Kerelan Mountains Part 1: first stop Munnar

 

Waterfall near the top of the climb to Kerela

On leaving Madurai we set off in pursuit of the mountains for the next part of our trip.

Our first stop was Bodinayakanur - a town in the foothills of the Western Ghats (the range of mountains bordering Kerala and Tamil Nadu). It was going to be our toughest day yet - a long ride and our first real taste of the mountains! Added to the challenge, it was already 25 degrees when we set off 🥵. 

Getting out of Madurai was really chaotic - probably the trickiest navigation so far and it seemed to go on for an eternity. It didn't help that we hit the school run and rubbish collection day 🫣. 

Once out of Madurai it quietened down and, although the scenery was a little dull for a while, it improved eventually and we were treated to lush green fields and coconut trees, now with the mountains as the additional backdrop. It reminded me of the equally stunning scenery we'd experienced in Laos (and Vang Vieng in particular). 

The first 20 miles or so were fairly flat and we made really good progress. About two hours in Max announced that the start of our first real climb was approaching 🫣. I braced myself but actually it wasn't too bad; and we passed another troop of monkeys in the bushes at the side of the road which was a delightful distraction. As luck would have it, this turned out to be the only significant climb of the day 😅.

We planned to stop for lunch at a town called Theni - about 10 miles short of our final destination for the day. Mukunthan, our food tour guide in Madurai, had recommended a restaurant for us and it didn't disappoint. We both had the lunchtime thali special which was delicious and just what was needed to get us through the remaining ten miles 😋 😁.

We arrived at our hotel around 2pm; just in time for check in. It was quite basic and we had to battle for towels and breakfast the next day but it was very cheap and perfectly adequate for just one night. We followed his second recommendation for dinner a few hours later and were equally pleased with that offering - this time it was a masala dosa for me and some iddlys and sambar for Max. We were very early to bed that night, still battling our coughs and colds, and knowing that tomorrow we were definitely in for some serious climbing 😅.

After a good night's sleep and an early breakfast, we set off around 8.30am. Knowing that we had about 5 miles or so before the climbing began, it all felt rather relaxed and pleasant - warm but not too hot and plenty of the lush scenery we've come to expect. I could see those hills though and they were definitely getting closer! 

Before too long we started to climb - much like we've done in Mallorca so many times - taking each switch back one at a time and thinking only of the next one. I knew our biggest challenge would be the heat and the sheer weight of the bike with both of us and all the luggage on it. We took it slowly, stopping for water breaks and photo opportunities.  We had quite a few great sightings of troops of monkeys 🐒 - always a welcome distraction 🤩. Looking back at how far we'd climbed also helped to keep us motivated. 

Nevertheless after a couple hours of climbing the heat was taking it's toll - our stops became more frequent and it became increasingly difficult to cool down. There were lots of small streams/mini waterfalls tumbling down the mountain and eventually we came across a beautiful large waterfall at the roadside. No sooner had we stopped for rest than we were surrounded by a group of young lads who'd seen the bike. After a brief chat and several photos they were on their way and Max ventured into the water to cool down a little. It did the trick and soon we were on our way again too. 

Shortly before we reached the top of the climb we stopped at a hotel cafe for lunch. We were both seriously flagging and the rest and refuel definitely gave us a much needed boost. We'd done alot of climbing and by this point the temperature had cooled considerably which was a huge relief. 

On reaching the top, we crossed the border into Kerala and were treated to a lovely downhill stretch. It gave us a chance to admire the view; we knew it wouldn't last though and that we had yet to face the toughest climb of the ride. 

I think the last few kms passed in a bit of a blur and then we reached a fork in the road where, according to the kamoot route, we were supposed to take the right turning uphill and what looked like a rather bumpy and steep track 🫣

Max was just double checking when a friendly young tuk tuk driver who had parked up was looking at the tandem and taking photos of us. As often happens in these situations suddenly we've drawn a huge crowd and lots of people are getting involved and offering advice and opinions. The general consensus seemed to be that our accommodation was quite a way further up the track and the feeling was that it would be way too difficult for us to cycle the last 3km stretch. 

What happened next was almost unbelievable. Max had suggested that I take our luggage and go with the tuk tuk driver and he'd cycle the last stretch alone (he's certainly not one to give up easily even though I think he was as close to breaking point as I've ever seen him). Anyway the tuk tuk driver was insistent he could get the tandem on the roof and take us all up the hill and, with the help of the other group of young lads, that's exactly what happened. I couldn't believe it but I was so relieved. We had such a great laugh with them all too - it was the perfect ending to our toughest day yet 😅🤣🤩.

Our accomodation for the next couple of days was Planet Munnar, a very luxurious resort with the most stunning views of the tea plantations and the mountains beyond. We quickly set about enjoying everything they had to offer us 😉.

We signed up for the sunrise trip the next morning which came highly recommended.  It meant a very early 4.30am start and an epic jeep ride, a large part of which was off road through a nearby tea plantation. There were plenty of other jeeps making the same journey and even though it felt like we were being thrown all over the place, Max observed people in the other jeeps faring much worse than us and concluded that our driver was alot more competent. I'd already taken comfort from the fact we were sharing the jeep with a family with two small boys and felt sure he would be taking extra care for them 🤗.

We arrived at Kolukkumali Top View Point in plenty of time to claim our viewing spot for sunrise. The view was absolutely breathtaking - the mist covered mountains and tea plantations at sunrise. Natural beauty on such a huge scale was like nothing I've ever seen before. It was very special and I was completely blown away 🤩🤩🤩. After sunrise we were taken to another viewing point and given some time to explore and visit Jaguar Rock. Again the views were  awesome - I felt so lucky to be just standing there soaking it all in.  We chatted to lots of nice people too, one Keralan guy who offered to take our photo actually turned out to be visiting home for xmas but was a social worker in Dudley! A reminder of what a small world it is 😊. By the time we got back to the resort around 9.30am we were shattered - just in time for a delicious breakfast and then total r&r for the rest of the day 😉. 

We thoroughly enjoyed our short stay at Planet Munnar. They looked after us very well and all the food they cooked for us was delicious 😋.  The view from our balcony (and indeed the entire resort) out onto the plantation was stunning and I could barely take my eyes off it. All good things must come to an end though and we were rested and ready to move on, with only the small challenge of another mountain or two in between us and our next destination 🫣🫣. 

Early morning in Bodinayakanur town 

Starting our long climb towards the border 

Mountains everywhere now 

Stunning views as we climbed  

Cheeky monkeys 

Another group photoshoot 

Max cooling down in the waterfall 

Looking back at the climbing we'd done so far 

Another delightful troop of monkeys 

We finally reached, and crossed, the border

We saw lots of these signs but, sadly, no elephants 

A watering hole for the elephants 🐘 

These guys were fantastic 🤩

We couldn't thank our tuk tuk driver enough for getting us up the final climb 

Sunrise at Kolukkumali 

The most beautiful sight 😍 

Looking over the tea plantations 

Another spectacular view 

Max trying to look cool 😎 

Me likewise 😂

At Jaguar Rock 

My favourite photo of the day 🤩

A nice lady insisted on taking this photo of us 

Our best selfie - we need to practice 😂

Delicious breakfast back at Planet Munnar 

The birds eye view of the tea plantations from our balcony at Planet Munnar 

Saying goodbye to the staff at Planet Munnar