Blue Mountains

With mom visiting we decided to head out for few days. The only curtailing factor was that it shouldn't be a very long drive ! I looked at several options and narrowed down on Amberina at Nilgiris.

With me taking some timeoff from work , we hit the road on a cloudy Monday morning . An early start , with good old hindi music and a short stop for fuel and then piping hot breakfast at Kadambam , we were at Mysore Ring Road in 2hrs flat.

Once you cross Najangud and proceed the route passes through the lovely green forests of Bandipur and Mudumalai and then the beautiful small town of Gudalur.  Devala , thats about 16kms from Gudalur is a little town surrounded by acres and acres of tea gardens and forests and Amebrina is just the perfect place with its old tea planters bunglow tastefully decorated and its serene surroundings of the mistly hills and the tea gardens.






We were there around noon just in time for tea and a hot lunch. After a short rest post driving and lunch I walked around the green tea gardens while mom started with her marathon book reading ( she finished 3 books in 2 days i think :) out there ) and short walks around. I then took out my trusted ipod and parked myself in the shade with a book .

Mist had taken over the whole place by dawn and one could hardly see further than 10feet , I figured why its called the misty nilgiris after all ! Evening was spent watching French Open in the dinning room and another walk around..

The second day was also spent reading , listening to music, exploring the tea gardens and trying to walk around the estate and get to the foothills of a nearby hill and of course some good food by Raju(cook) and watching the French Open in the evenings.

The folks out there were very friendly and were initially confused with mom speaking to them fluently in Tamil and me barely able to communicate with them in Tamil. The confusion also arose from the fact that we were talking to each other in hindi/english and some even asked her if i was her daughter and yet again most thought I was still studying :) . People out there are simple and friendly right from the Gardner to the cook .


There was a heavy downpour and loud rumblings and thunder strikes on the second day, which meant the mercury dropped further and the mist took over.  The next morning was just perfect with rain and mist and after a heavy breakfast we hit the road slow and with headlights on. The drive back was even better with slow careful driving through the mist and fog and rains . That ended a great trip to the misty blue mountains and back


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Route: Bangalore -Mysore - Nanjangud - Gundalpet - Thempakad - Gudalur - Devala - Amberina

Pics: Some Pics here

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