A list of Exciting Road Trips from Bangalore!

A list of Road Trips from Bangalore with all details like route map, places to see and stay? Yes, as road trippers we love to drive to destinations. We love the freedom road trips provide to stop, look and explore.You might have already read these posts on this blog separately. With long weekends of Dasara and Diwali coming in next few weeks, we thought of putting all of them in one basket so that it will be easy for readers.

We are sharing here details about 6 exciting road trips from Bangalore exploring heritage, western ghats, wild life, beaches etc.......  in this post. These drives, cover not more than 300 KMs in a day. The plan is to cover for a week extendable for another two days. It also provide you option to just plan for as many number of days you wish to.

Here we go....

Exciting road trip from Bangalore 1 - Karnataka Heritage trails

Awesome setting of Bhootnath temple in Badami

This will provide you an opportunity to explore rich architectural and sculptural heritage of Karnataka. It covers the UNESCO World heritage sites of Hampi and Pattadakal. 

Click on the link below for full details

Karnataka Heritage Trails

Exciting road trip from Bangalore 2 - Magical Malnad

Jog Falls in Monsoon

Malnad is mesmerising. It is a road trippers dream. You drive over winding roads enjoying the lovely vistas of rolling hills with cascades, rivers and everything a road tripper can expect of.

Click on the link below for full details

Magical Malnad

Exciting road trip from Bangalore 3 - Tryst with Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu

Rajagopuram of Brihadeeswara temple, Thanjavur

A combination of cultures - French and Tamil. Great architectural heritage. Lovely temples. Pristine beaches. Can you ask for more?

Click on the link below for full details

Tryst with Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu

Exciting road trip from Bangalore 4 - Karavali and Koffee Kombo!

Baindur Beach

The title is a give away. Yes, this is again a road tripper's delight. Winding hills, mesmerising landscapes, pristine beaches and ancient heritage spots. 

Click on the link below for full details

Karavali and Koffee Kombo

Exciting road trip from Bangalore 5 - Hill Holiday in Coorg, Wayanad and Ooty

Do you want to enjoy is some of the prettiest places in South India? Here is your chance to drive to three hill stations in South India.

Click on the link below for full details

Hill Holiday in Coorg, Wayanad and Ooty

Exciting road trip from Bangalore 6 - Exploring Uttara Kannada

Magod falls, Yellapur

This is the unexplored region. A road tripper's paradise. Lovely roads with awesome landscape. Best of the beaches one can chill out in. Time to explore the unexplored.

Click on the link below for full details

Exploring Uttara Kannada

Exciting Road Trips from Bangalore 7 - God's Own Country aka Kerala and more.....

Kundala Lake, Munnar

Inspiring you to explore Kerala, this road trip covers the lovely hills of Munnar, serene backwaters of Alleppey/Kumarakkom, pristine beaches at Varkala, the sights of Fort Kochi and temples in Kanyakumari and Madurai. 

Click on this link below for more details

God's Own country and more.....

So what are you waiting for? Get set. Get your car ready and go for one of these drives. Let us know your story.

Here is another list for road trips to explore Indian Monsoon in Western Ghats.

12 Road Trips to Experience monsoon in Western Ghats!

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Spectacular Jog Falls and breathtaking backwaters!

We had listed 10 Waterfalls in Karnataka you should not miss in the monsoon in this blog and Jog falls happens to be the big daddy of them all. What do you do when you hear that incessant rain in Western ghats had filled the dam feeding Jog falls? You pack your bags and go. To see the spectacular sight of Jog Falls in all its glory. It does not happen every year. We also put out a post - Jog is spectacular, Go now! - as soon as when one of our friends was lucky to be there on the day gates were opened and asked our readers to go and see the glorious sight. But unfortunately we could not go on the day the dam was opened. We went on the next weekend. We were still in for a treat.

Driving in monsoon is always a pleasure. We leave in the morning aiming to reach Jog Falls by afternoon after paying a visit to well known Hanuman temple at Bangaramakki. The drive through our new found route of Bangalore - Channarayapatna - Ariskere - Shimoga - Jog falls was a bliss. A sumptuous breakfast in Shark Food Court after Nelamangala - softest of Thatte idlis we have ever eaten - kept us in good stead through the journey. 

The brown fields we had seen few months back had turned green and the landscape on Channarayapatna - Arsikere was gorgeous. There are some places on this road which looks like a picture postcard with the straight black tarmac dividing the fields. It reminded of the European country side with small little hamlets with red tile roofed houses lending colourful contrast to the green expanse of maize fields. The landscape turned for better when we entered malnad with carpets of green of paddy fields stretching into horizon.

Green landscape of Malnad.....extending into horizon

The roads continued to remain good and we cruise our way to the temple of Bangaramakki on Honnavar road. The drive through Sharavathi valley is always charming. Good rains in the previous week meant that we could see many small water falls on the way. The best part of this drive this time was the stunning view of  a waterfalls known as "Bangara Kusuma" which gets its glory only in monsoon. Though we could see a trekking trail to the falls, we did not dare to do it. 

With blessings of Lord Hanuman, we depart Bangamakki. 

First glimpse of "Bangara Kusuma" water fall.

Beautiful view of the falls

Sharavathi Valley view

Cascades along the road

Our first stop was at Bombay guest house. This is the place where you can get a panoramic view of water cascading down the rocks. It is a fantastic sight when there is lot of water. The water levels had come down and to that extent we were disappointed. But the waterfalls was still wonderful with cascades dropping down the deep gorges making it a spectacular sight. Swelling holiday crowd made us to wait for vantage points to enjoy the sight of the falls.

Views of the falls from the view point of guest house

A Panoramic shot of the falls

A short drive from Bombay guest house brought us to the main view point on the opposite side. We were excited as we walked to the view point where we could see streams of water tumbling down the gorges into the huge pit below.  Though less water robbed us the glorious sight which was witnessed by some of our friends in the previous week it was still a splendid sight with the four streams coming down the rocks majestically. The plus point of jog falls is the "view point" from where you can see the complete falls. Very rarely one gets a chance to see the complete falls from one point. While we were enjoying the sight of the spectacle, we spotted another water fall when the mist cover over it cleared. This was a beauty and on its own terms passes the muster as one of the beautiful falls. Let us now take you through what we saw.  Clear weather helped us to enjoy the spectacle of Raja, Rani, Roarer and Rocket - the four cascades which forms "Jog Falls".

Raja, Rani, Roarer and rocket - The four cascades of Jog falls

A nice rainbow formed at the bottom of the falls. We were lucky to capture it.

A wonderful water fall seen on the left side of main falls

After spending an hour, we leave. But not before savouring juicy pineapples which are grown locally!

It was around 5 in the evening when we start driving back to our home stay in Tirthahalli.  We reach Talaguppa, a small town between Sagar and Jog falls. This place happens to be the last railway station in Malnad and closest to jog falls.

When we were browsing the Google map of the area, we happened to see a road hugging the back waters of Linganamakki. It looked very interesting and obviously would be very scenic. A quick check with a friend who is from Talaguppa confirmed that there indeed was a road and was in good condition. He also confirmed that it was very scenic and advised us to climb small hillocks on the way to get a panoramic view of the backwaters.

We take a deviation at the Talaguppa police station and drive on. First few kilometres did not give any indication of what was in store. We knew that this will be a winding road over small hills. It was to be. It never seemed to end. We did not complain. We were treated to the panoramic views of the backwaters, lush green fields, small little lakes formed by backwaters. The country side rose and fell in majestic undulations as we drove on for 34 KMs. 

First sight of the backwaters - A sea of freshwater!

Some more sights of backwaters

Greenery at its best!

Lovely lakes formed by backwaters

Isn't this beautiful?

We were fortunate to have seen the backwaters as dusk set in. The newly laid concrete road with good signages made driving a pleasure. Driving on a winding road through the green fields, forests and water bodies was a exhilarating experience.

Reaching Sagar and driving beyond, we were in time for a lovely soup at Bananki home stay in Tirthahalli, our regular haunt!

Travel Information

Getting there

• By Train - The last stop of Talaguppa which is 15 KMs away from Jog falls is connected to Bangalore. Overnight inter city express is the most convenient train to reach Bangalore. From Talaguppa one can hire autorickshaw or shared jeeps to visit Jog falls.
• By Bus - There are direct buses to Joga falls from Bangalore. Jog fall is also well connected by all buses which ply on Bangalore - Honnavar highway.
• By Road - The road condition from Bangalore is excellent. It is at a distance of 375 KMs from Bangalore. So is the other road from Honnavar.

Stay Options

• Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation have built hotel in Jog falls. One can do booking by logging into their website.
• http://www.karnatakaholidays.net/
• The well known eco lodge chain of Karnataka Forest department - Jungle Lodges and Resorts - have opened "Sharavathi Adventure Camp" very close to the waterfalls. You can check details here
• http://www.junglelodges.com/sharavathi-adventure-camp
• Apart from this, one can stay in following home stays which are close by and are good.
• Gundimane - http://www.gundimane.com/
• Matthuga - http://matthuga.in/index.php
• One can also stay in either Shimoga or Thirthahalli or Sagara and visit Jog falls as a day trip.

Travel Tips

a) The best time to visit the falls are the monsoon months of July - August. The best view of falls is when the dams are opened. But that will be only for day and one has to be lucky.

b) Jog falls can be visited while driving to coastal Karnataka from Bangalore.

c) Enough parking space has been developed near the view point.

d) Do not venture close to the falls or climb the rocky cliffs. Many deaths have occurred due to slip and fall.

e) Staying in home stay will also give an opportunity to explore the nearby places like Gerusoppa which has a medieval jain temple, Bangaramakki known fro Hanuman temple, Sigandur known for Chowdeshwari temple which can be reached after a lovely boat ride on backwaters, treks in Sharavathi valley.

f) The place has toilet facilities. There is also a restaurant run by KSTDC.

g) Jog falls and surrounding area has some of the lovely roads with splendid landscapes for those who love driving around.

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Skywatch Friday - Hole in the Sky in Ladakh!

Ladakh is always fascinating. It amazes the travellers with new things everytime you go there.

But you need to be curious traveller!

We found these natural holes formed in the mountains on our way to Nubra valley and again during our trek in Markha valley. It is a geological phenomenon and no one knows how it would have occurred. But it is a natural wonder indeed. Take a look at these pictures below. Please click on them to see in original size.

On the way to Nubra Valley 

Near Hunkar Village on Markha Valley trek

Close up shot of the above

Next time when you travel to Ladakh look out for such fascinating vignettes. These are like icing on the cake!

There are many Ladakh stories in this blog. We welcome you to take a look at them by clicking this link below.

Ladakh in a basket - All Stories on Ladakh

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Colourful dolls of Dasara!

Did you buy dolls for display during Dasara? We did over the weekend.

We happened to pass by in Jayanagar in Bangalore and saw two places displaying dolls in a make shift place outside their show room. "Raga" and "Tarang" are two well known handicrafts showrooms in the area. Browsing through the dolls on display, we were fascinated by the variety and colours. Kondapalli toys were cynosure of the exhibition. Handmade and vibrant coloured these wooden toys are priceless. Then there were traditional dolls of different deities made of clay. This year, we also saw the toys from North India with its colourful costumes.

Dolls on display. the ones in the middle row are Kondapalli toys

Colourful clay dolls

Dolls dressed in North Indian costumes

Dasara starts tomorrow. It is an occasion to celebrate the victory of good over evil. An unique country like India with myriad traditions and cultures has many Dasaras celebrated in different ways. 

In South Indian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, display of dolls is part of Dasara celebration. A tradition started during the times of Vijaynagar empire in 14th century, it still continues. As kids we used to visit neighbouring houses to check out the dolls displayed and also partake with the lovely snacks that were given to us!

We wish you all a very happy and colourful Dasara!

Why don't you add some colour to home this time with these lovely dolls?

You may be interested to read other posts related to Dasara in this blog

Colourful Dasaras of India!

Grandeur of Mysore Dasara

Watching a wrestling match during Mysore Dasara!

Dasara and Display of dolls

Mahanavami Dibba, Hampi

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Monday Medley - Himalayan Mahakumbh!

Monday Medley - A potpourri of interesting experiences, articles, posts from fellow bloggers which we liked, books we loved, interesting images of fellow travellers or images from our own portfolio. We hope it will be a good start to the week ahead...... 

You have heard of Mahakumbh or Kumbh Mela which happens every 12 years in Allahabad in India. What about Himalayan Mahakumbh which occurs every 12 years in Garhwal Himalayas?

What do you say when you read that 10,000 people trek for 280 KMs in high Himalayas once in 12 years. 

Incredible, isn't it? 

We were surprised and delighted when we chanced upon this interesting link in a lively Facebook community known as Himalayan club. Reading the article made us go through the yatra ourself. Nanada devi Jat yatra or Himalayan Maha Kumbh happens every 12 years. It involves a 280 KM trek across Uttarakhand in North India, where thousands of devotees follow a four-horned ram, also known as the chausinghya khadu, and walk alongside a palanquin carrying the statue of the deity Nanda Devi, passing through villages, forests, slush, waterfalls, alpine meadows, narrow ridges, steep passes, moraines and icy glaciers.

Supriya Vohra of The Outdoor Journal travelled with Yatris this August to experience what it means trekking at high altitude traversing moraines, slushy trails, braving incessant rain. Of course she was also greeted with lovely vistas of Nanda Devi and Trishul massif, beautiful meadows.......

Let us not play spoilsport. we will allow you to enjoy the yatra yourself. Click on the link below to read the complete story of "Himalayan Maha Kumbh" by Supriya.

Himalayan Mahakumbh - Nanda Devi Jat Yatra

Have you been on this yatra? What has been your experience?

For other posts under "Monday Medley" and "Monday Images" series, please click the link below

Monday Medley

Monday Images

Are you looking for more trekking stories on this blog? Here you go......

Triund Trek - A Heavenly hike in Himalayas!

Dudhsagar Falls - A Monsoon trek on Railway Track!

Five lovely treks in Karnataka!

Four beach treks in Karnataka you must do!

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Skywatch Friday - On Southern tip of India!

Kanyakumari. The Southern tip of India.

The land's end. 

A place for watching beautiful sunrises and sunsets. And moonrises too.....

Off the main land is a huge rocky island. A place immortalised by Swami Vivekananda who swam here to meditate.

Today we have a lovely memorial on the rock - Vivekananda Rock Memorial.

The view from the shore is spectacular. The red granite memorial contrasting with grey rock on which it stands with sea in the foreground.

Click on the picture to see in larger size.

We clicked this on a sunny morning with clear sky.

Travel Tips - A boat ride of 10 Minutes will take you to the island. In peak tourist season, you have to wait in the queue for your turn. The best time to go if you want to enjoy peaceful atmosphere is to catch the first boat early in the morning. Get up early. Watch the lovely sunrise and catch the first boat.

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Munnar in Monsoon 2 - Mesmerised at first sight!

Munnar in monsoon is mesmerising. This is the second part in this series. We explored Munnar in last week of July, 2014. The first part was covered in this post. 

Monsoon in Munnar 1 - Going gaga over ghats!

Leaving Bodhimettu behind, we drive on. The roads gets excellent. The valley views gets fabulous.

We now realise how beautiful Munnar is in Monsoon. And regret why we never came here earlier in rains.

Cloud kissed Mountains in the horizon provides a perfect backdrop to the green valley in the foreground. The mountains rise sharply. They are conical in shape, their summits covered by thick monsoon clouds. 

The rains have actually made late entry into Munnar. The locals say that rains only started in Munnar in the previous week. We could see that ourselves with the lake which otherwise look beautiful when full is not even half full.

( Please click on the pictures to see them in original size)

The first sight of verdant valleys of Munnar....

The lovely lake. Notice the water level.

Manicured tea gardens with mountains as backdrop

Sometimes, the green expanse gets a white contrast in the form of lovely cascades.

This was a beautiful sight. A tea village with colourful houses in the middle of green valley!

Our journey now gets slower as we stop now and then to click pictures. The valleys now pave way to immaculately maintained tea gardens. The landscape is dotted by huge boulders amidst the manicured tea gardens. The boulders of Munnar makes the terrain interesting. Strewn at random, covered by green, they look as if some one has done landscaping. The green expanse is disturbed  by orange trees with lovely fruits.  We never knew that Orange is grown in these areas. 

Orange trees amidst the tea gardens

Natural landscaping!

We get into the car and start driving on the winding roads. Slight drizzle and mist add to the beauty of our drive. Around the corner, Brinda suddenly notice a lovely waterfalls at distance and we are all excited. We drive closer and this happens to be the beautiful "Chinnakanal Waterfalls". The rains in the last week has made it glorious sight.

Chinnakanal waterfalls @ its glorious best

A panoramic view of the falls as we drove away past and turned on a curve...

The next few KMs of the drive was most exciting. The road gets narrower. Huge boulders on one side with tiny waterfalls cascading from the top and mist filled valley on the left.

A panoramic shot of the boulder with its cascades. Mesmerising!

The vistas on the winding roads are lovely

A lovely drive in the mountains leads us to Munnar town. A small hill town, typical of a tea country. To some extent, Munnar town resembles the town of Nuwara Eliya in Sri Lanka's Hill country, though it lacks the lovely Gregory lake. But that is compensated by two lovely lakes away from the town. We will cover them in future posts.

The entry was like a fantastic prelude to next few days in paradise! 

Travel Tips

a) Munnar is not for some one in a hurry. For that matter any mountain. It has to be savoured slowly.

b) It is worth driving up to Bodhimettu even if you are reaching from other two routes of Udumalpet and Cochin. The vistas are beautiful.

c) Stop and click pictures for memories!

d) The water falls will be at their best in monsoon. Do not expect Chinnakanal in the same glorious best after rains.

e) Roads in Munnar in excellent condition. The best thing to do in Munnar is to drive around. It is an exhilarating experience. 

  

If you want to experience the beauty of monsoon in India, you can check this post on this blog.

Celebrating Indian Monsoon - A list!

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Monday Medley - Kashmiri chai and Buttered buns!

Monday Medley - A potpourri of interesting experiences, articles, posts from fellow bloggers which we liked, books we loved, interesting images of fellow travellers or images from our own portfolio. We hope it will be a good start to the week ahead...... 

When we read about the devastation caused by floods in Kashmir, our hearts went out to those who had lost their lives and whose life has been badly affected. At the same time, it also brought back fond memories of interacting with these fine people known for their courtesy and hospitality.

It was a sunny day when we got down in Srinagar airport on our way to Ladakh last month. We were surprised and asked  Mushtaq our driver why Srinagar was hot and humid? Mushtaq replied that rains were delayed in Kashmir this year which has had resulted in hot and sultry Srinagar.

As we left airport, we started talking about how the tourism season had been and other sundry subjects. Invariably the food was the next topic in our discussion. We spoke about our drinking of "Kashmiri chai" in Lal Chowk on a hartal day in August, last year. Dipping crispy "puffs" in "Kashmiri salt tea" and eating them was a delicious experience.

"So, you like Kashmir salt tea?" Asked Mushtaq.

"Yes"

"Ok, i will take you to a good place where you can savour the chai."

He turned the car towards tourism reception centre. In front of that is the taxi stand. Inside the taxi stand, Mushtaq led us to the "Chai shop". It looked like a popular place for everyone who wished to savour tea and exchange words. Few men were sitting on the bench talking in Kashmiri and sipping the chai.

Courtesies exchanged, the chaiwallah asked whether we want normal chai or Kashmiri chai. Kashmiri we replied. He prepared three cups of tea. Pink in colour and salty in taste. As we took the glass of tea, we saw him giving out Kashmir bun smeared with butter.

Ready to sip! 

Preparing buttered bun

We also ordered three buns with butter. Dipping that in the chai and eating was just what was ordered for a hungry stomach which was starving since morning.

If you go to Srinagar, one of the "must experience" is to sip the "Kashmiri Chai" along with butter smeared buns.

We have not been able to speak to Mushtaq ever since the floods affected the city of Srinagar. We are sure that the "Chai shop" would have flooded too. We hope and pray Mushtaq and the "Chaiwallah" are safe and once the things settle down, chaiwallah will start his shop once again.

Till then, the taste of Kashmiri Chai will linger on.

For other Gourmet experiences on our travel, please check this link in this blog

Food Safari

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