23rd June 2006.
Just 2 days back had completed my ICWAI intermediate exams, a reason strong enough to ride out after the stressful exam week. So a reason in place, now the question where to go, had two days (Saturday and Sunday) so used a bit of google search engine to find a place. In came the beautiful location Himvad Gopalaswamy Betta and then head to Ooty.
Now a little information on both Himvad Gopalaswamy Betta and Ooty, the info taken from Wikipedia.
Just 2 days back had completed my ICWAI intermediate exams, a reason strong enough to ride out after the stressful exam week. So a reason in place, now the question where to go, had two days (Saturday and Sunday) so used a bit of google search engine to find a place. In came the beautiful location Himvad Gopalaswamy Betta and then head to Ooty.
Now a little information on both Himvad Gopalaswamy Betta and Ooty, the info taken from Wikipedia.
Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta, is a grassy hill located in the Chamarajanagar district of the state of Karnataka, India. It lies in the core area of the Bandipur National Park and is frequented by wild life including elephants. It gets its name from the Himavad Gopalaswamy Temple located on the top of the hill. Himavad means filled with fog in the native language of Kannada.
It is approximately 220 km from Bangalore and 80 km from Mysore. The preferable route from Bangalore is Bangalore > Maddur > Mysore > Gundlupet > Gopalaswamy Betta.
There is a motorable road all the way to the top of the hill. Entry fee is collected at the forest depeartment checkpost at foot of the hill. Visitors are allowed from around 6am till 5pm. Overnight stay on top is not allowed. Trekking and videography in the surrounding hills are allowed only with prior permission and to be accompanied by the forest department guides.
It is approximately 220 km from Bangalore and 80 km from Mysore. The preferable route from Bangalore is Bangalore > Maddur > Mysore > Gundlupet > Gopalaswamy Betta.
There is a motorable road all the way to the top of the hill. Entry fee is collected at the forest depeartment checkpost at foot of the hill. Visitors are allowed from around 6am till 5pm. Overnight stay on top is not allowed. Trekking and videography in the surrounding hills are allowed only with prior permission and to be accompanied by the forest department guides.
So was all set on Friday evening, had planned to leave early from office, but the plan was a flop courtesy my manager. Returned home late around 11 pm, had dinner and could hardly sleep. Got up at 3 am, after being done with daily chores, was ready the road at 4 am. So left on time for once, the reason to leave early was to avoid the majority of the traffic on the Mysore road. With a cool breeze hitting the face, it was just wonderful to ride soon rode till Ramanagara had hot tea, felt really good in the chilling weather early morning. Soon rode till Nanjangud where a visit to the famous Shiva Temple was scheduled. Visited the temple, seeked blessings and headed to nearest hotel. Had yummy breakfast (Idly Vada and Khara bath). Next destination was Himvad Gopalaswamy Betta. Reached the place around 9.30 am. The words fantastic, fabulous, wonderful will not be sufficient to describe the place. Let the picture below describe itself.
Reached the temple as usual a round blessings seeked. Then walked around the place, all I can say is this is just a wonderful with loads of mist. Then it was time to head to Ooty the planned destination. With the lovely weather, just was just cruising at around 40 kmhr in the Bandipur forest reserve. Soon spotted an elephant herd. Just stopped and saw how these gentle giants. Soon a forest guard who was on the way in a jeep somehow got the herd away from the road. Then the route I opted was through Masinagudi, and do I need to specify that this route has 36 hairpin bends.
Reached Ooty. Believe me the roads were horrible, a heavy drizzle to accompany made the matters even worse. Headed straight to Doddabetta, spent a little time there and decided to go to Conoor. But hear the rain became a spoil sport. So came back to Ooty and headed to a restaurant for lunch. Nice yummy lunch with Alu parotas, dal, rice, sambar, curds. Just finished lunch and was thinking over what next.
A blessing in disguise, a friend of mine from the biking group called me up to tell that Manchinabele (more about this in a different post) ride was fixed the next day morning. So what next, relaxed for about another hour or so in the hotel itself. Thought it would not be a bad idea do try and do an endurance test. A non stop ride for 280 odd kms a good part of it rain, seemed a tough proposition, nevertheless a challenge to look upto, so decided to go ahead.
Rode back to Bangalore, reached home at around 7.45 pm. What next, I knew that there would be a photo session tomorrow, so it would not be bad idea to give the bike a wash.
All in all, did close to 600 odd kms in a day…………….
Reached Ooty. Believe me the roads were horrible, a heavy drizzle to accompany made the matters even worse. Headed straight to Doddabetta, spent a little time there and decided to go to Conoor. But hear the rain became a spoil sport. So came back to Ooty and headed to a restaurant for lunch. Nice yummy lunch with Alu parotas, dal, rice, sambar, curds. Just finished lunch and was thinking over what next.
A blessing in disguise, a friend of mine from the biking group called me up to tell that Manchinabele (more about this in a different post) ride was fixed the next day morning. So what next, relaxed for about another hour or so in the hotel itself. Thought it would not be a bad idea do try and do an endurance test. A non stop ride for 280 odd kms a good part of it rain, seemed a tough proposition, nevertheless a challenge to look upto, so decided to go ahead.
Rode back to Bangalore, reached home at around 7.45 pm. What next, I knew that there would be a photo session tomorrow, so it would not be bad idea to give the bike a wash.
All in all, did close to 600 odd kms in a day…………….
1 comment:
Nice and informative blog and pics. Me and my hubbie are also planning to hire a kinetic honda/activa when we visit ooty and conoor. It's something we would like to explore ourselves. I was wondering if the ride was safe along ghat roads as I would be riding in parts. Did you switch off the engine while going downhill? Just need some tips and wondering if there are many female riders on the there? Thanks, Kusum.
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