A serene mountain range with many tourist attractions, Kolli Hills remains an unexplored tourist destination for many years because of lack of basic amenities in the hilltop.
Located on the Eastern Ghats at a height of 1,370 metres and 55 km from Namakkal, the hilltop can be reached by passing through the 70 hairpin bends on the 28-km ghat road from Karavalli in the foothills.
With the hairpin bends turning tedious for tourists, a new ghat road with three hairpin bends was opened from Mullukurichi in Rasipuram Taluk to Nariankadu in the hilltop.
Tourist attractions include Agaya Gangai waterfalls, Arapaleeswarar Temple, Botanical Garden, boathouse, Seekuparai View Point, Masila Falls, Nam Aruvi, Tribals Market and a few others. Also, jackfruit grown here is known for its taste and fragrance apart from pineapple, pepper, spices, minor millets, honey, bananas and guava. However, the pristine mountain fails to attract tourists as it lacks basic amenities.
Many tourists said that the hilltop lacks protected drinking water, toilet facility, accommodation, hotels serving quality food and basic amenities.
“Our friends talked much about the hilltop. But, we were disappointed due to poor amenities,” said Vijayaragavan from Bengaluru.
He said that though his family enjoyed the pleasant weather, poor roads and non-availability of quality food cut-short their trip. They wanted basic amenities to be in place so that the unexplored tourist spots could be attractive.
In the absence of water in the falls, tourists visit the boathouse, temple and the market and complete their journey in the hilltop.
“We need more activities like flower show, developing the herbal park and more recreational activities so that tourists stay in the hilltop,” said M. Gurumoorthy from Vellore.
He said that all spots need to be equipped with toilet and water facility apart from maintaining it. Though tourists are ready to pay, no facilities are available, he added.
Many tourists said that improving the amenities would invite more tourists to the hilltop resulting in more job and business opportunities for the tribal people.
