Bangalore-Kodai-Palan-Coimbatore-Bangalore

horsepower · Apr 17th, 2009, 13:43

After much deliberation on how to while away the long weekend, our family ended up voting for a trip to Kodai. Last minute hotel deals at Kodai worked out quite dear to us. We settled for the good old Woodlands, the seasoned hands in hospitality, 13.5K for 2 n, 3d.
We(my wife, daughter,mother and I) left Bangalore by our Black Bull(that's how we call our Scorpio mhawk) at 4.10 pm in the evening. We reached Salem at 7.30 pm and decided to check-in at a hotel for an overnight halt, to break the otherwise long journey to Kodai. We checked-in into LRN Excellency on Sharada College Road, a decent hotel, about 2km from the main junction(they call it 5-Roads junction) of Salem. Surprisingly,Salem,that is notoriously hot during summer, had the gentle night breeze from the Yercaud hills, lingering all over the town.
Next day morning we left Salem at 6:40am and continued on NH7, driving past Namakal. The roads are so good that you can just hiss through them at an easy 130kmph. Hunger gave way to a 7km diversion into Karur town. Hotel Valluvar-Sangeetha Bhavan gave us a sumptuous breakfast for 4, at an incredible price of Rs150. Hats off to both service and food-a rare combination. Rava Dosa is a must-eat at the hotel.

Road-laying was in progress at several places until Dindigul.We took a right from under the second over-bridge in the direction of Theni. We enjoyed the drive through the fertile plains and reached Vattalgundu. Unfortunately, we missed the right towards Kodai at Devadanapatti, but we went straight across to Periakulam.We drove an extra 45 km and lost almost an hour in this mishap. We fell back on track and it took around 1hour to drive the ghat section of 52km to reach Kodai.We reached Woody's and checked into their Redwood cottage. Food and property are at their best. Service is lacklustre.The cottages also need maintanance.We spent the evening cycling around the lake and had a just-so dinner at Sterling lake-view.The next day we drove towards a little hamlet, Poomparai, which is the lap of the valley. The drive is amazing as not many vehciles dare to explore this part of Kodai. We found scores of vehicles rushing towards Suicide Point, Pillars rock, but we remembered Robert Frost:
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference"

Luscious carrot farms,clear streams,and bean climbers adorn this valley. We halted for a long, memorable bath in one of the streams. We spent the quiet evening back at Woodlands.
The next day morning,we left Kodai at 11am and drove towards Palani temple. We took the left from Perumalpuram, Kodai. Its a real pleasure to whiz past the plains just before Palani, with coconut groves on either side. We reached Palani at 12:45pm and headed straight to the rope-car queue. One can witness corruption,power play at its best at every nook and corner. It took a common-man like me, a 6 hour ordeal to complete our Darshan at Palani. The festive season and the long weekend had attracted a record crowd to Palani.
After a bad tiffin at Balaji Bhavan, Palani, we left for Coimbatore, taking the NH209, via Madathukulam, Udumalpet, Pollachi. The road is good, but is lined with heavy traffic. There is also another road through Dharapuram, Palladam, but we were not too sure about the road condition. We reached Coimbatore at 8.30PM and checked-in at Hotel City Towers, known for its vantage location and service. We were surprised at the laid-back service at Orchard, their restaurant. The next day, we spent the morning shopping at Oppanakara Street, lined on both sides with shops galore.
After lunch, we left CBE for Bangalore at 2.00pm. We took Avinashi Road, that falls on NH47, then through the NH7 Bangalore highway, reaching home sweet home at 8.30PM.
The travel chart that may help:

From Bangalore to :
Hosur : 54
Krishnagiri: 100
Dharmapuri: 148
Salem:218
From Salem to:
Namakal: 55
Karur: 98
Dindigul: 170
Vathalgundu: 220
Kodai: 284
From Kodai to Palani - 65 km
From Palani to:
Udumalpet:42
Pollachi: 71
Coimbatore: 117
From Coimbatore to Bangalore: 388

snonymous · Apr 22nd, 2009, 12:38

Just saw this post now.

Good report Horsepower. Poombarai is lovely, as are many more off the beaten track places around Kodai.

Please could you give more details about the road route you took from Kodai to Palani. Thanks.

Apr 17th, 2009, 13:43	#1
horsepower Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: India Posts: 1	Bangalore-Kodai-Palan-Coimbatore-Bangalore After much deliberation on how to while away the long weekend, our family ended up voting for a trip to Kodai. Last minute hotel deals at Kodai worked out quite dear to us. We settled for the good old Woodlands, the seasoned hands in hospitality, 13.5K for 2 n, 3d. We(my wife, daughter,mother and I) left Bangalore by our Black Bull(that's how we call our Scorpio mhawk) at 4.10 pm in the evening. We reached Salem at 7.30 pm and decided to check-in at a hotel for an overnight halt, to break the otherwise long journey to Kodai. We checked-in into LRN Excellency on Sharada College Road, a decent hotel, about 2km from the main junction(they call it 5-Roads junction) of Salem. Surprisingly,Salem,that is notoriously hot during summer, had the gentle night breeze from the Yercaud hills, lingering all over the town. Next day morning we left Salem at 6:40am and continued on NH7, driving past Namakal. The roads are so good that you can just hiss through them at an easy 130kmph. Hunger gave way to a 7km diversion into Karur town. Hotel Valluvar-Sangeetha Bhavan gave us a sumptuous breakfast for 4, at an incredible price of Rs150. Hats off to both service and food-a rare combination. Rava Dosa is a must-eat at the hotel. Road-laying was in progress at several places until Dindigul.We took a right from under the second over-bridge in the direction of Theni. We enjoyed the drive through the fertile plains and reached Vattalgundu. Unfortunately, we missed the right towards Kodai at Devadanapatti, but we went straight across to Periakulam.We drove an extra 45 km and lost almost an hour in this mishap. We fell back on track and it took around 1hour to drive the ghat section of 52km to reach Kodai.We reached Woody's and checked into their Redwood cottage. Food and property are at their best. Service is lacklustre.The cottages also need maintanance.We spent the evening cycling around the lake and had a just-so dinner at Sterling lake-view.The next day we drove towards a little hamlet, Poomparai, which is the lap of the valley. The drive is amazing as not many vehciles dare to explore this part of Kodai. We found scores of vehicles rushing towards Suicide Point, Pillars rock, but we remembered Robert Frost: "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference" Luscious carrot farms,clear streams,and bean climbers adorn this valley. We halted for a long, memorable bath in one of the streams. We spent the quiet evening back at Woodlands. The next day morning,we left Kodai at 11am and drove towards Palani temple. We took the left from Perumalpuram, Kodai. Its a real pleasure to whiz past the plains just before Palani, with coconut groves on either side. We reached Palani at 12:45pm and headed straight to the rope-car queue. One can witness corruption,power play at its best at every nook and corner. It took a common-man like me, a 6 hour ordeal to complete our Darshan at Palani. The festive season and the long weekend had attracted a record crowd to Palani. After a bad tiffin at Balaji Bhavan, Palani, we left for Coimbatore, taking the NH209, via Madathukulam, Udumalpet, Pollachi. The road is good, but is lined with heavy traffic. There is also another road through Dharapuram, Palladam, but we were not too sure about the road condition. We reached Coimbatore at 8.30PM and checked-in at Hotel City Towers, known for its vantage location and service. We were surprised at the laid-back service at Orchard, their restaurant. The next day, we spent the morning shopping at Oppanakara Street, lined on both sides with shops galore. After lunch, we left CBE for Bangalore at 2.00pm. We took Avinashi Road, that falls on NH47, then through the NH7 Bangalore highway, reaching home sweet home at 8.30PM. The travel chart that may help: From Bangalore to : Hosur : 54 Krishnagiri: 100 Dharmapuri: 148 Salem:218 From Salem to: Namakal: 55 Karur: 98 Dindigul: 170 Vathalgundu: 220 Kodai: 284 From Kodai to Palani - 65 km From Palani to: Udumalpet:42 Pollachi: 71 Coimbatore: 117 From Coimbatore to Bangalore: 388 Attached Thumbnails

Apr 22nd, 2009, 12:38	#2
snonymous xxx Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,749	Just saw this post now. Good report Horsepower. Poombarai is lovely, as are many more off the beaten track places around Kodai. Please could you give more details about the road route you took from Kodai to Palani. Thanks. __________________ Some of My Tall Tales at http://www.travelpod.com/members/indianature My Flickr photos at http://www.flickr.com/groups/snonymous/

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