Drive to Pearl Valley – Bangalore

00:15 Steampunk 0 Comments

This Sunday the itch in my feet took me to small hideout called Pearl valley, about 45 kms away from Bangalore, which is called Muthyala Madu, which in its translated version is known as Pearl Valley. All the reading that I did on the internet to find the route, warned of bad roads, but for the last couple of miles (where your driving skills are really tested) and few small patches here and there, roads were exceptionally good, and had very little traffic. In fact driving to and fro actually turned out to be the high point of the trip.

Pearl Valley

Pearl Valley is one of the those places that probably exist in most nook and corners of the country, but to Karnataka government’s credit, they have tried to convert each of such place into a tourist attraction. As you enter the Gram panchayat under which the place falls, you have to pay an entrance fee and as you reach the spot, there is a big tourism promotion board billboard and an abandoned hotel. There are a few hawkers who sell the small eats. Once you park the vehicle there, you have to go down the valley to reach the waterfall. The path has well placed stairs, so it can be traversed by anyone with all kinds of footwear without any risk. The stairs are put in such a way that while on your way back you take few steps and then there is a break where you can stop and look around as the scenery around you changes every few steps. The bottom of the valley is a small temple and a lot of monkeys, you must not carry any eatables, unless you want to feed the monkeys. There was hardly any water in the waterfall, indicating that it is best to visit this place after rains. The place got its name from the fact that water from these waterfalls fall like pearls on the rocks below. You see a lot of flowers on your way up and down the valley. I do not know the names of the flowers but the dominant colors were lavender and yellow. In fact there were yellow flower trees along the whole drive from Bangalore to Anekal and beyond, and the yellow seemed brighter as we moved away from the city. On the way you also see the huge Anekal lake which gives a good view. There were tempting vegetable fields on the way.

The KSTDC restaurant Mayur, which is right there on the spot gives an abandoned look. But you must visit the terrace of the restaurant to get one of the best views of the valley. The walls of the hotel are falling apart, specially around the parapet, but parapet is also one of the perfect places to sit with a book, listen to some music produced by nature around and just be in a different world, almost seemingly in the middle of nowhere. No wonder the place seems to be so popular with young couples.

I would recommend this place for small group or family picnics, carrying your own food and probably spend half a day or so.

Laburnam Image Source – Shutterstock