Onward and Upward! To the Nilgiris!!!

This also had to be done. After my Himalayan exploits, our very own Nilgiris was craving for my attention. And it got my full attention as we rode through the Nilgiris for full 3 days. The whole trip was worth 1213 Kms, 43+6+9+14+14 hairpin bends and 4 days. Vineeth, Sanal and me had planned this ride a few months ago. We planned to ride to Ooty first. The Hill station itself wasn’t appealing as it was as crowded as it can be this time of the year. But what caught our attention was that we realised there was a road we have never taken to Ooty through a place called Mulli which is further up from Attappady in Palakkad District. The route is unfamiliar to us and that’s why we had to be on it.

En Route Ooty Via Mulli

The plan was to meet Vineeth and Sanal at Mannarckad on the day of the ride as we were travelling from different directions. But I decided to surprise the gang and rode to Cochin the day before the ride and met the boys at Sanal's home. The surprise was more than pleasant! Ha! We spend the day discussing about the ride, checking tire pressure, paperwork for the bikes etc. We kept the beer intake that day to a minimum to keep our heads hydrated enough to handle the heat in store for us the next day. We begin our ride by 5 a m  early morning to avoid the sun. Even then we did get a feeling as if we were being micro waved when we reached Palakkad in spite of it being the wee hours of the morning. The temperatures in those parts of the state averaged 40 degree Celsius this time around. No joke. We reach Mannarckad and take the road up to Attappady from where the road to Mulli starts from a place called Thavalam. We kept being interrupted by election campaigners as the elections where due in a few days. Everyone was on the roads furiously campaigning. We finally find the road to Mulli which is a left from a small town/ bus stop called Thavalam. The road was good except for about 3 kilometers of road under construction towards the end. We pass through villages I never knew existed in Kerala. The village was on the slope of a hill with the road passing through it. The road was hardly 8 feet and it was clear only those who absolutely require traveling take these roads. The topography of the place was distinct. It felt dry and deciduous and agriculture of suitable crops was also present. It was too hot to actually completely get the feel of the place. It was the worst time of day to pass through hot dry lands. It felt like forever to get to the border. Finally we were stopped by the Kerala border check post at Mulli to confirm our details before we could move further. 

We made our ways through the Kerala check post and got into a completely offroad piece of road, probably no man's land, for about 100 mtrs before we saw the Tamil Nadu check post. We were asked to present our papers again at the gate; we get the all clear after a payment of Rs. 120 for all three bikes. The Tamil Nadu check posts guards asked us not to stop for the next 30 kilometers as we were passing through dense forest and there were elephants around. There was a Hydro Electric Power station on the Tamil Nadu side on this road caller Canada Power House. Now what was Canada Doing Tamil Nadu? I wondered. (കാനഡയ്കെന്താ ഈ വീട്ടില് കാര്യം??).  

Sanal and Vineeth letting it all sink in

We stopped on one of the 43 hairpin bends not only because they asked us not to stop, but also for the breathtaking view. The view from up there is quite simply, legendary. Even the heat was calming down as we were going up in altitude. Our ride was starting to feel worth it. We had around 40 more kilometers and numerous hairpin bends to go till we reached Ooty. Our desperation to find the Ooty road slowly gave way to the hope of enjoying the ride up there through these magnificent mountains. Right then. Onward and Upward.    

Click for Udhagamandalam to Kodai.