Exploring Ooty

Best place for me to go in this summer was Ooty. The maximum temperature was 19C there. Me & a friend started in two bikes on Thursday morning by 7PM and reached Ooty by around 1.30PM. We took the Kanapura road instead of the busy (& boring) Mysoore road. Reached Gudalpet by noon and it was very hot by then. From there we crossed Bandipur forest, which is always one my favorite place to drive. This is the fifth time I am going through this forest. Thrice in car and twice in Bike. Twice to Ooty and thrice to Wayanad. Read about them here:

1. Wayanad in 2011
2. Ooty in 2012
3. Wayanad in 2014
4. Wayanad again in 2014

Bandipur Forest

To Ooty there are two routes from Gudalpetu, one is the famous 36 hair-pin road and the other one is via Gudalur. We went uphill to Ooty via the 36 hair pin road and came back via Gudalur. Its really a pleasurable ride if you have a powerful bike and can really bend it to negotiate the hair pin corners.

Masinagudi Ooty road

Evening we went to Doddabetta. The usual mistake people going to Ooty make is they roam around within Ooty town - with the boating or the garden. Actually you have go outside town to places like Coonnor, Kotagiri etc. to discover wonderful places. Doddabetta is on Kotagiri road, 8KM from Ooty town and it is the highest peak in South India. You have to walk about 3km to reach the view point but there are some local bikes also available to carry you if you are lazy to walk. From the view point we can see Coimbatore town, Ooty town etc.

way to doddapetta

View from Doddapetta

Another must visit place is the Tea facorty which is also on the Doddabetta road. Here you will get to taste fresh chocolate and five different varieties of tea.

View from Ooty Tea factory

Next day, Friday morning we drove towards Kotagiri and then further to Kodanadu. On the way we saw the famous Kodanadu Estate which belong to Tamil Nadu CM. We were fortunate enough  (don't ask me how) to go inside and have a glimpse of the beautiful estate and bungalows. From there we proceeded till the road ends. The view from there was awesome. Click here for the Google map location. You could see a river in the map, same river can be seen in the picture below. Next to the river is the famous Sathyamangalam forest and then Karnataka border. This is where the notorious Veerappan was living or rather ruling. As you can see in the map there are no roads, its just the river and forest.

Kotagiri and Kodanad

View to Sathyamangalam & the river

Same day evening we went to Emerald Lake and Avalanche Lake. Unfortunately Avalanche lake closes by 3.30 PM and we were late. Emerald lake is also a must visit and a great place for camping with a tent. It was not very crowded and you could drive your car/bike close to the lake. This is a common film shooting location so chances are there you must have seen this place in many films.

Emerald Lake

On Ooty Emerald lake road

Saturday morning we started back from Ooty via Gudalur.  The road was good & traffic was less. On the way back we made occasional stops at the Barren hills and Pykara waterfalls etc. Reached back in Bangalore by evening 5pm only.

Barren hills on Ooty Mysore road

Pykara Lake & Gudalur Mysore road

Click here for the complete route map.

Nandi Hills

Another early morning bike trip to Nandi Hills. We started from around 4.30 AM and reached there by 6.30. Weather was clear, not much mist this time compared to last trip. But it was very windy and cold though. Uphill driving in Bullet is always a pleasurable experience, you never feel under powered.

Reaching Nandi hills I was surprised to see a long queue at the ticket counter. It has become a very common weekend destination for Bangaloreans now.

on the way to Nandi Hills

An old room made carving a big rock (left). We went inside it and it felt like a jail room. I liked this picture very much especially with reduced saturation.

Another similar one. The colourful flowers covering this old left behind also hides the mystery feeling.

Walking around the hills

View from top of the hills (left). New arrangements for visitors (right)

Nandi hills is getting maintained better now.

Wayanad Bike Trip

Finally at this peek of summer I did my longest bike trip - to Wayand from Bangalore, about 300+ KMs. There was a plan for a trip in car with my friends which got cancelled at the last minute so I thought why not go alone in Bike. This is my second visit, read about the first visit here. Friday around 10.30 I started from Bangalore, took occational stops and reached wayand by 6 in the evening. Stayed at my friend's place and returned on Sunday. The solo drive through Muthanga wildelife sanctuary in Bullet was unforgettable. The roads were excellent - clean and empty with frequent curves which made the bike ride really joyful. Bangalore-Mysoore highway ride was tiring as it was very hot.

Muthanga is known to people from Kerala more for the police firing incident happened in 2003. I took a stop for a cup of tea at Muthanga after crossing the Kerala border and asked the him about the incident. He told me it was the result of a political drama where one party encouraged the Adivasis to occupy reserved forest land and then the government had to forcefully remove them. Anyway that was a real bad chapter in the history of Muthanga.

Not much photos this time, everywhere it was dry and hot. The forest was better though. I was little scared to stop inside the forest, I saw many deers and a bear too. Hera are few photos.

Driving through Muthanga Forest, view from cockpit

Pulpally Forest

Muthanga Forest

Wayand Cricket Stadium

Jigani

Jigani is a close-by village to Electrnoic City. Though I have been staying in EC for more than two years I've never been to this place. One fine evening I decided to explore this village roads in my Bullet. It was a good experience. Couple of kilometers from the busy Silicon Valley of India there is this beautiful village with plenty of trees and silk worm gardens. The roads were narrow and almost empty. I could see only few children walking from school and farmers carrying their stuff in two-wheelers.

Also found a Meenakshi Resort which seems to be a good option for next family outing.

 Jigani Trees

10,000 KMs

My bullet clocked its first 10,000 KM last week. We went for an early morning ride to Nandi hills to celebrate it. I have been to Nandi hills before but that was during the evening time. The early morning trip was completely different, it was very cold and there was lot of mist. I was surprised to see so many people as a group cycling and walking to the hills during that time.

Here are the photos.

  On the way to Nandi Hills

Branches of the same trees which are behind can be seen as faded out, shows the intensity of the mist.

 Mist on top of Nandi Hills

In search of sunset

Chasing the sun

Trip

Went for the first long trip in my Bullet. Driven till Krishnagiri from Bangalore, about 100km away. I started early morning around 4.30 AM with no plans in mind about the destination. I had the camera and tripod with me but did not stop anywhere to take photos, only because the Bullet riding pleasure didn't allow me to do  so.

Bullet

"Made Like a Gun, Goes like a Bullet" - Got my new Royal Enfield Bullet Electra. RE is the oldest bike manufacture still in existence. Started in England in 1890s & later RE production is completely transferred to India. I have been seeing this Bullet since childhood at my home but didn't lik it very much- its heaviness, sound & its right side gear were some of the reasons. To me changing the gear with right foot was like writing something using my left hand. But nowadays Bullet is coming with left side gears and I am grown enough to hold its weight :)

There are a lot of people really crazy over Bullets. Bullet is famous for its thumping sound, long run capabilities, riding pleasure, looks & mass. There is a saying "Everybody makes way for the bullet", see the full Ad here. However its a cruiser, it can't be used like a other Indian or Japan bikes, it requires regular maintenance. Its not the bike for a drag race or riding at 100km/h. The best experience in a Bullet is between 60-70km/h. RE is not doing Ads in TV but only conducting rides and rallies for promoting their bikes.

Normal waiting period for a new Bullet is between 6-8 months after booking, the production is not high enough to meet the requirement. RE exports the bikes to Europe as well.

Royal Enfield Bullet Electra

This is me riding my Bullet