Hi Ravi, the pics are very nice. hope u didnt have any trouble due to Tyre during rest the trip.
This is the third or fourth logue that covers meghamali (Mm). if i'm not wrong, the pic with chennai xbhpians is also seen in another Mm travelogue.
One more common in these logues but really awesome pic en-route Mm is the hill view from tea estate. [link below]




waiting for the rest..

Thanks Haroon. You must not miss some of the places like Valparai, Munnar, Idukki, and Meghamalai. You will get to see as I finish my blog.

Sirish, thanks for reading the log patiently. Yes, I was part of the Meghamalai trip posted by Chennai xBhpians. The group picture was posted by me in that log. From Idukki we went to Meghamalai to meet them. It was a nice ride with them in Meghamalai. And even we were lucky to visit this place. Even after seeing tea estates for 5 days, we did not get bored of that place.

Regarding the wobbling problem, as you might have read, its coming only after 90 kmph, that too occasionally. I never got to go beyond 80 kmph in the rest of the trip, except the last day. It was not a problem anymore.

And, that picture in the link is not Meghamalai; its near Valparai. We spent lot of time over there enjoying the climate and the beauty there. It was one of the best moments of the trip. You will get to know soon as I complete the blog.

Fantasitc, excellent, super, Balle... Ravi nice pictures depicting the story. Watching this thread for more updates.

Fantastic Pics!!

I'm very eager now for the rest of the log, teasers are mind blowing..

Voww... Beautiful pix.. Each travelogue, south keeps looking more & more awesome..!!

Thanks Sriram.

Thank you!

Yes Rachit, South always beautiful and once you ride to these places, you want to ride again and again.

Highlights of the day:

• Around 140 hairpin bends, and countless corners.
• Beautiful Kundha hills.

Route Map:




Ananth from Chennai suggested me to visit Emarald Lake when I said we are riding through Ooty. He directed me to Phanikar for the details. The above plan was given by Phanikar, and never thought it would be one of the highlights of our trip. We were supposed to reach Valparai by night, but ended up at Coimbatore by night.


The familiar voice that woke me up yesterday, Namaj call from Masjid, again woke me up today, but with a little low intensity than yesterday . We got ready by 7 a.m. Came out and had breakfast. Expected a nice breakfast from Tamil Nadu, but the masala dosa was full of oil and I didn’t like it at all; on top of it, it was 40 rupees and felt quite expensive. The climate was chilly adding to that yesterday’s rain. We pulled the bikes on to the road and warmed them up. Checked out the hotel, and started towards Masinagudi by 8:30 a.m. The Sun was out and the wet greenery around the Mudumalai National Forest was shining with reflections



We soon reached Tappekadu and took right turn towards Masinagudi. The road was single lane and very narrow and the tarmac was just okay with lots of undulations. We crossed Masinagudi soon and was nearing the hill climb.

Just before the hill climb to 36 hairpins. The clouds were like a hat to the mountains.




I was excited about the famous 36 hairpins as it was the first time (Of course, the excitement gone later). Soon we entered the ghat section; the climb was too steep and I had to rev the bike in the first gear upto 7k rpm. I could listen to the loud cry of the engine of my bike. The valves and piston rings were replaced very recently and though the engine was a little tight because of that. I couldn’t enjoy the corners much as there was lot of traffic. Overtaking was very difficult in the narrow path and at many places we were stuck behind four-wheelers. Stopped at 19^th hair pin to checkout the view around, and also to give some rest to our rides. The view around was just okay and frankly, I didn’t enjoy the climb very much.





We started after 15 minutes and now we got the hang of the corners and were enjoying relatively better. The tarmac also became very good, along with nice landscapes around.



There was lots of traffic everywhere. We passed through some deep pine forest; the trees were huge and very tall and appear to be very old. We soon reached Ooty and enquired about the route to Emarald Lake. Our joy for the day started from here. There was less traffic with fantastic tarmac and engaging corners. The Landscapes around were getting more and more beautiful.















After around 15 kms, we found a beautiful landscape with a little visible lake and a small village. Stopped there and clicked lots of pictures. The climate was cool and very enjoyable.

















We found a route going down to the lake decided to check out. After crossing the village there was a muddy path. I wanted to explore and Pavan was ready for that. We went down near the lake after wandering a lot figuring out the route. The lake appeared near dry with very scant water.



Look at the buffaloes; they were thinking who these intruders were?




This one was happy enjoying the company of my ride.










We returned soon to the main road and started our journey. The roads were excellent with nice corners. After around 30 kms, we saw a sign board 1/34 hairpins. The route went down a bit, and the landscapes were simply awesome.





By afternoon we reached Emerald lake and explored here and there. Took lots of pictures and enjoyed the superb climate. The lake appeared a little dry comparatively. There seems to be little water in the lake, nevertheless it looks beautiful.



This is Pavan’s trakemark. He always leaves this mark at everyplace he visits. Of course, he later made me also to do this.



















After this place, we went to Avalanche.We learnt that only permitted jeeps are allowed inside. The time for a trip is approximately 2 hours. It was already three and we thought we skip the plan. Had some nice Banana and Chilly bajji and it was our lunch. We returned back and took the route towards Yedakkadu. The road was awesome with less traffic and nice corners.

















Before Kundha, the roads were freshly laid with neat marking. The traffic was very less and we thoroughly enjoyed the corners.









The place was beautiful with a small lake between the hills.



To be continued...

Nice Pics Ravi . Those turns are tempting ones. Keep posting and Ride safe bro

Day 3 continuation..

After Kundha, the road was good and again we were climbing down 40 hairpins. We thought we would be reaching Karamadai soon, and at that moment we wouldn’t know that we are entering into a forest. As soon as we started climbing down, we faced this unexpected scenery. This was a visual treat at 1800 meters above MSL. We clicked lots of pictures and spent almost more than an hour there.




























Pavan’s trademark.














The clouds were passing painting the mountains giving beautiful views. We never thought we would be seeing this at this place. We spent a lot of time there and refreshed ourselves. We thought we better enjoy it instead of pushing and better stay at either Coimbatore or Pollachi. It was around 5 p.m. by the time we started.

These green slender plants were on either side of the ghats at many places.



We encountered this Power plant, named Canada Power Plant




Soon we entered into a valley with a small canal in between. We were quite surprised to see we were entering into a forest. Its getting dark and the traffic was very less. I was a little sceptical about the right route, and asked two persons that we encountered at one place. There was question mark on their faces as to why we were passing in that route at that time. Though we had language barrier I could understand we were on right path. They warned us about elephants, and they started to follow us. We were going at brisk pace, and we encountered a biker who was shouting something at us. I couldn’t understand what he said. The localites following us understood what he said and warned us that there were elephants on the road and to be cautious. I started riding slow with great caution at blind corners. There were lots of elephant dung on the road and we were a little scared as to what to do in case we encounter wild elephants. Luckily we did not see any elephants and soon we reached a check post. Later we came to know that the localites were waiting for somebody to form a group and ride.

We thought we will be on regular route from there and we were utter shocked to know that we are entering into forest again. It was very dark by then, the guard there took our details and took 20 rupees per each person. The roads were not that good, and there was another shock that we started to climb again. After some kilometres, there was a biker coming and signalled to stop, but he didn’t stop. I stopped there and asked Pavan if we were on the right path. Luckily there was singal in Pavan’s phone and checked google maps. I was relived when he said we were on right path. After some kilometres we reached exit checkpost and the guard again took 20 rupees per head. I was puzzled as to why we need to pay, but left it there as I was more focussed on reaching the destination. Roads from there were bad for 10 more kms and then we reached good two-lane road. Enquired and got to know that Karamadai is 30 kms from that place. With good road after lots of hairpins, the bike felt relaxed cruising at 70-80 kmph. After half-an-hour we reached Karamadai and searched some place to have tea.

I called Phanikar and said we were still in Karamadai at 7:30 p.m. He asked me to call Deepak, xBhpian from Coimbatore, for guidance to cross the Coimbatore city. I called Deepak and unfortunately he was in Chennai. I took the number of Ram (xBhp ID Dual-Disc), whom I spoke a couple of times previously. I called him and he suggested us to stay at Coimbatore instead of Pollachi and gave directions to reach a hotel for the night stay. We reached Coimbatore in 30 mintues. Sadly we roamed around Coimbatore for an hour finding the destination. Finally got message from Ram that he booked a room for us at a Hotel, behind railway station. After lots of drama we were able to reach the hotel. We were really surprized to see all the hotels in Coimbatore at one place, near railway station. Thanks to Ram, the hotel was superb and we got good concession as it was booked from Radio City. Got food by room service and slept in a/c room after a hectic day.

Very tempting Ravi anna

wonderful photography. beautiful scenes with clouds. Mm and en-routing Mm has lots of tempting places and its really paradise in western ghats. All Mm travelogues have a special attraction, including this one . the later part was a thriller from start of forest till you mentioned you didn't find any elephant.

Thanks a ton for reading the log Sirish. Even it was thriller for us riding through that forest. Actually, the route to Meghamalai is not this. People generally club other destinations along with Meghamalai. The direct route from Bengaluru to Meghamalai is via Salem and Theni. In our initial plan, Meghamalai was not there. At the last minute we skipped spending at Thekkady and visited Meghamalai which allowed us to meet many Chennai xBhpians that I have interaction only on xBhp forum and Facebook. We thoroughly enjoyed the place and riding along with them.

Highlights of the Day:

• Realized the 'nirvana of biking'
• The famous hairpins while climbing Valparai, the joy of biking for lifetime, the nirvana.
• Beautiful tea estates with superb climate.
• Unexpected meeting with two Chennai xBhpians (ID WhizzKidd) Ram and Sriram (ID Yellowspunk), who were on road for the last 4 days.

Route Map:^nd and 3^rd

Everlasting pics Ravi and interesting write up bro. Keep posting and ride safe

Thanks Shetty. It will be 'everloading' pics I guess