Hello readers / riders, I’m excited to share you about my recent bike travel experience to Valparai hill station which is 100kms away from Coimbatore city. Me and my wife packed all our travel belongings and started at 6 o’clock after a cup of tea in one fine weekend. Early morning rides are more comfortable for a perfect drive. We reached Pollachi early as planned.
Pollachi To Aliyar
Reached Pollachi at 7 o’clock and stopped for breakfast at Gowri Shankar Hotel, also stretched a little bit. Valparai is 64kms away from Pollachi and we reached Aliyar Dam in the next 24km travel. Here we spend time in a small check dam. This place is very popular because it’s located near Aliyar Dam. The tourist who goes to Valparai will come here and take a bath then only they go to other places.
We just visited the place and there are no safety features and security, so you have to be aware of it. Water flow may increase & decrease, so be safe if you have a plan to bathe.
Then we crossed Ariyu Thiru Koil name of “Valka Vazlamudan” origin place. Here you can see the living place of Maharishi.
Uphill To Ghats Road
In a few meters, you reach the Annamalai reserve forest check post where you have to give personal details as reference. Then we reached Kaviyaruvi formally known as Monkey Falls, (Kavi means monkey in ancient Tamil). The falls had less crowd and we did not stop and continued travel towards the ghats road. Have to cross 40 hairpin bends to reach Valparai. After 20 hairpin bends we reached Attakatti a small town full of sandalwood trees on both sides of the road. Here we visit a forest museum and walk for a second to reach the hornbill viewpoint. Better visibility afternoon or evening is recommended. Be aware of elephants in this area.
Tiger Valley – Valparai
Then we stopped the bike in a beautiful viewpoint in a few bends, we landed at Tiger Valley where you can see dense forest and a powerhouse at the bottom and somehow a Kadamparai powerhouse at the right. This mountain range is just looking like a wow to your eyes! The roads are flat for a few km giving a deep breath to you and your bike.
Scenic Photo Point
We do some stretching at regular intervals to avoid riding discomfort. In a few km ride, we reached the waterfalls where you can see the tea estate garden and then again stopped for a cup of tea in a shop inside the tea estate the place is famous on Instagram, and the roads of this place are covered by carotene plants on both sides giving the best scenic background of any photo. We take some pictures and are ready to climb adjacent mountains full of shola forest again. The weather in this forest range is a little bit cooler than before. Me and my wife wore a pullover to keep my body warm. After crossing the forest, the roads got down and reached the status of Carvel Marsh who is the father of Valparai, found a place to cultivate a tea garden in the 18s.
After 10 hairpin bends the roads are covered by tea gardens and get some sunlight that feels good. Before 6 km from Valparai, we see a place of bull inside the tea garden and the place is always famous for pull crossing zone. Don’t stop your vehicle here for safety. After the lion-tail monkey crossing zone, we reached the Valparai town area at 9.30 am. We didn’t see any lion-tail monkeys this time because of the season I think.
We already booked the room and informed early check-in and get refreshed. Continue the sightseeing blog… in the next post.
Bike Riding Guides To Valparai:
There are a lot of signboards that alert you like wild animal crossing zones, speed limit, accident zones and horn must zones. So keep an eye on this and be responsible for your ride. Also, the forest dept. don’t recommend feeding foods to wild animals. And don’t stop your vehicle in the forest area.
Note: I saw some plastic waste in the forest, this hill range is a plastic-free zone.
About the Pollachi – Valparai Road:
The road is wide and good for turning. I just followed the signboard for the best riding experience. Keep riding my bullet in 3rd & 4th gear for a comfortable journey for me and my wife.
