coming back from this trip, I realized that people who come to see Aliyar Dam come early in the morning and there will be a good rush of visitors in the afternoon and evening.
We continued our journey towards Valparai,
Anamalai Tiger Reserve entry check point to enter Valpara is 2 km from Aliyar Dam. Those going to Valpara will have to buy tickets from here to enter. There are some bike riders waiting to buy tickets. I went and bought the ticket. Fee is Rs.80 per person. The journey continued and there were about forty hairpin bends to go. The beauty of the view increased with each hairpin. A beautiful view of Aliyar Dam can be seen from a distance, it is dangerous to stop the vehicle at the pass to see the view..!
At each bend the rocks on the right side of the road and the deep gorge on the left. We excitedly traversed each of the hairpin bends, barely able to see the fog. We reached Valpara by 11 am after some scary but exciting sights. The lion-tailed monkey, swinging from the tree branches to the terrace of the villa, ducked when he heard the bike’s horn. Under the blue sky, the green carpets of the tea plantations of Valpara are incomparably beautiful. Valpara is a busy small town, not as commercially prominent as Ooty or even hundreds of tourists visit every day in search of the beauty of Valpara.
It is surrounded by four protected areas. These are Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Eravikulam National Park, and Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary. In 1846, when Gopalaswami Mudaliar cleared the forest and started a coffee plantation, Valpara began to be known to the outside world.
Nallamudi Viewpoint is located at a distance of 15 km from Valpara. We drove back there.
The condition of the roads there are quite deplorable, bumpy, and narrow roads. You can enjoy the toil gardens on both sides without blinking an eye. After traveling for half an hour, we reached Nallamudi viewpoint. It was very crowded, from young children to old people. You have to take an entry ticket and walk 1 km through the Toilhottam to reach the viewpoint, from the viewpoint you can enjoy a beautiful view of Annamalai Hills, the largest peak in South India. The climate of Valparai has aroused great curiosity in me. It was sunny on the way to Nalamudi, but raining on the way back. The weather changes in seconds. We rested there for a while and returned from the fatigue of the journey.
Koolangal River is located at a distance of 3 km from Valpara town. Those who come to Valpara can also visit here and take a bath and return.
We are familiar with the news of tiger landings in Valpara, the return journey is difficult at times, and the disturbance of wild animals is more on the Valpara route. So we decided to descend the pass before dark. Perhaps those who are tired of Ooty and Munnar have no answer to the question of what is in Valpara, but your trip to Valpara will be one of the unforgettable experiences of your life!
