Nelliampathy Hills. Review on Palakkad

We visited Nelliampathy (Kaikatty) in January last week, 2007.  Our cab (Chevrolet Tavera) driver picked us from the Coimbatore railway station at early morning 6:30 AM.  We travelled via the Palakkad route. The weather is a bit hot here in Palakkad (even in Nelliampathy also it is not very cool, a moderate climate) though enroute green paddy fileds with coconut trees will give you a bit soothing effect for your mind. We reached Palakkad by 8:30AM and had a good breakfast at one of the hotels there. The breakfast is delicious with traditional Kerala style.The drinking water resembles the coconut water. After a break of 40 minutes, we continued our joureny from Palakkad to Nelliampathy, which is 60Kms.

The journey to Nelliampathi itself is an experience, if you really enjoy the ghat road joureny. The only route is from Nemmara, from where the first town of Nelliampathi, namely Kaikatty junction, is at a distance of 26 km. At the 9th kilometer is the Pothundi Dam, a small irrigation dam which provides water for the rice fields in the surrounding area. The dam is at the foot of the Nelliampathi hills. Adjacent to this, there is a small park into which the camera is not permitted, otherwise one can take an excellent photos of the mountains.  From here, the road winds up for the next 17 km, with many hairpin turns on the way. Immediately after Pothundy dam, comes the government forest, where one can see massive teak trees. The road is now being widened, so lot of consturction work is going on.The view of the Pothundy dam from the height is a breathtaking sight. At some points, the ghat road is so narrow , beautiful and there is no protection on the sides, so the driver has to be very careful while driving on these ghats.  Enroute you can take excellent views of the mountains, forests, unfotunately we have not sighted any wildlife except monkeys and some birds, but this journey will be more beautiful if you do it in Monsoons, with lot of greenery in the forests.

OK, after a scenic and tedious drive, we reached Kaikatty after a 4 hours.

The best option to stay in Kaikatty is the ITL Resort which is surrounded by trees with excellent view of the surrounding forest and the near by mountains. The care take Mr. Sashi had given us a good room with the best possible view of the forest.  The tariff is Rs..750 per day. This resort serves Kerala food. Throught the day you can observe the birds chirping in the trees, which is a memorable experience. The staff is also very polite and the service is very timely.

Coming to sight seeing , there are not many sites in and around Nelliampathy/Kaikatty.  We have visited the tea estate, the Seethargundu View Point and the Green Land Farm houses resort in the forest.  The magic here is that you can see the Tea, Coffee and the Orange plantations which is like watching 3 movies on a single ticket, if you are a nature lover, Nelliampathy will never disappoint you. It is really mesmerizing.

Since it is not a popular hill station, there are no shopping areas, everywhere you see only the forest and the coffee/tea estates. It is for nature lovers only. One can spend a day or 2 just to laze and do nothing.  Once upon a time, Nelliampathy was famous for its oranges, now that is faded.

Nearest Airports: Cochin International Airport and Coimbatore Nearest railway stations: Palakkad and Trichur.

From Airport: Come to Trichur - 30 km, Take a taxi to Nemmara or by bus from Trichur bus stand to Nemmara - 35 km. From Palakkad: By taxi or bus to Nemmara - 30 km.

From Nemmara you can take a taxi or better four wheel vehicles.

Resorts to stay:  ITL Resort  and the Green Land Farm Houses