Bangalore to Ooty Trip:

We five friends planned for a Ooty trip by Bike on 30th April'16. We got our Bikes checked, fueled. We geared up with safety jackets etc. And started at 4.30am early morning in the dark on 30th April' 16 from Bangalore. Route chosen was via Nice road to Mysore and to Ooty. And the riders were @Kanu with Bajaj Avenger 220 CC, @Chetan with Royal Enfield 500CC, @Roshan with Royal Enfield 300CC, @Sandeep Johnson with Yamaha FZ 153CC and Myself with Yamaha FZ 153CC.

The legendary team

Roaring Rides

We started moving via Nice road and touched Mysore road. Soon we were touching speed of 110-115Km/Hr - FZ, Royal Enfield's 125 to 135 Km/Hr and Bajaj Avenger 120 Km/Hr. Our engines were roaring. While moving on NH275 towards Mysore our first stop was Mandya district after 100 Km from Bangalore, where we stopped to re-assemble the team and to attend the acute natures call.

The next stop decided was Mysore District. which is 50 Km from Mandya, it was nice feeling to ride early morning the cool air was blowing. The road was full of bus and trucks till Mysore. We were driving very nicely. It was 7am when we reached Mysore near Columbia Asia Hospital. There we had a tea & snacks break of 20-25 minutes. there were three roads leading to Ooty. Now we had to opt for the right route to Ooty.

Moving to Ooty

After asking few people the way to Ooty, we decided to choose a little longer route approx. 20 Km extra than other routes but with less traffic and 6 lane road, i.e: Left turn from Columbia Asia Hospital. Now we were tired enough for speeding and we were following each other maintaining certain distance as a line formation.

Road side view

Now the morning traffic started to come on road. There were many fuel stations on the way, those who wanted to refill, they refilled the tank. There was several places where we had to move slow due to roads under construction and barricades. We also had several stoppage for 5-10min. for fast tea, waters and to water the trees. After riding about 1.5hrs we covered almost 70Km.

Then we stopped at a small Rama temple, where we spent around 30min. clicking photographs, sharing the experience till there, enjoying the snacks and the view. Still we were 60Km away from our final destination.

Rama Mandir on the way

We ride 8Km more and soon we reached the Bandipur Jungle gate. it was 10.15am. The road inside was narrow and many tourist cars were also moving on the road. We saw the sign boards stating it was a tiger reserve, we were excited to see some wild animals around. Also many other sign boards marking other animals like elephant, Bear and their territory. Not to stop, Not to litter, Not to take photograph, Not to feed monkey/ other animals etc. However in the day time we could only see some deer and monkeys. We moved almost 10-15Km to cross through the Bandipur tiger Reserve.

Bandipur Jungle gate

Bandipur Jungle

After crossing the Bandipur Tiger reserve we halted for a maggi breakfast. There the safari people were asking for a jeep safari ride for 3000/- rupees a trip. we five decided to go for safari. we were roaming for almost 1.2hrs in the Jungle. The guide was taking us deep into the jungle, full of trees and bushes were beating the jeep continuously. unfortunately we could only see the season deer chasing each other and a fox. we went deep to the lake side inside the jungle to find the tigers or leopards but it was not the right time for them to show. We could only see a half eaten deer skeleton and a forest guard....KLPD. After returning we negotiated and paid him 2500/-. The money was simply wasted.

Lake where wild animals come for drinking water

Team ready for safari after maggie break

After Bandipur National Park the 2way roads were narrow, steepy and with hair pin turns, Bikes were only running in 1st or 2nd gear. All the 4 wheeler's were moving with a burnt hand breaks smell. It was very easy to over take the 4 wheeler's ......Hahaa B). Now we were climbing the hill with the speed of 25-30Km/Hr. The nature's beauty was at its best, one side of road was mountain and other side of road was valley. Cold breeze was blowing on our face and sun was hiding in the clouds. It was an awesome feeling riding around the green beauty and awesome weather on the road. After riding the bike for another 45-47Km, We reached Ooty by 1.30pm. where the temperature was 15°C. It was the feeling of accomplishment.

Nature's Beauty

Site Seeing:

Tea fields

We booked the hotel rooms( 2BH) and got fresh, there was no requirement of fan or a A/c in the room. The water for bath was chilled...Ooooo!! After a rest of an hour or so at 3.30pm we started again for the site seeing first we went to Domino's and had our lunch. We found out that Coonoor is hardly 18 Km from our location, So we decided to start from there the stops were Dolphin nose and Lamb Rock. After crossing through the city we were again on the narrowerrrr two way road towards dolphin nose. These roads were completely covered with leafs, trees and green branches, it was looking like a green tunnel full of nature's surprise, Cold inside the green leafy tunnel. Headlights were on flashing at the beauty of Ooty.

View from dolphin nose

Words can not describe the beauty of Ooty. It was our pleasure to ride our sexy bikes on such roads. We were flashing the dippers to the vehicles coming from front for pass and moving. The road was full of surprises/ exciting natural beauty the valley scene were simply awesome. I will cherish this trip forever.

After visiting Dolphin nose we reached the Lamb rock but it was 7pm roads full darkness. So we decided to leave early considering the less visibility, down steeps & hairpin turns.It is never good to ignore the safety factor on such roads.

We returned to our Base at Ooty by 8.30pm and went for the dinner. It was cold around team had some booze and had rest for the day.

As per plan next day we had to leave Ooty by 3pm to get entry inside the Bandipur Jungle before 6 in the evening and to cross it.

We woke up next day by 9am fully refreshed and energetic. We received coffee from the hotel. Then we went for the bike tank re-fueling and to check the tyre pressure etc. We had breakfast at Anand Bhawan, Ooty. After full masti, relaxation, various discussion we started for Doddabetta-The highest peak at Ooty by 11.30am. Which is around 7 Km from Ooty.

Chai-pani-sutta break

Returning from Ooty to Bangalore:

We spent around an hour on the Doddabetta highest peak and came down to Ooty by 3.30pm. And

Enjoyment on its best

after some masti over food, we geared up for the return journey. We left Ooty by 4pm. We rushed down the hill as we had to enter the Bandipur Jungle gate before it gets closed by 6pm. On the way we kept looking for the team on our back and kept on stopping together for tea, nature's call etc. Finally we entered the Jungle exactly at 6pm in the evening.

Halt for chai-pani while returning

While moving inside the Jungle road we saw wild animals like deer, chimp, monkeys, elephant with its calf, peacock and wild boar etc. they were roaming around the road side on the way. It was slowly getting dark. Now our minds were forced to think if we encounter a leopard or tiger on the way then what???

Local people were asking us to get outside fast. So we were rushing outside of the jungle with our full engine capacity.....LOL ..!

We crossed the Jungle by 7pm before the dark and halted outside of the Bandipur Tiger reserve for chai-pani break. Again various interesting discussion were happening among the friends over chai-pani-snacks-sutta.

The next stop was Mysore.

Now driving in the night was slightly tougher on the highway in comparison to the morning as it was completely dark, there were hardly any street lights on the road. Bigger vehicle coming from opposite side were directly flashing headlight like a shiny star in our eyes. Seeing the road bumps and holes were merely possible. In between we took a wrong route to Mysore thanks to our Google Map. After asking people at Pan-tapri we came back on right route/track.

Route tracking on GPS

We all eventually started following the rear tyre and the tail lights of the front rider to understand the obstacle/ Bumps/holes on the road. I was focusing totally on the tyre, tail lamp and the sound of the Royal Enfield (@Roshan). We were maintaining the proper distance from each other. It was 10pm when we reached Mysore.

We did halt at Mysore for dinner for about 1hour. Then had chai-pani-sutta break also. we started around 11pm from Mysore towards Bangalore(i.e: 150Km). From Mysore onward the street light were present. The vehicles around were moving with the speed of above 120-140km/hr on the road. we maintained the speed of 70-80Km/hr. and by 1.30am we hit the Nice road at Bangalore. And by 2 am we were at our homes.

It took 10 Hours to return from Ooty to Bangalore on Bike.

However the trip was AWESOME full of EXCITEMENT. It was great experience riding with the excellent team.

The Awesome Team Members

Stake holders: @Chetan, @Roshan, @Kanu, @Johnson if you feel any correction required. Please contact me on krishsaini758@gmail.com

Note: @Chetan, @ Roshan few events have been removed which were not necessary to be told.

Important details for the trip:
Bangalore to Ooty: 280KM (One way)
Ooty to Bangalore: 300KM (Return Journey)
Route: Bangalore to Ooty via Mysore & Bandipur Jungle
Time to destination: 9 hours(BLR to Ooty) including 6 tea breaks and 7 Random breaks
Return Journey time: 10 hours with various breaks
Speed: Maintain Speed of 80-85Km/Hr

P.S: Bandipur Jungle ( Tiger Reserve ) gate closes by 6PM, Get inside before 6PM and get out asap because animals will come on the road by evening. Best is to start by 4AM from Bangalore. while returning you can start at 3PM from Ooty.

Safety parameters:
Gear up with thick Jacket while driving on Highway
Wear Riding gloves, Shoes & helmet
Mask for covering face from dust
Get your bike break, clutch wire, throttle wire, tyre pressure etc. checked before starting
Side mirrors are important for driving in night
Always give Pass to bigger vehicles on highway they move with much higher speed then bikes
Fill your fuel tank completely

Places to visit at Ooty:
Doddabetta( Highest Peak at Ooty ):7KM from Ooty.
Dolphin Nose towards Coonor: 18KM from Ooty.
Lamb Rock: On the way to Dolphin Nose.
Botanical Garden
Bandipur Safari: 40Km from Ooty

Important links:

Bike Adventure

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

#OotyTrip on Roaring Bikes...!!

Bangalore to Ooty Trip:

Site Seeing:

Ooty Packages – Book Ooty Holiday Tour Packages at makemytrip.com

Ooty - Tamil Nadu Tourism

10 Best Places to Visit in Ooty - TripAdvisor

The 10 Best Ooty Hotels - TripAdvisor

Ooty Tour Packages, Book Ooty Holiday Packages at Yatra.com, India