Nelliyampathy is 75 km from Palakkad. By Road it takes 2.30hrs
The ranges here consist of a chain of ridges cut offf from one another by valleys. The highest peak is Nellikota. The forest contains teak of extraordinary height and girth. Estates of tea, coffee, orange and cardamom dot the ranges. Located at a distance of 52 kms from Palakkad, the cool hills of Nelliampathy, nestling atop the Western Ghats, offer a breathtaking view of the misty mountains and enchanting valleys interspersed with sprawling tea, coffee, cardamom and orange plantations.


The bracing climate and green magic of nature enhance the exhilarating experience. For a vantage view of the spectacle, one must visit Seethakundu, where a 100m high waterfall provides an added attraction. It offers a fantastic view of the valley below a wide-angled vision of one-third of the entire Palakkad area. A forest range 75 kms from Palakkad, the Nelliyampathy hills comprise a chain of ridges cut off from one another by valleys of dense evergreen forests and orange plantations.

The height of the hills ranges from 467 metres to the tallest peak Padagiri looming at 1572 metres. Nelliyampathy has immense trekking potential. The community hall at Kaikatty provides a good camping ground for the trekkers.

Accessing Nelliyampathy from Palakkad is a sensation on its own, as one has to negotiate over a dozen hairpin curves on the Ghat Road, passing through the fascinating jungles of the Sahya Ranges. En route, 17 kms from Palakkad, the shimmering Pothundi Reservoir and its manicured surroundings make for the ideal stop over.

Labels: Hill stations, hill stations in india, hill stations in kerala, Nelliyampathy

The Wagamon hills located at a height of 1,100 meters above the sea level and situated at a distance of 64 kilometers from Kottayam in Kerala, South India is a very popular Kerala hill tour destination in Kerala, South India.

Wagamon hills in Kerala, South India are dotted with delightfully attractive meadows, tropical forests, waterfalls and valleys. Stretches of tea plantations on the Wagamon hills are a common sight. The splendid rock formations on the Wagamon hills located at Thangal Para are definitely worth paying a visit to during your Kerala hill tours to the Wagamon hills in Kerala, South India. Besides these picturesque rock formations you could also go on tours to the Kurisumala Ashram located on the Wagamon hills in Kerala, South India.

Wagamon hills in Kerala, South India offer adventure enthusiasts and nature lovers endless opportunities for pure fun filled and pleasure tours. The exotic appeal of the Wagamon hills in Kerala, South India lies in the exquisite natural beauty of this region, the natural trekking trails that pass through the wooded area on the Wagamon hills in Kerala, South India.

Labels: Hill stations, hill stations in india, hill stations in kerala, wagamon

One of the country's most popular tourist attractions Shimla is bustling with visitors ahead of Christmas and the New Year.

Three extra-services of the toy train, which is a major attraction for tourists here, have been started to accommodate the large number of people pouring in from across the country and abroad.

The historic Mall Road and Ridge of the town is buzzing with life as tourists loiter around the square basking in the sun and enjoying the scenic beauty of the region.

"On this Christmas, I will be away from my wife and my family, and for this reason I know that Shimla is a place where I can feel the traditional feeling. It is the spirit of people being together and wanting to enjoy the season. It's about togetherness," said Daniel Charles, a French tourist.

Christmas portals, with figures of Mary, Joseph, Melchor, Gaspar and Baltazar (the three wise men), the ox and the mule and baby Jesus were seen in churches across the town.
Click here for more details!

Labels: hill stations in india, hillstations, shimla

The `Queen of the Hills' showcases its rich and diverse cultural traditions in a 10-day carnival, hoping to make it a major tourist attraction in the years to come.

"This dream of today, this little hope
Let this flame turn into a blazing fire
Just a little sacrifice is all we need
Just a little thought, just a tiny seed
Of freedom written on the blue hill sky
Of peace and joy far and nigh."




THE hills came alive with the sound of music, as Darjeeling, the `Queen of the Hills', burst into a flourish of song and colour for 10 days, celebrating its first-ever carnival. What was unique about it was not its duration, but the fact that it was entirely the result of the initiative taken by the citizens of Darjeeling, in order to breathe fresh life into their hill station, which for long has been reeling under political turmoil, growing unemployment, and dwindling tea and tourism industries. Every community of Darjeeling participated in the extravaganza, showcasing the uniqueness of its culture - in terms of food, clothing, dance and music. In short, Darjeeling in its entire diversity came together to show that if people want, they can do well without strife based on religion, caste, creed and region.
Click here to know more about "Darjeeling Carnival" held this month

Labels: darjeeling, darjeeling carnival, hill stations in india

Himachal was always going to be fun. I knew it in my veins! This is a state known for its breath-taking beauty!
Watch out TimesNow which is publishing stories on different places.
Himachal

Labels: hill stations in india, himachal, himachal pradesh

Here are some Hill stations which are Un Explored by many!
Pachmarhi-Madhya Pradesh
Shillong-Meghalaya
Mount Abu-Rajasthan
Gangtok & Lachung-Sikkim
Saputara-Gujarat.

Labels: Hill stations, hill stations in india, mount abu, pachmarhi, saputara, unexplored hill stations

I want to share some information here, i got a mail from Courtney one of my blog friend suggested me a book The Great Hill Stations of Asia which relates to my blog.if any one interested of knowing about the history & truths of hill stations in Asia, have a look.

While doing google search i found another book in Amazon store which is about the beautiful hill stations in India, past & present pictures.
"The Magic Mountains".

Labels: books on hill stations, greatest hill stations, Hill stations, hill stations in india, other hill stations

Araku Valley
Anantagiri Hills
Horsley Hills

Labels: araku, Hill stations, hill stations in andhra pradesh, hill stations in india

Ooty
Kodaikanal
Coonoor
Kotagiri

Labels: Hill stations, hill stations in india, hill stations in tamil nadu, kodaikanal, ooty

Darjeeling
Sandakphu
Kalimpong
Lava
The Dooars

Labels: darjeeling, Hill stations, hill stations in india, hill stations in west bengal

Coorg
Biligiri Hills
Nandi Hills
Kudremukh
Kermana Gundi
Madikeri
Chikmagalur
Gangamoola

Labels: coorg, Hill stations, hill stations in india, hill stations in karnataka, karnataka hill stations

Pahalgam
Sonamarg
Patnitop
Srinagar
Gulmarg

Hill stations in India

Labels: Hill stations, hill stations in india, kashmir

Nainital
Mussoorie
Dehradun
Ranikhet
Almora
Kausani
Chamoli

Hill stations in India

Labels: Hill stations, hill stations in india, nainital

Hill Stations in Himachal Pradesh

Shimla
Manali
Dalhousie
Kufri
Dharamshala
Chail
Binsar
Kangra
Kasauli
Chamba
Khajjiar
Kullu
Lahaul & Spiti
Nalagarh
Palampur
Renuka
Mukteshwar
Solan

Labels: binsar, chail, Dalhousie, dharmashala, hill stations in india, hillstations, kangra, kasauli, Kufri, kullu, Manali, shimla

Hill Stations in India
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The Previus post Are you planning for Kullu Manali tells you how to plan the trip to Manali & some tips to follow.
Now i want to continue to that post by writing my own experiences in the Manali trip.

Actually that was thursday night we started from here as friday was off work. Friday is diwali(Choti diwali i think), we thought of starting early at 8 pm, as usually it was so late because some of the trip members hasnt arrived from the office.
After having dinner here all of us ie 6 guys started from here & went to Alka theatre junction to pick up 2 more frends, from there we started to move, but as we reached the signal light at Gol chakkar, we came to know that we forgot one of my frends laptop, evry one suggted that we defnetly need to have a laptop as we are carrying some 3 digicams, if we do have a laptop we can transfer the fotos immediately & can start fresh again with the cam/memory card.
We returned back to room & picked up the laptop & again started towards golchakkar.
thats exactly at 11:45 pm. My god the traffic was so heavy in the night.

we are still in the outskirts of delhi at 12:30 also.
After 1 hr of journey we stopped some where near a dhaba, had some chai, photo session ha ha
Spent around 30 min & started again.
I was the one who said the Kullu manali trip details to freinds,
i doono how it will be, whether the guys coming with me will be satisfied or not as i am the one who will face them.
Kullu manali was the only place i was always thought of going since i came to delhi.
we went on listening the songs & watching out a movie in the laptop, after couple of hours we reached chandigarh, ha here i wanna tell u 1 thing.
police stopped our vehicle & asked to show the papers, we showed them but they asked 500 rs & we were surprised/shocked to hear like that."trip mein jaarahe hai &
aap tho software engineer hai, dekhiye sir" are the words used by a police man.
i jus gave 150 bucks & we left from there, paid taxes at toll bridges & we move on, after an hour i think the Ghat road started.
barely no one has slept that nyt, & no one wants to. enjoying the beautiful mountains on the way.
guys are clicking the cams continously.
It started raining when we passsed kullu, i expected some apple trees, but i donno which side i have to see so that i get a glimpse, un fortunately i missed,
another reason was i closed the windows of the scorpio as it was raining.
i really thought, if it rains in Manali also & if it doesnt stop, wat will we do sitting in hotel rooms,
luckily there wasnt anything like that in manali, offcourse its raining there 2, but it was a small drizzling kind.
we went to manali at 2:30 afternoon.
jus checked in the hotel rooms & went out to a good hotel which offers Andhra style food. thali cost us 70 rs per person, but it was good.
we planned nothing to do for that day as evry 1 wants to rest for the day as no 1 slept the entire nyt.
guys started boozing & had dinner & slept for the nyt.
the next day was the big day for us-going to "Rohtang Pass" i waked up at 5 am & started waking up all guys, we started from Manali at 8:30, the route From "Manali to Rohtang Pass" was simply superb
but at places the road was not good & that2 it was raining, theres a bit of fear also as the roads are very slippery at that time.

on the way we had so many photo sessions.we had taken 3 digital cams & a mini handy cam.
at 10:30 i think we were halted/stopped at a place & were not allowed further, the reason-roads are blocked.
i forgot 1 thing here to tell-when we actually started seeing the snow guys are screaming & after some distance we were completely surrounded by snow filed mountains
which was the best view i have ever seen.
it is definitely one of the best journeys i ever made & a nice memorable one.
we havent taken any woolen clothes as evry one decided not to wear any & goes unshirt & play with the snow
& we did that
every one was watching us with out shirts & every one was completely under heavy woolens.

To be contd


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Labels: Hill stations, hill stations in india, himachal, kullu, kullu manali, Manali, visit manali

Ooty by Air:
The nearest airport is in Coimbatore, 100 km away. You can catch a direct flight to Coimbatore from Chennai, Kozhikode, Bangalore and Mumbai. Indian Airlines flies Delhi-Kochi via Mumbai and Coimbatore.
By Train:
Nearest broad gauge railway head is Mettupalayam (46 kms). Major broadgauge railway junction is Coimbatore. It is connected with all major cities. Mettupalayam to Ooty, is connected by a Mountain Railway which is 4 hours journey.At a height of 2,600m stands Udhagamandalam (Ooty) the Queen of Hill Stations. The 'Nilgiri toy train' connects Ooty to Mettupalayam, at the foot of the Nilgiris.
By Road:
Ooty is well connected by good roads. It is 535 km from Chennai (via Salem), 89 km from Coimbatore, 18 km from Coonoor (via Gudalur), 155 km from Mysore, 187 km from Calicut, 290 km from Bangalore, 281 km from Kochi (via Coimbatore and Palakkad), 236 km from Kodaikanal (via Coimbatore and Palani) There is a regular bus service from Bangalore, Mysore, Coimbatore, Calicut, Kanyakumari, Tanjavur, Tirupati and Cochin. Buses ply regularly to Mudhumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Kotagiri, Coonoor and Doddabeta.
Ooty also known as Udagamandalam is the "Queen of hill stations" and the capital of Nilgiris district. It is one of the most popular tourist resorts in India. Nilgiris means "Blue Mountains". It is a land of picturesque picnic spots. Used to be popular summer and weekend getaway for the Britishers during the colonial days. It is situated at an altitude of 2,240 meters above sea level. An added attraction for the tourists to Udagamandalam is the mountain train journey on a ratchet and pinion track which commences from Kallar, near Mettupalayam and wends its way through many hair-raising curves and fearful tunnels and chugs along beside deep ravines full of verdant vegetation, gurgling streams and tea gardens.
One can notice a marvellous change in vegetation, as one goes from Kallar to Coonoor. The establishment of numerous tea estates made Ooty famous. Lofty mountains, dense forest, sprawling grasslands and miles and miles of tea gardens greet the passengers on most routes. The annual Tea and Tourism Festival attracts crowds in huge numbers.
History of Ooty
Ooty or Udagamandalam (the Tamil version of the original name) rightly described as "Queen of Hill Stations" by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, now sprawls over an area of 36 sq km with a number of tall buildings cluttering its hill slopes. It is situated at an altitude of 2,240 meters above sea level. Ooty still woos people from all over India as well as foreign countries right through summer, and sometimes in the winter months too. An added attraction for the tourists to Udagamandalam is the mountain train journey on a ratchet and pinion track which commences from Kallar, near Mettupalayam and wends its way through many hair-raising curves and fearful tunnels and chugs along beside deep ravines full of verdant vegetation, gurgling streams and tea gardens.
The scenery, as it unfolds during the trip, is breathtaking, awe-inspiring and fantastic. One can notice a marvellous change in vegetation, as one goes from Kallar to Coonoor. At Kallar it is tropical and at Burliar-the next bus-stop as one proceeds from Mettupalayam-it is sub-tropical. Near Coonoor, it is humid with pines, blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus) and cypress trees. As we go from Ooty to Gudalur, the change in vegetation is striking. What a splendid interaction between climate and vegetation ! It is therefore very appropriate that Mount Stuart called the whole road leading to Ooty from Mettupalayam, "One long botanical debauch."
This beautiful botanical paradise was first brought to the public eye by John Sullivan, Collector of Coimbatore district in 1819. But prior to this in 1812, the first Englishmen who were sent up the Nilgris by the Collector of Coimbatore, were Mr. Keys, Assistant Revenue Surveyor, and his Assistant, McMahon. They made their way via Dananayakan Kottai to Aracad and the existing village of Denad, and penetrated as far as Kallatti, the lower level of North Ooty, but never set their eyes on the beautiful valley in which Ooty lay. After Keys' visit there was no further expedition until 1818 when J.C.Whish and N.W.Kindersly (Asst. and second Asst. to the Collector of Coimbatore respectively) went up by the Dananayakan Kottai-Denad route, crossed the plateau in a south-western direction and descended by the Sundapatti pass from Manjakombai to the Bhavani valley and then went back to Coimbatore. The purpose of their visit is not known.
In March 1819, John Sullivan obtained Rs 1,100 (Rupees of those days not to be compared with the present-day rupee) from the Board of Revenue for laying a bridle path up the hill from Sirumugai to Kotagiri and its neighboring village, Dhimatti. The work was executed by McPherson in a period of 2 years starting 1821. This was the only route to the Nilgris from Coimbatore until 1832, when the first Coonoor ghat road was laid, thanks to the then Governor, S.R. Lushington, who got the work executed by Lehardy and Capt. Murray. The present metalled ghat road from Kallar to Coonoor, a distance of 25 km which has 14 hair-pin bends and a gradient of one 18 ft, which facilitated carriage traffic from Madras to Ooty, was mainly constructed by Colonel G.V. Law in 1871. It is gratifying to note that the cascade of the Coonoor river near Wenlock bridge on the Coonoor-Mettupalayam road named after Law, continues to bear the same name.
The Coonoor-Mettupalayam road was extended to Udagamandalam, covering a distance of about 15 km. The Kotagiri-Mettupalayam road (about 34 km long) which was 8 ft wide to begin with, was widened to 17 ft in 1872-75 with a gradient of one in 17 by the Dist. Engineer, Major Morant R.E. and handed over to the District Board in 1881. During the period from 1819 to 1830, John Sullivan's contribution was, apart from laying the route to Ooty, that he built the first house called Stone House in this place. This formed the nucleus of Government offices. Further, at his own expense, he conducted experiments on agricultural and horticultural crops and in animal husbandry to find the most suitable crops and breeds of milch animals for future settlers.Next to the magnificent task of laying the road to Ooty, the British took up, around 1880, the stupendous task of connecting Mettupalayam to Ooty by rail. A Swiss engineer, M. Riggenback and Major Morant of Kotagiri road fame prepared an estimate of 1,32,000 pounds (currency) for laying the rack railway and floated a company called The Rigi Railway & Co Ltd. Since capital was not forthcoming, Mr. Richard Wolley of Coonoor came forward to advance money on the condition that the contract would be entrusted to Mr. Wolley by the Government of Chennai.
The agreement between the 2 was signed in 1886, and the company called The Nilgri Railway & Company came into being with a capital of Rs 25 lakh. The work on the line was started in August 1891 by Lord Wenlock, Governor or Madras, but the company was liquidated in 1894. Later, a new company was formed in 1894, and the work was completed in 1899. The line was worked by Madras Railway, to start with. Though the Nilgris formed part of Coimbatore district, it was separated into an independent district in 1868. For a period of 13 years from 1830, it remained part of Malabar district. This was to prevent tobacco smuggling from Coimbatore. From John Sullivan's days to this date, more than 170 years have rolled by. Udagamandalam considered a sanatorium and hill resort by the Europeans, has come to be like any other district. The devastation was so much that a ban on fresh construction was belatedly imposed by the Government.

Labels: Hill stations, hill stations in india, ooty, ooty trip, south india hill stations, udhagamandalam, visit ooty