Any tranquil hill station near bangalore within 300 to 350 km

Hey,

I've gone through most threads in this forum but couldn't really find what I'm looking for. Again, apologies if this has already been covered in some thread!

Can someone recommend a hill station around 200-300kms from Bangalore to cover over a weekend? I've been to Coorg, Kemmanagundi and Kodaikanal. What I'm looking at is -
1. A nice scenic ride (mysore road is avoidable ideally as I've been on the same route multiple times now)
2. No/few tourists
3. Accommodation (not too expensive)
4. Good weather (cold)

Basically I'm not looking for any 'things to do'. Just want to go for a pleasant ride and stay at a scenic place (any basic accommodation would also do)..chill out there..come back the next day at leisure.

Would really appreciate your inputs!

Cheers!

Have you tried Yelagiri or Yercaud? Both might not be very cold or crowded (yet) this time of the year, though with summer vacations a few weeks away, it can change pretty quickly.

Also, look at Devanarayadurga. I have not been there but know some who have come back impressed.

Yercaud is very nice indeed. Also, if you're OK with mysore road, look at Coonoor and Sulthan Bathery (the last is not truly a hill station but more of a hilly area) - much more peaceful than Ooty...

Thanks n_siva! I haven't been to any of these places. Might head to Yercaud if nothing else works out. Devanarayadurga seems pretty close by..will keep that for some other time.

vaibhav - thanks! have you been to sulthan bathery? couldn't find too many pics of that place on flickr or google images. It looks like a small township from what is there on google. Can you share a little more info about this place?

I've heard a lot about Coonoor. Not inclined to head to Ooty at all. Will read up a little more about this place. Any idea about accommodation here? I'd be travelling alone and wouldn't want to spend a lot for 1 night stay.

Thanks again!

I've been to Sulthan Bathery, Kalpetta and the superb Edakkal caves.SB has places nearby including Edakkal that are prehistoric cave etchings (very large in size). Near Kalpetta are the Soochipara, Kanthapara and Meenmutty waterfalls. Further down the road is Pookote lake (very calm and imho, very boring). The three falls i wrote about above call for a small hike and are great to visit.

These places have accommodation? And how far is the second one from Bangalore?

But can you stay here or there's nothing there yet?

Aarosh - Yercaud wouldn't be too touristy, right? And are there not so expensive places to stay?

It would depend on when you are going. During vacation it will be crowded but compared to Ooty / Kodaikanal during vacations it would be nothing.

There are budget places available but I doubt if there would be a mention of them in the internet. One of our family friends arranged for our stay in Yercaud.

Do not miss the Yercaud round trip bus ride.

Sulthan Bathery is generally considered part of the Waynad circuit. Its a great place to unwind. We stayed close to Kalpetta for a week. Enjoyed it tremendously. It is advisable to not go during a long weekend/holiday as pretty much half of Bangalore and Kochi is there. My friend went during one of the long weekends last year and found an hour long queue to just get into Pookote Lake. Lots of nice resorts and homestays. PM me and I can recommend the one we stayed in.

Great! Thanks Vaibhav!

So you'd recommend staying at SB? Is this a township though?
Or are there places to stay near Kalpetta if I plan to trek to the falls?

Thanks Aarosh!
I'm planning something this weekend or the next one. I'll look for a place once I get there..good to know that there are a few available!

Go with Siva's reco Ankur .. I was there in 2005

haha...cool! will do

Mod note: three threads on the same subject matter have been merged.

I just happened to dig out a few old photos, etc. We stayed at 'Grange resort' Very tranquil (middle of a coffee estate). TTDC wasnt nice. The new reviews at Tripadvisor are also positive. See here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...tions_in_India

seems to have a nice list for hill stations all over india

Have you considered Valparai? Fits all the requisites except that it may not be "cold" right now but cool at night.

Though Wynad as suggested by Siva, would be closer to BLR