Nice pictures Praful. Of course, the pics reminded our trip, and am feeling like straight away ride to Kodachadri.

Waiting for the rest and superb, as you claim, Pranay's pics.

Day 1 Trip Log + Pics from my end...

Hi All,

Here goes my trip log…Thanks a lot Praful for the build-up

Since me & Praful will be writing the same stuff (but with a different perspective), there’s a good possibility that I might be repeating what he’s already wrote… Kindly excuse !!! This travel log was written in less than 2 hours, hope I’ve lived upto your expectations …

Day 1: Due to heavy showers on Sat night, the scheduled departure time (3:15 AM) was pushed by 45 mins… The meeting point was PES College where Praful & Manoj would join and then we’ll take the NICE Road and head towards Tumkur Road… We started off really slow and thanks to NICE Road, we reached Tumkur Road in no time and next few mins we reached Nelamangla Toll where Archi had been waiting for quite sometime… Till this point, the only person whom I ever interacted was Praful and had never interacted with Manoj & Archi, there was a couple of hand-shakes, told myself, am gonna spend next 2 days with these guyz and it’d be an understatement to say, I had one of the best rides of my life, thanks to these guyz for making it happen…

It was time to push off and we 4 took off from Nelamangla towards, it was too windy and at times, I’d feel as if I’ve lost my helmet, the road from Tumkur once we entered NH 206 was just too good… The last time I drove on this road was back in 2006 and should say, the current state is too good compared to those times… We were able to maintain speeds of 80+ throughout the stretch and the roads were inviting to test the limits and at times we did so… As expected once it was dawn, there was hell lotta inspects hitting the wisor and thanks to the mask, I wasn’t forced to have them as my breakfast.

Our first butt break was around Banavara where we stopped for a while so that we could avoid the twilight… Btw, due to the previous night rain, I started off my journey with rain-gear on + an orange colored reflecting suit… I did look like a clown in that attire, but more than anything else, I was visible to everyone on the road , so that they don’t run over me… The drive was just too good, with great scope to do cornering and having Praful was most excited to test his SIRAC and he did it pretty well too. Everyone on the roads would look at us with their eyes / mouth split wide open, and kids who were on the way to their schools for Independence Day celebrations were more than excited to see us and would wave us TATA, BYE BYE… At times they’d even wave at us to offer us lift… It was very important to cover the distance at the earliest without loosing the momentum, hence it was practically not possible to stop… It was nostalgic to recollect good old school days, when we also used to attend the Independence Day celebrations and at time we’d see the National Flag being hoisted, we’d salute it , thanked god that we’re born in India… …

We stopped @ Arsikere for b’fast… Everyone in the hotel looked as if we are some kinda aliens who’ve come from a different planet, the kids were really excited to see the bikes, especially the R15 and we’d to keep a constant eye on our steeds to make sure that none of our stuffs gets stolen… Had a heavy breakfast and set off…

At times we’d come across jerks who’d want to race with us… It was very irritating to hear them shout whenever they overtook us… We were hardly bothered about them and we chose to ignore them and just concentrate on the road and enjoy the ride… One of the jerks on RX (both rider & pillion without a lid) were racing with Archi, subsequently overtook me & Manoj, now they were very desperate to overtake Praful… Praful had just crossed an intersection in one of the small towns and we were about 50 meters from that intersection, slowed down as we sensed something wrong might happen… The next thing we saw was a loud BANG !!! RX collided with one more 2-wheeler which was crossing the road… The RX doing a somersault almost 10 feet up in the air with a loud noise and people flying around in possible directions… For a fraction, I got hell scared if it was Praful, but was glad to see him after the intersection… I really pity the guys on the other 2-wheeler, it was due to these jerks that they ended up with such misfortune… Praful witnessed all of these through his RVM… We didn’t have any time to even react what might have happened… Within seconds the locals gathered the site of the accident and we went ahead towards Bhadravathi…

During our drive, we came across a sun-flower field in its glory and decided to spend sometime in the fields… Archi would pass on his gyaan about the sun-flower and we enjoyed walking in the fields… I was in no mood to open my saddle bag and take out my camera, managed with Praful’s cam by clicking a few pics… Praful was at his best clicking pics and Manoj also enjoyed clicking with his phone camera… Shimoga was about 100 kms from this place…

The stretch after Bhadravathi was in real bad shape we headed towards Shimoga… By the time we reached Shimoga, it was almost 10.45 AM or so and we had covered a good distance… We fueled up in one of the IOC petrol pump just opposite A.P.M.C.Yard… This is supposed to be the best petrol pump in the surrounding areas… Since there was no way we’d get fuel around Kodachadri, most of us put enough fuel to last long… After refueling, we decided to stop-by in the outskirts and wait if Veda would join us and we stopped just after the Bhadra Sanctuary… We spent enough time chit-chatting and once we gotta know that Veda is still 100 kms away from NH 206, we decided to go ahead and instead wait @ Jog falls…

The drive from Shimoga to Sagara was amazing!!! Smooth roads, green paddy fields on both sides of the road, occasionally we’d come across small villages, natural vegetation, greenery everywhere… There were lotta twisties on the entire stretch and it was bliss to drive on this stretch… Praful was way ahead of us at one right-hand curve which had a very clear visibility (absolutely no risk of being run-over by vehicles coming in the opp direction), we also enjoyed cornering at this twisty and suddenly we see a RED Pee220 coming in the opposite direction and the rider looked exactly like Praful… All of us pulled over questioning each other if that was Praful and we started scratching our helmets if it was him and if yes, why did he go back ??? Next moment we see him again, he’d gone all the way back, to enjoy one more round of twisty, shaking our heads, all of us giggled and went ahead…

Talguppa Cross: This was the first time I took the pain of taking the cam from my saddle-bag and it was worth the pain … Its been one of my favorite stretch since the time I first came to Jog falls and have made it a point to stop every time to stop at this location, take pics and move on… At times, it was scary to see speeding vehicles on this stretch and we were very careful to make sure that we’re at safe distance from them… Btw, few sequences from Kunidu Kunidu Baare song from the movie Mungaaru MaLe (Biggest Sandalwood blockbuster till date) was shot in the nearby location… Enough of text, since I hadn’t taken my cam out till this point, had to let the text do all the talks, from now on will let pics do all the talk



The closer we got to Jog Falls, the more jerks we came across, who’d scream their lungs out and what not… The hair pin bends at the descent are not consistent and there were so many tire marks at the edge of the road which was a clear indication as to how drivers get tempted, loose control and end-up crashing themselves… Everyone were ahead of me & in one of the right & an immediate tight left turn, one auto full of drunkards toppled just ahead of me, there was a small jam because of that and I got late by a few mins… We reached Jog by 1 PM & Jog was an utter disappointment compared to my earlier visits… The water level was pretty low … We decided to take turns guarding the bikes, so that we don’t have to take off our saddle bags, went to the view point, took pics and back... In the meanwhile, collected info about the ferry that would take us to Nittur (From Kodachadri’s about less than 30 kms or so), so that we can reduce the travel time / distance and reach Kodachadri before it gets dark… Since the time was running out, decided to skip the British Bungalow and headed straight to Sagara and catch a ferry, Praful called up Veda, expressed how disappointed we were and instructed him to wait at Sagara instead and we’ll catch him up there…



On the way back, me & Manoj drove together, maintained about just 70 kmph, and it was just good enough to make it on time… We were following an old maruti 800 and just when we were about to enter Talguppa Cross, the driver makes a sudden left turn, ends up driving only on 2 wheels, making a screeching sound that lasted for a few secs with passers by scratching their heads as to what went wrong … He almost crash-landed, but somehow he was lucky that the car landed on its 4 legs… Me & Manoj couldn’t stop laughing at that idiot… God knows, what was running in his mind when he exhibited that heroic act… Till then, we’d seen quite a few accidents and should say, never ever saw so many in such a small time-frame… It was as if all the maniacs were on the roads trying their dirty driving skills

Without wasting anytime we headed for a hotel where Veda was waiting for us… This was the first time I met Veda, a few hand-shakes, a quick lunch that didn’t even last for 5 mins, we set off at around 3:30 PM… Had to take a left deviation from Sikandoor Cross towards Hasirmakki ferry lounge… The road was in very bad shape, but we had no other choice but to take the ferry to shorten the distance / time… The timings of the ferry is scheduled mainly to ferry the buses and after over-taking the bus, we were pretty sure that we can easily get into the ferry, I took it easy and drove at my own leisure speed, whereas everyone else drove really fast… After reaching the lounge, the wait for the bus seemed to be endless and our hands were itching to off-road … Once the bus reached, it directly went into the ferry and should really appreciate bus-driver’s precision in parking the bus… The other cars were inches away from the bus… We had to act really fast to get our bikes onto and the space was not enough for Praful / Archi’s bike… We were asked to park them on the launching area and they assured us not to worry & nothing would happen… The water would splash every now & then, falling onto the saddlebags, getting into shoes & it was fun to play “Touch Me Not” with the water… By 4:30 PM we reached the other side, as mentioned by Praful thankfully in one-piece, it was followed by a small photo session and we set off towards Nittoor… The road was equally bad, but the paddy fields, houses were very pleasing to the eyes… The people who live in this part are self-sufficient and more of isolated & seemed pretty happy about the same… After crossing one of the small villages, we come across beautifully laid roads and we again started ripping around the corners, doing the twisties and finally entered the deviation which leads to Kodachadri…



We came across this reservoir and decide to stop for a while, take pics… We suddenly realized that we were only 4 of us… It turned out that the FASTEST INDIAN was missing… He reappeared in a few mins and we all took pics / posed for pics, went down near the channel where the water goes out of the reservoir…



Particularly Archi wanted to express how difficult it’d been to drive all through the day on such bad roads and Manoj also joined him in expressing the same



It was already 5:30 PM, and we decided to move and capture K-Top before it gets darker… We all went further and after sometime realized Archi’s missing… After sometime, he came, shaking his head & cursing that his bike’s giving some problems and he was debating whether to risk or not… It seemed like we’ve come so close, yet so far !!! We successfully convinced (or rather confused) him, not to worry and there’s no point in turning back… The distance from the tar road to K-Top is about 9 kms or so… Initially, the route was slushy and it was very difficult to drive in a straight line… At times, there’d be a wheel-spin & it would need others help to pull the bike outta slime and it was great fun …



After moving for some distance, the angle of climb started increasing and we had to time our turnings so that we don’t face a jeep right in front of us… The jeep drivers were big a@#$@!#% and they’d just don’t respect other drivers… No matter how dangerously we’d be placed, we had to step back and let them go, aaaaarghhhh !!!



Every now & then, we’d come across a real bad patch, at times with huge boulders and if the tires are not in the correct position, the bike would spin & go out of control... Occasionally there were wheel-spins, center stand hitting the ground… Thankfully, I had engine-guard on my bike and it did work to a great extent… It’d taken so much of beating, that it resembled more like a modern art …



At times we’d drive through small springs, through the thick trees & even during day-light it’d be dark in these areas…



It was good to see so many Trekkers on the way, and whenever we needed help, they would readily help us…



As we neared Bhattara mane, there was plenty of level surface, and amazing view of the green mountains, water bodies, mist etc…



The last km of the journey had to be covered under lights and by the time we reached bhattara mane it was about 7 PM and that was end of Day 1 w.r.t. biking… We parked our bikes, luckily for us and special thanks to Veda, we got the accommodation in the hall… We threw our bags in the corner, rested for a while, were very hungry, had dinner in half-sleep, went out for a walk after meal, it was so foggy that nothing was visible and we called it a day at around 9.30 PM or so… Lucky me, I had a sleeping bag and I could sleep cozily all through the night… Others had slightly tough time in getting sleep as it was freezing at night….

Day 2 To Be Continued…

Pure awesomeness Pranesh. The pics are lovely.

Thanks a lot Ravi... Day 2 log to start soon... Stay tuned !!!

Part 1 Day 2 Trip Log + Pics from my end...

Part 1 of Day 2:
After a tiring Day 1, none were in a mood to get up early on Day 2 and we got up aaram se at around 7.30 AM or so… By then, few of the other groups had already left for Shankaracharya Peetha, which is at trekkable distance from Bhattara Mane… We left at around 8:15 or so and it was very foggy, and hardly anything was visible…

Hence we shifted our attention towards the dew drops and did some macro-photography… Basically anything (leaves, grass, spider-web, flowers etc…) with dew drops was our subject of photography and we enjoyed doing it a lot…






Shankaracharya Peetha


Veda trying his maps application on his cell phone




Bhattara Mane @ K-Top


Getting ready for the descent


Praful feeling on top of the world


View of Linganmakki back-waters


Mera Bharat Mahaan !!!


Steeds also enjoying the view…


View of Bhadra Reservoir


Probably these guys came to check if we’re still on top or crashed somewhere


Spot Praful / Veda in these pics:


We were in no mood to leave this place, but didn’t had any other option as the clock was ticking and it was almost 12 noon and we had to descend… Getting down was the most difficult part as we’d to be extremely careful at the corners, along the edges… Veda’s rear tire went on a loose rock and it was one hella scary moment , nevertheless they’re all part of the adventure , as expected, jeep drivers gave us hard time … It took us about an hour to reach the foot of the hill…

Almost reached the foot-hill:


Part 2 of Day 2 to be continued later….

Fantastic pics Pranesh! What gear you are using? Kodachadri is one hell of a place in monsoons.

Agree with you Pranesh. Riding down is very difficult than riding up on Kodachadri.

Gorgeous pics Praful and Pranesh.. I'm hooked to this thread now

Thanks a lot Ravi... I've ordered for a gear from one of my friend in US and still waiting for it to arrive... This is more of a make-shift arrangement till then... The current gear is a non-branded one which my bro got it from Delhi, donno where he got it from...

Thanks a lot Nio... Veda's cam has some master-pieces too... Wait for the rest

Awesome, Mindblowing pics Pranesh....especially the macros!

@Praful: Thanks a lot for pushing hard to finish the trip log on time... Else, it'd have taken ages to come out ...

@Veda, Archi, M@noj: Guyz please put your thoughts too and post your pics...

A few clicks I managed to get out of Veda's cam after my cam's batteries played hide n seek with me

These pics are from the morning when we got up atop Kodachadri and trekked upto the topmost point which was a good 100 meters higher.


Tried my hand at the Super Macro mode which Pranesh showed me, obviously for a first timer with the cam I had light years of catching up to do to reach even somewhere close to Pranesh's level...

Superb pics Pranesh..the greenery looks so nice..!!

@pranesh & Praful - Your pictures are making me hide my face somewhere.Most of the pictures have come out pretty well.I'm having second thoughts now whether to post my trip log or not.

Jog was a dampener. I still remember SkSy asking me whether I want to see someone pissing from the top of the hill.

Kodachadri as always looks heavenly.Sadly I had to miss it this time round with a battered bike and even bettered rider.

Bring on the next set guys.

These kind of compliments coming from you is Huge! Thank you for that!

But if you waste any more time and start being lazy about posting your travelogue, you can be rest assured that I would personally come down to Pune and kick u in the backside for being so damn lazy and depriving us the beauty of the western ghats captured through ur lenes....

Kodachadri awaits you, I'm just a buzz away

Sorry dude, can't agree on this part !!! Trust me, these pics are mind-blowing and by no stretch of imagination would anyone think its job of a first-timer ... Awesome stuff !!! Lotta credit goes to the camera, the next thing is about using the Manual mode with right settings + right combination of aperture value, shutter speed & click without shaking your hands... Bingo !!! U'll end up with a master-piece... Its no big deal

I still can't how understand how the R15 fixed itself ... Nevertheless, the end result matters

Thanks a lot Inder

Bring it on !!! Lets see from your eyes / lens , the pics are beautiful bcz we happened to be at the right place at the right time...

It surely was disappointing to all of us... But being an optimist, compared it with the image below and said to ourselves not bad

Jog Falls during my trip to Yana in Jan 2006


There's always a next time