Nilgiri Ghat Roads

Many Ghat Roads can be found in the Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu, Southern India. Nearly all of the district is located in the Nilgiri Hills, part of the Western Ghats mountains. This area borders the states of Karnataka and Kerala. The hills consequently can be reached by road from three states. Most of these Ghat Roads are heavily forested mountain roads typically consisting of several consecutive sharp hair-pin bends.

Route Descriptions

There are five common Ghat Roads leading into the Nilgiris:

Kotagiri Ghat (State Highway 15)

Route: Mettupalayam-Aravenu-Kotagiri-Ooty

The Kotagiri Ghat is the oldest known route into the Nilgiris. It approximately follows the route taken by John Sullivan on his discovery trips in 1819. The distance between Mettupalayam and Kotagiri on this road is 33 km and it has only 4 hair pin bends. This road is part of SH15. It is slightly less travelled as it is a slightly longer route from Mettupalayam to Ooty than the route via Coonoor, though as of 2006 the road condition is superior to the Coonoor Ghat. It is also statistically less vulnerable to landslips. It is possible to divert from this route to Coonoor. There is a link from Aravenu to Bandishola.

Travellers reach Mettupalayam from Coimbatore via National Highway 67. There are also other routes to Mettupalayam for travelers from Northern Tamil Nadu which avoid the congestion of Coimbatore city. One of these is via Annur(Suburb of Coimbatore)

Coonoor Ghat (National Highway 67)

Route: Coimbatore-Mettupalayam-Burliar-Coonoor-Ooty

This is also known as the Kallar Ghat, as it follows the valley of the Kallar and Coonoor rivers. It is by far the most travelled of all the Ghat Roads as it is the main access from the home state of Tamil Nadu. It has 14 numbered Hairpin bends and was recently (c.2003) taken over to be owned and maintained by the National Highways Authority of India and is now part of NH67. A toll must be paid for vehicles entering the Nilgiris district at Burliar. This also provides a rest stop on this route.

Due to it largely following one of the primary drainage basins in the area it is frequented by severe landslips, often closing it for several days. As of 2006 the road is still in a terrible state of repair, and can not be yet considered a "National Highway".

Gudalur Ghat (National Highway 212 and 67)

Route: Gundlupet-Bandipur-Mudumalai-Gudalur-Ooty

This is also simply known as the Mysore Ghat or Mysore Road. It is the main access route from Karnataka and Kerala. Travellers from Karnataka reach Gundlupet via the Mysore-Gundlupet NAtional Highway 212 and travellers from Kerala reach Gudalur via the continuation of National Highway 212 from Kozhikode-Sultans Battery.

One traveller commented about this route: "The road from Mysore is arguably the most scenic with a long stretch that runs through the Mudumalai National Park, and if travelling in the early mornings or late evenings, you definitely will spot wildlife feeding along the road, even spot the odd carnivore. There are majestic stands of Eucalyptus amidst well tended tea estates as you near Gudalur, and then you drive past the Pykara Dam and Pykara falls".

As with the Coonoor Ghat, from 2003-2006 this route is in a terrible state of repair. This route towards Gudalur from Ooty is the continuation of the same "National Highway" NH67 which makes up the Coonoor Ghat. National Highway 67 terminates in Gudulur where it joins onto National Highway 212 towards Gundlupet.

Sigur Ghat (State Highway 67)

Route: Mudumalai-Kalhatti-Ooty

This is also known as Kalhatti Ghat (or simply 'Steep Ghat'). There is a short cut-branch off the Gudalur ghat at Theppakadu in Mudumalai. This route saves approx. 30 km on the standard Gudalur route, though it is by far the steepest route and is limited to short wheel based, high power vehicles only. It has 36 hairpin bends and is closed overnight.

Manjur Ghat

Route: Coimbatore-Karamadai-Geddai-Manjur-Ooty

This is a smaller ghat for local traffic, and is used as a backup road in the rare occasion that both the Coonoor Ghat and the Kotagiri Ghat are closed. The road is narrow and steep with several hairpin bends. At Geddai, half way up the ghat at 1,885 feet (575 m), there is a hydroelectric power station [1]. From Manjur, at the top of the ghat, the distance is equidistant to either Ooty or Coonoor via smaller district roads.

Conditions

As of approximately 1993, all access roads to the Nilgiri hills are toll roads in order to facilitate the high maintenance costs of these mountain roads. As of 2006 all of these roads were in very poor condition. It is not uncommon for a route to be closed for several days or even weeks due to landslips. If so traffic is usually diverted onto one of the other ghats. The Nilgiris have been totally cut off on all routes on rare occasions. As the supply infrastructure depends on these routes, any road activity (such as a closure) is reflected on the prices. During heavy tourist seasons, a one-way system is deployed between the first two ghat roads mentioned.