A Quick Dash to Kodachadri - June 2013

The last ride to Kodachadri was way back in August 2007. There was a nagging feeling that Kodachadri was to be done this monsoon at least. A couple of week's back my phone rang and it was a call from my class mate about her marriage in Shimoga. Now, the opportunity arrived to do a solo ride to Kodachadri and then attend the marriage on Sunday (30th June 2013).

As usual with quite a bit of resistance, I was permitted to ride. With things planned, I was ready to conquer Kodachadri again. The plan was to leave home by 5 am on the 29th June 2013, and reach Kodachadri at least by 2 pm and ride back to Shimoga by 7 pm the same day. Attend the marriage next day and leave for Bangalore.

Luggage tightly packed with Bungee clips and Chords, Tank bag ready, Petrol filled to the brim, clock ticking at 4.50 am and with the riding gear on, it was time to start the journey towards the Kodachadri peak.

Rode a good 200 kms before the first break, stopped for a quick 10 min break and continued riding but not before another 10+ min break near Birur level crossing waiting for the Shimoga - Bangalore Intercity express to pass through. Reached Shimoga at 8:30 am and the major part of the journey being done due to very sparse traffic, had a leisurely breakfast.

On the way to Shimoga

The luggage packed on the bike

Topped fuel again, withdrew some cash and started riding towards Kodachadri. I was supposed to take Aynur - Ripponpet route, however on inquiring at the deviation a couple of people mentioned that the road condition is not good. So continued riding towards Anandapuram to take the Anandapuram - Hosanagara Route. This route was nothing to write home either. Made good progress and rode towards Nagara after crossing Hosanagara. This stretch is freshly tarred, but make no mistake, the road is very slippery though newly tarred. I was stopped by the Police to inquire where I was headed to. With the routine check done, took the deviation towards Kodachadri. The route all the way till Sampekatte is patchy with good roads and bad patches. Sampekatte to Kodachadri base is superb with superb twisties.

The misty Kodachadri in the background and the superb twisties

The ride up the rocky path started. I will let the pictures do the talking.

A breather break

Green everywhere

Sharavathi River

A few panorama shots.

The rain gods started playing hide and seek raining intermittently making it very difficult to take photos on top of the Hill.

There were quite a few jeeps ferrying people up the hill. With more people, the serenity of the place is on the decline which is very disheartening to see. Loads of plastic bottles, alcoholic beverages and its waste discarded all along the rocky path is not what Kodachadri is known for. A quick visit to the temple and I was back again on the bike to ride back to Shimoga.

Stopped for Lunch at Hosanagara and this time decided to ride back via Ripponpete to see how back the road actually is. However, I was in for quite a surprise. Its only the last 10-12 kms stretch (from Aynur to Ripponpete side) which is pathetic with only pot holes. The rest of the journey was uneventful and reached Shimoga by 3:45 pm and took a hotel room to rest for the day.

Attended the marriage in the morning and started off towards Bangalore at 12:30 pm. Reached home in by 4:45 pm to settle in the couch to see the British F1 Grandprix. No pics on the way back.

Route: Bangalore - Tumkur - Tiptur - Arasikere - Kadur - Birur - Tarikere - Shimoga - Ayanur - Ripponpete - Hosanagara - Nagara - Sampekatte - Kodachadri

Distance Traveled: 839 kms

Fuel: 27.21 liters

Route Condition

Bangalore - Shimoga: Good throughout except for a few rough patches between Birur and Tarikere

Shimoga - Hosanagara: the first 10-12 kms is full of potholes. The rest of it is in good condition. Watch out for cattle on road.

Hosanagara - Nagara: Freshly tarred but quite slippery

Nagara - Sampekatte: Decent but bumpy with a few rough patches here and there.

Sampekatte - Kodachadri Base: Superb

Places to Stay around Kodachadri: A couple of home-stays that are available, they charge around 1000 bucks per head and jeep will cost around 1500 bucks for a round trip to the top of the hill.

Munnar - February 2013 Edition

The discussions were going on for some time at office for an unofficial offsite to break away from the monotonous work life. During these discussions, somebody threw in Munnar and Kodaikanal as an option.  I was more than eager to take the Linea to the outing.  The farther the place, the happier I am as I get to drive more.

With 10 people game for the trip, the date was finalized as 16th February 2013.

Here we go with how the trip transpired over the 3 days.

Day 1: 16th February 2013

We had all agreed to meet up at near our office at 5:30 am.  However, on the way, I would be picking up my colleagues, so headed from home at 4:45 am.

By the time we got together near office it was already 6 am.  With a quick rearrangement of the group, we headed off towards A2B near Krishnagiri.  We reached A2B, refueled ourselves with idly, vada, pongal and strong coffee.  How can the cars be left out, so we topped both the cars (My Linea and my colleague's Fiesta) at the BPCL COCO bunk.

We continued our journey towards Dindigul leisurely cruising and a target to reach Theni for Lunch around 1 pm.  However, with a slight delay and a coffee break in between we reached Theni at 1.40 pm.  Stopped over at Hotel Meenakshi Bhavan for a nice Tamil Nadu style lunch.  Our cars got refueled too at Theni.

Took the deviation towards Bodi from the Dindigul - Kumily - Kottayam highway.  From here on we made slow progress soothing the atmosphere and the surroundings. A few snaps from the many stops we took.

The ghat roads were in decent condition, yet it was a leisure drive so the speeds were quite low.  The Linea took these Ghats yawning.

We deviated from the Munnar route to go to Anayirankal Dam a couple of snaps from here before moved to the Lockhart gap road to catch the sunset.

At Lockhart gap road.

We reached the Bell Mount resorts/Hotel by 7:15 pm.  It was time to get refreshed and assemble back for dinner at 8:30 pm. 

Post dinner, we were sitting across and chitchatting till half past 10 in the night.  It was time for a well deserved rest for the group.

Day 2: 17th February 2013

It was a day of leisure sightseeing around Munnar. We hit the road to Top Station early in the day to avoid the crowd.  It indeed helped us to enjoy the place with few people around.

On the way to top Station.

At the top station, the place transformed from a sunny little place to a misty place in a matter of mins.  This helped the temperatures remain low.

We drove back towards Munnar but a break in between in Kundala Lake.  The group decided to take the pedal boat ride, but I decided to stay back and sooth into the fresh atmosphere there.

We returned to Munnar for Lunch.  With a quick break of 30 minutes, we decided to visit the tea museum.  It was a first visit for the group.  After an hour spent at the museum we came to the hotel and on the way we picked up the tea products from the TATA tea factory outlet.

It was relaxing time at the hotel for the rest of the day.

Day 3: 18th February 2013

It was time to get back to Bangalore.  The route was decided earlier that we will drive via Udumalpettai - Pollachi - Coimbatore - Satyamangalam - Chamarajanagar - Kanakapura.

The tea plantation and the valley

En route we visited the Lakkam falls near Marayoor.  

A macro shot

We drove slowly in the hope of spotting a few wild animals in the Chinnar Wildlife reserve.  However, the heat was getting a bit unbearable, the chances of spotting wildlife was zilch.  A leisurely drive got us to Pollachi around 12:15 pm.  We halted for an early lunch.

The lunch was sumptuous and the AC comfort of the car and hotel was the best place to be in as the temperature outside was hovering around 38 degrees.  With the AC at full blast, we drove via Coimbatore.  We refueled the cars before we drove towards Satyamangalam.  The traffic up to Annur was high ensuring our progress very slow.  Post Annur, the traffic was sparse and we made good progress.  It started pouring as were nearing Bannari.  The rain accompanied us for a few kms. The drive through Dhimbham Ghats was fantastic.  We stopped at Chamarajanagar for coffee. 

During the break, spotted a nail in the right rear tire.  It was time to get it fixed.   Lost a good 30 minutes and we headed towards Bangalore.  The rain again gave us company after we cross Malavalli for about 15 kms.  We regrouped near the NICE road junction, and headed our way home, but not before my colleagues dropped off to their residence. 

I topped up the car again before reaching home just to keep the trip stats to near perfect.

Tale of 2 Lineas in Nagarahole - Thirunelly

It was quite some time I did a trip to the wilderness.  With lots of haggling, one 2D - 1N trip was approved.  With a bit of research and pondering, the place was decided.

It would be in the wilderness of Thirunelly.  Jungle Retreat Wayanad was chosen as the place to stay.  Click on the link to know more about this place.

With Vishwaroopam movie’s ban lifted, the movie was in the ‘to do’ list.  Decided to get rid of this from the pending list and booked a couple of tickets for myself and wifey for Friday night 9.30 pm show in Mantri Square.

Day 1 – 9th February 2013

After the movie, drove off to my friend’s place, with an hour of chit chat we started the trip at 2.30 am.  The next point where we regroup was PES College at 3 am.  Goutham (Autocrat) was already waiting near PES College.  After a quick regroup, it was time to hit the Bangalore – Mysore sector.

From here on, it was cruising on the Bangalore – Mysore 4 lane road, for once it was enjoyable with sparse traffic.  However, the humps which come up overnight did surprise us a couple of times.  We reached Hunsur at 6 am and stopped over at Caffe Coffee for a coffee break.

On the way to Nagarahole

Drove through Nagarahole National Park with the hope of spotting a few animals.  We did spot a few deer, a crescent serpent eagle.  No tuskers or cats. 

We cross the national park and headed towards the Irupu Falls but not before a breakfast break at Kutta.

A quick visit to the falls and we were on the way to check in to the cottages in Thirunelly.

Our Cottage

View from the Cottage

We headed for Nagarahole safari.  It’s the same Canter safari.  With the loads of clatter and rally type driving, we salvaged spotting whatever possible.  The rain added to the misery too.

We came back to the cottage in the rain.  On the way back witnessed a Ford Ikon which had flung off the bridge about an hour back. Luckily the people in the car escaped with minor injuries.

As we were settling down to sip tea, A tusker lazily got in to the farm. Myself and Goutham immediately rushed to the watch tower to get closer view of the big tusker.  He gave us company for about an hour before we made our way back to the cottage.  It was such a thrill experience having the tusker a few feet away and we wait in the darkness.  This has its own share of its risks though, if the tusker decides to take down the watch tower, it can do at its will even with the electric fencing.

The tuskers returned a bit later and stay there for a couple of hours before making merry of the bamboo trees/flowers for the rest of the night.  We did hear a couple of alarm calls, but nothing turned up in the farm though.

Day 2 – 10th February 2013

We had planned for the Tholpetty safari for the morning. Hopped on the car and went ahead for the Tholpetty Safari. Did not spot anything other than a lone elephant, few deer and langurs.

Early morning views on the way to Safari

Spotting from the safari

Morning view from the Cottage

Lineas enjoying the wilderness

Returning from the Safari, yours truly driving the jeep.

Drove back via Mananthavady route towards Bangalore.  Spotted this mom and calf just after they crossed the road.

Somewhere between Sultanbathery and Gundlupet.

We stopped near Gundlupet and loaded the boot with vegetables and a coffee stop at the cafe coffee day in Gundlupet.

Mysore Palace from a different perspective.

The last break before the final leg of the journey

Last but not the least, the Tusker that gave company for the night at the resort.

PS: A big shout out to Goutham on helping me take good photos and editing them. Thank you Goutham.