A crazy idea of riding our motorcycles from one Hill Station to the other during the winter.
We planned this trip for about a couple of months and the final route map looked like this - Bangalore to Ooty, Ooty to Munnar, Munnar to Kodaikanal, Kodaikanal to Yercaud and finally returning home to Bangalore.
Over 1000 kms of pure motorcycling of which over 400 kms were in the hills alone. This ride was exhilarating and surreal.
I knew I love the hills and the cold weather. But never could make up my mind when it came picking one Hill Station over another.
All these hill towns have their own charm.
We started Day 1 with a ride from Bangalore to Ooty.
Route - Mysore - Gundlupet - Bandipur - Masinagudi and finally Hullathy ( a small village near Ooty)
The ride through the jungles of Bandipur was brilliant. With the fall season the jungle was slowly getting barren.
We reached our destination by the evening, with a bit of off-roading involved the whole ride was a great way to start this 8 day long road trip which would include riding ( ofcourse ), trekking, some farming and lots of relaxing.
We stayed at the Wild Walkers a beautiful place about 30 mins from Ooty ( the main town was expected to be super crowded coz of the holiday season ).
The next two days at this property was unbelievable. We literally woke up above the clouds. The sun shining down during the cold winter mornings and the camp fires which kept us warm in the evenings. We had a great the property, trekking up different peaks and farming potatoes and carrots in their estate.
Day 4-7 - We loved our time at Wild Walkers so much that we stayed another night and dropped Munnar from the plan. Giving us an opportunity to start another trip for Munnar someday.
On Day 4 - we left for Kodaikanal from Ooty - with a few options to choose from, we decided to take the road down to the plains from Kothagiri instead of Coonoor which turned out to be the highlight ride of the whole road trip.
It was really like cruising in the clouds. It was so cold while riding that we had to stop and take refuge a couple of times before hitting the plains.
The route - Ooty - Kothagiri - Mettupalyam - Palani - Kodaikanal
Once we were on the plains there was nothing much in the ride. Except for a brief moment when we rode through some wind farms. We could see hundreds of wind mills in all directions and it looked so beautiful. But the heat was getting to us and we were missing the cold weather. We raced on to Palani from where the climb to Kodai started.
Palani to Kodai is a ride to remember. When you get two excellent riding experiences in a day, it indeed was the best day of the whole trip.
Ascending up the hills on smooth roads and barely any traffic was fun.
Kodai itself was quite crowded when we got there, it was Christmas anyway..
I was informed that Kodai took a beating during the cyclone Gaja.. the roads within the town were in a mess and the authorities were working double time in making them.
We spent the next two nights in Kodai trying local food and enjoying the cold cold weather.
We stayed at Whispering Waters in Vilpatti - with a great host in Ramdev, we had an amazing time
Day 7-8 -
The last leg of the trip was to take us from Kodai to Yercaud and back to Bangalore
To maintain the continuity of the theme we were looking for a hilly town as a stop over for a night enroute Bangalore. Riding from Kodai to Bangalore non stop would take over 9 hours.. we usually like to take it slow and enjoy the ride rather than hurrying up
Yercaud seemed like the best option as at was perfectly mid way back home. Yercaud in itself is a small and cute hill town in the Eastern Ghats just about 20 KMS from Salem city. Nothing much to do there and these two days were just about going back home.
From Kodai we took the route to Dindigul to hit the plains and big highways.
A total riding distance of 300 KMS we covered in 7 hours
The 8 days of riding through these hills was the best way we could bring 2018 to a close.
Choosing between which of the hill towns we liked the most was a little difficult than we thought. I guess it all comes down to personal choice.
If you are prefer the old fashioned hill station with a charm that has a laid back approach perhaps Ooty is the place for you. With the tea gardens and beautiful properties you will be under the magic of the nilgiris.
If you like the place to be young and vibrant where everything revolves around the city center then perhaps Kodai is the choice. Once a popular destination ( even today it is in a way) for hippies there are spots in the town where you can let lose.
But for me it was about the riding experience!!
Until my next ride in 2019. Signing off!!
PS - if you like to follow me on my road trips and feel the magic of the highways, follow me on Instagram @highwaywanderer
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