Travel Archives - Salmaniac

Category: Travel

All my travel activities are covered under this section.

Bengaluru to Gandikota: A Ride to the Grand Canyon of India

Gandikota. Doesn’t the name have an interesting ring to it? It almost has a mystical tone.

Situated on the right bank of the river Pennar in Andhra Pradesh, Gandikota is popularly known as the “Grand Canyon of India.”

Once you see it, it actually feels like one. Though, I’ve never been to the real Grand Canyon yet.

“Gandi” in Telugu means “a gorge,” and “kota” means “a fort.” So, Gandikota literally translates to “a fort around a gorge.”

I’ve been planning to ride to this place since a terribly long time.… » click to continue reading “Bengaluru to Gandikota: A Ride to the Grand Canyon of India”

Bangalore to Mumbai Motorcycle Ride, BNLF, and Back Again

January 18, 2016 / Salman Ravoof / 9 Comments

This is a pretty big travelogue. I’m sure it’ll be worth your time. Please bookmark it so that you can come back to it later. Give some time for all the images to load.

IndiBlogger had planned to host their first ever pan India blogging conference in Mumbai called BNLF (Blog Now, Live Forever).

As soon as I read about it in my email, wild adventurous thoughts started to stir in my mind. This was months before more details (dates and place) about the event were announced.… » click to continue reading “Bangalore to Mumbai Motorcycle Ride, BNLF, and Back Again”

A Ride Through Wilderness: Valparai to Bangalore (Day 4)

July 9, 2015 / Salman Ravoof / 1 Comment

This post covers Day 4 of the 4-day ride through wilderness. Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 have already been covered in an earlier post. This is the final day of the ride.

Route: Valparai – Attakatti – Aliyar – Pollachi – Palladam – Tiruppur – Gobichettipalayam – Anthiyur –
Karkegandi (TN-KA Border) – Hanur – Kollegal – Malavalli – Kanakapura – Bangalore

Distance Covered: ~455 km

Google Maps: Valparai to Hanur

Google Maps: Hanur to Bangalore

Finally, we’d accomplished what we’d come for.… » click to continue reading “A Ride Through Wilderness: Valparai to Bangalore (Day 4)”

A Ride Through Wilderness- Day 3 – Athirappilly to Valparai Cruise

March 17, 2015 / Salman Ravoof / 2 Comments

This post covers Day 3 of the 4-day ride through wilderness. Day 1 and Day 2 have already been covered in an earlier post. Day 4 will be posted soon.

Today was the day we were all waiting for. The stretch going from Athirappilly to Valparai is perhaps one of the most amazing forest routes in India.

Obviously, we were all excited to say the least.

Route: Vattavada – Pampadum Shola National Park – Top Station – Kundala – Mattupatty Dam – Munnar – Adimali – Kothamangalam – Perumbavoor – Karakutty – Mookannoor – Vettilappara – Athirappilly Waterfalls – Vazhachal – Malakkappara – Upper Sholayar Dam – Uralikal – Valparai

Distance Covered: ~275km

Google Maps: http://goo.gl/cNuEPV

Our preparations for today’s ride started at 5 AM.… » click to continue reading “A Ride Through Wilderness- Day 3 – Athirappilly to Valparai Cruise”

Weekend Getaway Ride: Bangalore to Horsley Hills

October 21, 2014 / Salman Ravoof / 7 Comments

Horsley Hills is a quaint summer hill resort about 160km from Bangalore. It is also called as Andhra’s Ooty. If you’re looking for a weekend getaway from Bangalore, then visiting Horsely Hills might be a great idea.

Route: Bangalore (K.R. Puram) – Hoskote – Chintamani – Madanapalle – Horsley Hills – B. Kothakota – Gownipalli – Chintamani – Siddlaghatta – Chikkaballapura – Devanahalli – Bangalore

Total distance covered: ~340km

Google Maps: http://goo.gl/maps/PTdGb

Ride Intro

Date: 18^th October, 2014

Number of Riders: 2

Riders and Motorcycles:

Salman on Royal Enfield Classic 500
Balakrishna on Royal Enfield Classic 350

Background

My friend Balakrishna had planned a short ride to Horsley Hills last week, but I couldn’t make it because of some commitments.… » click to continue reading “Weekend Getaway Ride: Bangalore to Horsley Hills”

A Ride Through Wilderness- Day 2 – To Vattavada We Go

October 8, 2014 / Salman Ravoof / 1 Comment

This post covers Day 2 of the 4-day ride through wilderness. Day 1 has been covered in an earlier post. Day 3 and Day 4 will be posted soon.

The second day of the ride was more exhilarating than the first, though we covered far lesser distance.

After having breakfast at the same place where we’d dinner the previous night, we departed from Periyanaickenpalayam (seriously, who named this place?) at around 10:15 AM.

Route: Periyanaickenpalayam – Coimbatore – Pollachi – Udumalpet – Amaravathi Reservoir – Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary – Marayoor – Kanthaloor – Anamudi Shola National Park – Marayoor – Munnar – Mattupatty Dam – Kundala – Top Station – Pampadum Shola National Park – Vattavada

Distance Covered: ~270km

Google Maps: http://goo.gl/C70zfv

Our first priority was to fill up our motorcycle’s fuel tanks.… » click to continue reading “A Ride Through Wilderness- Day 2 – To Vattavada We Go”

A Ride Through Wilderness – Day 1 – BLR to Periyanaickenpalayam

September 19, 2014 / Salman Ravoof / 1 Comment

This post covers Day 1 of the 4-day ride. Day 2, Day 3 and Day 4 are posted separately.

Some rides are planned months in advance, some weeks, and some happen just like that, out of nowhere. This ride through wilderness was one of those out-of-the-blue rides for me, and it was an exciting one indeed.

Thankfully, the 4-day ride was planned meticulously by my fellow riders. I just had to follow their lead, twist my throttle, and enjoy the ride.… » click to continue reading “A Ride Through Wilderness – Day 1 – BLR to Periyanaickenpalayam”

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