kallar and burliar- fruit stops

As one enters the foothills of the Nilgiris the betal nut Plantataions on either side of the road and rail stand timeless watch. Tall, thin and stately, these erect sentinels are striped cousins of the coconut palm, rustiling gently in the wind. Blesses by nature with the right altitude and the Bhavani River canalized to flow past the trees without stagnating at the roots, everything seems specifically arranged to suit the requirements of the ‘paaku thottam’. A perfect set up for the arecanut trees and
wonderful place to have a picnic with the permission of the caretakers

Coming by road, just 1 km. from the first of the 14 hairpin bends, where the road enters the ghat section, the 8.95 hectare State Horticultural Farm at Kallar (altitude 360 mtrs.) was set up in 1900 for growing a variety of horticultural crops and fruits on the lower slopes of the hills. Open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., tickets are Rs.5 for adults, Rs.2 for children, Rs. 5 and Rs. 25 for still and video cameras. The Suspension bridge built in 1984 to replace the washed out wooden bridge and the girder rail bridge at Kallar are worth seeing

Burliar has a perennial spring and for more than one hundred years has been the place to stop and rest since the time people and goods came on horse back. Even today it is the place to replenish the radiator water and recharge your own batteries. Engines get over heated climbing up the steep ghat road and drivers and passengers need refueling too as they have already traveled 15 km. from Mettupalayam and are 2400 ft. (730 mtrs.) above sea level. The railway track crosses the road here, but there is no station

The 6.25 hectare Government Orchard here was set up around 1855 for research in tropical and sub tropical fruits and spices. But as it is vertical orchard, the climb down the 68 terraces is a long, long way, but very interesting. Exotic varieties of fruit are found here including the delicious mangosteen, the strongly scented durian (an acquired taste), hill bananas, jackfruit, grapefruit, breadfruit, bilimbi (a tamarind substitute), and many others. Many of these are sold in the roadside stalls. The higher the elevation, the smaller the size of the fruit; that is, the more subtropical the climate, the smaller the fruit. The maximum variety of fruits is available between July- September and December- February. Spices like cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg are also grown and sold here

To ocater to the needs of hungry travelers, Burliar now has a restaurant at the U of the 4/14 th hair pin bend, tastefully with terraced layers, open kitchens and a varied menu. Amidest organically grown fruit and spics trees, there is a live concert by the cicadas with the sweet sound of the Burliar River flowing down its side providing the orchestra