A Photo Ride on Valparai – Marayoor Route

Riding solo is something that people avoid, especially when the distance is over a few hundred kilometers. In my case, I enjoyed every bit of my ride from Kochi to Kochi via Athirappally, Vazhachal, Malakkappara, Valparai, Aliyar Dam, Thirumoorthy Hills and Thirumoorthy Dam, Marayoor, Munnar, and Kottayam. Here is a photo ride on Valparai – Marayoor route. Before starting off to the ride, a few things about the route.

Distance covered:

530+ kilometers

Days involved:

3 days and 2 nights

Major attractions:

1. Athirappally (waterfalls)
2. Vazhachal (waterfalls and forest division)
3. Malakkappara (high range small town, upper and lower Sholayar reservoirs, and tea gardens)
4. Valparai (small town and a near by spooky dam. NB: I did not visit the dam)
5. Aliyar Dam (reservoir, the hairpin turns, Nilgiri Tahr)
6. Thirumoorthy (dam and hills)
7. Marayoor (tea gardens, Chinnar wildlife sanctuary, and many more)
8. Munnar (tea gardens, rolling hills, Eravikulam National Park, a few reservoirs, many view points and many more)
9. Kottayam (rubber estates and Kumarakom backwaters)

A Photo Ride on Valparai – Marayoor Route

Photo 1: Starting off from my apartment at Kochi (below)

 

Photo 2: Road to Athirappally through the oil palm groves (below)

 

Photo 3: A roadside view of Athirappally falls 

 

Photo 4: Playful monkeys on the road – Athirappally falls

 

Photo 5: Bamboo forest between Athirappally and Vazhachal

 

Photo 6: Road through Vazhachal forest division

 

Photo 7: Road continues through Vazhachal forest division

 

Photo 8: A small water body in the forest

 

Photo 9: A view of Vazhachal jungle road

 

Photo 10: Another view of Vazhachal jungle road

 

Photo 11: A three layered road somewhere between Vazhachal and Malakkappara

 

Photo 12: Water supply pipelines through the jungle

 

Photo 13: A selfie at lower Sholayar reservoir

 

Photo 14: Tea estates of Malakkappara

 

Photo 15: Road through the coffee plantations of Malakkappara

 

Photo 16: Lion Tailed Macaque on the road (from Valparai to Aliyar dam)

 

Photo 17: Hairpin turns between Valparai and Aliyar dam

 

Photo 18: Nilgiri Tahr backdropped by hairpin turns

 

Photo 19: Aliyar dam catchment area

 

Photo 20: Fish corner at Aliyar dam bus stop

 

Photo 21: A view of Thirumoorthy dam with Thirumoorthy hills at the background

 

Photo 22: Marayoor in the morning

 

Photo 23: A selfie on my way to Munnar (from Marayoor)

 

Photo 24: Somewhere between Marayoor and Munnar

 

Photo 25: Roads through the beautiful tea gardens

 

Photo 26: Road passing through the tea gardens of Munnar

 

Photo 27: Munnar tea gardens

 

Photo 28: Selfie time – Munnar

 

Photo 29: The Riders’ Club Art Cafe & Restaurant

 

Photo 30: Accommodation facilities at the Riders’s Club Art Cafe & Restaurant

 

Photo 31: Road through rubber estates to Kottayam

Photographs posted on “A Photo Ride on Valparai – Marayoor Route” were taken on LG G5 mobile phone camera and are not edited but compressed for optimizing for web.