Adimali is a working town in the cardamom hills of Kerala, on the road that climbs from the plains near Kochi into the high country around Munnar. It is not a tourist town, and nobody comes here for the sights, but it is a handy, lively place, a trading centre for spices, rubber, tea and cardamom, with a crowded bazaar, a lot of buses and the constant beep of horns. It is also the last proper town before the road begins its steepest climb.
The ride up from Kochi is one of the best in the Western Ghats. After Kothamangalam, the road starts to rise, passing through rubber plantations and forests, and then climbing in a long series of bends above the valley of the Periyar river. Two waterfalls, Cheeyappara and Valara, tumble down the cliffs beside the road below Adimali, and in the monsoon they are loud and powerful, spraying mist over the road. The tarmac is generally good, though landslides and heavy rain can cause problems, and the traffic includes heavy lorries, buses and speeding cars.
The landscape changes steadily as you climb. The air gets cooler, the vegetation shifts from tropical forest to cardamom gardens under tall shade trees, and then to the open green of the tea estates. The cardamom hills, a stretch of the Western Ghats, have been planted with spices for generations, and the smell of cardamom and pepper hangs over the roadside stalls. Elephants live in the forests and sometimes cross the road, particularly at dawn and dusk, so be careful on the bends.
Adimali has plenty of fuel stations, shops, and small restaurants serving rice meals, parotta and beef or fish curry, and it is the best place to fill up before the climb. Munnar, about fifteen kilometres away as the crow flies but much further by road, has more services. The best time to ride is from October to March, when the weather is dry and clear, and in the monsoon, the road can be wet and slippery, with fog, heavy rain and reduced visibility, so take extra care.