Date Dec 17th-18th, 2021
The trip started well, but ended abruptly. My plan was to ride from Bangalore and spend couple of days in Chikmagalur, then Madikeri, and finally spend a few days hiking on safari in Coorg. Unfortunately I had to end the tour at Hassan; read through for more on this.
Starting around 5AM from Bangalore, the road through Hassan is pretty decent. This will be my first ride testing my new helmet and jacket. Even though I have a half-face helmet it did a good job and I do not see the need for a full helmet. However, the jacket left me chilly, as it is a mainly designed for warm weather, and was full of perforations, and the weather was cold.
Road trip details:
Total on road distance was around 500 kms, stopping at various places, and generally went at a decent pace to cover the spots without speeding. One thing I realized is that the left shoulder strap of my backpack keeps on falling. I do not know what is the exact reason for this but it gets pretty annoying in turns and speed bumps.
Sree Veeranarayana Swami Temple:
This temple, on the way to Chikmagalur, is located in Belavadi; a must-see temple. It is one of the incarnation of Lord Vishnu and the murthi is well sculpted. All the architecture of the temple is intact and seems very complicated. I am not allowed to take photos of the interior, however I took some from outside.
Later I headed to Chikmagalur. The police prevented me from entering as there is a Dutta Peta pilgrims were on the move. I had to convince them that I was not going there, and finally they let me proceed. At this time both Dutta Peta and Muliyanagiri Hills are closed because of this.
Staying at a small place called Guava Homestay, away from the main city. I paid 1200Rs with meals included. The place is nice, is near to various touristy spots like Muliyanagiri Hill, Herikole Lake, Z Point, Hebbe falls, Ayyanakere Lake, etc. The place has lot of guava trees and other fruit trees. I simply could not resist taking a couple of nice Harley shots
Below is a view of the Datta Peta place from near where I stayed, if you zoom in there are two white dots on the top. That's the cave of Dutta Peta where two sadhus stayed.
After a shower I headed to Ayyanakere lake. This lake is bit remote and generally tourists do not come to this place making it worthwhile to visit. Unfortunately you cannot explore the lake as there are no boats around it or kayaking, so it's just for looking at.
I called it a day after this and had a bonfire at the homestay.
The next day I started at 7:30 am and headed to Z Point trekking and Hebbe Falls. It took an hour of riding from where I was to get there. The hike is around 4-6 kms depending on where you start and how much you hike. Its a decent morning breakfast hike :).
Z Point Trekking Hike:
At the start of the hike is also where the Jeep Ride to Hebbe Falls starts. It costs 500Rs to take a jeep there and back, however it is totally worth it. They trip is around 12 kms in the jungle on a vary bad mud road, and you will really enjoy the ride. Once you reach the destination you have to walk another kilometre to reach the falls and it's not disappointing at all. Loved the 2 stepped falls and they let you spend around an hour at the place before returning.
I was back to the homestay by 3 pm, and had my one daily meal.
Harley could not resist posing so I let it:
On the 19th I was headed to Madikeri and unfortunately out of nowhere the clutch wire of Harley broke! I found some local Harley riders to help me out by towing it to Bangalore for repair. Oh well, Coorg with be one some other day.
Here I am, posing with an injured Harley :(
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