Valparai: A Journey Through the forest

Valparai, a beautiful hill station situated in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu, is a sight close to heaven! With the pollution free surroundings, the splendid green mountains, meadows, valleys and waterfalls, this is a place that should be visited once in life.

Road to Valparai (photo courtesy: www.trekearth.com)

It is not just the majestic forests and the picturesque view, Valaparai shares it boundaries with other interesting places to visit, such as, Eravikulam National Park, Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, Anamalai Tiger Reserve and other forest divisions, thus making it more interesting for the tourists who come to visit Valparai. One can drive around valaparai too, enjoying the ecstatic view with the lush green trees, different species of animals and the tea plantations which are very famous.

There are a lot of places that one must visit while in Valparai.

Monkey falls, is situated around 4 km from the Azhiyar park near the Valparai-Navamalai diversion and is known for its cleanest foundations of minerals and Ayurvedic formulations, providing rejuvenation and peace. Also, located on the foothills of Valparai is the Aaliyar Dam, a beautiful place that has a mini-theme park and aquarium too and attracts a great number of tourists. This also drove tourists to the ‘Loam’s view point’, from where Aaliyar Dam can be seen with the surrounding mountains and forests. Amidst these scenic beauties, there also is a beautiful temple situated just 10 km from Valparai, with the ideal climate makes it a major attraction for the religious tourists.

Monkey Falls, Valparai (photo courtesy: www.amarnath-das.blogspot.com)

Grass Hills are one of the most famous places in that area, the most peaceful and enchanting place. This makes a part of the Indira Gandhi National Park and the main attraction here are the Shola grasslands. With the wide variety of flora and fauna, endangered species and the enchanting view. It becomes mandatory for a tourist to visit this piece of beauty. Then just 2 km from Valparai is the Birla falls, a pleasant and wonderful sight.

Grass Hills, Valparai (photo courtesy: www. vanakkamindia.com)

There are other places to visit like Solaiyar Dam, PanchaMugha Vinayakar Temple, Athirampalli Falls and other small places which serve as major attraction to a lot of tourists worldwide.

Athirampalli Falls (photo courtesy: www.maduraitourstravels.com)

Having so many tea estates, Valaparai is also famous for tea, as it comforts the tourists with the cold too. From Valparai you can also stopover the Aliyar, Sholaiyar and Nirar dams.

Coimbatore flights connect valparai to a lot of destinations. Coimbatore airport, approximately 124 km, is the nearest international airport to Valparai.  International flights connect valparaito Singapore and Sharjah and domestic airlines fly to Chennai, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, New Delhi, Hyderabad and other cities.

Read More

5 Attractions of Coimbatore

The second largest metropolitan city in Tamil Nadu, Coimbatore covers an area of 246.75 square kilometers and is located at an altitude of 411 meters. It is a fast growing urban agglomeration and is expanding its education, commerce, industry and tourism. It is the capital of Kongu Nadu, the western region of Tamil Nadu state. Coimbatore is surrounded by the mighty Western Ghats and is located on the banks of river Noyyal. some of the best museums, art galleries and educational institutions of South India are found here.

G.D. Naidu Museum & Industrial Exhibition, Kasthuri Srinivasan Art Gallery and Textile Museum, Government Museum, Kadhi Gandhi Gallery and H A Gass Forest Museum are some popular points of interest. The Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park is a famous tourist spot providing shelter for the rarest species of birds and animals. Parambikkulam is another popular wildlife area where domestic animals are seen roaming around freely.

The culture of Coimbatore is treasured in its many artistic temples like Marudamalai Temple, Eachanari Vinayagar Temple, Dhyanalinga Temple, Patteeswarar Temple and Perur Siva Temple. They are fine architectural masterpieces with intricate sculptures and stone paintings. The architectural mastery is also evident from the dams built across the rivers. Sozhaiyaar Dam, Bhavani Sagar Dam and the Aliyar Dam Reservoir Park are some examples. The Sozhaiyaar Dam is particularly serene and calm, with still and clear waters.

Although Coimbatore lies in the belt of hot climate, it is airy because of the cool breeze blowing through the Palghat gap. Summers are very hot with temperatures as high as 42 degrees. Winters are a lot more pleasant and cool on account of the thickly populated forests surrounding the city. October and November are the wettest months with heavy showers brought about by the retreating monsoon. June to September are relatively pleasant and have intermediate showers. December is probably the best time to visit as it favourable weather.

Coimbatore flights are cheap and easily available. They connect the city to areas like Kozhikode, Chennai, hyderabad, Pune, Kolkata etc, within the country. Internationally, there are direct flights to Singapore, Malaysia, Sharjah and Bangkok.

Read More