Valparai is an unexplored hill station located in the Coimbatore district of Tamilnadu, India. It is located roughly 3500ft above sea level on the Anaimalai hills range of the western ghats and consists Anaimalai tiger reserve.
How to reach Valparai
Valparai is located 64kms from Pollachi. You can reach Coimbatore by flight or train and drive to Valparai via Pollachi. The drive from Pollachi to Valparai is in itself is worth the trip due to the scenic beauty of the drive.
Distance from other nearby places,
- Udumalaipettai – 80kms
- Coimbatore – 110kms
- Munnar – 154kms
- Palakkad – 110kms
- Thrissur – 153kms
Places to visit in Valparai
- Aliyar dam
- Monkey falls
- Loam’s viewpoint
- Hornbill viewpoint
- Waterfall teashop
- Balaji temple
- Sholayar dam
- Nirar dam
- Nallamudi poonjolai viewpoint
- Koolangal river
- Vellamalai tunnel river
- Chinna kallar falls
- Grass hills
- Birala waterfalls
- Indira Gandhi wildlife sanctuary and national park
- Athirapalli waterfalls
- Valparai itinerary
Day 1
Aliyar dam
Aliyar dam is situated 24kms from Pollachi on the way to Valparai. Aliyar dam is built across aliyar river and is at the foothills of Valparai near Anaimalai checkpost. You can visit the dam if time permits. If not you can have the view of the entire aliyar dam along with the adjacent mountains at both Loam’s viewpoint and hornbill viewpoint. There is a park and a mini aquarium at the dam but not well maintained.
Monkey falls / Kaviaruvi
You have to buy tickets at the Anaimalai checkpost to enter Anaimalai tiger reserve which includes Valparai. If visiting monkey falls you have to buy extra tickets at the checkpost. Monkey falls is located just 5kms from Aliyar dam. The falls is renamed as kavi aruvi and is a natural waterfalls surrounded by thick forest. There is a vast parking area for vehicles and the falls is just a 5 minutes walk from the parking area. Though bathing in the falls and chilling in the nearby pond is refreshing to the body and mind, the restrooms and the changing rooms were awful without proper lights, doors, water, buckets, etc. It’s better to airdry the clothes and continue the trip than to use those restrooms. Your dress and hair will get dried in no time during the journey.
Loam’s viewpoint
It is situated at the 9th hairpin bend at a distance of 7kms from the monkey falls. It gives a beautiful view of the Aliyar dam and it’s reservoir and the Anaimalai hills range.
Hornbill viewpoint
Hornbill viewpoint is present at the Attakatti checkpost. It was not allowed to tourists while we visited for unknown reasons. It is known to have a beautiful view of the upper Aliyar dam, kadamparai power house and hills range along with waterfalls.
Waterfall tea shop
The waterfall teashop is present around the 27th hairpin bend. The environment there is surreal and there is a mini waterfalls at the teashop. They sell their tea leaves and also milk tea, lemon tea and black tea along with some snacks at a very nominal price. We bought all varieties of their tea leaves and their ‘superstar’ dust tea was of top notch quality for milk tea. Their ctc tea leaves suited better for black and lemon tea.
Karumalai Balaji temple
Balaji temple is one of the most popular tourist spots in Valparai. Around 10kms to reach Valparai, there will be a navigation board to take a detour to reach Balaji temple. You can visit the temple and travel to Valparai via another route without returning to Pollachi – Valparai road. The temple is located inside peria karumalai estate. You have to walk around half a kilometre uphill after parking your vehicle and the walk is in itself an experience not to miss. You can purchase tea leaves/powder after visiting the temple. Their peria gold dust tea was of premium quality and please do not miss them.
Day 2
Sholayar dam
Sholayar dam is situated around 25kms from Valparai enroute to athirapalli waterfalls. There is a small park near the dam but was not well maintained. There are no shops/hotels nearby or on the way so better to plan your meals accordingly.
Nirar dam
Nirar dam is located on the opposite side of sholayar dam and you can plan visiting nirar dam and nallamudi poonjolai viewpoint together. The drive to nirar dam was an adventure in itself and rain was drizzling continuously. The dam was located in an isolated spot and the scenery was amazing. There is tunnel running 8kms connecting the dam to sholayar dam but was not allowed to tourists while we visited.
Nallamudi poonjolai viewpoint
A must watch viewpoint located inside the nallamudi tea estates. The road was terrible but was worth the drive. The walk to the viewpoint gives a beautiful view of the estate and there is a small temple inside the estate.
Other places to visit if time permits
- Chinna kallar falls
- Birala waterfalls
- Vellamalai tunnel river
- Koolangal river
- Athirapalli waterfalls
- Grass hills (akka malai) – need special permission from the forest department.
Where to stay at Valparai
Though there are several cottages and resorts we preferred to stay at a hotel in the Valparai town for easy access to the restaurants and the market area. Hotel Saravana Grand was a decent and economical hotel and we were totally satisfied with the rooms and services.
Where to eat at Valparai
Though there are many small messes and restaurants at Valparai town we enjoyed the food at Lakshmi chettinadu mess and the friends cafe. We visited Lakshmi chettinad mess after reading about it here before our trip.
At last, if you have one more day to spare you can visit the Anaimalai tiger reserve, top slip and parambikulam.