Date of Tour: 25,26,27 and 28th of December 2008
This one is supposed to be the longest tour on bike for all of us till date. We were 6 of us, Me, Anand Vardhan, Shreenivas, Shreesha Adiga, Ravi Hegde, Sreekumar. Ravi and Sreekumar started from Hospet and all others from Bangalore.
We started from Bangalore at 6am and the reached ShravanaBelagola at 9am. After visiting Bahubali statue we left for Belur. Ravi and Sreekumar joined us in Belur. It was 2.30 in the noon and the Channakeshava Temple is very well known for its architecture. Spent some time and were in Halebeedu at 5pm. Halebeedu temple was also crowded. Both Belur and Halebeedu temples were built during Hoysala reign.
We reached Chikka Magalur at 7pm. Got one lodge near the bus stand and went to sleep.
Day2
We earlier had plans of trekking Mullayanagiri but local people told us that since we had come by bikes its better to see many places nearby Mullayanagiri than to trek only Mullayyanagiri. We also decided to respect their openion.
First We went to Mullayyanagiri. This is the highest peak between Himalayas and the Nilgiris and one of my favourite. Riding bike on the small road through the edges of the mountains was a wonderful experience.
After Mullayyanagiri it was time to visit Baba Budangiri. We were slight disappointed as the Caves in Baba Budangiri was closed because of land slide. There is a small falls called Manikya dhara falls (Not actually a falls though....!!!) near Baba Budan giri. We saw the falls and were on our way to Kemmannu Gundi.
We saw 2 film shootings on our way. One unknown film and the another one starring Biyanca Desai and Prashant(Orata fame). Song shooting was going there. "Kalasamrat" S Narayan was the director...!!! Heroine was pretty though... :)
Next destination was Kemmannu Gundi but we decided to visit Kalhatgiri Falls and then Kemmannu Gundi and Hebbe Falls. This was bad decision. One has to visit Hebbe Falls first and then Kemmannu Gundi and then Kalhatgiri if starting from Mullayyanagiri or Baba Budan giri side. We messed up all the things. Went to Kalhatgiri falls and were very much disappointed as there was not enough water in the falls. Again came back to Kemmannu gundi to see the sunset but we were late. So we missed that.We decided to drop Hebbe Falls also as it was getting dark.
We were around 70km away from Chikmagalur and it was already 7pm. Road was also very bad. We were back to our lodge in chikmagalur at 8.30pm
Day 3
We had planned to visit Horanadu and come back to Bangalore on the same day.We extended our tour by one day so as to visit Shringeri. We bid goodbye to Chikmagalur and were in Kalasa temple at 1 in the noon. The road from chikmagalur was awesome. Lots of curves added thrill to the ride. Lunch was planned at Horanadu Annapurneshwari Temple. We had nice lunch and were on our way to Shringeri via Kuduremukh. We came across many Tea Estates and stopped at one to take few photographs.
Stopped at Lakhya dam in Kuduremukha but there was no water in the dam. We again stopped beside a road in Kuduremukh Reserved forest where the landscape looked something like this. 
We reached Shringeri at 7pm. There was Malnad Utsav going on and we saw some kids dancing and BharataNatyam and went to sleep. This ends the day.
Day 4
We started our day visiting Sharadamba temple. We then went to Sirimane Falls also known as Kigga Falls. It is a beautiful falls and I guess nobody could resist getting into the water. This falls is safe for anybody who visit. Had our bath and the time was already 11am. We had long distance to cover (380km..!!) to reach bangalore. Ravi and Shreekumar left to Hospet. We stopped couple of times and reached Bangalore at 7pm.
Tour meter read 1012 kms........!!!!!
View Chikmagalur tour in a larger map
Click on the Album to see all the photos
Chikkamalur Bike Ride
BR Hills, Ooty, GopalaSwamy Betta Bike Ride
Saturday, August 29, 2009
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Posted by
Sharat
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Well this one was certainly one of the most challenging and most thrilling tour we had. We were 4 of us Me, Anand Vardhan, Ravi and Arun Dixit.
The places we had decided to visit included BR Hills, Ooty, and Gopalaswamy Betta. We saw many other places on the way.
Day 1 were Shivanasamudra, Talakadu, Somanathapur Temple and reach Biligiri Rangana Betta (i.e. BR Hills).
Day1:
Left Bangalore at 6am and reached Shivanasamudra at 9am. After spending some time in both Bharachukki and Gagana chukki we left to Talakadu. The road towards Talakadu is one of the worst in karnataka. Reached there at 12 in the noon. It took almost 1 hour to travel 25km from shivanasamudra to talakadu.
Had a blast in Talakadu as there was nice water around us. After having lunch at one local hotel we left Talakadu.
It was already 3pm and we canceled our visit to Somanathpura temple. We reached the checkpost near BR Hills at 5pm. Just before the checkpost there is one dam where we spent some time. It was a surprise package of the tour as the landscape looked beautiful.
From the check post its around 15km to BR hills. Forest staff informed us not to stop anywhere till we reach BR hills as animals around may attack us. However we stop at one location to take photographs. Reached BR Hills at 6.30pm and our first job was to find lodge for the night and we got one. Visited Ranganatha Swamy temple at night and went to sleep. Dont Forget to buy Purest form of Honey here. The most purest honey I have ever tasted. Wow.....!!
Day 2
Places to cover on Day included K.Gudi, Himavad Gopala Swamy Betta, Bandipur, Ooty, Coonoor.
Woke up very early to see the Sunrise from top of hill. Sunrise was as beautiful as expected.
Next stop was K.Gudi.K. Gudi stands for Kyatarayana Gudi. This place is known for jungle resorts and Jungle safari. There are few government resorts in K gudi. This place is around 17km from BR Hills and the road was awesome. We could see a lot of deers, Bison, Peacock and many variety of birds on roadsides.
Few kilometers from K.Gudi check-post , We saw a Tiger crossing the road. We just couldn't believe our eyes. We were fortunate that the tiger was not hungry...!!! We stopped for a minute or two and continued our journey.
The road from K.Gudi was very bad. Had a nice breakfast at Gundlupet. Our next destination was Gopalswamy betta. We reached at 11.30. There was along queue inside the temple and therefore we skipped that. The scenery around the temple is awesome. We could see many elephants near the temple.
We had planned to reach Ooty via Bandipur before 4pm. There were 2 routes to reach Ooty. One is via Masinagudi and the other one via Gudalur. We chose the first one and thought we can comeback via gudalur. Masinagudi route has 36 very sharp hairpin curves and can challenge any 2 or 4 wheelers although this route reduces journey by 20km compared to Gudalur route.
We reached Ooty at 3.30pm. Ooty was jam packed with tourists as it was long weekend. We waited for an hour for the Boating tickets but we could not get.
We then thought of going to Coonoor by the train. The last train was at 6pm. Even the train was full of tourists. It is the same place where the famous song "Chaiya Chaiya" from Dil Se was shot. Reached coonor at 7pm. Started searching for lodge and got one after searching for 2 hours with the help of an auto driver. We needed to go back to Ooty to get our bikes. When we reached Ooty it was 10.30. We had parked our bikes in railway station. Bribed the police at the station to get the bikes. It was very cold (4-5 Degrees) and riding the bike in that weather added some adventure to the trip. Back to hotel at 12.30.
Day 3
Visited the SIM's Park in the morning which was not even as good as our LalBagh. Not a worth visit.
Left Coonoor at 10am. Reached Gudalur at 2pm via Ooty. We stopped at couple of places to take photographs. Riding on these roads will please everyone. Roads are good and the landscape is just awesome. Its better to go to Ooty via Gudalur and comeback via Masinagudi rather than the reverse path we took.
We were back in Bangalore at 9pm. And the trip meter read 750km..!!!
Find the map...
View Ooty-BR Hills tour in a larger map
Click on the album to view all photos..
The places we had decided to visit included BR Hills, Ooty, and Gopalaswamy Betta. We saw many other places on the way.
Day 1 were Shivanasamudra, Talakadu, Somanathapur Temple and reach Biligiri Rangana Betta (i.e. BR Hills).
Day1:
Left Bangalore at 6am and reached Shivanasamudra at 9am. After spending some time in both Bharachukki and Gagana chukki we left to Talakadu. The road towards Talakadu is one of the worst in karnataka. Reached there at 12 in the noon. It took almost 1 hour to travel 25km from shivanasamudra to talakadu.
Had a blast in Talakadu as there was nice water around us. After having lunch at one local hotel we left Talakadu.
It was already 3pm and we canceled our visit to Somanathpura temple. We reached the checkpost near BR Hills at 5pm. Just before the checkpost there is one dam where we spent some time. It was a surprise package of the tour as the landscape looked beautiful.
From the check post its around 15km to BR hills. Forest staff informed us not to stop anywhere till we reach BR hills as animals around may attack us. However we stop at one location to take photographs. Reached BR Hills at 6.30pm and our first job was to find lodge for the night and we got one. Visited Ranganatha Swamy temple at night and went to sleep. Dont Forget to buy Purest form of Honey here. The most purest honey I have ever tasted. Wow.....!!
Day 2
Places to cover on Day included K.Gudi, Himavad Gopala Swamy Betta, Bandipur, Ooty, Coonoor.
Woke up very early to see the Sunrise from top of hill. Sunrise was as beautiful as expected.
Next stop was K.Gudi.K. Gudi stands for Kyatarayana Gudi. This place is known for jungle resorts and Jungle safari. There are few government resorts in K gudi. This place is around 17km from BR Hills and the road was awesome. We could see a lot of deers, Bison, Peacock and many variety of birds on roadsides.
Few kilometers from K.Gudi check-post , We saw a Tiger crossing the road. We just couldn't believe our eyes. We were fortunate that the tiger was not hungry...!!! We stopped for a minute or two and continued our journey.
The road from K.Gudi was very bad. Had a nice breakfast at Gundlupet. Our next destination was Gopalswamy betta. We reached at 11.30. There was along queue inside the temple and therefore we skipped that. The scenery around the temple is awesome. We could see many elephants near the temple.
We had planned to reach Ooty via Bandipur before 4pm. There were 2 routes to reach Ooty. One is via Masinagudi and the other one via Gudalur. We chose the first one and thought we can comeback via gudalur. Masinagudi route has 36 very sharp hairpin curves and can challenge any 2 or 4 wheelers although this route reduces journey by 20km compared to Gudalur route.
We reached Ooty at 3.30pm. Ooty was jam packed with tourists as it was long weekend. We waited for an hour for the Boating tickets but we could not get.
We then thought of going to Coonoor by the train. The last train was at 6pm. Even the train was full of tourists. It is the same place where the famous song "Chaiya Chaiya" from Dil Se was shot. Reached coonor at 7pm. Started searching for lodge and got one after searching for 2 hours with the help of an auto driver. We needed to go back to Ooty to get our bikes. When we reached Ooty it was 10.30. We had parked our bikes in railway station. Bribed the police at the station to get the bikes. It was very cold (4-5 Degrees) and riding the bike in that weather added some adventure to the trip. Back to hotel at 12.30.
Day 3
Visited the SIM's Park in the morning which was not even as good as our LalBagh. Not a worth visit.
Left Coonoor at 10am. Reached Gudalur at 2pm via Ooty. We stopped at couple of places to take photographs. Riding on these roads will please everyone. Roads are good and the landscape is just awesome. Its better to go to Ooty via Gudalur and comeback via Masinagudi rather than the reverse path we took.
We were back in Bangalore at 9pm. And the trip meter read 750km..!!!
Find the map...
View Ooty-BR Hills tour in a larger map
Click on the album to view all photos..
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| Ooty-BR hills-Tour |
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