Mussorie

Queen of hill stations, it seems. When I decided to trek, I made up my mind, that it would be Uttaranchal, not that it would be very different from Himachal, but, because of the Har Ki Doon valley which is a popular trekking destination. I was going through Mussorie, it was the pre-base camp.

I reached Mussorie on the 1st of May by noon. The next day me and my group left to Sankri, from where the trek was to begin. I returned to Mussorie on the 13th, and I had 2 more days for my flight back to Bangalore.

Mussorie, like most other hill stations was founded by the British, who came here in summer to escape from the heat of the plains. Sir Everest ( of Mount Everest fame ), used to live here, and his bungalow is still here.

I checked into my hotel – Gharwal Terrace, which is on Mall Road. I knew Mussorie would not be very different from the other hill stations in the region, but, having got there, it thought it was unfair to get back without spending even one full day here. Gharwal Terrace, as the name suggests, over looks the Doon valley. All the rooms face the valley. In the night, the lights of Dehradun twinke, and it looks like I am looking down at a city from a aeroplane.

It was summer, so the climate at this time is nothing to write to you all about. It was hot. Mall street is the most important street, and has several hotels. This is also the main shopping area. The best wollen garments, shawls, handmade sweaters are available here. I picked up a lot of them, not because Bangalore is that cold. The colours and patterns were very good.

The antique shops here sell a large variety of lamps. I am sucker for these silly things, and I bought lots of brass hanging lamps. These will be fitted in my new home.

Also, Mussorie is famous for its wooden crafts. Local artisans make bowls, vessels, spoons, hair combs, hangers and several other things with wood. They make good give aways for friends and relatives, who will expect you to get something for you.

After freshing up the morning, I fixed a rickshaw for myself. You could also take a horse cart, if you want to. I went to the company garden first. It is very run down, and has nothing great to see. This garden is completely avoidable. The Mussorie lake is a artificial lake, and must be avoided by all means. A ride to the Camels Back Road is a must. The route is green. There is a place here, from where, you can view the Kedarnath peak and the Gangothri Sister peaks through your telescope. The telescope is there, and you can use it for Rs. 10. On a clear day, these peaks can be seen clearly without the telescope.

The other places worth visiting in Mussorie are Gun Hill ( the tallest peak in this region ). There is a rope way / cable here to reach the top. Kempty falls is also good. I visited these places on the way to Sankri and hence did not make another trip.

There is a monastery in Mussorie, and it is on a small hillock. The rickshaw would not go up hill, and I was in no mood for a walk, so gave up. The hillock is called the Flag hill, as you can see several Tibetan prayer flags fluttering all around the place, on top of the monastery.

All homes and buildings are precariously perched on mountain slopes and sides. The Mountain road department does a neat job here, by maintaining the roads on the mountain slopes.

Writer Ruskin Bond lives here and writes. You could visit him, and also Sir Everest’s home. I was tired after the long trek, and took it easy.

My friends were staying in the other hotels on Mall Road. I met them up for lunch and for dinner. The food here is nothing special. Every thing is on the menu, Chinese, Mughalai, Tandoori, Isreali, Tibetan, Continental and the regular idli dosa.

I am sure Mussorie would be nice and pleasant in the winters. Should visit some time in winter to enjoy the weather.

From Dehradun, one can go to a lot of places. Haridhwar, Rishikesh, Sahasradhara falls etc.

Getting there :

Air : Debradun ( 36 kms ) is the nearest airport.
Road : Mussorie is well connected by Roads
Rail : Dehradun is the nearest railway head.

Best time to visit : Any time. In Summer, Mussorie is like any other hot places. The only differentiating factor are the mountain roads and the greenery.

Trip duration : 1 or 2 days. Mussorie is a weekend destination for people from Delhi and Chandigarh.

Accomodation :

Gharwal Terrace, Honey Moon Inn and loads of other hotels on Mall Road.
http://www.gmvnl.com/ is the site.

Nandi Hills

Nandi Hills also called Nandidurga is 65 kms North of Bangalore, and is a good weekend Drive-away for those living in Bangalore. You could leave on a Saturday morning, you would reach in 1 and half hrs, spend the day there, and get back in the evening. Nandi hills also has rooms and a small restaurant..with prior bookings done, you can also spend the night there.

Nandi Hills, 1,478 meters above sea level is Bangalore's own hill station. It was Tipu Sultan's summer retreat and Tipu's fort walls still stand as testimony to history. The grandiose of the Mughals is missing, the entrance is modest, indicating the modesty of Tipu Sultan himself. Tipu’s summer lodge is in a dilapidated condition, and is not maintained well. But, you can check that out too. There are a flight of steps behind Tipus lodge, will will take you right down to the base of the hillock. Do not look for a large palace kind of structure. Tipus summer lodge is a small 2 storeyed building painted in deep pink and it can be found on the left side, as soon as you enter the main fort wall, where you buy the parking ticket. The Amrita Sarovar is close by.

Nandi Hills was popular with the British too, who made it their Military station for a while, built bungalows and laid out gardens here. Nandi Hills has attracted the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Pt. Nehru, Rajiv Gandhi, Sir Mark Cubbon, Queen Elizabeth II et al. Lord Cubbons summer home is nice and is now converted into a guest house. It has canons at the entrance. The gardens around Cubbon house are awesome and has flowers of more colours than you can imagine.

The rivers Pennar, Palar and Arkavati originate from these hills. A flight of 1.175 steps lead from the base of the hills to the top. And the forests surrounding the hills are abound with wild animals. Around the Nandi Hills are several smaller hills, which can be visited on foot.

There are a few interesting places to see in Nandi Hills.

Tipus Drop - A 600 m high cliff face where according to legend, condemned prisoners were pushed to their death. But look down on a clear day and the view is inspiring. Yoga

Nandishvara Temple - This beautiful Dravidian style Chola temple has an inscription of Sambhaji, Shivaji's son. The Dwarapalakas, the splendid metallic figures are not-to-be-missed.
You can take long walks in the gardens.

The other places you can visit if you have the time are Sri Ugra Narasimha Temple, Gandhi Nilaya, and Nehru House. Muddenahalli close by has the home of noted architect Sir Vishweshwaraya, which is now a museum. I avoided all of these.

You can stop by the Pine top restaurant for a coffee. The view from the restaurant and the balcony is beautiful. You can see Bangalore city from the top, and it is beautiful.

Don’t forget to take your jerkin if you are going in the rainy season. The sun rise view is good, and so if possible, drive in the night, and wait for the sun.

Nandi Hills is worth a visit.

Getting There : Road – 65 kms from Bangalore
Trip Duration : 1/2 day or 1 day
Where to stay : My suggestion is dont' stay there. Spend 2 to 3 hrs and drive back to Bangalore.
If you insist of spending the night there, you can check these out.
Hotel Mayura Pine Top Nandi Hills, Kolar District. Guest House of the Horticulture Department. PWD Accommodation.

Kodaikanal

I have gone to Kodaikanal 2 times. I was blessed in a way, that I worked in a company that encouraged extensive travel on work – I went to Kodai for a conference. And again I went to Kodai for a trek in the jungles along with my friend.

During my first visit to Kodai, we stayed in the Carlton Hotel, which is by the Kodai lake. The property is beautiful has several rooms and is a luxury hotel, with luxurious facilities. The lawns oversee the lake, and it is a great view. The presentations and the corporate bonding sessions took up all the time, and there was no time for sight seeing. Except that I could peek out of my bus at the Silver Cascade waterfall.

The second trip was much later, in December 2003, between Dec 24th and 31st. It was meant to be a winter trek. Kodaikanal was cold….at about 8 degree C, and during the trek, we passed through virgin forests, waterfalls – which none would have seen, several lakes, meadows and small and beautiful villages. The trek was very memorable. After the trek, we had 1 days time to go around Kodai, and experience the hill station. Kodai in winter is awesome.

For folks who live in Chennai, Kodai is summer retreat. The Chennai – Madurai Pandian Express leaves Chennai Egmore Station at 8.00 pm and reaches Kodai Road Junction at about 7.30 am the next morning. One can take a bus or a cab to reach Kodai, which is 120 kms away, usually a 2 and half hrs drive. But, since we made plans in the last minute, we could not get a train ticket, we had to go to Kodai by bus. Kodai is well connected from all places in the South.

Kodai is situated at an altitude of about 2,133-m and covers an area of 21.45-sq-km. The hill town is renowned for its educational institutions of international repute. The pride of Kodaikanal is the 'Kurinji-flower', which blossoms once in 12 years.

We reached Kodai at 11 am. It was a trek organized by the Youth Hostels Association of India, and we were to report at the base camp in KodaiKanal at about 2 pm. Since, we had a lot of time, we checked into a hotel, the Rs. 300 per day kinds, had a hot water bath, ate sumptuous break fast, went around the place, long walks, looked at curios in a shop, and then, reported at the camp. Kodai is famous for the home made chocolates – don’t forget to indulge.

The base camp was in the most scenic place of Kodai, near Coakers walk, the camps rooms were at the sides or edges of the mountains, from here, one could get a great view of the valley on all sides. The tall trees, were covered with mist and the sight is beautiful. Trust me, the description is nothing in comparison to the beautiful sight, coz I do not know the right words.

In the evening, we introduced ourselves to all the other members of the trek group. We knew that we were here for fun, and were getting prepared.

One needs to understand what happens in a Youth hostel trek. You get tents to stay in, you are woken up at 5 am every morning with a hot cup of tea, after which you will wonder where to pee, there are open bathrooms ie, I mean there are no bathrooms, you could do it anywhere, under a tree or behind the bush. You can dig a pit in the earth, if you want to feel comfortably. You got to carry your bucket of water, and those who don’t mind the paper, can use it. There are areas designated for Gents and Ladies, and it is appreciated if you stick to your demarkated territory. A bath is a complete impossibility. Simple breakfast is served in the morning, followed by lunch, which you are to pack in a box, fill water and put your rucksack on the back, and get going. In the next camp where you get to, dinner is served, sleeping bags, rugs are provided, which are comfortable. After dinner, you can socialize with the rest of the gang, and have fun. But, there are rules. Lights out at 7.30 pm.

So, as Kodai is a regular hillstation with large parts of it, under the Forest Department, we could trek into dense forest. There was a place, in the jungle, called wet jungle, it is completely dark here, as the forest is extremely thick, there is a waterfall in the vicinity, and hence the froth / fizz of the waterfall, keeps the entire place wet. It was awesome.

After this, we started walking into forests that were beautiful…silver oak forests, like never seen before, we passed through water falls, no one has even been to, except the tribals of the village…several lakes..there were several meadows…good enough for the guys to play a game of cricket. But, the Kodai trek was different, as most of the route was through the jungle, we could stay in the Forest Officers bungalow. Some of these bungalows were more than 100 yrs old, were constructed during the days of the British Raj obviously, and were in the most picture perfect locations of the valley. Awesome places. To get to these place, you need to trek through the jungle, almost 12 - 17 kms every day, and in the end of the day, when you get to the camp, you will be delighted that your effort was not a waste.

The usual trek follows from Berijem lake to the Kerala border Vandaraw and will be back via 'Poondi' , Poomparai, Kavunji, and Kukkal. We can see the big Mannavanur sheep farm while trekking via this route.

After the trek, every bit of the body was aching, coz we trekked, on an average, about 15 kms every day. One day, we got soo tired, of walking, we knew there was a road nearby, we walked to the road, stopped a lorry and got into it. Kodai is a highly populated hill station in South India, and hence, no matter where you are, even if you are the deepest and thickest of jungles, you will always hear a lorry or a taxi going by, which means, you are close to a road. So, none of us, were scared that we would get lost in the jungle.

Yeah, so after the trek, we said good bye to all the new friends, left the camp, checked in to a hotel again, for a hot water bath, we had not had a bath for 4 days. We ate sumptuous meal – at the Carlton, and started going around the city. There are a lot of places to see in and around Kodaikanal – the lake, Coakers walk, Pillar Rocks, Guna Caves, Berijam lake etc.

There are lots of palces in Kodai, they are Kodai lake, Byrant Park, Berijam Lake ( 21 kms ), Coakers Walk, Thalaiyar Falls, Bear Shola Falls, Pambar Falls, Kukkal caves, Silver Cascade, Pillar Rocks (8 kms ) and Dolphin Nose. If one has additional time at hand, one can visit the Vembadi peak and Palani hills as well.

I will make a special mention of Coakers walk. It is a narrow pedestrian path, constructed by Lt. Coaker in 1872, a one kilometer mountain road which runs along the edge of steep slopes on the southern side of Kodai road which is 1/2km away from Kodai. The walk winding around Mt. Nebo starts near van Allen hospital and joins the main road above St. Peter's Church, provides a wide-angle spectacular view of the plains. On a cloudless, clear day one can have interesting sights, such as.... Dolphin's nose in south, valley of the Pambar river in South East, birds eye view of Periyakulam and even city of Madurai.

They are several buses that leave to Madurai every 30 minutes. I took one of them to Madurai. I reached Madurai and my train back to Chennai was at about 7. 30 pm, and I just the right amount of time to visit the Meenakshi Temple.

Getting There :

By Road : Chennai ( 520 kms ), Madurai ( 120 kms ) There are buses from Madurai, Trichy, Coimbathore, Sales etc..and is never really problem.

By Air : Madurai is the closest airport at 120 kms

By Train : Nearest rail head is Madurai is 120 kms.

Best time : April to May and Sept to October as it is a hill stations. Winters can get bitterly cold.

Trip duration : 2 to 3 days.

Accomodations :

The Carlton, Lake Road, Kodaikanal 624 101, Tel: +(91) (4542) 240056/240071, \Fax: +(91) (4542) 241170 , Email: carlton@krahejahospitality.com

Hotel Paradise Inn, Paradise Compound, Laws Ghat Road, Kodaikanal 624 101Tel: +(91) (4542) 241075/241175 , Fax: +(91) (4542) 241024
Hotel Kodai International , Post Box 33, 17/328 Laws Ghat Road, Kodaikanal 624 101Tel: +(91) (4542) 245190~93 , Fax: +(91) (4542) 240753 , Email: hki@vsnl.net

Sterling Resorts, 75/76, attuvampatti, Kodaikanal 624 101, Tel: +(91) (4542) 244447/244448
Kodai Resort , Noyce Road, Kodaikanal 624 101, Tel: +(91) (4542) 242107/8, Fax: +(91) (4542)