Rajyotsava Ride

It's been tough few months. Work pressure was mounting , personally was also a time of awakening to few truths , I know the medicine for all this but was just waiting for the right time.

I love to start planning for a ride well in advance so that the excitement keeps me happy. I have been riding for so long but still the excitement is the same as it was with my first ride , may be the answer to when will I stop is simple , when that excitement is over!

The ride was planned to Valparai , Athirappilly Falls and Adiyogi on the Karnataka Rajyotsava long weekend. Manu was my ride partner for the ride. Manu rides the new dominar and I was sure this is gonna be one fun gig.

Manu with his Savyasachi (Black Dominar) and me with Kapidwaja ( White Dominar )

We started on 31st evening and stayed at Hotel Juha Regency in Salem about 200kms from Bangalore , the idea was to cover half the distance so that we can spend good time in Valparai which is nearly 480kms from Bangalore. We reached Salem at around 9 pm ate the famous Nai Roast Dosa ( Ghee Roast Dosa ) and dosed off for the day.

On the 1st we got up early and headed towards Valparai , had our breakfast at A2B on the highway NH 544 and it was a pleasant ride till the deviation towards Pollachi , from there though the roads were still fine but however it was a single lane road which reduced our speed considerably. The Google maps was showing that we would reach the hotel we booked in Valparai at around 12.30 pm and at 10am we had already crossed the Aliyar dam and entered the Annamalai Reserve , it was just a matter of an hour's ride from here and I was telling Manu that we are well ahead of Google Map's prediction. But just as we entered the reserve , the view of the dam and it's water just blew us away , it was like we had to stop at every curve as the views were getting better and better.

First View of the dam

Dominar is such a lovely motorcycle , munches the miles with utmost ease and least fuss.

After clicking many pictures we finally reached our hotel , The Green Hill at 12.30 pm , what a coincidence;)

It was a beautiful hotel , the view from the hotel was great , the staff were very helpful and also the room was spacious and clean. We took a bath , had lunch and rested our backs for a bit. While coming to the hotel I had seen a beautiful waterfall on the way and in the evening went to see the waterfall and to explore the many tea estates in Valparai , Valparai indeed is a very beautiful place , not as crowded as Ooty or Kodai , a perfect place for a relaxed weekend.

The endless Tea Estates of  Valparai

Stunning Sunset & the moon , missed the setting sun , got to see only the orange hour.

The plan for the next day was Athirapally Waterfalls in Thirshur and Adiyogi in Coimbatore. If the ride to Valparai is very scenic the ride from Valparai to Athirapally is more scenic and stunning  , if the views of Solaiyar Dam back water mesmerizes you , the silence once you enter the Vazhachal Reserve forest makes you feel the peace.

Back Waters of Solaiyar Dam & the Tea Estates

A small hamlet near Soliyar Dam

Beautiful roads of TN

The Aliyar Dam seen from Vazhachal Forest

The Aliyar Dam seen from Vazhachal Forest

While entering the Vazhachal Reserve forest we entered our details at the Kerala Tamil Nadu border and we were given a pass which needs to be presented at the other end near the Vazhachal waterfalls which is 40 kms away in 2 hours , we thought it would be easy , we rode easy and stopped a bit for making some images and videos , but later realized that we would have done a mistake , the forest roads looked never ending and we had to reach by 11.15 am finally we reached the other side at 11.05 am the last few kilometers was tough.

We parked our bikes and saw the stunning Athirapally Waterfalls ,words fail to explain the beauty of this waterfall ,

Athirappilly Waterfalls

We saw many bikers from Karnataka , Kerala and TN who had come to see the waterfall , we spent a good 1.30mins in the waterfalls had our lunch and rode towards Coimbatore. Apart from one 10km stretch of horrific road the rest were good roads but still the heat had taken a toll on us and we knew we would not be able to visit the Adiyogi in the evening and we reached Hotel Rose Park Inn in Coimbatore at around 5pm and rested for the day.

The Isha Centre opens at 6am and we reached Isha Centre at 6am , there was a bit of mist around and the first view of the Adiyogi statue a black statue appearing in the background of mist just blew my mind away , what a beautiful place , what a beautiful statue , just stood and admired the marvel.

First View of the Adiyogi Statue

Om Bhagavathe Rudraya

Gangaadhara Chandrashekhara

Then I visited the Linga Bairavi temple and the Dhyanalinga and took a dip at the Suryakund , as per the instructions I read the Suryakund has medicated water and also there are three Shiva Lingas inside the small lake the chill water was very soothing for the tired body after a 900km ride. We later had breakfast at the Isha Centre and rode back to Bangalore to reach home at 4.30pm

Salem Thali @ Aasai Dosai Salem.

thus ending a 1,300 km trip. Body tired mind happy and that's what matters.