DAY TRIP TO ATTAPADY (ATTAPADI)

Attappati is an extensive mountain valley at the headwaters of the Bhavani River nestled below the Nilgiri Hills of the Western Ghats. It is bordered to the east by Coimbatore district in Tamilnadu, on the north by the Nilgiris, south by the Palghat taluk and on the west by Karimba, Pottassery and Mannarghat revenue villages of Mannarghat taluk of the Palghat District and Ernad taluk of the Malappuram district

It was a Saturday afternoon and we were thinking of some bike trip to some places nearby Coimbatore ( A town in Tamilnadu, India. Famous for cotton industries). Suddenly, we came across a place called Silent Valley which was less than a 100 kilometer away. We started searching for this amazing place in the internet .Silent valley is an untouched beautiful forest in the Palakkad district of Kerala, (India). We were not able to find a lot of useful stuff. Google gave us results only organized tours and tour operators for Silent Valley. That was not interesting. Again the figures mentioned in the various website were different. Some said, it was 50 Kms from Coimbatore, some others said it was 150 Kms. We were not able to reach at a good start. One thing I knew was that the place was somewhere to the north of Attapady (Attappady) (A rural area in North Kerala), in kerala.

Then we opened Google Earth. then we tracked the route. We were able to get the approximate Longitude from a google user group. We calculated the distance from Coimbatore to be around 100 kilometers.

Coimbatore is good place to start a trip toAttapady (Attappady) (Has Beauty in its own respect) and Silent Valley.

ROUGH DISTANCE CHART

COIMBATORE ATTAPADY ROUTE VIA ANAKETTY

The route from Coimbatore to Anaketty, starts from Coimbatore as a wide road called the Thadakam road, which morphs into winding narrow roads as it climbs a small pass of the Western Ghats. At coimbatore the road is bounded by Old Buildings and Residential constructions, and after some time you will be able to see the hills approaching, We identified the hill on our left as one we have trekked previously. , The road is bounded by hills on either side and the scenic beauty of the villages and the hills around was so spectacular. On the way the planes are lush green plantations ,steep rocky mountains, grazing sheeps and a lot of brick factories were there on both sides of the road. It was a beautiful trip. After moving for about 20 Kms, we approached a pass , and we had to cross it. The pass had an elevation of around 200 Meters and were bounded by Forests on both sides. We were lucky to see a few wild elephants.

At the borders of the forest, I saw a few Meditation institutions and a few colleges. After getting down the pass there was a flat land Lush green and overgrown with cultivation. It was so exotic and a very cool atmosphere . There were paddy plantations, coconut and a lot more. From here we were able to see the hills of silent valley far ahead of us. There were a lot of shepherds. The road was so curvy and narrow. There were a lot of buses plying in all directions. There were a few forest check posts here. We moved further about 10 kilometers and reached a place called Anaketty. This was the bordering place between Kerala and Tamilnadu. This was a rural place and the economy is mainly Agriculture We had our breakfast from a local hotel and rested for a few minutes. We enquired about the silent valley to the local people and it was again 40 kilometers ahead We were able to see the beautiful tall hills of the silent valley from the hotel. It was so beautiful the clouds touching the top was like a majestic throne granted to them. We started our bike and moved further.

There was the Kerala Tamilnadu Check post. This is another lesser know to pass Kerala from Tamilnadu. The most known is along a place called Wayalar which generates a good income for the tax officers. The whole picture changed. The color of buildings, the roads, the structure of buildings everything, It was another world in Kerala.

The strech from here to a place far away called Manarkad, Is called Attapady (Attappady) . This was one of the backward townships of Kerala, were there were tribal people with no or nil development. Recently the Kerala government did a lot for this people and now they are almost in the uplifted stage. There were a lot of Private and Kerala, State Busses plying in the route even the traffic density of the road was low as busses were the only means of transport for the local people here. It was not that easy to drive as there were steep curves and gutters all along the road. On the way we were able to have a view of the beautiful landscape and the cultivations. The sign boards were written in Malayalam. There were a few town called Ugly, Pudur (along another ghat road). we were able to see the Vellingiri hills from here ..so far away (GPS was showing 12 KMS).

We moved further and at last after traveling some 40 kilometers we reached the base of silent valley. There was a check post and a small town. The place called Manarkayam was again 20 kilometers away. From this spot the Silent Valley is 25 kilometers away along a steep ghat road. No vehicles other than jeeps is allowed to be driven. After reaching the top, one has to get the pass from the office and then explore the jungle. We were a bit late to reach at the base and so we were not able to get a jeep to travel. So we canceled the plan of going into the silent valley. The information center was located closely. The park is open only from 10 Am to 2 PM.

We trekked a bit along the ghat road to Silent Valley. We turned right and started walking. As we went we were able to see a few tribal settlements. More than that, we were able to see the young Bhavai River (A Famous river in south India). This river originates from the nearby hills .There were rapids, big rock cuts and waterfalls. We were able to hear the sound of the gushing water a few kilometers away. It was a mind catching experience. There were huge pits in the river. There were waterfalls, Rock cut ways and more interesting flora formations here.

MAPS / CHARTS

NOTES

TEAM

Zachariah Mathews

George Joseph

TRIP ROUTE

Coimbatore, Anaketty, Pudur, Malleswaram, Silent Valley

DATE

12 Aug 2007

MODE

Bike

SIGHTS

Hills, Green Fields, Vilage Life, Bird Sanctuary, River Bhavani.

TIME

One day Trip from Coimbatore