69kph

Rajasthan - Gujarat - Mumbai Bike Ride

2014-07-20T23:54:00.000-07:00

Here is a video done using a few of the snaps taken during our Rajasthan - Gujarat Bike Ride. We started from Bangalore and took a flight till Jaipur, from where our ride started. It eventually ended in Mumbai after 16 days, from where we took a flight back to Bangalore. Detailed travelogue to follow..

Sikkim - Bhutan Bike Ride

2014-05-06T07:51:00.002-07:00

Sikkim - Bhutan : A 16 day bike ride!

This post includes the links to all the parts of our Sikkim-Bhutan bike ride, which we went in October 2012.

Part-1 : Planning!

Part-2: Bagdogra, Siliguri, Pashupathi(Nepal), Mirik Lake, Darjeeling

Part-3 : Darjeeling

Part-4 : Gangtok - Mangan - Chungthang - Yumthang - Zero Point

Part-5 : Lachung - Chungthang - Lachen - Tangu

Part-6 : Tangu - Gurudongmar - Tangu - Lachen

Part-7 : Lachen - Gangtok - Changu Lake - Nathu La - Old Silk Route - Rangpo - Jaigaon

Leh - Ladakh Bike Ride

2014-05-05T23:12:00.000-07:00

This post contains the links to all the posts about the 9 day long Leh Ladakh Ride we did on bikes.

Part 1 : Delhi - Chandigarh - Kullu - Manali

Part 2 : Marhi - Rohtang - Keylong

Part 3 : Zing Zing Bar, Baralacha La, Suraj Taal, Bharatpur

Part 4: Gata Loops, Pang, Morey Plains, Tanglang La, Leh

Part 5: Leh, Shanti Stupa, Pangong Tso, Khardung La

Part 6 : Fotu La, Kargil, Drass, Zoji La, Srinagar, Gulmarg and Delhi

Darjeeling, Sikkim, Bhutan, Assam on Bikes : Part-1 : Planning!

2013-05-28T06:56:00.000-07:00

So, right after getting Leh'd in July 2011, all we could think of was one more such ride, which should be bigger and better! We even thought of going to Ladakh again, as we hadn't covered Spithi, Zanskar, Tso Moriri, etc. But then we thought about exploring North East India, as we hadn't known many people who went there on bikes. We then started our research and booked tickets in April only. We booked flights from Bangalore to Bagdogra on 20th October, and the return flight from Guwahati to Bangalore on 4th November. Once the tickets were booked for our 16 day ride, the 5 of us started to talk to our managers first to ask for leaves! Every Software Engineer knows how hard it is to get leaves more than 5 days at a time! That too, I had joined Cisco just 7 months ago. However, I informed my manger about the 16 day leave, and surprisingly, as I informed him well in advance, he told me I can take it if I have sufficient leaves! So that went silky smooth, thanks to my manager! Similarly, others also got the leaves approved and once it was done, it was time to start our detailed research!

Our actual plan after days of research was to cover Darjeeling, Sikkim, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh and even Meghalaya if possible, and return from Assam. Our expectations while planning was that, one can cover at least 150-200 kms everyday. Little did we know about the roads of North Sikkim!

The exchanging of mails from the outlook, browsing for all the possible good places, reading as many travelogues as possible... Our Ladakh days were back!

On October 8th, we sent our bikes through Blue Dart. We knew the guy, as he had safely sent our bikes during our Ladakh ride. It cost us around 20,000 Rs for 4 bikes.

Time to give a little intro about us! The 5 of us were - Myself - Yashwanth ( CBR 250R) , Santhosh (Classic 500), Sharat (Thunderbird 350), Shrinath (Pulsar 180), Sandeep (Pillion).

One will realize how much they are attached to their bikes, during times like these. We had to spend 12 long long days without our bikes! Commuting in buses and auto rickshaws are such a headache!

I had bought my CBR just 5 months ago. So I had to get it serviced again before sending. I also had to buy a rider's jacket, cramster saddle bag, knee guard, etc. Others already had those stuffs with them from our Ladakh ride. After buying all the required things and keeping many gatorade sachets with all of us, our bags were packed and ready!

Finally, after counting down for months, the day came, when we were about to spend 2 unforgettable weeks of our lives! October 20th!

Darjeeling, Sikkim, Bhutan, Assam on Bikes :Part-2 : Day-1 : Bagdogra, Siliguri, Pashupathi(Nepal), Mirik Lake, Darjeeling

2013-05-28T06:55:00.000-07:00

And finally, the big day - October 20th came after what seemed like years of waiting! Our flight was from Bangalore to Bagdogra, at 6 am. As there are no direct flights from Bangalore to Bagdogra, we had to go till Delhi first and wait there for more than an hour for the connecting flight to Bagdogra. The flight to Delhi was pretty much boring.  Then in Delhi terminal, thank god there was a Foosball table! We did nothing else but to play Foosball for the next hour, till the security check-in.

The flight from Delhi to Bagdogra was very exciting, as we could spot many snow capped mountains throughout. Then finally, around 2 pm, we had reached Bagdogra airport. Our bikes were shipped to New Jalpaiguri, which was around 20kms from the airport and we took a cab to reach there.

And after reaching the Blue Dart warehouse, there we saw our rides.. After nearly 2 long weeks! Packed in cardboards and bubblewraps, we took them out of the warehouse and started unwrapping them, as if they were our birthday gifts!

But sending the bikes through Blue Dart was not a better option when compared to sending in trains. Our rides did take some beating. The side stand of CBR was totally bent, and I needed bricks all the time to park it anywhere! There were some dents on the silencer cover as well. But as soon as I pressed the ignition button, it started to roar within a second!

Since the bikes were idle for a long time, it did take some time to start all the bikes, by filling some petrol. The side stand of Pulsar was also damaged. We found a garage nearby and spent the next hour getting the bikes repaired. I had to get the side stand welded, and we also got a new spring for the Pulsar side stand.

When I was getting it welded, some people from that village started gathering around the CBR, and started asking the questions..
"Kitna deti hai?."
"30-35."
"Mera Gaadi 65 deti hai!"
"Achcha.. "
"Kahaan se ho? (Takes a look at the KA number plate).. Kerala?"
"Nahin.. Karnataka.."
"Udhar se? Bike mein?"
Then I explained to him in my bad Hindi that we parceled the bikes from Bangalore to here. Then after clearing their doubts for another 15 mins about the bike, top speed, reason for buying the bike and explaining why CBR is better than a Splendour, the bike was ready!

We didn't have time to have lunch. So we drank as much water as we can and ate some biscuits.

Darjeeling is just around 70 kms from Siliguri. But we had decided to take the alternate route, which goes through Lake Mirik, and touches the Nepal Border. In this route, Darjeeling would be 105 kms. But by the time we filled the petrol and the bikes were all ready, it was already 4pm. When in Bangalore, 4 pm would mean direct sunlight and hot conditions. But there in West Bengal, it was already nearing sunset. It was getting dark faster!

So, we left Siliguri at around 4.30 and started riding toward Lake Mirik, which was 65 km far. We had gone there during Dussera festival. And we could see the festive spirit all over West Bengal.

After riding for another 2 hours, at around 6.30, we reached Lake Mirik. Mirik is a small town in West Bengal. It was already dark and it was getting colder and colder!

Since we didn't have any proper food till then, we were very hungry and were waiting to pounce on any food we get! Even though it was still 6.30pm, the place looked totally haunted. As if it was midnight. There was a small cart selling Momos and Tea. There we had the best Momos of our lives!   It was very spicy and yummy to the core! We even had tea, and were able to feel the chill of the weather. We were then feeling that the snow capped mountains would be nearby somewhere! The momo guys then warned us to be careful while taking the route to Darjeeling, as robberies happen there frequently during nights, and the road went through a jungle! We decided to stick together from there and tried to take a look at Lake Mirik, but couldn't see a thing!  Instead we took a few pics of our bikes and then left towards Darjeeling, which was 40 kms ahead.

After riding for another 10-15kms or so from Mirik, we reached the Nepal border at 8:20 pm. That place was also totally haunted and everyone in that village had slept off. We easily walked into Nepal, without any security! Took some pics of the place to boast that we walked in another country!

From there, we took another hour to reach Darjeeling. It was also totally haunted, and we couldn't find a single person to ask for directions as well! As a result, we missed a turn which leads us into Darjeeling town, and were going straight in a wrong road for nearly 10-15 kms. Later we realized somehow that we weren't in the right track and took a U-turn.

It was 10:30 by the time we reached Darjeeling, and everything was shut in the town. After searching a bit, we were able to find a lodge and he agreed to serve us dinner as well. After eating well, our day 1 ended. It was around 11:30 by the time we went to bed, but we knew we couldn't have a sound sleep.. As we had to get up at around 3:30 only the next morning.. To go to the famous Tiger hill at Darjeeling and see the first rays of sun falling on the mighty Mt.Kangchenjunga!

Darjeeling, Sikkim, Bhutan, Assam on Bikes :Part-3 : Day-2 : Darjeeling

2013-05-28T06:54:00.004-07:00

After a pretty sound sleep for 4 hours, we got up and left from our lodge at early morning 3.30 or so, to the Tiger hill, where one can see the first rays of sun falling on the Mt.Kangchenjunga! We left all our luggage at the lodge only, and the 5 of us left in 3 bikes, carrying just cameras with us. Since it was a Sunday morning, there were many tourists that day and it was already nearing sunrise at around 4 only! However we were not too late also. We secured a place to take proper pics of the kangchenjunga, and it was so tough to even get a place with the view, when it was nearing sunrise, as the place was so crowded! Finally, the sunrise occurred at around 4.30 or 5.. And we had one of the best views of our lives there. The snow capped Kangchenjunga, shining!

After taking so many photos, we left back to Darjeeling. We visited Samten Choling monastery on the way back. It was a pretty good monastery, but all the places were crowded on that day. We had some biscuits and tea there.

The streets of the town were totally empty. And just like we saw in the movie 'Barfi', the town had the toy train tracks everywhere..

From there, we went to a place called the Batasia loops. It was a small garden plus a war memorial. We could see Kangchenjunga from there as well. And also, there were some telescopes, from which some people explained and showed us the important places in Darjeeling for some 20 bucks.

From there, we went to the biggest monastery in Darjeeling - Ghoom monastery. And it was some sort of festival there it seems. So they were celebrating with dance and all. We could not understand the dance form, but still we sat there and watched it for nearly half an hour. It was pretty unique in the end.

And then we went to the rock garden from there. When we asked many people about the route to the rock garden, everyone told us that our bikes won't go there! However we decided to go ahead, as we had already seen the mighty Rani's Nallah of Rohtang. We assumed that this road can never be worst than that. And we were right in the end! We had some good views of the tea estates on the way and the roads were pretty steep. The rock garden was also a pretty good place, with a water falls and many kinds of flowers.

On our way back, there were some more processions as it was durga pooja. The entire town was celebrating and we were lucky to enjoy the festivities there.

We even spotted the clock tower shown in the movie 'Barfi'!

Our next destination was the Golden Pagoda. However, when we visited the place, it was under renovation. So we could just click some pics from outside, but could not go inside. Even this place had a good view.

And then we went to the Zoo in Darjeeling. It was there that we saw this cute creature for the first time - The Red Panda!

The Zoo was also a home to many other creatures found only in cold regions. Like the snow leopard and all. I was lucky to capture this cute girl there.

By the time we finished all these, it was already around 4.30 pm. We then got to know about the cable car in Darjeeling. We went to that spot at around 4.45pm. We also heard about a Tensingh Rock just 2 mins ahead of the place. We thought we would visit it first and then come back to the cable car. So, we went to the tensingh rock. It is supposed to be the place where Tensingh climbed that rock for the first time. So it got the name, Tensingh Rock. 2 of us even climbed a small rock there for fun.

Then we went to the cable car, after drinking a cup of Darjeeling tea. By the time we went there, it was around 5.10, and then we got to know that it closes at 5.00! We had noone to blame but ourselves! When we went back to the lodge, we found a Royal Enfiled of Karnataka registration! The lodge manager told us that guy had come alone! We were curious to meet him, but he was asleep it seems. Finally we checked out from our lodge and headed to Gangtok! For those who plan to go there through a train or something, Darjeeling is full of shared taxis. They will take you anywhere in darjeeling. I also have to mention, the road sense of those cab drivers was brilliant. They always used to give us space to overtake them properly, in those narrow roads. Our bikes were head turners all the way, as very few people go there in bikes.

Gangtok is around 100 kms from Darjeeling. After riding for an hour and a half, we reached a place called Rangpo, which is the West Bengal-Sikkim border. The roads were pretty decent. The river Teesta was flowing parallel to the road, and we could hear its sound at the night, when we stopped. We had dinner at Rangpo, where we met this very helpful guy - Tashi. He saw us coming in bikes, and so he talked to us as he was a biker himself. He had been to North Sikkim and Bhutan also in bike and so he gave us all the guidelines that he could think of. Our actual plan was to exit Bhutan from Samdrup Jhongkar. But Tashi warned us that once you enter India from there, the 40 km stretch is very dangerous and many robberies happen there. We had even read about it in some blogs. Apparently, this Tashi was the first guy in Sikkim to buy a KTM Duke it seems. He also owned a CBR and a bullet. He gave us his number and asked us to call him whenever we face some issues, as he stayed in Gangtok only. He even told us he can arrange for rooms that night. We thought of calling him if we found no place to stay, and then left from there. After riding for another hour, we reached Gangtok at around 8.30. We even found pretty decent rooms to stay, and that is how, our 2nd day ended! We planned to get up at around 7.30 and head to the permits office next morning, as we had to take many permits to enter north sikkim, that too with our own bikes!

Darjeeling, Sikkim, Bhutan, Assam on Bikes :Part-4 : Day-3,4 : Gangtok - Mangan - Chungthang - Yumthang - Zero Point

2013-05-28T06:53:00.000-07:00

Day-3 : Gangtok - Mangan
We had a pretty good sleep at Gangtok, and the next morning began with us standing in the queue at the permit office to get permits to enter North Sikkim and to Nathu La. Before that,, we had a nice hot bath there, which would be our last for many days! We had many photocopies of all the required documents. All of us carried many copies of our Driving Licence, PAN card, Insurance, Passport and many photos. When we filled and submitted the form, we got to know that we also had to get an approval from the Secretariat office. So we went there and waited for the chief officer there. But, it was a holiday season all over. All government offices were closed. However, luckily for us, since tourism is an important part of Sikkim, it was still open that day. We also met our friend there, Tashi, who came in a CBR to help us out in the tourist office. We were glad to have gained a new biker friend there. The officer came at around 10.30. His name was Mr.Pulgher. He was glad to hear that we have come from Karnataka and will be heading in bikes. It took around 2 hours there to complete all the formalities. We had to write a letter there requesting for permits as well. Finally, by around 2pm, we had all the permits acquired. We then had a light lunch there and left towards Chungthang, which was supposed to be our destination that night.

Then, on the way we visited the Tashi viewpoint. It did offer a good view of some mountains all around. We bought the good luck flags there and put it on all our bikes. We spent around 20 minutes there.

And again, my CBR was attracting interests of many passers by  One guy came and asked me again,
"Kahaan se aaye ho? Kerala?"
"Nahin, Karnataka".
"Wahaan se chalaake aaye ho?"
(Well, this was the 20-30th time we were asked the same question already! So We had new answers ready  )
"Haan.. Udhar se hi chalaake aaye hain hum!"
"Kitney din lage?"
"3 din  Idhar se Gurudongmar road kaisa hai?"
"Road toh karaab hai. Dekh'ke chalna".. and it continued for another 2 minutes.

Here onwards, we were used to think that we had come from Kerala, as it is more famous than Karnataka, and we rode all the way, as it would prevent us from explaining all the courier details :P

From this place, our biking in bad roads would begin. As soon as we rode for another 10 mins, we had to cross a bridge, and were greeted with a sign that read, "Welcome to North Sikkim". And from there, the roads turned from normal to bad. There were no tarmac roads here onwards and the roads were totally narrow, with many potholes and all. I couldn't even shift to 4th gear from here. All the way we were riding at speeds of just 30-40.

However, we even got some stretches of tarmac roads also in between. We realized here that we cannot cover more distance everyday. After riding for around 60 kms, we reached this place called Mangan. It took us around 2-3 hours from Tashi view point. And the sun had already set by then. We had come across very bad roads by then. At some points, we had to even ride in 1st gear, cross streams and all. At Mangan, we came to know that it was the last petrol bunk we would come across. And we had to cover around 350 kms or so, by the time we come back to Mangan! We called it a night, filled our tanks and also carried around 8 ltrs of spare fuel. We spent the night at Mangan only.

We had a good dinner there and the entire area is surrounded by mountains. We got a good view of many more villages in the hilly areas all around. We also came to know that one more group of bikers have rode towards Yumthang the same day morning. This day, we visited only one tourist place - Tashi view point, and the entire day was spent in just permit formalities and some biking. We were not too tired also. We had a good sleep, planning to get up and leave at around 5!

Day-4 : Mangan - Chungthang - Lachung - Yumthang - Zero Point

From this day, our real Sikkim expeditions would begin. We got ready and left Mangan at around 6 am. There was a chill in the weather at the early morning, which kept us in a fresh mood. At mangan, we visited a view point. It was a beautiful view with sun rays falling over the snow capped mountains and we could see a river there at the valley as well. We spent around 10 mins there and left to Chungthang.

Chungthang was around 30 kms far. The road was bad, and we had to cross some streams again. But the waterfalls we came across in this route were beautiful. We had many photo sessions all along the way.

After many photo breaks and GoPro video breaks, we reached Chungthang after another 2-3 hours. In these roads, covering 30 kms would usually take around 90 mins, and it usually drains you out, as the roads are bad all the way. And this led to our first problem during our trip - Puncture!

The pulsar had a puncture here, and we had to blame ourselves, as we didn't carry a tubeless puncture kit! However, we managed to ride till Chungthang, where there was some dam construction going on in the interiors. And the local people pointed out that the construction company people had a mechanic out there, who has an air pump! We had to ride down in very bad slushy roads for around 20 mins to reach that place. And the roads were too bad! It was one of the worst slushy roads I had ever seen!

However, after reaching there, he said he didn't have a puncture kit, but filled air into it. So we thought we could manage for another 30-40 kms in that condition and search for an air pump at the next village. We had a nice Maggi at Chungthang for breakfast. Here onwards, we would get only Maggi and Rice with Dal for breakfast/lunch/dinner all the way! And here, after our breakfast, we met some people who later learnt that we were from Kerala and we rode all the way in 3-4 days to here!

The next main village we came across on the way to Zero Point was Lachung. There was a checkpost here, where we had to show our permits. After the formalities, we left towards Yumthang. On the way to Yumthang, we came across some very beautiful sceneries and we didn't miss a chance to take some good snaps.

Once the rhododendron sanctuary at Yumthang started, the roads were covered with huge slippery rocks. We had no choice but to ride very very slowly.

Yumthang is also known as the Valley of flowers in Sikkim. So we could usually cover just 10-12 kms in an hour. But it was off-season when we went there. By the time we reached Yumthang, it was afternoon already. But the valley at Yumthang offered a very very beautiful view. We were totally drained out of hunger by this time, and even though it was just around 2-3pm, all tourists were leaving back and all the shops there were getting closed! We learnt that after 4pm, the place will be very very cold and it may rain as well. However, we ate some biscuits, chocolates and dry fruits there, enjoying the view and spent nearly 20-30 mins.

Our initial plan was just to go till Yumthang and ride back. However, after talking to some taxi drivers, we realized there is a place called Zero point another 30 kms away from that place, where we could play in snow. We were running out of time, as all the tourists were heading back. Still, once you go till Yumthang, you just cannot go back without going till Zero point! We didn't want to miss it. So, we started to ride there as fast as we could. The road from Yumthang to Zero point was actually good. It was a tarmac road as well! We assigned the duty of taking as many nice pics as possible to the pillion and started to ride, with least possible breaks. There was another checkpost at Yumesamdong. There, he told us that we actually had permits to just go till Yumthang and we had no permits to go till Zero point. However, he was glad enough to let us pass, after listening to our Kerala and riding all the way story  He asked us to come back within an hour and let us go, after keeping our original documents.

The road was beautiful, and it was too cold. I would say, around 1-2 degrees, as we were surrounded by only snow and snow capped mountains everywhere. And the altitude was getting higher as well. We had started to feel the lack of abundant oxygen as well. We met a group of bikers, who were returning from that place. We gave them a biker hi-5 and didn't stop, as we were running out of time. After another 30-45 mins, we reached Zero point. It was a beautiful place, and we ran towards snow and just fell down over the snow to rest for a while. We were all shivering, but with excitement! We had seen one of the beautiful places in Sikkim by then! We took many more snaps, and then left back.

We were the last group of people who visited Zero point that day. It was around 4.30 by the time we left, and the sun was running fast towards the west. Our 4-5 layers of thermals+jackets and our biker gloves couldn't protect us from the shivering cold chill out there. Our hands were numb already, and it was getting much colder as the dusk approached. Classic 500 was carrying a pillion this time and the other 3 bikes, we were riding alone. After riding for around 30 mins, we stopped, as we couldn't see the classic following us. We waited there, keeping our palms closer to the exhausts of our bikes. We had carried ample gatorade sachets with us, and we filled water in the bottles wherever we could. So here, we prepared some gatorade and drank it to get some energy. After waiting for another 20 mins also, the classic didn't show up. The sun had almost set and we didn't know what to do then. We were totally drained out, and the thought of riding back in search of the classic made us shiver more in that cold conditions! We decided to count till 10 and then ride back towards Zero point, praying in all ways to hear that thump again! 1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8.. Wait! We thought we heard the bullet sound somewhere! A little smile came across our faces. After another 30 seconds, we could see them again in those upward hilly curves! Thank god for listening to us!  When they finally came down, we got to know that one of their mobile had fallen down at zero point while playing and rolling over the snow! So after riding for 7-8 kms, they had to go back again, search for it and come back!  We scolded him properly for the carelessness and started riding again. We almost didn't stop anywhere else, after collecting our original docs at the check post. Even that guard was a little bit worried as we didn't come back early. We then called it a night, after reaching Lachung. We stayed there overnight at a pretty decent lodge, and were more than happy to eat the hot meal, sipping hot tea! We deserved that good meal after our coldest day so far!

Darjeeling, Sikkim, Bhutan, Assam on Bikes :Part-5 : Day-5 : Lachung - Chungthang - Lachen - Tangu

2013-05-28T06:52:00.001-07:00

Day-5 : Lachung - Chungthang - Lachen - Tangu

Again, we woke up to a chilled up morning, packed up and left towards Chungthang pretty early, without having breakfast. It was around 7.30 when we left. We knew how bad the roads were, but since we were still fresh, we were able to cover pretty good distances in lesser amounts of time. We reached Chungthang in around an hour, and for the 2nd time, we went to the same restaurant where we had breakfast. We had some good rotis and maggi there. We also filled up air to the Pulsar tyre, as it was punctured since 2 days now. Two of us went to an army camp there to fill up the air, and were served good parathas and tea there! In the meantime, 3 of us who were at the restaurant never stopped to grab attention of the others as we came in bikes! When we reached the restaurant, the other group of bikers from Kolkata were leaving from there. We had a small chat and waved them a goodbye. We also met with some people who just returned from Gurudongmar side. And one thing which they said, pumped in some more energy into all of us - "Oopar baraf ho raha hai!" (It's snowing now near Gurudongmar!). We, who had never witnessed a snowfall in our lives, were more than excited after listening to him! All that we now wanted was to go there fast and experience our first snowfall!

We left Chungthang around 9.30 and started towards Lachen - Tangu. Our plan was to ride till Tangu and call it a day. It started to drizzle when we started, and so we covered our cramsters with plastic sheets and we put on our rain jackets. The roads were again bad, but we were now totally used to it. 3rd gear used to feel like top gear throughout. We came across some waterfalls on the way.

We rode continuously without stopping for another hour. Maybe we were not meant to ride without stopping. The CBR got a flat tyre now! We blamed ourselves for not getting a puncture kit again. We started riding it slowly till we reach Lachen, which was another 3-4 kms away. As soon as we started with the flat tyre, we came across the biggest and the toughest stream in our entire trip! Oh god why!?

Somehow 3 of us managed to get it across the stream, even though it had a minor fall. After riding for another 10 mins, we reached Lachen, and thankfully there was a garage for trucks. That guy happily filled air into my bike. But the problem still persisted. The puncture still existed. We were not sure about riding till Gurudongmar and back to Lachen without fixing it, especially since the roads were bad. We were thinking what to do. Somehow we got to know that those Kolkata riders had decided to stay at a lodge in Lachen only. So we went there and asked for their help. They were carrying a tubeless puncture kit! After trying for the next 30-45 minutes to find the place where it got punctured and fixing it, finally our bikes were up and running! We came to know they were a proper bikers group called Kolkata Riders. We couldn't thank them enough. Without them, we would have decided to leave the CBR behind at some point of time. We took a few snaps with them.

It was still afternoon, around 2 and it was still drizzling. So, we decided to ride till Thangu, which was another 30-40 kms away. 30-40kms meant 2-3 hours at least in those terrains, and it drains you out very fast!

So we started towards Thangu and were riding continuously. It was drizzling continuously, and since the weather was very cold as well, we were all totally numb. We were just riding our bikes, waiting to reach Thangu. We had some picturesque locations on the way, with some river flowing right next to the road. The roads were bit slushy as well.

No matter how much we rode, Thangu seemed very far still! We were getting drained out because of hunger and the cold. After some time, the weather turned unbearably cold and we had to wait in front of an army camp, as the other 2 bikes were falling behind. When we stopped and removed our helmets, we figured out it wasn't just drizzling.. Those were not rain drops.. Those were small ice particles! It had started to SNOW! No matter how drained out we were, this one fact recharged us completely again! We experienced our first snowfall finally! We started giving hugs and high fives to each other! We were then invited into the army camp to have some hot tea, and some sweet, chocolates and all. They had lit a fire there as well. We spent more than 30 mins there, talking to a Major, whose son and daughter were working in Bangalore. He was amazed to see us coming in bikes and we were treated very well there. We were again fully energized! They loaded our pockets with many more chocolates and waved happily, as we left towards Tangu.

Thangu was just 5-10 mins away from this place, and we reached there within a matter of minutes. We checked into the first lodge we came across, at around 5pm. Sunset was already over. We just got freshed up, ordered food for dinner. At around 7pm, the intensity of snowfall got increased, and the roads, our bikes started to getting covered with layers of snow!

We went for a short walk after having a tasty dinner, took some snaps and started planning for the next day. We had to go till Gurudongmar early morning, and ride back till Mangan, according to the plan. Deciding that, we slept off, covering ourselves with 4-5 layers of clothes and 3-4 layers of huge mattress sized blankets.. When we woke up the next morning, we were in for a pleasant surprise.. Winter was coming!

Darjeeling, Sikkim, Bhutan, Assam on Bikes :Part-6 : Day-6 : Tangu - Gurudongmar - Tangu - Lachen

2013-05-28T06:51:00.000-07:00

Day-6 : Tangu - Gurudongmar - Tangu - Lachen

We woke up at around 6am and had hot tea and maggi. It was the day, when we had to visit the most beautiful destination in our ride - Gurudongmar Lake. Sun was just rising at the horizon and we could see beautiful sun rays falling on the snow capped mountains around us.. But nothing else could be more beautiful than all our 4 bikes covered with thick layers of snow! It was like 4 white bikes, entirely covered in snow! Our bikes would have been shivering inside!

It was such a pleasant morning indeed!

After clearing some parts of snow, we started to ride. Pulsar and the thunderbird took a few minutes to start up. But the CBR started immediately on pressing the ignition button!

It was very cold out there and after riding for 5 minutes, the roads were covered with layers of ice as well. There was literally no grip at all. Especially, in the CBR, which is infamous because of the bad grip of the ContiGo tyres, we had to struggle a lot. And we were at a certain height as well. At one side of the road, there was literally nothing. If we slipped badly, there were high chances of falling off those cliffs easily! We tried to ride in such bad conditions for another 10 mins.

The bikes were skidding and slipping badly, and we were struggling to cope with it. The stagnant water at the side of the roads were all frozen. The roads were still covered with thick layers of ice, which made it impossible to ride further. We started to lose hopes and stopped to decide how to proceed. When all hopes were getting drained out, came the highly spirited Kolkata Riders!

They were in incredibly high spirits to ride, even though they were facing same issues. One of them even fell down. Still they said, no matter what, they would be riding till Gurudongmar! The positive energy got transferred into us, and we started to ride, no matter what! We started to ride again for 15-20 mins, doing numerous wheel burns and skidding stunts, unintentionally! Now we faced one more challenge.. We started getting inclined roads! Whenever we stopped to move up, even if we applied brakes before releasing clutch, the bike was skidding backwards! And when we released clutch, nothing but a wheel spin used to happen.

The bikes, especially CBR because of its continental tyres, were refusing to move forward! Then we came across another army camp. There we met some Kannada folks as well. They asked us to wait for sometime. Once the sun rays fall on the road, the ice would be cleared. But still, we were asking all the taxis coming in the way whether they could take us to Gurudongmar and drop us back. But all of them were filled up already. Again we were served some hot fruit juices, chocolates and tea in the camp. After some time, we then started to ride again. Still the conditions were like that. But somehow after keeping our cool, we managed to pass all those ice layers withing 20-25 minutes, and came to normal roads! (Normal roads - Bad roads without Ice layers! )

From here onwards, the landscape started to change. It was more of plain lands everywhere, with distant mountains. More or less like More Plains of Ladakh. The roads had many rocks all the way. It was a bumpy ride here onwards for the next 2 hours almost.

After taking some snaps on the way, we finally reached the Second most highest lake of India - Gurudongmar Lake! It was one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen! What a place. A half frozen lake, next to huge snow capped mountains. It is easily one of the most beautiful places in India, which many haven't heard about.

We were already in love with Sikkim, and this increased it by many folds. It was at an altitude of 17,100 ft. So there was very less oxygen. We took a walk from the parking lot till the end of the lake, and it was very tiring! We took as many photos as we could in that altitude, and came back to the parking lot. When we were about to leave, our buddies, Kolkata riders reached there. We took some photos with them as well.

Actually, there is a lake called Cholamu or Tso Lamu, which is India's highest lake! But sadly it falls very near to China border and we need permits to go there, which are not provided to civilians. We could see the road leading to Cholamu, but couldn't risk entering there without permits, as it was a sensitive area. We could see the army bunkers in the mountains around us. Some army folks there told us that China starts right after those mountains. We were excited to hear that we were so nearer to the border. People usually come to Gurudongmar in Taxis. We were glad that only a few come here in bikes, and we were one among them!

It was time for us to leave and ride back as far as possible. Our target was to ride till Mangan, which was around 120 kms away. it would take at least 6 more hours. We rode fast all the way. And at noon, all those ice covered roads were looking like normal roads only and we could do nothing but feel nostalgic about the same roads which acted as a huge challenge just a few hours ago. We rode back till Tangu and had our lunch there. It was already around 3.30 pm by then. In these areas, after 2 in the afternoon, it starts getting very cold and usually not advisable to ride much. However, we left and were riding at a pretty good pace. The pulsar and classic were together. I had given my CBR to a friend and he was coming with the Thunderbird. After riding for around 20 25 mins, we could not see any bikes following us. Only pulsar and classic were together. So we stopped there and waited. We waited, waited, waited and there came no bikes at all! And of course, we didn't have mobile network over there. After 30 minutes, one of us decided to go back and check what happened, while the other 2 waited, as there was not much petrol also left to go back in both the bikes! Me and one more guy were waiting for another 30 minutes. It was getting very cold and chances of rain was also there.

We were hoping all were fine and nothing bad happened. An army jeep passed by us, and the guy inside it told that the thunderbird was not starting at all, and so they were still trying to fix it. After some time the guy who went back, came back to us and told that the other 2 guys would stay back at Tangu, trying to fix the bike and if not, they would tow it the next day. they would somehow call us and so we had to go stay at a place where we get network. They would meet us at Gangtok the next day. So the 3 of us started to ride and reached Lachen and stayed there, as we had good network. Here, the 3 of us took a good bath and slept at a pretty decent lodge. But we knew how hard it would be for those other two, to stay back in that cold place. We went to sleep, hoping that everything would be fine the next day!

Darjeeling, Sikkim, Bhutan, Assam on Bikes :Part-7 : Day-7,8,9 : Lachen - Gangtok - Changu Lake - Nathu La - Old Silk Route - Rangpo - Jaigaon

2013-05-28T06:50:00.000-07:00

Day-7 : Lachen - Gangtok

We woke up at around 7 to a chilly morning, which we were used to already. We had breakfast at our lodge and vacated it by around 8. Our target was to reach Gangtok and wait for the other two, who were stuck at Tangu, hoping they'd find some help. It is always boring to ride back in the same route again. In all other trips, we used to plan the route in such a way that we usually never would come across the same route again, even while returning. But here, it was the only road reaching North Sikkim and we had to ride all the way back till Gangtok in the same roads. There is a small falls called the Seven Sister falls also in this route.

The same Chungtang, Mangan again, meeting some of those people like the restaurant guys, petrol bunk guys for the second time and bidding them a goodbye after letting them know that we did it safely, we reached Gangtok around 3.30pm. We rode slowly all along in the same bad roads. At some places, they were repairing the roads as well. After reaching Gangtok, we started looking for a decent lodge and found one with a good view.

We relaxed there for sometime and then started searching for a garage to fix some minor issues like changing brake pads, fitting the number plates, etc. At around 5pm, we got a call from our friends who were stuck finally. They were just 20 minutes away from Gangtok! We asked them to come to the garage directly. They reached soon and we were so happy to see that the bike was proper once again! They had rode continuously from Tangu to Gangtok with just one break in between. Considering the bad roads we came across, it was nothing short of an achievement to ride that stretch with just one break!

Then they started explaining to us regarding what happened. When the 3 of us left from Tangu, the thunderbird didn't start at all there. And we 3 didn't stop until after some 8-10 kms. So the 2 of them stayed back, trying all the possible ways to start the bike, and taking help of many army personnel as well. The army mechanic also did try many things, but nothing worked out. They thought it was some alternator coil problem or something and it can't be repaired anywhere other than Gangtok. So they had to spend another cold night at Tangu. The next morning they woke up as early as possible, waiting for any army trucks going towards Lachen, to tow the bike. Many people in the army were asking questions regarding what happened and they had answered those questions 'n' number of times already! After answering the 'n+1'th guy, he started telling he had a fiero and it can be some spark plug problem. He tried something, and Vrooooom! The next place they stopped was at Mangan, without turning off the ignition to eat chocolates/biscuits at least! And there they were, one fresh bath and a soft bed away from the much awaited rest!

We decided to explore the city once. The MG road in Gangtok is a very popular place for shopping and restaurants. It gets closed for vehicles and only pedestrians are allowed during evenings. The place was crowded with tourists. We had one long walk there, exploring everything and had our dinner there as well.

Day-8: Gangtok - Tsongmo Lake - Nathu La - Baba Mandir - Old Silk Route - Zuluk - Rangpo

According to our actual permits, we were supposed to enter Nathu La on 25th. But we got delayed by 2 days throughout and we had to change it to 27th. It sounded very simple, but it was not! We went to the tourist office to get it changed, but he started to demand that he needs a letter from army office to change it. The army office was closed on that day because of a national holiday. The guy at the tourist office refused to change the dates. Then we called up Mr.Pulger, who had helped us when we went to take permits on the first day. He was the Asst. Director at the Secreteriat or something, which I forgot When he called him, he directed that guy at the tourist office to go ahead and change the dates. Mr.Pulger was impressed when he came to know we had come on bikes from Bangalore to go there, and he didn't want to disappoint the 5 enthusiastic bikers Without him, we had to plan something else.

After getting the permits, we started towards Nathu La. Nathu La is a high altitude pass connecting India and Tibet. It is the border between the two countries. It is a very famous destination in Sikkim and hence tourists were more. There were many cabs all along the way and we never got an empty road all the way till Nathu La, and these roads were bad as well.

On the way to Nathu La, we came across the famous Tsongmo Lake, which is locally known as the Changu Lake. The lake looks very beautiful when the mountains are covered in snow. When we went, the mountains were dried up and the lake looked pretty normal. We took some snaps there of the lake, and then sitting on a yak there!

After riding for another hour and a half from Changu lake, we reached the checkpost for Nathu La. The security at the checkpost asked us to show the permits and we showed it to him. Then he told, they have not mentioned Nathu La in the permits and we can go to only Baba Mandir! We then checked our receipts and that tourist guy had scribbled something which remotely looked like Nathu La, and looked more like Baba mandir. We asked him to let us go, but he denied continuously, telling it is a high security zone and it is not in his hands to let us go without a permit. We begged him for another 20 minutes or so. He didn't listen to us at all. Then some Major or someone came there. We told him we have come all the way from Bangalore and now due to some permit mishap, we are not able to cross that checkpost. He then let us enter, and asked us to return within 30 minutes! We immediately pulled the throttles and within 5 minutes, we were in Nathu La - the border point. There was just a fence between India and Tibet. We took some snaps there, and when nobody were lurking around, we stepped at the other side of the fence, claiming we have stepped our foot inside Tibet, adding one entire country in our travelogue now! :P For the records, we DID step into one more country during this trip - Tibet :P

The other side of the border looked beautiful as well.

From Tibet (:P), we then went towards Baba Mandir. Baba Mandir is a small temple built in the honor of a brave soldier named Baba Harbhajan Singh. We took some snaps there as well, and enquired the route to go to Rangpo from there. We had actually not planned to cover Zuluk, as Google maps doesn't show that route. According to Google maps, to go from Nathu La to Rangpo, one has to go all the way back to Gangtok and then proceed. However, the army personnel there told us the roads are very good and we could easily go all the way to Rangpo from there directly via Kupup, which is the shortest route. One of the guys drew a small map, explaining which all villages we'd be passing through. We took a photo of it and proceeded. This route is not shown in Google maps, as it has more army presence. There are many army bases all along the way. We were instructed not to take pics of such army bases.

Surprisingly, this route which was not shown in the maps, was the best ever road we came across in Sikkim. The entire stretch was full of many hair pin bends and loops. We were at a very high altitude and were covered in clouds at many places. The famous loopy pictures of Zuluk was the inspiration for us to keep it as an option, but now, after experiencing it, we can't imagine how much we would have regretted if we had missed it. We thoroughly enjoyed riding there taking numerous pictures. We came across many army trucks and jeeps all the way. At one point near Zuluk, we could see miles and miles of loops below us. We had to descend them, and that sight thrilled us! I am not going to explain it more, as these images would do that for me!

It was getting dark now. We were so close to China that, once our cellphones got connected to a China network. We received a message telling us that incoming/outgoing calls would cost us 100 Rs/min and a SMS will cost us 150 Rs! After riding for sometime, we met 2 more bikers who were part of some group, and they were headed towards Gurudongmar lake. After letting them know about the status and all, we had dinner at a place called Rangli. We came across bad roads again from there till Rangpo, which is situated in the Gangtok - Guwahati highway. We stayed in a good lodge, which belonged to tourism department. Sadly, there was no ESPN/Star sports. So we couldn't watch the football matches of the day

Day-9: Rangpo - Jaigaon

After 8 days of bad roads, we were finally done with them! From here onwards, we were back in the highways! Jaigaon was our destination for the day, which is the border town between India and Bhutan. The road was really good and we did nothing but ride ride ride all the way till Jaigaon with 3-4 breaks in between, to eat cucumbers, have lunch and take some snaps at the tea plantations. It had many stretches of straight roads. Our bikes were happy to roar again in full throttles!

Within evening, we were at a lodge in Jaigaon, watching Chelsea vs Manchester United, which Chelsea lost in the end because of bad referee decisions

That would be our last night in India for a few more days, and we were all geared up to enter a new country in our bikes for the first time - The land of the Thunderdragon - BHUTAN!

The Ladakh road trip on bikes - Part 6 : Fotu La, Kargil, Drass, Zoji La, Srinagar, Gulmarg and Delhi

2012-09-14T04:34:00.000-07:00

Day 8:

After buying some T shirts and a good long sleep, we bid a goodbye to Leh and started towards Srinagar in NH 1D. Our target was to reach Drass by the end of the day, after passing Kargil. After all these days riding in bad roads, finally our day started with wonderful, neat roads with amazing landscapes. The Leh-Srinagar road consists of plains and distant mountains, which forces you to do off-roading many times! We had to resist such temptations as our aim was to reach Drass at the earliest. So, after riding for around 30-35 minutes, we reached a little village called Nimmu. We had our breakfast here. After another 20 kms, we came across the magnetic hill. Magnetic Hill is a gravity hill located near Leh. The hill is alleged to have magnetic properties strong enough to pull cars uphill and force passing aircraft to increase their altitude in order to escape magnetic interference. In reality, the effect is an optical illusion and there is no magnetic disturbance in the area at all. We could not even feel the optical illusion as well! But the roads were awesome here. Many straight stretches of roads with good quality as well.

We were enjoying the ride taking a few photographs on the way. Good roads faded soon and we came across mud roads again. The ride started becoming bumpy. Then we reached Fotu La - The highest point on the Leh - Kargil highway. We quickly took a couple of pics and were nearing Kargil soon. We were hungry, and Kargil seemed an eternity away, especially when the roads turned from decent to bad. We could not even cross 40 kmph park at most of the stretches. Finally we reached Kargil, had lunch and filled the stomachs of our bikes as well!

Soon after lunch, we left towards Drass, which was nearer to the Tiger hill where the Kargil war was fought between India and Pakistan. Before sunset, we managed to reach the war memorial at Drass. A sense of pride was flowing within us as soon as we reached the war memorial. All the way, there was a huge army presence, as it was sensitive. There were even signboards saying, "Beware! The enemy is watching you!". We spent more than an hour there, visiting the war memorial museum, and paying our respects at the memorial. A tall silhouette of a mountain could be seen from the memorial, which we later learned to be the tiger hill. We even interacted with a few army personnel there and were thrilled to know how they survived in the extreme cold conditions. Drass is known to be the second coldest inhibited place on earth! At winters, temperatures fall below -60 degrees!

Tiger Hill

We managed to get a couple of well maintained rooms to stay at the Tourist department guesthouse. Drass was a very small village indeed. We dozed off, still with a sense of patriotism and pride, just by visiting that place where India triumphed!

Day 9:

Wake up early and start riding. Well, we did follow that rule that day at least! Early morning, when clouds covered most of the peaks, we 6 were riding on those roads, which used to transform themselves into good and bad all of a sudden! The first rays of the morning sun was pleasant indeed. We came across Zoji La war memorial, which marked the beginning of a treacherous Zoji La pass!

If we had come in a car instead of bikes, I don't know how long we had to wait there, as it was jampacked with trucks. The entire pass was covered with trucks, as the normal road was blocked because of a landslide. There was an alternate path for the descent in that pass, luckily. Since we went in bikes, we managed to sneak past all the trucks, one by one. And within a couple of hours, we were at the bottom finally! We reached Sonmarg in five minutes.

Sonmarg, or Sonamarg is the place where the holy Amarnath yatra(trek) starts. The place was crowded with tourists and many people had camped there, waiting to go to Amarnath. We had breakfast there and left towards Srinagar. We were not alone! All along the way, there was a huge army presence, with gun men standing every couple of kilometers! And to make the ride better, the Sind river was flowing parallel to the road and the burbles of the river filled our ears. We stopped to click a few pics on the way. It was one of the purest water in a river I had ever seen.

Had been quite sometime since any of the bikes gave problems. And there, we had it! The carrier which we had fit to the Machismo was broken. We tried to get it welded, but in vain. We decided to take it off, and load one of the pulsars with an extra saddle bag, and somehow managed to drag all the bikes to Srinagar, even when it was raining.

Finally, we reached the Gati office at Srinagar, which was the end point of our 9 day long bike ride. We gave our bikes there for shipping, took off our luggage, and hired a taxi. We still had half a day left. Our flight was at early morning, the next day. We did not want to waste our time by sleeping in a lodge. We took a cab to Gulmarg instead!

Gulmarg is the major tourist attraction near Srinagar. It is almost an hour away from Srinagar. We had some magnificent views of pine trees on the way. Gulmarg was one pleasant place, where we spent that evening peacefully, taking a horse ride and going on those huge stretches of green lawns. We could even go to the famous cable car there, but we were running short of time and sunset was almost nearing us. So we then left to Srinagar, did some shopping, and stayed at a boat house at the famous Dal lake.

If you go to Srinagar, you must stay at a boat house! We talked to the same cab driver to pick us up and drop to airport next morning. We did have hot water at the boat house! So, it was time to take a shower, which eluded us most of the times during the past 9 days!

Day 10:

This is it! This is where our first long bike trip was coming to an end. When we entered the flight in Srinagar, and reached the Bangalore airport, the only part of the journey we enjoyed was the views of the snow capped mountains near Srinagar.

Finally, the reality hit us, and bit us hard! From the next day, we had to go back to our routine lives. The harsh evil reality was smiling upon us! When we reached home that night, we did not know whether to be happy about completing an amazing ride safely, or to be sad that it ended!

The Ladakh road trip on bikes - Part 5: Leh, Shanti Stupa, Pangong Tso, Khardung La

2012-09-03T01:49:00.001-07:00

Day 6:

So, we woke up at around 7-8 on this day and had a good proper bath after 2 days! After having breakfast, we started roaming around in Leh. It was a small but a tidy city. We had arranged to go in cabs to Pangong Tso the same afternoon, and had given our id proofs to a travel agent to arrange for permits to go to Pangong Tso. He said it would be ready by afternoon. We just wanted to take a break from biking, as we had a heavy schedule, and so decided to go in a Xylo to Pangong Tso instead.

In the meantime, we were exploring the city, and visited the Kargil war memorial in the Kargil highway. It was dedicated to the soldiers of the army, who fought valiantly in Kargil. We saluted there for a moment and there was nothing else to do there.

So we then went to the famous Shanti Stupa in Leh. It is situated at a corner of Leh, and you can get a breathtaking view of the city from Shanti Stupa.

Shanti Stupa is a Buddhist white-domed stupa (chorten) on a hilltop in Chanspa, Leh district, Ladakh, in the north Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It was built in 1991 by Japanese Buddhist Bhikshu Gyomyo Nakamura . The Shanti Stupa holds the relics of the Buddha at its base, enshrined by the 14th Dalai Lama himself . The stupa has become a tourist attraction not only due to its religious significance but also due to its location which provides panoramic views of the surrounding landscape.

It was indeed a very peaceful place, where people go to meditate usually. And we still were facing the AMS issues. We were getting tired incredibly even after walking for around 10-15 steps at times! However we spent some great time peacefully there, and took some good snaps, and then entered Leh again to have lunch.

After having lunch, the Xylo was ready to go to Pangong Tso. We left at around 2-2.30 pm and headed towards the lake with nothing but excitement filled in our heads! After a drive of around an hour, we reached Chang La - supposed to be the 3rd highest motor-able road. And after another 2 hours or so, we finally reached our dream destination - Pangong Tso!

Pangong Tso became much more famous after the climax shot of the movie - 3 Idiots! It was way past sunset by the time we reached there. It had started to become dark everywhere. Still we managed to click some photos there and experimented with some long exposure shots. I was having severe headache by then due to the infamous AMS, and wasn't able to do anything properly! We had took our tents there to camp right in front of the serene lake. It took us around 15-20 mins to put up both the tents in proper shape, and another 30 mins to prepare maggi and have our dinner, sitting in front of Pangong Tso, looking at the moon's reflections in the lake. One of the nights I shall never forget! There are also 2 huge tents, which can accommodate around 20-25 people in front of the lake, if you don't have your own tents, and they provide food as well. Then, we dozed off peacefully, at one of the most beautiful places on earth!

Day 7:

We woke up during sunrise at the lake, and it was an amazing sight! We took some snaps then and after waiting for sometime for clear skies, we finally got to see the Pangong Tso in 3 colors. It was an unforgettable view, so beautiful that it made us wonder whether we were really witnessing it!

After clicking lots more photos, we then left to Leh and had a heavy brunch, once we reached back. It was noon by then and we decided to visit the highest motorable road in the world - Khardung La pass, in our bikes. Dumping all the luggage in our rooms, we left on our bikes at around 3. After riding through some scenic landscapes, within an hour and a half or so, we had reached the mighty Khardung La! Situated at 17,582 ft, Khardung La is widely, but incorrectly, believed to be the world's highest motorable pass. There are higher motorable passes at Suge La, west of Lhasa, 5,430 m (17,815 feet), and Semo La 5,565 m (18,258 feet), between Raka and Coqen in Central Tibet. Both these elevations are supported by GPS and SRTM evidence and the latter was also measured by the Catalans and supported by the Cartographic Institute of Catalonia. Vehicles have been driven over the 5,582 metres (18,314 ft) Marsimik La, in the Indian Karakoram to the north-east of Khardung La, but it is debatable whether this pass should be considered to be motorable.

Inner Line Permit (ILP) is not needed to reach Khardung La peak, however Inner Line Permit is needed to cross North Pullu to reach Nubra Valley. Inner line permit can be procured at the DC's office in Leh. Travelers are required to check in and must provide photocopies of the permits, to be deposited at each checkpoint. Altitude sickness is a serious health concern for travellers not previously acclimatized to high altitudes. Even I faced that sickness and ended up puking there!

There is also a cafe, supposed to be the cafe situated at the highest altitude in the world! We had tea there, and after spending some time there, we reached back Leh by evening, had dinner and slept off. We had visited the two main destinations of our trip on that day - Pangong Tso and Khardung La!

The Ladakh road trip on bikes - Part 4: Gata Loops, Pang, Morey Plains, Tanglang La, Leh

2012-08-16T08:24:00.002-07:00

Day 5:

So after getting up at around 6am, we were all set to start our journey on day 5. When we headed to our bikes, the mist on the bike seats was frozen, confirming sub zero temperatures overnight! We were thrilled to realize it was one of the coldest nights of our lives! Without wasting any time, we started the ride. We did not come across any water crossings then, and the roads were too good. We could stop anywhere anytime and take beautiful snaps. Wish we had more time to enjoy the scenery. We passed Sarchu in an hour. It was the place where most of the tourists and bikers had stayed. The place was full of scenic locations and tents everywhere. After Sarchu, the Himachal Pradesh border ended and we were entering Jammu and Kashmir now. After some formalities at the border, we were riding in Jammu and Kashmir, with many humorous warning boards everywhere from BRO(Border Roads Organization).

After riding for another 20-30 kms from Sarchu, we entered the Gata loops. Gata loops consist of 21 hairpin curves and provides you with a great scenic view once you reach the top. After riding for some more time, we passed Naki La and Lachulung La - two more mountain passes at high altitudes. Around 25 kms from Lachulung La, we reached a place called Pang. Here we had breakfast finally. It was around 10-11 am. We were very hungry as well. So we ordered many stuffs and ate them happily. Pang had an army base situated at the highest altitude in the whole world! After riding for around 10-15 kms, we reached one of the most awaited destinations in our trip - Morey Plains.

Morey plains consisted of just plain lands with straight roads all the way for around 40 kms. Wherever you park your bike and take a photo there, would be a wallpaper material! The ride was smooth all the way, and after another 25 kms from the end of Morey plains, we reached Tanglang La - World's second highest pass, according to many.

We could feel the lack of oxygen there. It was almost around 3pm or so by then. Roads were quite good till then. From there onwards, we started to descend all the way to Leh. We covered more distance in shorter times now, as Leh was edging nearer, and we just wanted to reach it asap and have a good dinner and sleep off! We reached Rumptse, Upshi in another hour or so. From Upshi, finally we got one of the best roads in our trip so far and were excited to see it and started accelerating all the way till Leh and by around 6pm, we were in Leh finally! We searched for a good lodge for half an hour, then roamed in Leh for a while, had dinner, bought some t shirts and went to bed, after planning for the next day.. To go to the heavenliest place in the entire India - Pangong Tso!

A few snaps below -

Seats frozen!

Gata loops

Morey Plains

The Ladakh road trip on bikes - Part 3 : Zing Zing Bar, Baralacha La, Suraj Taal, Bharatpur

2012-05-18T07:43:00.001-07:00

Day 4 (Continued) :

So, after getting fresh finally, we started our journey with a good initial pace, saying bye to Keylong, a place where we were reunited after a bit of an adventure! It was afternoon already and we knew we couldn't cover much distance that day.

The ride was smooth, fun filled and we had to cross some water streams as well. As always, we were surrounded by huge mountains all the way and the roads were bad too. We could not even cross 60 most of the times. But the initial parts of the road from Keylong was good. We had finished our lunch at Keylong. So we had to pass Baralacha La within sunset and reach Sarchu, to stay during the night.

After a pretty long ride, where we stopped in between just to drink water and eat something, we reached Zing Zing Bar. Well, it wasn't a bar as the name says and it was just a place where some army troops were stationed. An ascent started from there and all of a sudden there was a chill in the air. It was nearing sunset already. We just stopped for a minute to enjoy the sudden chill in the air and decided to reach Baralacha La as soon as possible and reaching Sarchu by nightfall was our plan. We were around 60-70 kms from Sarchu still.

In another 15-30 minutes, we had to stop in front of a giant stream and it was really huge! It was very deep as well, and the fact that it was due to the melting of ice caps made it almost impossible to cross it by ourselves. Thankfully, some 5-6 people were there whose job was to push the bike by themselves across the stream and they charged 100 Rs per bike. Seemed legit since 5 of them had to share it again. They pushed it across the stream easily and without bikes also it was so tough for us to make it across the stream since the water was literally ice cold. It was the coldest stream we ever came across. We took another 10-15 minutes there to get dried up a bit and we were realizing that we were at very higher altitudes now, since breathing wasn't easy and we would get tired so soon, due to lack of oxygen.

After another half an hour or so, it was around 7pm and we reached Baralacha La pass, famous from the movie Jab we met, and in the Zanskar range accompanied by the famous Suraj taal lake there was mesmerizing. We took many snaps there in a hurry since we were running out of time, and the higher altitude was draining out our energies so fast that I had to catch my breath to even click photos! After spending around 10-15 minutes there, we left and in another 10 minutes, had one of the views of our lives. The famous Baralacha La view of Zanskar range snow capped mountains till eternity! It was like a huge Black forest cake with whipped cream. It was such a breathtaking view(also literally, coz of altitude again!).

The sun had already set by then and in another 15 minutes, around 7.30pm, we reached a small place called Bharatpur. There was nothing but 3-4 huge tents where they provided food and stay. Those people advised us not to travel further in nights since crossing the streams during night would be a mammoth task and dangerous. Since we had no idea what would be next in our way, we obliged them and decided to stay there only overnight. They gave us a small box filled with charcoal set on fire. We were sitting right next to it almost all the time. It was getting colder and colder and we never felt like taking off our huge jackets.

The beds there were so soft and cozy. They provided each of us with 3-4 huge blankets, each of them resembling a bed by itself and after getting beneath at least 10kgs of blankets also, somewhere, we were feeling cold still! They served us with many glasses of Tea and then Maggi - the staple food in all the small tents over there.

After having food, we just went outside for a minute to have a beautiful view of the snow capped mountains accompanied with the stars at night. It was such an amazing feeling to enjoy such views, totally forgetting about the outside world, work pressure, everything. Without any mobile network also, we were feeling so peaceful and even though we were so tired, our excitement never died, and then we went to the bed, thinking about the destination we wanted to reach the next day - LEH!

The Ladakh road trip on bikes - Part 2 : Marhi - Rohtang - Keylong

2011-08-08T01:53:00.000-07:00

The Journey :

Day 3 :

After a night spent inside the tent amidst heavy rains, we packed our tents in the morning and ate Maggi. Little did we know about the road lying ahead. All that we knew was that there was a huge traffic jam in the ghat section after Marhi(Rani Nallah), which was visible from the place we stayed. Vehicles were just standing in a long queue from the beginning of the ghat section till the end. Only one way traffic was allowed every hour and then the traffic was allowed from the other direction, because of the heavy rains and landslides. There was no road only. It was all just mud slush everywhere.

We had never seen such a bad road before in our lives, as it was just knee deep mud slush everywhere, where only 4x4 vehicles could pass with ease. Every other 4 wheeler and bikes were suffering to cross this stretch of 6-8 kms. We had to push bikes at so many places, especially since it was heavily loaded. However, we ended up burning the clutch plates of Machismo. We weren't carrying a spare clutch plate also. We were helpless there, struck amongst hundreds of vehicles parked there due to the traffic jam which had started 30 hours ago. We couldn't believe when we learned that the 4 wheelers were struck in the jam from the previous day. They had to sleep inside their vehicles only without any food.

We luckily came across a truck which was carrying some 12 Royal Enfields to Leh, which was also struck there. There was also a mechanic sitting inside the truck. We pleaded him to remove clutch plate from a bike in his truck and put it into ours. We can never forget that guy, Viru, who helped us a lot by doing so. Finally we had working clutch plates in the machismo again, but it wasn't a new one, since it was removed from some other bike. By that time, the 2 pillions had trekked all the way to the top, where the jam ended. There was a glacier right next to us, and it was the first time I touched snow! But we couldn't enjoy there, since we were waiting for the other bikers.

The two of us were waiting for the bikers to reach the top for over two hours, and then the two pulsars managed to ascend all the mud slush and reached the top safely. We were now waiting for the bullets to arrive. Then, after waiting for another two hours, we came to know that the clutch plates of machismo got damaged again, after almost reaching the top. We asked so many riders whether they had spare clutch plates. But we weren't lucky this time. We went all the way back to Viru again, who was still struck some 4-5 loops below, but he also couldn't be of any help since we didn't have a spare clutch plate. We talked to Viru that we'd be putting the bike inside his truck once the jam clears and take it all the way to Keylong, where the next Mechanic and spares would be available. Keylong was further 70 kms away from there. We hadn't yet reached Rohtang. Since we had decided that we'd be putting the bike in the truck and reach Keylong, the 4 others left in 3 bikes to reach Keylong as early as possible, leaving me and one more of us along with the Machismo. We had thought it'd be a perfect plan and we'd be reaching Keylong by night. But, somewhere deep inside, we were feeling nothing goes according to our plans....

The 4 others had left from there and passed Rohtang La, reached Tandi and stayed at an army camp there. According to what I heard from them, they were very hospitable and served quality food, providing fully furnished rooms, for a very nominal price.

In the meantime, near Rohtang, where we were stuck, It was 8 in the night and it started to rain heavily. We had no option but to sit below a truck. We came to know that the truck to which we had talked wouldn't be arriving anytime soon, since it started to rain and there were landslides again. A Qualis got damaged right in front of our eyes due to a landslide and luckily none were injured. The truck driver asked us to get into the truck since it was raining. Along with us, some 5-6 more bikes had got damaged and were waiting with us thinking about the further options we had. All of us decided to talk to a truck going in the opposite direction to take a u turn and drop us till Keylong, where we could get the bikes repaired. After talking to some 3-4 trucks, a guy agreed to drop us for 9k. We immediately put the 5 bikes in the truck and left there by 9pm.

It was the first time we were travelling inside a truck with bikes and we had no idea how tough it would be. Once the truck started to move, we had to control the bikes from falling, using all our energy, since the entire road stretch was bad. Our legs, hands and everything started to pain a lot since there was nothing to hold onto in the truck. It was one hell of a ride, where we had to spend all the energy even while sitting, for around 3 hours.After 3 hours, we thought we had covered 70 kms and about to reach Keylong. But were shocked when we realized we had covered only 28 kms and reached a little village called Koksar. All of us decided that we can't take it anymore and decided to get down at Koksar only. It was almost 12 by that time and we got some space in a dhaba to stay. Luckily we had our sleeping bags with us. So, we had a sound sleep till 8, blaming our fate and unable to reach others. We had no idea where the others would be, since we didn't have network over there. We thought they'd be waiting at Keylong for us, which was a further 45-50 kms away. It was a long long day.

Day 4 :

We woke up and luckily found a small pick up jeep standing right in front of our dhaba and asked him to take the bike with us to Keylong and he agreed. We had our breakfast, used the pay and use toilet at Koksar and left for Keylong, hoping this journey would be better atleast, since it was a jeep and only our bike would be there in it. But we were wrong again. It was also one hell of a journey and we had to struggle a lot to hold the bike and stop it from falling. It was a crazy ride for around 2 hours and finally we reached Keylong, and were more than happy when we found the other 4 waiting for us right there in a garage. We went to a lodge to take bath for the first time since 4 days! We ate like some nomads who didn't eat from years and were feeling so fresh after taking the bath. Finally a sigh of relief, after getting the bikes repaired, taking more petrol in jerry cans and finally packing the bags for one more long ride to cover more distance... And again hoping that we wouldn't face any problems from now onwards.... God only knew what we were about to face....

The Ladakh road trip on bikes - Part 1 : Delhi - Chandigarh - Kullu - Manali

2011-08-01T01:09:00.000-07:00

The Journey :

Day 1 :

So, after planning for more than an year, our dream was finally about to come true! Ladakh trip on bikes! After a month we took for preparations, when we were about to leave and packed the bags, we realized how much luggage we were carrying. Our trip was of 10 days and we had bought too many Maggi packs, MTR Ready to Eats, Chocolates, Biscuits, etc etc. Along with that, we were carrying our own tents, sleeping bags, a small cylinder and utensils as well to cook when required. You can imagine how bulky it would be, and we had to pack them all on bikes later.

Just after Sunrise.

Our trip actually started when we gave our bikes to Blue Dart, 2 weeks before the date of our departure. After confirming that the bikes had reached Chandigarh, we left Bangalore on July 8th, 2011. We reached the airport by around 5 and then reached Delhi by 9.30. We had booked a taxi from Delhi to Chandigarh before only. In case you want to book taxis from Delhi to Chandigarh, you can find many contacts on Google only. So we tied all our bags and the road trip started from Delhi.

The Blue Dart godown.

Delhi - Chandigarh highway is of 6 lanes and is neatly maintained. It started to rain on the first day only, and we were sure it'd be one hell of a trip! We reached Chandigarh by around 4 and were glad to see the bikes after two weeks, totally packed. We were 6 of us, and were about to go in 4 bikes ( Thunderbird 350, Machismo 500, 2 Pulsar 180s). Due to some loose contact, no matter how much we tried, we were not able to start the Thunderbird. So we had to search for an Enfield showroom in Chandigarh and brought a mechanic along with us, who took half an hour to fix it. So it was around 6 by the time we left Chandigarh in bikes. The bikes were heavily loaded with the luggage and had to carry 2 pillions as well.

The place where we stayed!

We crossed Mohali, Rupar and it was around 9.30 when we reached Rupar, where we had our dinner. We were confused regarding our further plans. Our initial plan was to ride till Mandi and stay there. But from Rupar, we learnt that Mandi was further 150 km away and we were very tired already. So we decided to ride as far as we can and stay anywhere where we felt like.

We weren't even searching for lodges, as we had sleeping bags and tents with us. We rode a further 60-80 kms and slept in front of some random general stores shop, since it was midnight and there was nobody who'd ask us not to sleep over there. It was the end of the first day of our trip, which constituted of getting the bike repaired and we went to a sound sleep, hoping our trip would be smooth from the next day.

But.. did it really go smooth?

Day 2 :

We woke up and started to ride immediately, and our target was to cross Manali and stay somewhere near Rohtang on that day. After riding for around 10-20 kms, we got a Bilaspur Lake view point. It was a pretty decent landscape. We stopped there for 5 minutes and left again towards Mandi. We came across a dam as well. We were hoping to reach Mandi asap and have breakfast there. But god had other plans....

When we were nearing Mandi, the Machismo met with an accident. Some crazy fellow started to cross the road all of a sudden, and the machismo guys had no other option but to apply brakes and fall. The bike got damaged and even they had minor injuries, thanks to the helmet and the jackets. So we it was already afternoon by the time we got the bike repaired and reached Mandi. We purchased jerry cans to fill petrol at Mandi and did some other shopping as well. Mandi is a small town where you can stay as well.

Then we started towards Manali, passing Kullu. If only those two weren't injured, we'd have gone for rafting here as well. Kullu is very famous for white water rafting in the majestic Beas river. I had never seen such rivers flowing with such a force in south India ever. The road from Mandi to Manali is very scenic and you'll have to pass through a 2km long tunnel as well. We were enjoying the ride to the fullest, with so many huge mountains and waterfalls all the way.

Finally, it was evening by the time we reached Manali. To go in the Manali - Leh road, you'd be requiring permits for vehicles which are not from Himachal Pradesh. We had called up a guy from Bangalore and he had taken the permits on our behalf. We met that guy and collected permits from him and had our lunch. There was nothing to roam around in Manali. So we thought about covering some more distance by the nightfall, and decided to ride till Marhi, which is 35 kms from Manali. The roads were pretty normal with some mud slush on the way to Marhi. On reaching Marhi by around 7.30-8 pm, we set up our tents in front of a dhaba and could easily see the huge traffic jam right in front of the ghat section to Rohtang La. We knew it'd be a long day and were trying to get mentally prepared for the next day. And also, it was the first time we saw beautiful snow capped mountains right in front of us. It even started to rain heavily that night and we fell asleep amidst all these. More the rain, more bad the conditions of the road. Sigh..

Guidelines :

Always carry a first aid kit with you.
Always wear a helmet if going on bikes. Even the pillion must wear helmets. Without the helmets, we don't know what would have happened.
Better stay at Marhi than Manali, since you'd be knowing the condition of the road once you reach Marhi.

Some more snaps from the trip can be seen below..

Magod Falls , Sathodi Falls and Jenukallu Gudda

2011-06-28T07:49:00.000-07:00

About The Places :

Magod Falls is a group of waterfalls in Uttar Kannada district of Karnataka, India, where the river Bedti falls from a height of nearly 200m in two steps. It is around 70 kms from Sirsi, 17 kms from Yellapur, 215 kms from Shimoga and around 450 kms from Bangalore.

Satoddi Falls or Sathodi Falls is a waterfall in India that is formed by several unnamed streams near Kallaramarane Ghat, Uttara Kannada District, near Sirsi, and 32 km from Yellapur. It is about 15 meters (49.2 feet) tall. The stream then flows into the backwaters of the Kodasalli Dam, into the Kali River.

Jenukallu - Jenu means Honey, Kallu means stone and Gudda means hill. This place is a viewpoint in the Western Ghat, which offers a panoramic view of the hills packed one behind the other. Jenukallu Gudda is situated 17 Kms from Yellapur. The Bedti River from Magod falls cuts across the green hills and bounces all the way to join the Arabian Sea beyond the hills.

The Journey :

This was the day 4 of our week long bike trip. After visiting Kodachadri, Yana, Sigandur, Unchalli falls and Banavasi, we left for Magod falls on the day 4 morning. 4 of us left in 2 bikes(a thunderbird and a pulsar 180) from Banavasi after having breakfast. It took us around 2 hours from Banavasi to reach Magod falls, via Sirsi, Yellapur. We had our lunch at yellapur on the way.

Magod Falls

After buying the entry tickets, we had to walk for 5 minutes to reach the first viewpoint. Magod falls was different from others, since it flowed through two steps. It was a magnificent view of the falls, falling from the opposite hilltop. We walked for another 5 minutes to reach one more view point. There was a path to trek down till the base of the falls, but we thought it wasn't worth it, since we could see only one of the two steps from the base. So, we rested there for a while and took off towards Sathodi falls.

Sathodi Falls

Sathodi is a very famous waterfalls among the local people around Yellapur and Sirsi. Many people come there to visit, especially during weekends. It is just around 25 kms from Magod falls. Water falls from just around 15m height and is the best and safest place to play around. We went till the base of the falls and were standing right under the falls. You can swim there easily as well. These days, people are spoiling its beauty by throwing beer bottles and many other plastic bottles. The width of this falls makes it unique and very scenic. As far as I remember, it is one of our favorite waterfalls since we enjoyed a lot there.

After Magod and before Sathodi, we had also been to a viewpoint called Jenukallu. The breathtaking view of the valley is worth a visit and during sunset the change in the scene is truly magical. There are three hills here, which are at a very high altitude. They are Jenukallu Gudda, Kodekallu Gudda and Balekallu Gudda. The highest hill is the Balekallu Gudda. The roads are manageable but at certain points they do offer a challenge for small cars. It is famous for snakes, bisons and bears.

Guidelines :

- Be careful while trekking down in Magod place. It is known to be very steep and dangerous.

- Best time to visit would be just after the rainy season, around October.

Routes :

Bangalore - Shimoga - Sirsi - Yellapur - Magod - Jenukallu - Sathodi

Final Review :

In a land full of waterfalls(Uttar Kannada), these are the two famous ones, and is worth going all the way from Bangalore. Jenukallu is also worth a visit, on the way.

Madhugiri Night Trek

2011-06-17T04:03:00.000-07:00

About The Place :

Madhugiri is a town in Tumkur district in the Indian state of Karnataka.

At 3930 feet elevation, Madhugiri is a single hill. It is the largest in Asia and second largest in the world. Nestled in its steep slopes is a fort, once credited to Hyder Ali. Antaralada Bagilu, Diddibagilu, and Mysore Gate are the three gateways of the fort. A series of doorways leads to the hillock. The ruined temple of Gopalakrishna is located at the top.

The Journey :

After a get together on a Saturday night, all of a sudden, we, the ten bored souls, planned to go to a night out to have some fun. When you say night out, the first options that spring into your mind are Maddur Coffee Day and Skandagiri. We had already visited those places many times. So we decided to go trek some hill at night, since you won't get much tired during night usually.

From many days, me and my roommate had planned to go to Madhugiri once, since we hadn't yet trekked it. So we thought of going to Madhugiri only, for a night trek. So, the ten of us ended up riding in Tumkur road within an hour after deciding.

The route to Madhugiri is simple. From Bangalore, go in Tumkur Road and take a right in Dabaspet. Madhugiri is just around 50 kms from Dabaspet, which is around 50-60 kms from Bangalore. There is a road from Tumkur as well.

Madhugiri is a small village mainly known for the Madhugiri fort. We had reached the base of the hill at around 2 and parked our bikes, collecting some dried up leaves and branches, so as to prepare a camp fire later.

When we had told some friends that we'd be going to Madhugiri, they warned us about the Bears over there. Even in the village, when we asked some villagers regarding trekking at night, they warned us that there are too many bears in the hill, which is very very dangerous for night trek and people never do night trek over there. We, who just wanted to spend a night trekking, so as to view a beautiful sunrise from the peak, got scared since whomever we asked, they were warning us about the bears.

We started our trek cautiously and even the slightest of noises around us made us to turn all our attention towards it. After trekking for half an hour, we decide to prepare a camp fire there only, instead of taking risk, climbing at night. So we lighted the fire, which used to go off in every five minutes. One of us stood guard for us, constantly watching the surroundings, and others had a brief but sound sleep.

At around 5 in the morning, we decided to continue our trek, since the sky was getting lightened up by the approaching sun.Since we were all afresh from a sleep, we started to trek at a faster pace.

The initial phase of the trekking has steps constructed properly, till an old pool, which contained nothing but muddy water now. From there, we started to climb the huge monolith. It was similar to Kabbaldurga, which we had trekked an year ago. proper railings have been constructed to make the trek easier. Railings have been put up till almost 75% of the peak, which we covered in 30-40 minutes. There, we had actually thought the trek ended and rested for a while. But once we trekked ahead, we realized there was much more land to cover and took us some 20 more minutes to reach the top.

We ate some cakes, chocolates and snacks which we had brought with us finished off all the remaining water and sprite. We couldn't see the sunrise properly because of the clouds and the clouds were creating amazing hues and it was windy throughout, which made us to enjoy the landscape more. The view from the peak of the Madhugiri village is amazing, since the entire village would be lit up always.

We then entered the old temple at the top, which is almost ruined now. Spent more time trying to take photos of every possible poses and once we were done, we started to climb down. Our legs started to pain during the descent, since you have to make sure about your shoe's grip while trekking down. It took us around 30 minutes to reach the base of the peak again. We had reached down by around 9.30-10am. Then we had breakfast at a hotel over there and rode continuously till Bangalore, and we were home by 1pm. A proper night out worth the fuel.

Guidelines :

- The road from Dabaspet to Madhugiri has some potholes and speedbreakers. Be careful while driving in the night.

-Devarayana durga and Siddarabetta are two other nearest hills, famous for trekking.

-If trekking during the day, be sure to carry ample amount of water and food.

-There are two routes to trek. One goes straight, which is rumored not to be safe for night treks because of the bears, and the other route is towards the left, which seemed to be safer.

-Night trek might be dangerous. Beware of the much rumored bears.

Final Review :

Madhugiri is again, one of the easiest treks, especially if you trek during the night or early morning. The best option would be to start the trek at 5 am or so. You can view the sunrise on the way ascent and reach the peak in 2 hours as well. During afternoon, or after 10 am, it might be very tiring since there are no trees or shades anywhere.

Routes :

Bangalore - Dabaspet - Madhugiri

Skandagiri Trek

2011-05-25T01:59:00.000-07:00

About the Place :

Skandagiri is a hill in Chikballapur near Bangalore. It has become a household name among trekkers and the easiest trek one can ever come across. From 3-4 years, it has become very famous for night treks. It is also known as Kalwar betta, and is a prominent hill visible from Nandi hills.

The Journey :

I have been to this place some 3-4 times and so I am writing in general about this trek this time.

Skandagiri is around 75-90 km far from Bangalore. From Bangalore, you have to go in the new airport road and reach Chikballapur in Hyderabad road. After reaching Chikballapur, there's a Sir M Visveswaraiah circle in the main road, which can be identified by his statue. You have to take a left there, go till dead end, take a right and then take a left at the next dead end. It leads to a small temple accompanied with 4-5 houses. that is the parking lot. you have to park your vehicles there. And on Friday nights and Saturday nights, no wonder if you can't find a place there to park your vehicle also. It is that crowded now during weekend nights.

On the way, usually you will be stopped by cops telling that you can't trek at nights and it is closed. If you give them 100-200 bucks, they will only guide you to the parking lot. Unwillingly also, you will end up bribing them, since nobody wants to go back to Bangalore after riding till there. After walking in a road for half a kilometer, you will have to take a left where the trek actually starts. There're very less chances of you getting lost since the path is full of arrows and inscriptions. It is an easy trek and takes around 1 hour to reach the top if you trek properly, especially in the night since you won't be getting tired. If you are going with girls as well, it might take around 2 hours. There's a small temple at the peak. usually it will be always covered with clouds in the early mornings before sunrise.

Skandagiri is more famous for its sunrise. Hundreds of people gather there on Saturday and Sunday mornings to watch the sunrise. It is famous for a view where you will be above the clouds and can't see anything other than the clouds below. It is like a once in lifetime experience if you are lucky enough to be above the clouds. It is usually worth visiting from May to December, when it will be cloudy.

If you want to trek during day time, its not at all worth it to trek in the sunlight and get drained. The view from the top is not that great. You can only see Nandi hills properly and Chikballapur village. otherwise, the view consists of dry landscapes and nothing else. It takes around 40 mins for the descent usually.

Guidelines :

- Optimum time to start the trek would be 3 a.m since its worth spending time atop and view the hues of a pleasant sunrise, with mist and chilling breeze.

- Optimum time to leave from Bangalore would be 12 in the midnight. There is a 24 hours Cafe Coffee Day on the way as well to spend some time.

- These days, Maggi, coffee, tea and many eatables are available at the peak during early morning. All you need to carry is water.

- Due to the upsurge in the number of trekkers, the peak and the entire trek path has become polluted now. Please avoid throwing plastics. Carry it back along with you.

Final Review :

For those who are new to the Bangalore city, and for those who haven't trekked much before, this one is a must visit place. And not many would have experienced how it feels in a night trek. The trek route is totally safe for girls as well and the best time to go with girls would be on a friday night or a saturday night. When we went here for the first time, 4 years ago, many didn't know about the place only. It was much more pleasant and we had the peak for ourselves at that time. Don't expect any privacy at the peak these days.

Routes :

Bangalore - Yelahanka - Chikballapur - Skandagiri

Tadiandamol Trek and Mandalpatti

2011-05-10T04:42:00.000-07:00

About the places :

Tadiandamol or Tadiyandamol is the highest mountain of Kodagu district, India. It is located on the Western Ghats range, and reaches an elevation of 1,748 m. It is a place of interest for trekkers and naturalists. The mountain has patches of shola forests in the valleys.

Mugilpete a.k.a Mandalpet a.k.a Mandalpatti is another place in the coorg, least known to many from other parts of Karnataka. It became famous from the movie, Gaalipata. Many think the place was fictitious. But the place actually exists, and I have visited it twice!

The Journey :

Yet another weekend. Had to plan yet another trip to get rid of the boredom faced during weekends. I came up with a weak plan of going to B.R. hills and returning on Saturday night only. The 5 of us(Me, Sharat, Santhosh, Sandeep and Ajay) were all set to go to B.R hills. It was 12.30 in the night on Friday already. When we were about to leave on bikes, one of us mentioned it would be a very peaceful trip if we had gone in a car. All of a sudden, my friend told he can get the car from his home. Two of them left immediately to get the car, and it was 1 already! Then all of a sudden, we were confused with options regarding where to go. Options like Kerala, Pune, etc etc springed up in our minds, and finally we decided to go to Tadiyandamol, Coorg and Kudremukh and left by 1.30! Whoa! This was the most random and spontaneous planned trip ever for us.

So it all began.Yet another journey. We went in the Mysore road, took a left towards madikeri after Sri Rangapattana, and then went to Virajpet. It was around 7 in the morning by the time we reached Virajpet. On the way to Virajpet, we came across a beautiful lake full of cranes, and it was such a pleasant morning. We were more than pleased by seeing the sunrise at that lake. The reflections were too good, with no people around us. After enjoying the scene there, we had a light breakfast at Virajpet. Hotels open there by around 8 always. We had idlys at a very small hotel which was open at 7.15. Then we took a room in a lodge for an hour to get freshed up. After getting freshed up, we went to Tadiyandamol finally, without sleeping from the past 24 hours. Little did we know that we would end up sleepless for 45 hours!

From Virajpet, you need to take the road towards Napoklu and Bhagamandala. There, after some 8 kms, you need to take a left after a bridge. You can ask anyone for directions. At the base of the peak, you will get the Nalaknad palace. We decided to skip it since it wasn't of that much importance. We parked our car where some other bikes were parked and started to trek.

Like any other trek, we had a nice trekking path, where we had to trek for around 20 mins to get the first sight of Tadiyandamol. From there we started to climb. Gradually it became steeper and steeper. We had started the trek at 10 in the morning. So it was hot and sunny as well. And the mistake we did was, we carried just a half bottle of water with us, assuming it would be very easy. We were totally drained out by the time we completed half the trek. But we didn't carry any luggage with us other than the cameras. So it was pretty easy for us and we managed to reached the top of the peak within 1 hour 45 mins.

And it was like a heaven when we reached atop. The clouds started to chase us and caught us as well! It was a memorable time we spent atop. We spent around an hour there and started the descent immediately. We never stopped anywhere on our way down and it took us around 40-45 mins to reach the base again, where there is a source of flowing water, which might be a small waterfall during rainy season. We drank the water as much as we can and left to Madikeri, where we had our lunch, around 3.30. Post lunch, we left to Mugilpet a.k.a Mandalpet. To go to Mandalpet, from madikeri, first you need to go towards abbi falls. Anyone in madikeri would show you the road to Abbi falls. After going in that road for 1 or 2 kms, you need to take a right. The left road would be leading to abbi falls and the right one leads to mandalpet. There is a board as well. The roads are very very bad, I'm warning now only. That too if you go in the rainy season, it will be very difficult unless you have a SUV. It is around 25 kms from madikeri. It was around 5 in the evening by the time we reached there, and gradually visibility was getting reduced due to the huge clouds covering us all the way! Visibility was 10m in the end and it was such a beautiful place, worth travelling in that very bad road.

From here, we went back to Madikeri, had dinner and left to Bangalore directly, since we thought about having a peaceful sunday. And we managed to reach Bangalore by 3 a.m.

Guidelines :
- You can camp on Tadiyandamol, but there is no water source throughout, other than at the base of the peak. So carry as much water as you can.

-The road to Mandalpet is very very bad. Be warned.

- May - December would be the best time to visit these places.

Final Review :
Tadiyandamol is a nice place to trek and camp on for an average trekker, since for an average trekker with luggage, it might take around 3 hours to 4 to reach the top. And it is a pleasant view from there.

Routes :
Bangalore - Sri Rangapatna - Virajpet - Tadiyandamol - Madikeri - Mandalpet

yash.canon's photostream

2011-05-05T03:59:00.001-07:00

yash.canon's photostream on Flickr.

A look at some snaps from these trips.

Bangalore to Madurai, Rameswaram, Dhanushkodi and Kanyakumari in Bikes

2011-04-29T04:17:00.000-07:00

About the places:

Madurai is an ancient city in Tamilnadu, very famous for the Meenakshi temple. It is known as the Temple city and is often also referred to as City of four junctions (Koodal Maanagar), Cultural center of Tamil Nadu (Kalaachaara thalainagar), City of Jasmine (Malligai Maanagar), Sleepless city (Thoonga Nagaram), Athens of the East and The City of Festivals (Thiruvizha nagaram).It is the third largest (was second largest from its origin till 2001) city by population in Tamil Nadu and second largest by area. The city is pretty big and the roads connecting to Madurai are good as well.

Rameswaram or Rameshwaram is a town in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on Pamban Island separated from mainland India by the Pamban channel and is about 50 kilometres from Mannar Island, Sri Lanka. Pamban Island, also known as Rameswaram Island, is connected to mainland India by the Pamban Bridge. Rameswaram is the terminus of the railway line from Chennai and Madurai. Together with Kashi, it is considered to be one of the holiest places in India to Hindus, and part of the Char Dham pilgrimages. Hence, it is a bustling pilgrim centre.

Dhanushkodi or Danushkodi is a town/village at the southern tip of the Rameswaram island, at the eastern coast of the Tamil Nadu state of India.Dhanushkodi is situated in the South-East of Pamban. Danushkodi is about 18 miles (29 km) West of Talaimannar in Sri Lanka. The Dhanushkodi railway line running from Pamban Station was destroyed in the 1964 cyclone and a passenger train with over 100 passengers drowned in the sea.

Kanyakumari is a town in the state of Tamilnadu in India. It is also sometimes referred to as Cape Comorin. Located at the southernmost tip of the Indian Peninsula, it is the geographical end of the Indian mainland. The district in Tamilnadu where the town is located is called Kanyakumari District. The closest major cities are Nagercoil, the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District, (22 km) and Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala (85 km).

The Journey :

Once February started, we were all getting bored, since its the worst weather to go to trips. The break of summer had prevented us from visiting any waterfalls or mountains, since it would be hot and dry always. So after wasting two months without any trips, finally, in April, we had a crazy brainstorm of going to Kanyakumari in bikes! Kanyakumari was our dream destination since an year, since we always wanted to be at the southernmost tip of the Indian peninsula. And thanks to Good Friday, we got a 3-day weekend. We immediately decided to leave to Kanyakumari without much of a plan.

Our plan was simple. Since Bangalore to Kanyakumari via Rameshwaram would be around 1800 kms, we had decided to ride one way till Kanyakumari, and to put the bikes in a train while returning. But since we planned the trip 2 days in advance, we couldn't get the train or bus tickets. So our plan was to go to the railway station at Madurai, exactly 2 days before our departure and book the tatkal tickets(since the tatkal quota ticket booking opens only 2 days before, at 8 am).

Day 1 :

And finally, the 6 of us(me, Anoop, Sandeep, Santhosh, Sharat, Shrinath) left in 4 bikes. One bullet classic 500, one Thunderbird, and two Pulsar 180s.

We left Bangalore by around 4 pm and decided to ride till Madurai at a stretch and stay there. The distance to Madurai from Bangalore was around 430 kms. After initial hiccups due to heavy rain, our ride was pretty smooth, in NH7, till Salem, where we had our dinner.

Post dinner, we left Salem at around 10, and we had to ride for another 212 kms. Thankfully it didn't rain heavily again till we reached Madurai at around 1. We all were so tired that we didn't know what happened, 5 mins after we went to bed.

Our first day consisted of only the long ride of 450 kms at a stretch, where we managed to reach the top speed of 140 kmph!

Day 2 :

We were too lazy to start the day. Two of us went to the railway station at 7.30 to book the train tickets. But they were surprised by the huge queue of people waiting to book tickets there. In the end, we couldn't get the train tickets. We were in total confusion as we didn't know how we would be returning back.

We then visited the famous Madurai Meenakshi temple, after having bath. The temple is a really huge one and if you stand in the general queue, it will take you atleast 2-3 hours to complete the rounds there. We paid 100 bucks for a special darshan and managed to complete everything in an hour.And it was really huge. It was full of people everywhere. We finally left Madurai at around 11.

Rameshwaram was around 220 kms from Madurai. We had to deviate from the smooth NH7. So it was a two lane road from there. It was a hot day, contrary to the heavy rains the previous day. After riding for 50 kms from Madurai, we reached a place called Rajakambiram. There, our Bullet Classic 500's red light started to blink, and it wasn't getting started at all. We tried everything in vain for over an hour. And after making a few calls, we decided to tow the bike back to Madurai to get it repaired. We found a goods carrier and towed the bike back to Madurai.

Two of us had gone to get it repaired, while the other four of us were getting bored at that small village. After eating and drinking everything that a small provision store in the village had to offer us, we asked some people about a river nearby. He leaded us to the banks of a dried up river and thankfully, it was a pleasing sight for us. We had the entire place to ourselves and 2 peacocks which were making distant noise. It was a very calm place, where we spent most of the time capturing images and enjoying the scenery.

At around 4, the other 2 arrived after getting the bike repaired. Then we left to Rameswaram. On the way, we came across Ramnathpur or Ramnad, which is the district center. We decided to have some chats there, and ended up having dinner since none of us had lunch that day. Then we reached Rameswaram by around 9, got rooms in a lodge next to the temple. Went for a walk around the temple and the beach next to the temple, and slept off. Madurai to Rameswaram road is again, very nice, even if its a 2 lane road.

Day 3 :

We had to get up very early since we knew how crowded the temple would be after 7. So we got up at 4.30, took bath and were in temple by around 5.30. The temple is well known for its 22 wells. The water in these wells is considered to be sacred and everyone goes through all the wells and get drenched in the water from all the 22 wells, in a queue. We did all that, got the darshan, and were back to lodge by 8. This temple was also, remarkably huge and is considered to be a very sacred place by the Hindus.

After having breakfast, we left to Dhanushkodi, and it was constantly raining again on that day. Without having much of an option, we got drenched and reached Dhanushkodi. And, wait! It was the first time we went in a road, which had beaches on both the sides! It was an unforgettable experience.

After reaching Dhanushkodi, you can't take your bikes further. We had to park it there and hire a tempo, which carried 20 people at a time, taking 100 bucks from each. It was a breathtaking journey, since it took us on the beach, which was covered by ocean on both the sides. How often do you get to experience that!?

After reaching the end point, there were ruins of an old church and an old railway station. It was a very calm place and we had loads of fun by taking some crazy snaps there. Saddest part is, the tempo guys keep on calling us back, telling its time already. We barely got 20 mins to spend there, since there hurried us into leaving back. And we also got a dead star fish there! It was full of red and scary!

It was still constantly drizzling, and we left back to Rameswaram, checked out from lodge after packing the bags and tying it to the bikes. Our next destination was our dream, finally. And we were all set to leave to Kanyakumari. As I said before, Rameswaram lies in an island and it is connected by the famous Pamban bridge. It was such a memorable experience to be at that bridge, since, again, it was the first time for us to stand on a bridge which was constructed across an ocean. We could see the railway track also, where no trains run these days.

To go to Kanyakumari from Rameswaram, we had to go all the way back to Ramnathpur from Rameswaram(70 km). We had lunch there and left. It was a pleasant day again. Kanyakumari was around 250 kms from Rameswaram, and we managed to reach it comfortably, once we got connected to NH7 again. We got Toothkuni, Tuticorin, on the way to NH7. And the western ghats and numerous windmills alongside the highway made us forget all the tiredness. We reached kanyakumari at around 7.30 and spent the evening peacefully, having a heavy punjabi dinner.

By that time, we had realized there were no bus or train tickets available, and we had to ride all the way back to Bangalore the next day only, and were getting prepared for the big day.

Day 4 :

The day started for us as early as 6 for us. We were all waiting for the sunrise at the tip of the Indian peninsula, accompanied by hundreds of others, but in vain, since it was cloudy. We captured some snaps there, where we had a beautiful view of the Vivekananda Memorial and the Thiruvallavar Statue.

Then we had to stand in the queue for the ferry to reach the memorial hall, and the queue was pretty long by 6.30 only. They start giving the tickets at 7.45. But by 7.45, the queue had increased 5 folds. So it was worth standing in the queue for an hour. A ferry took us to the Vivekananda memorial, where there is a small statue of Vivekananda and a meditation hall inside. We enjoyed our time there, then left after an hour, back to the other side. We did some shopping, packed our bags for one last time and left Kanyakumari at precisely 1 in the afternoon.

It was the ride of a lifetime, since we had to ride 650 kms at a stretch. NH7 was such a beauty, without a single speedbreaker(except near toll gates) till Bangalore from Kanyakumari. WE had our dinner at Salem at around 10, after riding for 450 kms. It was heavily raining again and we were totally wet. We waited for around 45 mins then again left in the rain to Bangalore. After stopping a few times, we managed to reach Bangalore by 3am. We couldn't believe we weren't too tired after such a hectic schedule!
Guidelines :

- If you are planning to put the bikes on the way back and ride one way, better plan the trip atleast 3 weeks early, so that u can get train tickets.
- Carry jackets along with you during rainy seasons, since it rains frequently near the Tamilnadu coastal area.

- Fill as much petrol as you can always, since you will require ample amount of petrol.

Final Review :

Do I need to say more? Just go for it! Takes 3-4 days in bikes to cover all these places. The other option to reach Kanyakumari would be through Ooty, Alleppay, Trichy, which isn't a bad option either.

Sigandur, Yana, Unchalli Falls in Bikes

2011-04-20T02:01:00.000-07:00

About the Places :

Sigandur is a sacred place known for the Chowdeshwari temple situated over there. People also go there to travel in the launch, which takes the passengers and vehicles from one bank to another in the Sharavati backwaters.

Yana or Yaana is a village in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, India that is known for the unusual rock formations in its vicinity. It is located in the Sahyadri mountain range of the Western Ghats, about 60 kilometres (37 mi) from Karwar port, 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Sirsi, and 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Kumta. The two unique rock outcrops near the village are a tourist attraction and a place for trekking, easily approachable by a small trek through 0.5 kilometres (0.31 mi) of thick forests from the nearest road head.

Banavasi is a small village known for the very famous and old Madhukeshwara temple. It is also in Uttara Kannada District.

Lushington Falls, also called Unchalli Falls, is a waterfall created by a 116 metres (381 ft) drop in the Aghanashini river. The falls are located 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Sirsi, a town in the Uttara Kannada District of Karnataka, India. The falls are named for J. D. Lushington, a District Collector for the British Government, who discovered the falls in 1845.

The Journey:

After experiencing the Kodachadri sunrise in our week long bike trip, we went to Sigandur. Sigandur has a small Chowdeshwari temple, but very famous and powerful. This place is nearer to Jog falls as well, near Sagar. Sigandur is just around 25 kms from Sagar. We reach one bank of the Sharavati backwaters. The place is very picturesque and scenic. You wont get tired of capturing photos here. And travelling to the other bank, where the temple is located is much more fun, since we need to go in the launch here. And they charge just 2 Rs per head and 5 Rs per vehicle. There are two launches. They leave every 15 minutes or so. And it is worth it. If you want to go through road only to Sigandur, you need to take a much more longer trip. The last trip of these launches is around 6 pm. So if you need to go after 6, you need to take a different route towards Nittur from Sagar.Sagar is around 70 kms from Shimoga.

From Sigandur, we reached Sagar, which is the nearest town. After having lunch at Sagar, we went to Jog falls, even if it wasn't the rainy season. Jog falls was like a huge mountain with very less water. It was totally not worth going during that time. But we still went to the famous Mungaru Male spot, bent down from there to see the 'Jogad Gundi'. Anyone will get scared of that view! And it was all the fun we had at Jog, and then left to Banavasi, which is around 40-50 kms from Jog falls, where we had planned to stay that night.

Banavasi was my roommate's native. So we didn't search for any lodges. Stayed at his home only, and were too pleased with the hospitality there. It felt like our own home.

The next day(the 3rd day of our bike trip), in the morning, we rode to the famous 'Yana' or 'Yaana' from Banavasi. Yana is around 50 kms from banavasi.For those who don't know much about Uttara Kannada districts, Yana is 187 kms from Shimoga and 450 kms from Bangalore. Yana is famous for its odd shaped huge rocks, which was made famous from the movie, "Nammura Mandara Hoove". It has a small temple as well. You need to walk half a kilometer from the parking area. You can go inside the huge cave and get amazed my the sun rays entering inside. At the temple, you can know about the history of the temple and how these rocks were formed. We were amazed by this place, since it is so different compared to other normal tourist places.

From Yana, we went to the Unchalli falls, which is very famous among the localites, but unknown to many from other parts of Karnataka. You need to take a right at SH 48 from siddapur, to go to the Unchalli village. Keep on asking the localites for the routes and they will guide you properly. there are many signboards as well. You need to walk half a kilometer from the parking area to reach Unchalli view point. The waterfalls look magnificent from the view point. You can see the falls in the opposite mountain. It starts like a small stream and gets widened as it reaches the foot of the falls. It is also known as 'Keppajoga', since you can't hear each others words when it is in full force, during rainy season. The falls makes such a roaring sound, which is rare. We got excited and decided to go till the base of the falls. There is a small trekking route, around 2 - 3 kms to reach the base of the falls, and it is very steep. It took us around 20-25 mins to reach the base. We spent too much time playing in the water there since many people doesn't come till there and we had the whole place for ourselves there. And the water was chilling, which made it more memorable.

Guidelines :

- There will be leeches on the way down to Unchalli falls. So better take precautions as I have mentioned in the previous posts.

- In Yana, you can also go till the top of the caves, but it is dangerous.

- The nearest places where you can stay, to visit all these places are, Sirsi, Siddapur, Sagar, Banavasi, and if you want a much more comfortable stay, stay in Shimoga.

Routes :

Sigandur :
Bangalore - Tumkur - Shimoga - Sagar - Sigandur

Yana :

Bangalore - Tumkur - Shimoga - Sagar - Siddapur - Yana

Unchalli Falls :

Bangalore - Tumkur - Shimoga - Sagar - Siddapur - Unchalli

Final Review :

Sigandur makes it a worthy weekend trip, since you can also cover many more nearby places like Keladi, Ikkeri, Jog falls, etc in a day.

Yana is a unique place, which has to be visited to see those unique rocks and caves, which can't be found anywhere else.

Uttar Kannada has many remote water falls, unknown to many, and Unchalli falls is a good example. Definitely worth going.

Kodachadri in Bikes and Trek info

2011-03-23T08:41:00.000-07:00

About the place:

Kodachadri is a mountain peak with dense forests(altitude - 1343 meters above sea level) in the Western Ghats in South India (Karnataka State). The name comes from native word "Kodacha" or "Kodashi" which means hill and "Adri" a Sanskrit word, both combined together coined the word Kodachadri. It is also called "Kutachadri" and "Kodashi Parvatha". Kodachadri forms a background to the famous temple of Mookambika in Kollur. Situated in the middle of the Mookambika National Park, it is home to several endemic and endangered species of flora and fauna. The peak is barren due to strong winds and as such, the forest covered nature is visible all around and also several smaller peaks and hills exist.

Kodachadri is around 90 kms from Shimoga and 380 kms from Bangalore.There are too many buses and trains from Bangalore to Shimoga. And from Shimoga, one needs to catch a bus to either thirtahalli -> nagara or directly to hosanagara. Then take a bus towards Kollur and get down at Nittur.

There are couple of starting points for the trek,

» Sampekette :-It’s around 1.15 hrs before Kollur,may be this route somewhere connects the route from Gowrikerre or may go via Gowrikerre itself.

» Gowrikerre:- This is the place were there is a left deviation to Kodachadri , its approximately 3 kms before Nittur also called as Kodachadri cross, this is the only motor-able road up to the kodachadri temple it’s 15 odd kms from the main road half of the road is tar road & the other half is a mud road. Also one can go to Hidlumanne falls from here, for this one has to walk approx for 1.5 kms from the main road to get a school @ your left ,here take a mud road to your right this road leads u to Yemmehonda junction(here this road meets the approach road from Marakuttaka).

» Marakuttaka:- Get down at Sigundur cross 3.5 kms after Nittur again trek back towards Nittur for 1 kms, just before the bridge, at your right u get Marakuttaka bus stop follow the mud road to reach Kodachadri via Hidlumanne falls.

» Karrakette: - This is approx 1.5 kms after Sigundur cross towards Kollur. Take left from karrakette which goes via Valur it’s roughly 9-10 kms to the temple, up to Valur it’s motor-able road from there a narrow trail uphill, Valur to temple it’s 1hr ascend. One can even go to Arshinagundi falls from Valur but only with an local guide because there is no pakka trail.

The Journey:

People usually take any of the above trekking routes. But we were crazy, since we decided to reach the top in bikes itself!

We had planned a week long trip on bikes, covering all the places in Karnataka and ending up in Goa! This was the first place we covered. We left Bangalore at around 4 in the morning. The 4 of us(Me, Sharat, Shrinath, Sandeep) left in a Pulsar 180 and a Thunderbird. After riding continuously, we reached Shimoga by around 10, after having breakfast, coffee. My parents stay at Shimoga. So we went there, ate again, had rest for a while after riding for around 300 kms, then had lunch. We left Shimoga by around 1 and took the thirtahalli-nagara route. It was almost 4 by the time we reached Sampekatte, Nagodi village. There'll be many jeeps waiting there to take you to the hill top. There is a jeep route till the IB. They charge 1000 bucks for one way journey, no matter how many of you are there.

We then decided that if a jeep can go in that road, bikes can definitely go, and then started our race against time to reach the top before the sunset.

It was the worst motorable road one can ever imagine. We were regretting our decision to take the bikes, within 10 mins. Many sharp rocks were pointing out from the ground and there were too many potholes, big rocks, etc, all in the middle of the road. The pillion rider always had to get down and trek. So it was like a trekking experience to me. It took us around 2 hours to reach the hill top. As soon as we reached the IB, we had to run towards sarvagna peeta, the topmost point in Kodachadri, to see the sunset. And we had won the race against time!

We spent some time there relaxing and taking snaps. After 7, we started to trek down. It was totally dark and we couldnt see anything around us properly. We had to walk using our mobile lights only, and as you would've guessed, we lost our way! We were lost somewhere and it took us around half an hour to somehow find the right way and trek down. We hadn't booked a room in IB. So we went to Parameshwara Bhat's house, which was situated next to IB. He served us with a normal dinner, which we felt was highly delicious, since we were tired. The next day morning, we caught a glimpse of sunrise and left to sigandur. It was just the 2nd day of our week long trip!

Guidelines:

-This post is about going to Kodachadri in bikes, and I have also given the details of the starting places for the trek.

- The trek is supposed to be enjoyable if you come in the right season. You will be seeing 2-3 water falls in the trek route.

- Bikes get damaged usually inn the jeep road.Better have a tool kit and contact numbers before starting the ride.

- Tyres usually get punctured on the way, coz of too many rocks and sharp stones.

- Important contact numbers

Accomodation: IB - Mr. Rajendra - 092428 92299; 08185 290368
KK Parameshwara Bhat - 08185 295934

Routes :

Bangalore-Shimoga-Kodachadri-Sampekatte-Kodachadri

Final review :

Kodachadri is a must visit place for everyone from Karnataka atleast. Such a beautiful peak is worth visiting once atleast. This peak shot into fame after the movie GAALIPATA since the movie was shot here. The place is unforgettable if you give a visit just after the rainy season.

Amedikallu Trek and Anadka Falls

2010-12-27T04:02:00.000-08:00

About the place:

Amedikallu derives its name from two words, Aame(Tortoise in Kannada) and Dikkel(Tripod or Stove in Tulu).

Amedikallu is one of the prominent peaks in the Charmadi range of the western ghats. This peak is considered to be one of the toughest climb in Karnataka. The steep grasslands and paucity of water makes the trek ardrous. Amedikallu is around 350 kms from Bangalore. It is near the famous Dharmastala. To reach Amedikallu, one has to get down at Kokkada village, if traveling in a bus and then take one more bus to Shishila village. Shishila village is the place from where the trek starts. After reaching Kokkada, you can get autos or jeeps also to reach shishila. This is one of the best treks in Karnataka and takes around 6 hours to reach the peak, for a normal trekker.

Those who plan to go trek Amedikallu, usually call up a guy called Gopu Gokhale of Shishila village. You can get freshed up at his place and he packs lunch, arranges for guides, serve breakfast at a very nominal price. There are many bathrooms at his house just to serve the trekkers. He even arranges for vehicles to take you to the foothill, from where the climb starts.

The Journey:

The 7 of us (Me, Shrinath, Sandeep, Anoop, Satya, Ajay and Pramod) rented a Innova and left Bangalore on Friday night at around 12. By around 7 in the morning, we had reached Gopu Gokhale's house. There we had a nice breakfast. He had packed the lunch for us. Then by around 9.30, we had reached the starting point of the trek.

The Trek:

Day 1:

Just like most of the treks, initially we had to walk in a forest. It was getting steeper and flat also. We had to trek for around 3-4 kms in this forest. We learned that the water source is actually halfway up the hill. So we carried plenty of water with us. Each of us carried atleast 3-4 ltrs of water. We also had to carry the tent and sleeping bags with us. So we had a pretty heavy luggage also to carry with us. We found the trek pretty easy initially.

After trekking for around 2 hours, the forest trail ended and we could see the huge Amedikallu finally!

It was breathtaking and really inspiring. The thought that we will be at its peak by evening, thrilled us! Here we rested for a while, around 15 mins, chatting. Then started to climb Amedikallu finally! As you can see in the snap, there were no clouds at all and it was too sunny. We were getting drained out and wanted to have lunch badly. We came to know that the nearest water source is halfway up the hill and so started to climb. Our pace at this time was very slow. Even if we decided to rest under every tree we find, we couldn't spot any trees, since it was a grassland.

At around 12.30, we reached the water source. It was very difficult to collect water from there since it was already December and the streams were getting drained out. We started to climb up the stream searching for proper water and there, we had our lunch. We were so hungry that we finished off everything in 5 mins. There were other trekkers resting over there.

Post lunch, we were totally energetic all of a sudden ans started to climb at a very fast pace, overtaking other trekkers. After resting once after lunch, we almost never stopped till we reached the peak. It was getting cloudy at times and occasionally we could feel the cold breeze, which again inspired us to trek faster. Before reaching the peak, we had to enter one more forest. This stretch extended for 1-2 kms. After the forest, we had to trek for another 15-20 mins to finally reach the peak by around 3.15, and it was beautiful!

By the time we reached the top most point of the peak, it was getting dark because of the clouds. And this was one of the few places where we could enjoy a 360 degree view! It was breathtaking!

After spending some time at the top, we then decided to assemble the tents before it gets dark. In 10 minutes, we had managed to assemble them and the tents were up! It was the first ever time we were camping on the peak!

Then we started to play cards and chatting. The clouds started to cover the peak by then and it was getting cold and dark.

We then put up a camp fire, ate the chapatis with jam and some snacks and slept off. We were all tired and I could here the snores within minutes. A day well spent!

Day 2:

At around 4.30 in the morning, the strong winds made us to wake up immediately. Our tent was almost flying like a flag. The cover of the tent had fallen off already. When we came out, nobody could say it was a tent in which we slept!

I then went to the peak again, captured some snaps of the sunrise. We then packed the tents and the bags and started our trek downhill at 7.30 am. Ettina bhuja was the dominant of all the peaks that could be seen from the peak, along with ombattu gudda.

Ettina bhuja

We trekked down at a very fast pace, resting only twice throughout. It took us less than 3 hours to reach the starting point of the trek and we were there by 10.15 am.

We went to Gopu Gokhale's house again, had lunch, took bath and left in the afternoon. We then went to a temple at the same village. It was worth a visit.

From there, post-lunch, we went to Anadka Falls. It is a beautiful falls nearer to Kudremukh. From shishila, you need to go to Ujire, Kajur and there in the road, you can see the board. Its also called as Kudumagundi Falls. We had to trek for 4-5 kms one way to reach the falls. It was worth it in the end.

Guidelines:

- Carry sufficient water with you. There is only one water source throughout the trek.

- There is no need for a guide if you want to trek. Route can be easily found.

- There will be loads of leeches if you go in August, September, October or November.

- November, December and January is the best time to trek, post monsoon.

- Gopu Gokhale's contact numbers: Home- 08251269426 Mobile- 9483211246.

- Better call Gopu Gokhale before going, since he will arrange for jeeps also from Kokkada to Shishila.

Routes:

Bangalore - Sakleshpur - Shiradi Ghat - Kokkada - Shishila. (Can also take the Charmadi Ghat Route).

Final Review:

Amedikallu is not so popular but it is a paradise for trekkers. It may feel tough at times, but once you reach the peak, It's worth it.