Driving from Nilambur to Ooty and Mysore

Nilambur is not a very interesting place to drive as the traffic is heavy and the local drivers rude and insensitive. Once you leave the hectic traffic of Malappuram and and Manjeri cities, you expect some relief as you enter the Nilambur road. But the traffic continues to be heavy and erratic all the way to Ooty. Towns like Edavanna, Mampad and Vadapuram are actually little villages with too many cars. Other towns like Chungathara and Musliyarangadi make no difference. Find some relief by taking a pit stop at Edakkara town after Nilambur where the stylish Hotel Devi Vilas near bus stand offers you vegetarian dishes from eight in the morning to nine in the evening. After Edakkara, you reach Vazhikkadavu Village which is the last bastion of Kerala state. There are many eateries here offering excellent local cuisine with a lot of spices and all cooked in coconut oil. Within one kilometre uphill comes the Forest checkpost and the Thankyou/Welcome boards. The aptly named ‘Erivum Puliyum Restaurant’ can be experimented if they use the right spices. Erivu in Malayalam means hot chillies and Puli in Malayalam means tamarind. There are many bamboo forests and warning boards telling you that elephants are crossing. There is also an open Dargah called Anamari or Elephant-upside-down. Another tedious six kilometres uphill takes you to the first Tamil Nadu border town across the state. This town is called ‘Nadukani’ and it is an important junction. Left is to Wayanad and right is to Ooty. There is a college connected with Bharathiyar university with apparently a big campus explaining the two gates. There is a wooden bridge and a village called ‘Marappalam’ named after the bridge. Maram means wood inTamil and Malayalam languages which are semantically connected. There is another bridge called ‘Kozhippalam’ or chicken-bridge but the etymology is not known. Chembala Tea factory is the next landmark followed by Infant Jesus Shrine and the Gudallur Juma Masjidh. Very soon you come across the famous T-junction of Gudalur with a Gandhi statue on the left. Turning left will take you to Mysore and turning right will take you to Ooty.