A Very Happy New Year to all my friends . May 2012 bring in more fun filled, exciting rides for you all.
Its the start of a new Year and I needed to take my Beasty (Thunderbird) out for a ride. (Not the usual home-office ride). But where? I wanted to go somewhere nearby Bangalore, but away from the crowd. So all tourist spots were ruled out.
After going through some blogs I came across a place called Panchapalli. This looked like a perfect destination for starting the year. 85+ kms mean I can be back home by afternoon.
So I started calling some of my friends (both old and new) to see if anyone is interested to ride to Panchapalli along with me.
I got the following responses:
Person 1: What? 85 km?? Means return trip 170 km on bike? Thats crazy man. Dont do it. (Hello!! People do 1000+ on motorcycle. Last year (2010) I've done Kodaikanal on motorcycle. I think I can manage 170km)
Person 2: What? Only 85 km?? Dhurr... The trip will be over even before it starts. Lets go to Goa!!! (Ok thats a tempting offer. But considering the fact that I have to be back on the same day to attend office on Monday, this is highly impractical)
Person 3: Panchapalli? Whats that? Never heard of it. It will be boring dude. (Yeah! Even I didnt hear of it. But isnt that the whole idea of going to a new place)
Person 4: Naah... Its Jan 1st. I'll sleep till 1 o'clock. (ding)
Ok so more or less me and Beasty were left alone for the ride on 1st. On 31st evening my cousin Arvind came to see me. When I told him about my plan he was pretty excited.
So now there were three of us (Arvind, Me and Beasty) to go together for the ride.
I must say even though there isn’t much to see in this place, I did not regret my decision of starting the year with Panchapalli.
Bangalore to Panchapalli
Vehicle: Black Thuderbird (aka Beasty)People: Alok and Arvind
Approx Distance: 85 km
About the Place:
The Panchapalli reservoir is roughly 85km away from Bangalore city and it is the main source of drinking water for the entire district of Dharmapuri. The natural reservoir settles comfortably in a basin surrounded by tall, lush-green mountains of the Eastern Ghats. It is thickly wooded; trees and dense scrub line the banks of the reservoir.
Pros:
Its clean, green and tranquil. The air is crisp, clear and clean - certainly not the kind our lungs are accustomed to. But it’s the serenity and the ‘sounds’ of silence which first hits, and envelopes the senses. Perfect spot for a quick getaway from the noisy city or a small picnic for family. It offers immense potential for trekkers and nature enthusiasts. And to top it all it’s postcard perfect for photographers too.
Cons:
There are no restaurant along this route, except for a few small ones at Denkanikottai. It is best to carry food and water. A small problem for most tourists is the lack of sign-boards in English – they are all in Tamil.
The Ride: We had decided to leave by 6 in the morning. But after partying till 2 in the night, it was difficult to maintain that time. My cousin woke me up at 6:30 in the morning and we left home around 7.30. So our New Year started with us being late to our schedule (well, ask Mom and she'll say this is no news to her).
We took the elevated highway toward Electronic City and moved on to NH44. It took us about 30 mins to reach the Karnataka-TamilNadu border and move on towards Hosur. Just before entering the main city of Hosur, there is a junction with a big IOC Petrol Station on the right. We took a tea break there and then turned right to move on towards Denkanikottai.
We had to ride for about 25 km before entering the town of Denkanikottai. In the town we asked a local for Panchapalli in broken Tamil. The person smiled at us and explained the route in TAMIL. Well we got the basic idea of the route and moved on. From Denkanikottai we need to take a left towards a road which Google maps tells me is the Palakodu Road (well the sign boards were mostly in Tamil). From there its another 20 km ride before you reach the Panchanapalli Dam.
The road towards the reservoir is covered with trees and lots of ups and downs.
The area is hilly with a few steep turns (no hairpin bends though) and crosses through a lot of small villages, so beware of the cattle and children playing on the road.
Apart from that mostly the roads are empty with barely a few cars honking at the locals (I hate it when they do that).
A few km from Denkanikottai and you'll already start feeling the difference in the environment.
We reached Panchapalli around 11 o'clock. The sun was up but the weather was pleasant. And the best part was that we were the only tourist to this place.
Apart from us there were a few locals in the nearby Temple. No lines of parked cars, no flashy shops, no one selling water/ice-cream, no tickets, etc.
It was just us and un-touched beauty of nature around us.
As expected there was no overflowing water in the reservoir and the dam gates were closed.
After riding around for some time we found a place where we can get down to the reserve.
So now it was time for a small (very small) trek for us. The water in the reserve was very clean and inviting. But we had not taken any clothes with us so no bathing. Washing our hands and face in the cool water was very refreshing.
Lying in the sun in a cool environment and listening to the serene sound of water from the reserve, nothing can get more relaxing than this. But soon the silence was broken by Arvind's phone. This place has good signal strength, considering the fact its totally isolated from the cities.
There was a lone eagle hovering above us. Since Arvind was busy I started shooting the eagle.
I just love the way they hover above you; as long as they're not close to you.
But soon she realized she wont be getting any food here and left.
I started taking pictures of the surrounding.
Some photoshoot for us :)
After spending around an hour on the spot we decided to leave.
The return trip was much faster since we knew the way. We were back in Bangalore by 2.30.
IMHO the best time to visit this place is only till this place becomes famous and commercialized.
The best part about this place is its cleanliness and serenity.
So my sincere request to whoever visits this place - please try to keep it clean.
Thanks for going through this log. Happy touring to all.
Cheers.
Alok
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