Wanderlust!

Kolli Hills – Eerie. Ancient. Spellbinding

Kolli Hills or Kolli Malai is a tall hill range located in Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu. The mountains are at an elevation of 1370 meters and cover an area of about 280km². These hills are in the southern part of the Eastern Ghats. The mountains are relatively untouched by commercial tourism and retain their natural beauty. The Kolli hills have 70 hairpin curves to the reach the top of the hills and this formed the base and the entire point of my solo trip to the sheer mystic beauty that is Kolli Hills.

Prelude

After being stung by the travel bug, I was doing a bit of research on the internet about the best roads to travel in south India. It didn't take me much time before I stumbled upon the hairpin bends of the Kolli Hills. The words hairpin bends, Curves, Hills got me hooked like a bee attracted to a flower oozing of honey. well okay, I admit that’s a lame simile. Anyway, onwards. The distance from my place to the hills was 342 kms and it was all good for a one day ride. But as I planned on riding thru the hill forests from Semmedu to Top Sengatupatti hill forest in early morning daylight, I decided on booking a hotel for one night and returning the day after. So my initial plan was to reach Kolli hills by evening, Check in, sleep and make the ride thru the forest in the wee hours of the next day. But everything changes as ever :P. I planned the dates and zeroed in on February 20, 2015 and booked a room at Nallathambi Resorts, Kolli Hills. There aren’t many good hotels there and one has to make do with what’s available.
On the day of my ride, I geared up and left home at exactly 05:25 am. I followed the route as shown by the GPS on my phone which went from Tambaram – Ulunthurpet – Attur – Belukurichi – Kolli Hills. After a solid one and half hours into my journey I had the feeling that I had forgotten something. Turned out that I had forgot to take my phone charger. OMG. Oh my God indeed. This sparked up a major mondo dilemma. Do I stay there for the night like a caveman and let my phones battery dry out? Or do I change plans and return on the same day?. I chickened out and chose the latter.

By 08:30am, I reached Attur, Salem and proceeded towards Belukurichi in Namakkal district. The road from Tambaram to Salem is all four lane highway lined with fuel stations making the journey easy and a quick one. Mind you, most of the fuel stations take only cash and depending solely on card transactions isn’t wise. The road from Attur to Kolli Hills via Belukurichi goes thru small towns and villages and is a State Highway lined with irregular surface and potholes. This slowed me down a bit and also had a put a huge strain on my shoulders and lower arm. After riding for a few hours I reached the foot hills of Kolli, around 09:30 am. All the pain and the fatigue disappeared as the adrenaline gushed thru my veins. The entire trip, the ride, the initiative was all for riding up the winding staircase. It was all for slipping and sliding thru the beautiful flowy curves. And thus I proceeded with the climb.

Mystique

The hill climb is gradual in some parts and steep in some parts as you go higher. The hairpin bends, in some places are wide open where the oncoming vehicle can be seen or completely hidden where the line between ‘oh wow!’ and ‘oh God, save us’ is just too thin. Also the roads are about 10 to 12 foot wide, lined with potholes. The hairpin curves could test one’s fitness and could cause nausea and light headedness. But these are minor niggles that are negligible when compared to brilliance of the magic that flows in the air. I say the term magic/ mystic multiple times because of the silence on the top the hills or en route thru the snaking trail. It tingles a sense of an old world ancient aura that one gets when going thru a history manuscript. It is one which could be characterised by an old abandoned temple or an extinct hidden kingdom or a long lost village. The air had a weird charm to it that simply can’t be explained in text easily. The gleaming sun, the blue hills afar and the rustling of the leaves make truly, a mystical experience away from the hustle and the stress of the city. Took photographs till around 12:00 pm and made my return home.

Food options are minimal. Places of Stay are Average. Climate is moderate. Temperate Deciduous forest. Best time to Visit: October to December.

Travel info:

Route

Start : Camp Road – Tambaram – Chinglepet –Tindivanam –Ulundurpey –Attur – Mettala –Namagiripettai – Belukurichi -Kolli Hills

Travel Duration : 4 and half hours

Return : Kolli Hills –Belukurichi –Namagiripettai –mettala –managalapuram –Valapady –Attur –Ulundurpet –Tindivanam –Chenglepet –Vandalur –Vengambakkam –Home

Travel Duration: 4 and half hours

Total Mileage: 738 kms in a single day.

Max fuel Economy: 33 kmpl

Places to visit in Kolli Hills:

·         Agaya Gangai Waterfalls
·         Arappaleeswar Temple
·         Botanical Garden,
·         Boat House
·         Selur View Point
·         View Points
·         Siddhar caves