Tranquil Valparai

Location: Valparai
Date: Sept 22nd to 26th, 2025.
To get there: From Bangalore via Krishnagiri Erode, Coimbatore(bypass), Pollachi or via Kollegal then Erode. Buses are also connected but you may have to change at Coimbatore or Pollachi. We took the Krishnagiri route when going and Kollegal while coming back where we got stuck on the narrower Sathyamangalam ghat section which allows huge transport vehicles. The ghat section from Pollachi to Valparai is a lovely drive with great views and well designed 40 hairpin bends each named after mostly birds and some animals using large boards.
Distance: Approx. 450km, 9hrs by car.
Facilities: It is quite a large hill town similar to Ooty with mostly tea estates all around.

Valparai was always enticing for us due to its unique location and bio diversity but too far. But, after considering it we would eventually choose Coorg, Wayanad or Ooty. This time when we wanted to go some place quiet to relax and do some birdwatching, it was a now or never vote for Valparai.

Bird watchers nest at Vellode

To manage the long 9 hours drive, we planned a stop at Erode and spent couple of hours in Vellode Bird Sanctuary. This gave us a glimpse to this well managed water body that hosts migrants as well as give us the much needed break. The ducks had not arrived yet but we did spot the Blue-tailed King fisher as our migrant.

Hairpin 28/40
Malabar Trogon

Valparai

The ghat section with 40 hairpins was a lovely drive from Pollachi to Valparai. Its just 40 kms but takes nearly 2 hrs. Road was wide, well maintained with good views though no proper view points where we could stop and enjoy. Each bend was named after an western ghat bird or animal and few as a tribute to persons/places, I think. A lovely way to educate as well as make the drive fun.



We had decided on tea bungalows for our stay so that we would be away from the main city and enjoy the quietness of tea estates. First 2 nights were in a wooden chalet at Sirukundram managed by Briar group, next 2 nights were in the bungalow at Rotti Kadai, managed by Murugappa group under Sinna Dorai brand.

Sambar deer

Blue-bearded Bee-eater

In the 3 full days we stayed at Valparai, we had 2 good birding sessions. Mostly because it was drizzling a lot and we also chose to just chill out and not go out of our way to do our walks. The first one was accidental. We were relaxing after our breakfast at Sirukundram when our main host knocked on our chalet to let us know he had spotted the Great Hornbill! This would be a lifer for us, so we quickly scrambled out with binoculars and camera following him past their kitchen at the backside of the bungalow to the front area. And lo and behold through the branches and perched majestically on eucalyptus trees were 2 Great Hornbills! Even at about 100 mtrs far they looked huge. Once I had my fill of observing it, I went back to get my 600mm lens. The birds were still happily perched in the same place. Our host then guided us out of the property to a trail in the tea estate from where we got better views and could spot 5 in the flock which is kind of a record even for them. The trail itself was fantastic with a small copse where we spotted a pair of Blue-bearded bee-eaters, Nilgiri flycatcher, among others. Another highlight was a large flock, upwards of 100, of Hill mynahs murmuring from tree to tree which was lovely to watch.

Great Hornbills

Emerald Dove

The 2nd bird outing was from Rotti Kadai in an organized paid bird walk that started from their Moulmein property. The area around the bungalow itself was amazing or maybe we just got lucky but within 10 mins of us getting out of the car, we spotted the Gray-headed Canary-Flycatcher, Gray Wagtail, Little Spiderhunter, Malabar Flameback, among others. We then drove out about a kilometer and birded from the road for another kilometer or so. The spotting was sparse here but the walk was very enjoyable. We did spot the Great Hornbill again... far far away on the hill and the Stripe-necked mongoose foraging. On way back, we got our heart full of Emerald dove foraging on their driveway and then a pair of Velvet-fronted Nuthatches hopping around the branches.

Lion-tailed Macaque

We did some walks in few other recommended places with limited sightings probably because of the dull rainy weather or we just were not lucky. On mammals, we spotted Indian Gaur all over the Rotti Kadai estates, Lion-tailed Macaque, Nilgiri Langur, Stripe-necked Mongoose, Sambar Deer, Jungle (Western ghats) palm squirrel, Indian (Malabar) Giant squirrel.

Indian Gaurs

Overall, we enjoyed this location very much. We hardly spent any time in the city. Just drove through it few times. It looked crowded. The tea estates, bungalow surroundings, and birding places were quiet and relaxing. Lets just say tranquil! One can easily spend a few hours just watching and walking around in nature trails within estates or near them. For nature lovers, a visit to Annamalai Nature information center is a must with this wonderful exhibits. There is also a path along side it for some bird watching.

Check out the photo album from the trip.


Ebird check lists with bird images.


Vellode Bird Sanctuary
Puthu Thotam Estate
Sirikundram Bungalow area
Moulmein Estate bird walk
Thenmalai Fragment

Elagiri Hills: A break from the plains!

Location: Elagiri or Yelagiri Hills Date: Dec 24th to 27th 2010 To get there: [Click here for Google Map]. You can take the train to Jolarpet and hire a taxi from there or Drive on the Hosur Road until Krishnagiri. Take NH 46 from there towards Chennai. Then take SH 18 turnoff towards Elagiri. Distance: About 150+ kms from Bangalore Trail type: We did mostly birding from car, stopping at good locations. So, not much trekking as such. I do believe there are a couple of good trails. Facilities: Several resorts/hotels in all ranges. Food places were plenty but just average, I thought. Lake with boating, nature park with musical fountain show, various temples are the spots to visit.

Misc Links:

http://www.yelagirihills.com/ (has more detailed directions)

It was our annual vacation with relatives during Christmas. We had always noticed these enticing hills from the train and decided to check it out this time. The drive from Bangalore was quite easy. The climb up the hills is similar to Nandi hills maybe a little steeper with 14 hairpin bends. The views were tempting in many places but any idea of stopping was thwarted by the line of monkeys sitting on the parapet looking expectantly at each vehicle passing by!

The place was quite chilly during the nights and morning. Rest of the day was pleasant. The main road through Athanavoor has many resorts and eating places. Most of them were average or just road side dhaba types. The 2 main attractions of the hills, Lake with boating and Nature Park are on this road.

We mostly did bird watching in the morning, starting at 6am until nearly afternoon, taking advantage of free grand-parent baby sitting. :). There were Brahminy starlings, Rufous Treepies and Grey-bellied Drongo's all over the place in addition to the more common Pied Bushchats, Sunbirds, Indian Robin, Tailorbird and Mynas. We had the best outing when we drove on the road towards Neelavur and took breaks near the Murugan Temple where we saw the Verditer Flycatcher, Leafbird and Common Iora. Migrants Grenish Leaf Warbler and Blyths Reed Warbler could be beard all over the place.

Boating was OK, nothing great. The Lake is man-made, so more like a soup bowl. Still Red-rumped Swallows gave us a show drinking water by flying low over the surface. The nature park looked good but we did not check it out properly nor watch the musical fountain show. Lets just say, most of our free time was spent eating, lazing around or playing cards and other games.

Photo albums:

Birds

People and sights.

Check list:

1. Yellow-billed Babbler(E)
2. Barbet(E) (call only. Not sure if it is Brown-headed or White-cheeked)
3. Coppersmith Barbet(E)
4. Small Green Bee-eater(E)
5. Blue-tailed Bee-eater(T)
6. Red-vented Bulbul(E)
7. Red-whiskered Bulbul(E)
8. Pied Bushchat(E)
9. Greater Coucal(E)
10. House Crow
11. Asian Koel
12. Spotted Dove
13. Little Brown Dove
14. Black Drongo
15. White-bellied Drongo(E,plenty)
16. Short-toed Eagle(E)
17. Common Kestrel(J)
18. Black Kite
19. Tickell's Flowerpecker(E,J)
20. Verditer Flycatcher(most likely)(E)
21. Common Iora(E)
22. White-throated Kingfisher
23. Tree Pipit(E)
24. Golden-fronted Leafbird(E)
25. Small Minivet(E)
26. Black-headed Munia(J)
27. Scaly-breasted Munia(E,J)
28. White-throated(Silverbill) Munia(E)
29. Common Myna
30. Jungle Myna
31. Eurasian Golden Oriole(J)
32. Spotted Owlet(E)
33. Rose-ringed Parakeet
34. Paddy-field Pipit(E)
35. Ashy Prinia
36. Plain Prinia
37. Indian Robin
38. Oriental Magpie Robin
39. Indian Roller(T)
40. Long-tailed Shrike(E)
41. Brown Shrike(E)
42. House Sparrow
43. Brahminy Starling(E, plenty)
44. Red-rumped Swallow(E)
45. Common Tailorbird
46. Rufous Treepie(E)
47. Grey Wagtail(E)
48. White-browed Wagtail(E)
49. Blyths Reed Warbler(E)
50. Greenish Warbler(E,J)
51. White-breasted Waterhen(E)
52. Oriental White-eye(E)
53. Purple Sunbird
54. Purple-rumped Sunbird
55. Shikra(E)
56. Common Woodshrike(E)