Spectacular South motorbike ride

Spectacular South motorbike ride 

Back home after a 6 days motorcycle tour of three Spectacular south Indian states of Karnataka Tamilnadu and Kerala. Hope my pictures do justice to the natural beauty of these states of India. 

Backwaters of Kumarakkom 

Day 1

Bangalore > Kollegal > Chamrajnagar > Bannari> Satyamangalam > Avinashi > Coimbatore 

Set for long ride with my yellow cheetah (Suzuki Vstrom bike)

Paddy fields of Chamrajnagar, Karnataka 

Coconut trove of Chamrajnagar 

Elephant corridor in Tamil Nadu 

Lovely roads inside forests KAR-TN

If you see this on map it's a mountain 

27 steep hairpin bends across western ghats on the Karnataka Tamilnadu border

Right of way for elephant (not cars!)

Tiger, I'm the king of this Jungle 

Powerful Bannari Amman temple

Day 2

Coimbatore > Palakkad > Thrissur > Guruvayoor 

Guruvayoor is one of the greatest hindu temples, It has a Maha Vishnu idol worshipped by Lord Krishna himself. Details in my post on Guruvayoor below:

https://indian-culture-nash.blogspot.com/2024/12/guruvayoor-temple.html

Banana & Coconut grove in Tamilnadu 

Paddy fields in Kerala

See density of coconuts in Kerala 

Lord Guruvayoorappan (Maha Vishnu)

Day 3

Guruvayoor > Chavvakad > Kochi > Cherthala > Kumarakkom 

Kerala backwaters are crystal clear 

I stayed one-night in a houseboat 

Day 4

Kumarakkom > Cherthala > Kochi > Thrissur > Palakkad 

Stayed in this heritage house 

Krishna Vilas Heritage property built 1930

Day 5

Palakkad > Coimbatore > Erode > Salem > Krishnagiri > Hosur > Bangalore 

Longest ride of close to 400kms. I had injured my left leg, and it had swollen, and I was limping a bit. Fortunately, the ankle movement was OK, and I could change the gears. I decided to come straight back to home, from Palakkad, (instead of overnight stay in Mettur per original plan). It took me almost 12 hours of riding this 400 kms with this leg injury and pouring rains. I took many breaks and reached home safely by 9.00pm. All is well that ends well. Hope you enjoyed my travelogue and pictures.

Paddy fields in Palakkad the rice granary of Kerala 

Coconut groves an alluring sight

Palm trees standing for group photo !

Table top mountain

Oh those beautiful clouds

Mesmerizing roads amidst rains

Moving clouds create light & dark areas

Glorious sunset on a pond

Few things, upon reflection:

1. Real treasures. Forests and animals are our real treasures. They act as carbon sinks. Man must come out of urban concrete jungles and spend few weeks a year amidst nature. You will get energized.

2. Eat local. I enjoyed Kerala delicacies and meals in Kerala. Likewise in Karnataka and Tamilnadu. Don't eat arabian, chinese or punjabi food in kerala if you are there just for few days. Millet dosa, soppu, saaru in Karnataka. Choru (red boiled rice) in kerala, I munched on Tapioca and Nendram Banana chips fried in coconut oil. You dont get this easily outside. 

3. Nature is the same. State and National Borders might exist. But nature is same everywhere. Paddy fields, coconut groves and trees look the same in all 3 states which share same rivers and forests. 

4. People are the same. People are same, unless divided by man using politics & religion. Kerala has communist politics, Tamilnadu has Dravidian politics and Karnataka has BJP-Congress politics. Despite this, people live in harmony. Kerala is a model state for literacy, high human development index and extremely good religious co-existence with roughly 55% Hindu, 25% Muslim and 20% Christian population. I wish my country always remains peaceful, tolerant, prosperous, clean and green. Jai Hind.

Total 1,300 kms motorcycle ride over 5 days. Bit tired from the long solo journey, but very happy for the wonderful ride. 

Prose & Pictures 

Nash Narasimhan Tupil 

December 2024