Dhanya Damodaran

Aug 7, 20203 min read

Valparai & Athirapally Falls

Visited In December 2015

Yet another family trip!! This time, we chose to spend a night at a tea estate bungalow in Valparai, Tamil Nadu.

Valparai is a hill station in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu, gifted with abundance of nature... Its part of the Anaimalai Hills of the Western Ghats. This place is very close to the state border between Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and we cross 40 hairpin bends to reach here. The journey is very scenic with hills, valleys, lakes, rivers and several acres of tea estates all the way. We chose to make our onward trip to Valparai via Palakkad and return via Thrissur to visit the Athirapally waterfalls as well. The return trip was particularly exciting to drive along the thick evergreen forests, hoping to catch glimpses of wildlife.

The trip started in a 14 seat traveler and we crossed the Kerala state border at Govindapuram, Palakkad District. As we crossed to Tamil Nadu, we got to see village sites of paddy fields, tender coconut and palm fruit vendors on the roadside, bullock carts, tractors and trucks with hay stack over it etc. We stopped to have a relishing tender coconut and palm fruit drink and drove further.

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Our first stop was at the Azhiyar Dam, located on the foot hills of Valparai. The dam and its surroundings had beautiful views and we also got the company of a few monkeys and kids were quite happy seeing them.

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From here on the much awaited hairpin bend road begins. Our van took 40 hairpin bend turns to climb up the hill towards Valparai. The sights of the valley on both sides were quite beautiful. As we reached up hill, the vast estates of tea leaves were seen all around. Majority of these are private owned tea estates and the locals earn a living working here. We stopped by a small tea shop by the tea estate, the weather was getting cooler up hill, and we enjoyed the sun and hot sip of tea enjoying the views around.

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After checking in to the estate resort, we explored the surroundings, enjoyed the cool weather and visited a few sites at walk-able distance. Later, in the evening, after dinner, the resort driver took us on a night safari around the area.

After a peaceful night, we woke up early to enjoy the early morning views of the tea estate. It was chilly, peaceful, so calm and beautiful. After a while, we felt the first rays of sun passing through the leaves of tress around fall on us to give some warmth. The view of the river and the surrounding hills were mesmerising in the early morning. We also met the tea estate workers who had checked in to start their jobs in the morning.

The morning views

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In and around the tea estate

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The water lily pond

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After a good breakfast, we checked out of the tea estate resort and left Valparai and drove towards Thrissur district of Kerala to visit the Athirapally waterfalls.

The checkposts

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The road trip to Thrissur from Valparai is exciting. We had a fantastic time driving through the narrow winding roads with thick evergreen forests on either sides. We got to see a few wildlife including monkeys and deer on our way. If you are lucky, you get to see elephants and tigers too :)

The forest drive

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Athirapally Falls - Majestic waterfalls in the Thrissur district of Kerala, over the Chalakkudy river, part of the Sholayar ranges of the Western Ghats. The place nestles between the dense forest and a hike down to view the falls close gives a mind blowing view of its charm and grandeur. Tourists can opt for guided jungle safari also. The charm of this location has made it a popular and favourite filming spot in many Indian movies, like Mani Ratnam's Raavan which beautifully showcases the exotic location to its best.

Athirapally Falls

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