chennai-valparai

subrsrini

hi
after various discussions about hampi etc, we finally decided we will go to valparai as it my dads 75th b'day and he grew up in this area and wanted to see it. i have enquired about trains from chennai to coimbatore and hiring vans from there and have a reasonable idea of the logistics of getting there by this mode of transport end may.
my question is if we drive from chennai - can we make it valparai in one day, assuming we leave at 4-5 am in the morning or do we need to factor in a break in journey overnight?

sri

subabu2002

hi srini,

ne need to stay.

i assume you will reach coimbatore at around noon 12-1p.m. from coimbatore,you will need to travel to pollachi(around 55-60 kms)1.5 hrs.and then to valparai(around 65 kms)2 hrs. so,even if you start at around 2 p.m.after lunch from coimbatore,you will easily reach valparai at around 6 pm.

last month i did our valparai visit..

if u need any other help dont hesitate to ask any queries

-suresh babu

sebin

I did chennai pollachi in 12hours on a bike through plani-Dindugul-Trichi-villupuram-chennai.

At this moment,building the 4 line work is progressing on villupuram-Trichi So it may take some more time

subrsrini

thanks. are you saying that if i leave chennai by car 5am i will be in valparai by 5pm on the same day?
have you any suggestions to stay. stanmore cottages costs 5500 per room for a couple. any alternatives.
finally, topslip- what can one do at topslip and whewre can we stay?
srini

manojb

I remember going to Valparai about 20years back as a kid. Incredible climb from Pollachi on very narrow ghat section (50 hairpin bends, was it?) without any safety walls and just enough width for a bus. Stayed at the Inspection Bungalow at Upper Neerar dam (where the engineers at the dams stay when visiting) at 2 Rupees a night courtesy of the site engineer. Then on to Sholayar and Chalakkudi in Kerala.

subabu2002

my suggestion is from chennai to coimbatore.. train would be best and then from coimbatore to valparai you will take cab. this is ideal and tiredless when compared to car travel.

stanmore seems slightly high cost.. but no other good hotels in valparai town.so,if price will not your problem,then stanmore is good option with surrounded tea estates.

for other cottages,check this link

http://www.valparaionline.com/

for top slip,it is thick jungle.it is not touristy place. if u want to do trekking to watch animals and shola forests,then top silp is best.but this time is not good for trekking in that area.

you must need advance permission to stay in topsilp from forest office in pollachi atleast a weak before.

and also you must need to come down again to pollachi from valparai and then to topsilp.

40 hairpin bends for valparai. it seems good. not risky as per my driving.

-suresh babu.

subrsrini

thanks. spoke to jebaraj - a link from the website valparaionline. thinking of staying in one of the tea estate bungalow.
my dad is not very keen to stay in topslip on the forth and final morning we thought of driving to topslip on the way back to coimbatore to catch the 1145 train to chennai. do we have enough time or is it better to leave out topslip altogether?

srini

subrsrini

sorry about typographical errors in my prev post. forth should read fourth and 1145 is actually 2345
srini

subrsrini

hi
thanks. am negotiating with jebaraj to stay in one of the tea estate bunglows. jebaraj is tour organiser from the valparaionline link.
as my dad does not want to stay in topslip, we are planning to do a day trip on the way back from valparai to coimbatore. our train to chennai is at 2345. what time should we leave valparai to make a day out of topslip?

subrsrini

this is very strange. bcos before i posted the last one the ones i posted this morning was not visible. so i thought the posts got deleted but now i can see all my posts. something strange- either in my computer or in the website. any way, apologies for reposting the same question within a few hours.
srini

subabu2002

valparai to topslip will take around 3 hrs. if u start to down from valparai at around 9 am,you will reach topslip at around 12 noon. stay around there upto 5 pm. and then to pollachi(1 hr)and then to coimbatore 1 1/2 hrs.

assume you decide accordingly.

-suresh babu.