Valparai- The hidden gem of South India
It was our 4th wedding anniversary and we decided on celebrating this special day away from the city. Apart from planning the wheres and hows of the trip, the first impediment in front of us was to get our leaves sanctioned! Yeah, our anniversary fell on a “Monday”. That meant requesting our managers to grant us a day (or two) off from our lives so that we get the official permission to celebrate the Monday blues elsewhere! (you can’t really cut off from your offices, can you? )
Our leaves were approved (with a constipated look) and we were both so ecstatic, more so because we will get to spend a Monday in leisure !
Next began our research on selecting the place where we would want to go. Since we had a limited budget and remembering our manager’s query while applying for leave (Leave?? Is there any chance you can login from there?), we knew we could only plan a road trip this time!
We looked for places around Bangalore (Southern part of India) and while there are innumerable travel options here, we stumbled upon a place called “Valparai”.
Valparai is the hidden gem in South India (not many know about it) and if you are looking for a peaceful getaway, this place is a must, must visit!
How did we reach?
Valparai is a hill station in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu and approx. 462 Kilometers from Bangalore. One can go via road or fly to Coimbatore and then hire a cab to Valparai.
Looking at the no. of days we had at our disposal, the latter seemed a better option. We wanted to relax and not spend a lot of our time on the road.
So basically, it took us a 45 minutes flight from Bangalore (reaching Bangalore airport is another expedition though!) and 3 and a half hours drive from Coimbatore to reach to this tiny, magical town of Valparai.
We rented a zoom car from the Coimbatore airport and the experience was seamless! We opted for a powerful diesel engine car because we knew it takes almost 40 sharp hairpin curves to reach our destination. (we did our research well ) .
And boy! Was this journey adventurous? I almost had my heart in my mouth each time our vehicle moved uphill. And the view all around? BREATHTAKING!
Where did we stay?
While there are a lot of options in Valparai, we booked our stay in one of the Briar Tea Bungalows located 4 kms away from the main town. Nestled in the Injiparai tea estate, Stanmore Bungalow offers a panoramic view of tea plantation stretching as far as your eyesight could behold!
They had a lush green lawn and gigantic trees in the campus. I almost felt I am in the “Jumanji” world for a second! Our wooden chalet overlooking the enormous sprawl of tea plantation was like living a dream.
Food
We are foodies and gastronomy was one of the major factors why we decided on making Stanmore Bungalow our abode for 3 days! Made with so much love,warmth and sincerity, the food here tasted GREAT! My taste buds jumped with joy when “shahi tukda” was served as a dessert. Its been more than a year we are back from this place and our hunt for a similar kind of shahi tukda continues.
Things to do
Nothing really! If you are a kind of traveler who wants to roam around more than staying in the property, probably this place isn’t for you. This place is about sipping countless no. of cups of tea, inflating your lungs with the best air quality and treating your eyes with a view straight out of a movie! Of course the staffs arrange for activities like, nature’s walk in the morning, bird sighting, trip to their other tea bungalows etc.
However if u still want to step out and see what’s around, paying visit to a picturesque church made our day and the click garnered us many likes on the social media! (enough for the validation in today’s times, no?)
On our way back
This was one of the best anniversaries we ever planned in the four years of our matrimony. We were so grateful to God (and our managers) to be living and celebrating this day in the lap of nature away from the WiFi infestation (too poor connectivity here and thank God for that!)
We drove in our car and headed to Coimbatore, again crossing the hairpin bends but this time it was even more worse. The fog and the mist over the hilltop made it difficult to drive but we made it. What an incredible road trip this was!
At reaching Coimbatore, we planned on visiting the famous colossal Adiyogi Shiva statue before boarding our flight back to Bangalore. This is 34 meters tall and based in the foothills of Velliagiri mountains.
After driving all the way from Valparai, here’s where hunger pangs kicked in and there were no restaurants around. However, we spotted a small food truck selling tomato rice and pickle by the locals. The food was so satiating that this recipe has become a frequent for my lunch!
There can’t be a better end to an anniversary trip by seeking blessings from the Lord Shiva. I still have the sound recording of the chants and mantras which I like to play every morning.
