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When: 13th and 14th June, 2010
Original Blog:
firaa!: Ride into jungles of Coorg
Trip Route:
View Nagarhole-Coorg MotorcycleTrip in a larger map
South India has got some of the finest jungles and to be able to ride through one of these jungles was always going to be an exciting prospect. I had read a lot about the beauty of Kabini, Nagarhole and Coorg in general. The forest stretch comprising of Nagarhole National Park, Kabini Backwaters, Bandipur National Park, Mudumalai NP and Wayanad NP forms one of the finest scenery you would get to see in India. Having read a lot about the Nagarhole NP from various blogs namely Vijay Cavale Blog(vijaycavale.blogspot.com), Giri Cavale Blog(giricavale.blogspot.com) and others, I was very keen on visiting this place. So the occasion came in form of attending Sajal's engagement in Bangalore, being long time friends I decided to attend the ceremony and plan a short trip of 3 days to Coorg around it. Anil, another mate from Bangalore agreed to join the ride. Anil, long wanted to do a motorcycle trip together and this was a perfect op. for us. This was going to be a special trip considering it was my last ride before getting married!
So the plan was to take Rohit's Pulsar 200 and Anil on his ZMA to Coorg. Our first priority was to get accommodation inside Nagarhole NP but we could not get it. So then we decided to Stay in a town named Kutta, which is a small town right on the edge of Nagarhole NP and also acts as a gateway to Wayanad Sanctuary in Kerala.
We booked a homestay(Home) as we got its reference from Giri Cavale's blog.We chose a road which is less traveled and goes through some of the thickest forests of South India, infested with all kinds of wild animals. Wild elephants chasing vehicled is not uncommon in this part of the world. There are quite a few ways by which one can reach Nagarhole, like the Bangalore-Mysore-Hunsur-Naharhole if one has a four wheeler or Bangalore-Mysore-Gonikappa-Virajpet-Kutta or the less traveled Bangalore-Mysore-HD Kote-Kabini-Bavali-Kattikulum-Kutta road. We chose the last one as motorcycles are not allowed on the Hunsur-Nagarhole stretch. The last roads passes through some breathtaking scenery.
OK, enough of prelude, here comes the log...
Day 1: The jungle day!
Route: Bangalore-Mysore-HD Kote-Kabini-Bavali-Kattikulum-Kutta
After a late night engagement-bash, I was little tired but got up at around 5 in the morning and called Anil, who was all ready. He came in around 40 minutes to Rohit's place where I was staying. We stared at around 7. Rohit's place from where we started
Traffic is a major problem in Bangalore now and getting outside the city took a lot of time.We took the newly build Kanakpura Road - Mysore Road connecting road and were soon on the Mysore road. We took breakfast at Kamat's with some delicious fare that included Akki roti or Tandoolachi Bhakri as it is called in Maharashtra.
Breakfast time: Akki Roti at Kamat's on Mysore highway
Steamed Idli warpped in a leaf!
Just before Mysore city we took the ring road, this avoided the Mysore city traffic but it was like taking a detour as distance wise it was more. After riding for about 30-40 minutes, we got a diversion for HD Kote. The road from Mysore till Kabini was not very eventful. It was only after Kabini, that the real fun actually started. We were able to see the Kabini Backwaters from a distance. We also came across the fine Jungle Lodge at Kabini which is run the Karnataka Govt.
On the way to Kabini
Entrance to Nagarhole National Park from HD Kote route
From here on we enter the Nagarhole National Park.We were now riding very slowly and very keenly around to look for any wildlife. There were hardly any vehicles that passed us on this road. These jungles have
a very large population of wild elephants who are known to chase vehicles. Riding inside these jungles is always exciting. You are anxiety levels shoot up when you ride on these roads. It is partly because you are thrilled as well as little scared. The Nagarhole NP has a healthy population of Tigers. The stretch of road which we were riding was crossing the NP.
The Nagarhole boundary at a distance
Inside the park and our first tiger sighthing!
Thick bamboo trees inside the park
Imagine coming across a Tiger in front of you where you are on a Bike!
This is very much a possibility here. But that also adds to the excitement of the ride. There was local motorcycle rider who was little ahead of us.Suddenly out of nowhere he was chased by some wild elephants! He fell to the ground. Fortunately a bus came from behind and the driver of the bus stopped right in between the elephants and the rider. The man immediately lifted his bike and rode back to the place where we were standing. Now we were 3 of us staring the elephants at some distance. There was a group of elephants with a calf which I guess prompted one of the elephant to chase. The elephants backed a little and that is when we decided to rip off ahead. As we crossed a the elephants at some distance, one of them sacred the hell out of us when he chased us briefly but luckily we escaped it. What a thrilling start to the jungle ride!
Our elephant luck was very high that day as immediately we spotted another group of elephants at some distance. They were not as aggressive so we stopped for a while and took some snaps.
Way to Jungle Lodge, Kabini
Beautiful roads inside the jungle
Anil's ZMA on the beautiful road
Our first sighting from a long distace...
Dream road inside the jungle! (The slower you go here, the better the experience)
Wild elephants with a calf upclose!
Breathtaking scenery all along!
One of the numerous little lakes that we enountered on the way...
The first deer sighting!
This heavenly stretch literally blew me away. We then reached Kattikulum where one of the road goes to Manvathavady and the other road on the right branches towards Kutta. We crossed into Kerala! Now, we were riding into Wayanad wildlife sanctuary inside Kerala.
Entering Kerala!
The roads were narrow but a treat to the eyes. So green and thickly forested is this part of the world, it'll easily leave one speechless. This road passes through the Tholepetty wildlife sanctuary of Kerala. It is like a dream to ride here. We again spotted some wild elephants along the road. We were now little hungry and
so decided to speed off to Kutta. We then reached Kutta at around 2 PM. We stayed in a home stay called Green Retreat. This place is amidst a coffee plantationion. The place is owned by Manu and he is a coorgi. We got excellent hospitality and some finger licking good food. As we settled into our room, which was a
very spacious room, our lunch was ready. After a long non-stop ride of around 300 km, the sight of a excellent coorgi food was something else.
Delicious lunch at Kutta!
Shot in the wild!
Deer play at Nagarhole NP
Royal Stag!
Safari into Nagarhole!
And some more dears!
Inside the core area of Nagarhole
Wild Boar sighted!
Wild elephants bathing inside of the pools
Sambar
Elephants waiting for us to attack!
The safari lasted well over an hour and we were back to the office and sped off back to Kutta. We shopped for some evening essentials and came back to the Manu's place. We explored the beautiful coffee estate before going back to the room.
The famous coorg coffee in its early stages!
Some frog that we found there
A special coorgi dinner was getting ready for us. After enjoying some somas and a tasty dinner, we called of the day and decided to give much needed rest to our tired souls.
Day 2: Irpu falls and a big disappointment
Route: Kutta-Ripe Falls-Kutta-Virajpet-Gonikoppa-Mysore-Bangalore
Woke up to the sound of rains. It looked like it rained the whole night. Today's plan was to go to Irpu falls and visit the Kuruva Dweep which is an island formed by Kabini. So after having breakfast consisting for traditional Akki roti, we decided to start off for Irpu.
Yummy breakfast the next day!
Just as we got ready, My bike refused to start. It looked like a battery problem. The Pulsar 200 doesn't have a kick which was like scary considering the remoteness of the place. We asked Manu if there was any mechanic around but being Sunday there wasn't anybody around to help. I tried to start the bike on a slope and it started, much to our relief. We then headed to Irpu falls in the pouring rains. The road condition to Irpu falls was not that encouraging. After 20 minutes, we reached the starting place for Irpu falls. It is a 20 min hike from here. It was raining pretty heavily. We took the ticket to enter the Brahmagiri Sanctuary in which the falls lie.It is also famous for trekking mainly due to Brahmagiri peak. The Irpu falls lie on the trail on the way to the peak. The falls weren't that spectacular but since it was raining, it had some water. It was crowded a little. Somehow we managed to get few snaps.
Trail to Irpu falls
Irpu falls in rains
As we started the return journey, my bike suddenly gave up and it just stopped. We just couldn't make it start again. So, I told Anil to go to town and look for somebody who can help. It was very frustrating in the rain. Finally Anil came with Manu in his Jeep. We then put the bike into the jeep and brought it to the resort. I then decided to head back via Gonikappa till Mysore maybe and fix the problem. I was not willing to take risk on the next day as I had a flight to catch. So after having quick lunch we headed back via Virajpet, Hunsur, Mysore to Bangalore. It pretty much rained all the way. The stretch between Hunsur to Mysore was pretty scenic as it passes through northern part of Nagarhole NP. After taking a break at Cafe Coffee Day on the Mysore-Bangalore highway, we reached Bangalore at around 11 pm. I was feeling little sad on having lost a day in the one of the best place one could ride the bike. I will surely be back to this awesome place.
Original Blog:
firaa!: Ride into jungles of Coorg
Trip Route:
View Nagarhole-Coorg MotorcycleTrip in a larger map
South India has got some of the finest jungles and to be able to ride through one of these jungles was always going to be an exciting prospect. I had read a lot about the beauty of Kabini, Nagarhole and Coorg in general. The forest stretch comprising of Nagarhole National Park, Kabini Backwaters, Bandipur National Park, Mudumalai NP and Wayanad NP forms one of the finest scenery you would get to see in India. Having read a lot about the Nagarhole NP from various blogs namely Vijay Cavale Blog(vijaycavale.blogspot.com), Giri Cavale Blog(giricavale.blogspot.com) and others, I was very keen on visiting this place. So the occasion came in form of attending Sajal's engagement in Bangalore, being long time friends I decided to attend the ceremony and plan a short trip of 3 days to Coorg around it. Anil, another mate from Bangalore agreed to join the ride. Anil, long wanted to do a motorcycle trip together and this was a perfect op. for us. This was going to be a special trip considering it was my last ride before getting married!
So the plan was to take Rohit's Pulsar 200 and Anil on his ZMA to Coorg. Our first priority was to get accommodation inside Nagarhole NP but we could not get it. So then we decided to Stay in a town named Kutta, which is a small town right on the edge of Nagarhole NP and also acts as a gateway to Wayanad Sanctuary in Kerala.
We booked a homestay(Home) as we got its reference from Giri Cavale's blog.We chose a road which is less traveled and goes through some of the thickest forests of South India, infested with all kinds of wild animals. Wild elephants chasing vehicled is not uncommon in this part of the world. There are quite a few ways by which one can reach Nagarhole, like the Bangalore-Mysore-Hunsur-Naharhole if one has a four wheeler or Bangalore-Mysore-Gonikappa-Virajpet-Kutta or the less traveled Bangalore-Mysore-HD Kote-Kabini-Bavali-Kattikulum-Kutta road. We chose the last one as motorcycles are not allowed on the Hunsur-Nagarhole stretch. The last roads passes through some breathtaking scenery.
OK, enough of prelude, here comes the log...
Day 1: The jungle day!
Route: Bangalore-Mysore-HD Kote-Kabini-Bavali-Kattikulum-Kutta
After a late night engagement-bash, I was little tired but got up at around 5 in the morning and called Anil, who was all ready. He came in around 40 minutes to Rohit's place where I was staying. We stared at around 7. Rohit's place from where we started
Traffic is a major problem in Bangalore now and getting outside the city took a lot of time.We took the newly build Kanakpura Road - Mysore Road connecting road and were soon on the Mysore road. We took breakfast at Kamat's with some delicious fare that included Akki roti or Tandoolachi Bhakri as it is called in Maharashtra.
Breakfast time: Akki Roti at Kamat's on Mysore highway
Steamed Idli warpped in a leaf!
Just before Mysore city we took the ring road, this avoided the Mysore city traffic but it was like taking a detour as distance wise it was more. After riding for about 30-40 minutes, we got a diversion for HD Kote. The road from Mysore till Kabini was not very eventful. It was only after Kabini, that the real fun actually started. We were able to see the Kabini Backwaters from a distance. We also came across the fine Jungle Lodge at Kabini which is run the Karnataka Govt.
On the way to Kabini
Entrance to Nagarhole National Park from HD Kote route
From here on we enter the Nagarhole National Park.We were now riding very slowly and very keenly around to look for any wildlife. There were hardly any vehicles that passed us on this road. These jungles have
a very large population of wild elephants who are known to chase vehicles. Riding inside these jungles is always exciting. You are anxiety levels shoot up when you ride on these roads. It is partly because you are thrilled as well as little scared. The Nagarhole NP has a healthy population of Tigers. The stretch of road which we were riding was crossing the NP.
The Nagarhole boundary at a distance
Inside the park and our first tiger sighthing!
Thick bamboo trees inside the park
Imagine coming across a Tiger in front of you where you are on a Bike!
This is very much a possibility here. But that also adds to the excitement of the ride. There was local motorcycle rider who was little ahead of us.Suddenly out of nowhere he was chased by some wild elephants! He fell to the ground. Fortunately a bus came from behind and the driver of the bus stopped right in between the elephants and the rider. The man immediately lifted his bike and rode back to the place where we were standing. Now we were 3 of us staring the elephants at some distance. There was a group of elephants with a calf which I guess prompted one of the elephant to chase. The elephants backed a little and that is when we decided to rip off ahead. As we crossed a the elephants at some distance, one of them sacred the hell out of us when he chased us briefly but luckily we escaped it. What a thrilling start to the jungle ride!
Our elephant luck was very high that day as immediately we spotted another group of elephants at some distance. They were not as aggressive so we stopped for a while and took some snaps.
Way to Jungle Lodge, Kabini
Beautiful roads inside the jungle
Anil's ZMA on the beautiful road
Our first sighting from a long distace...
Dream road inside the jungle! (The slower you go here, the better the experience)
Wild elephants with a calf upclose!
Breathtaking scenery all along!
One of the numerous little lakes that we enountered on the way...
The first deer sighting!
This heavenly stretch literally blew me away. We then reached Kattikulum where one of the road goes to Manvathavady and the other road on the right branches towards Kutta. We crossed into Kerala! Now, we were riding into Wayanad wildlife sanctuary inside Kerala.
Entering Kerala!
The roads were narrow but a treat to the eyes. So green and thickly forested is this part of the world, it'll easily leave one speechless. This road passes through the Tholepetty wildlife sanctuary of Kerala. It is like a dream to ride here. We again spotted some wild elephants along the road. We were now little hungry and
so decided to speed off to Kutta. We then reached Kutta at around 2 PM. We stayed in a home stay called Green Retreat. This place is amidst a coffee plantationion. The place is owned by Manu and he is a coorgi. We got excellent hospitality and some finger licking good food. As we settled into our room, which was a
very spacious room, our lunch was ready. After a long non-stop ride of around 300 km, the sight of a excellent coorgi food was something else.
Delicious lunch at Kutta!
Shot in the wild!Deer play at Nagarhole NP
Royal Stag!
Safari into Nagarhole!
And some more dears!
Inside the core area of Nagarhole
Wild Boar sighted!
Wild elephants bathing inside of the pools
Sambar
Elephants waiting for us to attack!
The safari lasted well over an hour and we were back to the office and sped off back to Kutta. We shopped for some evening essentials and came back to the Manu's place. We explored the beautiful coffee estate before going back to the room.
The famous coorg coffee in its early stages!
Some frog that we found there
A special coorgi dinner was getting ready for us. After enjoying some somas and a tasty dinner, we called of the day and decided to give much needed rest to our tired souls.
Day 2: Irpu falls and a big disappointment
Route: Kutta-Ripe Falls-Kutta-Virajpet-Gonikoppa-Mysore-Bangalore
Woke up to the sound of rains. It looked like it rained the whole night. Today's plan was to go to Irpu falls and visit the Kuruva Dweep which is an island formed by Kabini. So after having breakfast consisting for traditional Akki roti, we decided to start off for Irpu.
Yummy breakfast the next day!
Just as we got ready, My bike refused to start. It looked like a battery problem. The Pulsar 200 doesn't have a kick which was like scary considering the remoteness of the place. We asked Manu if there was any mechanic around but being Sunday there wasn't anybody around to help. I tried to start the bike on a slope and it started, much to our relief. We then headed to Irpu falls in the pouring rains. The road condition to Irpu falls was not that encouraging. After 20 minutes, we reached the starting place for Irpu falls. It is a 20 min hike from here. It was raining pretty heavily. We took the ticket to enter the Brahmagiri Sanctuary in which the falls lie.It is also famous for trekking mainly due to Brahmagiri peak. The Irpu falls lie on the trail on the way to the peak. The falls weren't that spectacular but since it was raining, it had some water. It was crowded a little. Somehow we managed to get few snaps.
Trail to Irpu falls
Irpu falls in rains
As we started the return journey, my bike suddenly gave up and it just stopped. We just couldn't make it start again. So, I told Anil to go to town and look for somebody who can help. It was very frustrating in the rain. Finally Anil came with Manu in his Jeep. We then put the bike into the jeep and brought it to the resort. I then decided to head back via Gonikappa till Mysore maybe and fix the problem. I was not willing to take risk on the next day as I had a flight to catch. So after having quick lunch we headed back via Virajpet, Hunsur, Mysore to Bangalore. It pretty much rained all the way. The stretch between Hunsur to Mysore was pretty scenic as it passes through northern part of Nagarhole NP. After taking a break at Cafe Coffee Day on the Mysore-Bangalore highway, we reached Bangalore at around 11 pm. I was feeling little sad on having lost a day in the one of the best place one could ride the bike. I will surely be back to this awesome place.
Happy Touring...
nywys lovely pics and write up... thnx for sharing. 
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