Kattabettu junction in Kotagiri

When I visited Kotagiri in 2008, Kattabettu caught my attention because of the peculiar shape of the junction.  The two roads fro Ooty comes parallel and meets at Katabettu.  The lower road comes from Coonoor and the upper road comes from Dodabetta peak.

There a village up the mountain looking very eerie in that height.  I think they call it Kattabettu Mel.  I stopped my car and searched for a location to capture it all.  I found a small Srambia or wooden mosque and fixed my camera.  Hai, I got it all in one click.  The cute Srambia is ofcourse out of focus.

Kattabettu is a small town and a major junction near Kotagiri in Nilgris district of Tamil Nadu.  It comes under DEnad Panchayath about ten km from Kortagiri.  There is a post office here and the pin code is 643206.  Kattabettu is surrounded by Bhavanisagar Taluk towards East , Coonoor Taluk towards west , Karamadai Taluk towards South , Udhagamandalam Taluk towards west .There is one highschool and several primary schools in Katabetu. 

Mango Orange village, Pandallur

Mangorange Post Office

The very word Mango Orange can be tempting to visitors but the original name of the village lacked one ‘o’ and it was simply Mangorange.  Anyway there is a Mangorange post office here which is an ideal location for trekking.  Be careful of wild elephants and  tigers that attacks people even during day time.  Most of the people here are tea estate workers as tea estates are the only type of farms found here.  A small number of buildings like schools and sheds are also visible. 

Mango Orange village is 30 km from Sulthan Bathery in Kerala and 25 km from Gudalur in Tamil Nadu State of India. It is located at an altitude of 880 metres from the sea level.

During the nineteenth century, a London based mining company made a township in the village and also built a Christian church and a race course. When there was no further scope for mining, the British investors shifted to plantations. Coffee and tea plantations were created in a massive scale. Many European people settled here and supervised the work. A large number of Indians from the Malabar region were employed in the estates.

At present, the whole village is dominated by tea estates of Tantea or Tamil Nadu Tea Plantation Corporation Limited, Harrisons Malayalam Limited of the RPG Group and Parry Agro Industries Ltd of the Murugappa Group. This village is a sacred place for the aboriginal communities like Paniyas, Kurumbas and Kattu Nayakas. Today the population of the village is a mixture of migrated Sri Lankan Tamils, Gowdas and Kerala Muslims. The village is famous for small scale gold mining activities done by the tribal people.

In 2016, Mango Orange village filled national headlines because of a series of deaths from elephant attacks.

Devala village near Gudalur

School Road, Devala

When I visited Devala in 2015, the place looked cute and neglected.  It is in Nilgris district and very near to Pandallur town.  There is a temple on the school road which looks a little neglected.  Devala is not developed into a tourist destination.  So you will get a lot of peace of mind but no accommdation is available.  Clean food is not available, dirty food is also in shortage.  I tried Gold Hotel and it is simply not passable. I have invented a walk in Devala town itself.  It is on Rodusson Mullah Estate Road,  300 m from Devala bus stop. Very scenic tea estates on both sides.  The scenes begin only after Holy Cross school.  You can also try walking the road on the left side of the green mosque.

Visiting Thaloor and Cherambady from Sultan Battery

Visiting the border villages of Tamil Nadu is as easy as the breeze for the Kerala people. It takes 30 minutes from Bathery to visit the border village of Thaloor in Tamil Nadu. And another 30 minutes takes you to a really scenic Tamil village called Cherambady.

From Bathery you go straight Gandhi Junction to access the Thaloor road. You can drive in front of MES school to reach villages like Kalluvayal, Ammayippalam (means mother-in-law bridge), Malankarakunnu, Koliyadi, Madakkara and Nenmenik. There is a Dargah at Koliyady with a childrens’ park and also a masjidh at Madakkara. Then comes Kerala villages like Pattarangadi, Chulliyod and Vannatharakavala. At Chulliyod, there is a very scenic school campus called St.Thomas School. They also have a Bhagavatghy temple and a Holy Family church there. The next village is Thaloor Kerala side at the checkpost of Tamil Nadu. When you cross the checkpost, it becomes Thaloor in Tamil Nadu with typical yellow Autorikshaws and all.

After Thaloor, you have to look for Tamil Nadu transportation as Kerala buses do not go across the boder. Not literally, they cross the border the turn the vehicle, that is OK for the Tamil Nadu policemen. Tamilnadu side of Thalood appears influenced by the missionaries very much as there is a series of churches on the way like the majestic Orthodox Church and the Jacobite Church on Thivakuni Road. The Erumad police station is at Thaloor and there is one Nalanda school here. You can Ayyankolli road on the left with a shiva temple at Ermad town. SNDP office is followed by Manal vayal road on the right. There is one Kapala temple here. The majestic building of Sacred Heart Highschool reminds you of liberal donations from Europe and the Fathima Matha Church is even more spectacular. Why go to Rome when Roman buildings are available just across the border? Uluvadu village is only 2 km to the right and there is a Velankanni Church here. Vannathivayal road is on the right and you soon reach Kayyunni Town. There is one Aostalic Church and HM Golesland estate here. The Pattavayal road is on your left. Very soon the Cherambady junction is visible identified by the triangular plot in the junctionoccupied by the small but prominent Cherambady church. If you turn right, you can reach Calicut in 100 kilometers. Turning left takes you to Ooty. Cherambady town is also on the right with a two kilometre distance. There many Kerala style eateries in Cherambady with good quality meat and fish curries available, all cooked in the typical Mallu coconut oil.

Good Morning culture in Salem, Tamil Nadu province, India

Cows are important in Salem
Salem is a typical Tamil Nadu city with its religious frenzy and early rising culture.  You can get up at four in the morning and get good tiffin in Salem.  All the roads become active by five in the morning.  I visited Sri Saravana Restaurant near new Bus Stand by 5.00 am.  Tea began to be served by 5.15 am and a decorated cow was brought inside for giving blessing to the customers.  It was exactly 5.30 am and maybe the blessing is available 365 days a year.  Vadas are available by 5.35 here and steaming Idlis accompanied with spicy Indian sambar come only by 5.45 am. 

Salem has many cheap hotels with good facilities.  Hotel Travellers Inn is near Shanugha Hospital on Polytechnic Road.  Hotel Priyaa Towers Lodging  is near the LIC colony on Vasantham road and they charge Rs.400 for double rooms with TV, bath, lift and all. 

A very comfortable walk can be manoeuvred on the Dharmapuri Road from Salem.  Take the road in front of Kombur Dargah and ask for SRS College of Engineering and Technology.  Walk in front of the white building of the College of Nursing at Paruthikkadu and proceed to Komalivattom village which means the village of clowns.  I couldn’t find any clowns there except mysef so I proceeded further on the Dharmapuri before getting exhausted at a teashop nearby.  Hot tea and two-rupee packets of Parle restored my senses and led my way back to the city by city bus charging only Rs.4.00 for a Rs.20.00 distance.  Oh! This is Tamil Nadu and Tamils cannot afford Mumbai level bus tickets. 

Mysore to Erode and Salem via scenic Sathyamangalam

The road from Mysore to Erode and Salem is one of the most scenic ones in India.  But there is no safety in this sector as the Tamil Nadu government has ignored building side walls on the risky hill roads.  Travelling in a bus can be hazardous as the bends are not well protected and they are too narrow for buses.  Travelling in a car can be safer if you are afraid of elephant attacks.  Gundalpet is the first town on the way and Chamarajanagar is the second town offering very good food at cheap rates.  There is a tourist bungalow called Dhinbam on the way.  Stop here for a few photographs of the valley below.  Excellent selfie spot.  There are 27 hairpin bends down the hill and without proper side walls and hazardous for overtaking/giving sides.  When you reach at the bottom of the hill at last, the Bannari Amman Kovil allows you to say thanks for the safe journey.  There is a forest ecology farm near the temple and the Sathyamangalam town begins very soon. The road from Sathyamangalam to Erode is very urban and smooth.  It passes through little towns like Kasipalayam, Gobichettipalayam, Kavunthapadi, Chettypalayam before reaching Erode.  Erode to Salem is another evenless journey of highway comforts. 

Pandallur, Cherambady and Mango-Orange Estate

Pandallur and Cherambady are very beautiful towns hidden in a vast expanse of tea estate area called the Mango Orange estate.  There is no accommodation available in Cherambady town but food of good quality over there.  There are three hotels of mini size in Pandallur offering rooms in 300 rupee range.   For the tea estate bums, Pandallur is real heaven. 

PANDALLUR WAKS

One walk available to up the hill to the kovil or little temple.  Another walk of lesser effort is to proceed on the mosque road.  If you walk three kilometres you can reach the second mosque and the whole path is very photogenic.  A third walk is on Ooty road.  Take a bus to Ooty, pay five rupees and get down at the second bus stop.  Then walk back.  Wow! What a fantastic scenery!

You can also travel to Devala town and it is also a suitable place for nice strolls.  Walk on the Rodusson Mullah Estate Road.  After 300 meters, you reach a closed gate which you can cross or return.  The good scenes begin only after the Holy Cross school on the way. Another walk is the the road after the green mosque.  It is suitable for a long treck watching the locals and their lifestyle.  The road opposite the Bijo Lodge is also suitable for walking through a silent track but take care of an occasional attack from a wild elephant.  The locals will guide you about any dangers involved.  This road takes you to an electric transformer at a bend called Palathingal or ‘at the bridge’ in Malayalam language.  The next village is called ‘Koovan Moola’ where there is a Masjidh and school.  Turning right you reach Kuruman tribal colony and going right in the mud track takes you to Athikkunnu village.

Useful telephone numbers:

Bijo Lodge, Pandallur. Mr. Thomas / Joseph / Bijo. 09443931250 ]04262220756

2. Neha Restaurant, Bus stand, Pandallur. 09786780221

3. Jas Lodge, Pandallur. Mr.Shashi, Manager: 09487315708

Another walk is to Koomola village, a colony of the rich people of Pandallur which is three kilometre from Pandallur town.  Another road takes you to Ayyankunnu and Sultan Battery in Kerala.  This road has strange villages like ‘foreignmukku’ or the corner of foreigners and ‘kollappalli’ or the killing fields.  Nambiarkunnu and Cheeral are other villages before the T.junction of Pazhool.  Right means Gudalur and left means Sultan Battery from here.