Mother of All "Ghats"?

[askulkarni]

Hi all:
I am sure all of us in our driving experience have come across a particular Ghat that we rave about for having overcome/crossed. This is also part of the driver folklore as well. I am calling it as a folklore as many a times the driver tales have been a weebit bit dramatised.

<My Folklore>
We had just been on a long south India road trip and we came across one which I really enjoyed (!!). I was going from Nagerhole to Kannur on the way to NH17 to head up north to Pune. At that time I came across one ghat near a place called Manantavadi (Kerala). If you get a chance ever I suggest you try this one as it is breathtaking. The backwaters of kerala in my opinion will be become secondary after seeing this. The road is phenomenally good, traffic very low, curves as curvaceous they can get and the view undescribable green and cloudy.
</My Folklore>

After coming out of this ghat I decided then and there that I would be posing this question on team-bhp!!

<Question>
Question: What in your opinion will you call as the Mother of all Ghats? Characteristic IMHO of one would be a mixture of :

• Danger
• Beauty
• Tests a Driver's ability.
• Tests a Car's capability.

</Question>

Cheers!!

Let me know what you think as I may be planning my next vacation based on your response!!

[GTO]

The best ghat section, that I have experienced in India, is the 20km one-way stretch on the Mumbai - Panchgani route. Phenomenal roads, no traffic, very scenic and the right balance of slow / fast corners.

GTO

[Steeroid]

Most challenging for me would be the 36-hairpin, 8 km stretch up the mountain from Masinagudi to Ooty. We used to take bets on how fast we could go up that stretch.

HOWEVER, my experience with Ghats is limited to the south of India - I'm sure there are much more challenging and dangerous roads up north, particularly in Uttaranchal, Himachal and Ladakh. Therefore am planning a trip to Ladakh later this year

[tsk1979]

Agree steeroid! That is one awsome ghat. I got some pics of the hairpins


Up north the ghat sections are much more challenging due to the fact that they go on for 50-70kms+. Chandigarh-shimla, Mussourie-Chamba-Dehradun-Hardiwar sections, and the Palampur-kangra section. The kufri-chahal section is narrow and snow covered, one of the most challenging sections I would say. If you are more adventurous head to narkanda ski slopes.

Shimla-Narkanda highway routes are crowded, but on the chahal section I did 30kms and saw 2 scooters and one van, and it was 6-7pm time in the evening. It was scary in a eerie sort of way, and the 155 width tyres on getz dont exactly inspire confidence in snow!

Your DICOR is the best thing to go to ladakh in. Imagine a straight road at 4000+ meters above the sea level with no other vehicle in sight. Its one gruelling ride and not for the faint hearted. If you visit ladakh dont forget the visit the anti gravity hill, where your car will roll uphill

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

If you visit ladakh dont forget the visit the anti gravity hill, where your car will roll uphill

Hey they have one such spot in Oman too - I believe its more of an optical illusion where you think the road is going uphill because of the terrain (I swear it WAS uphill, though) but its actually a gentle downward slope. The Mondy went uphill on its own, optical illusion or not.

[tsk1979]

A sure way of checking is to keep a glass of water on the dash, mark the water level at four corners. Then go to that slop and see how the water behaves!

[turbo_lover]

i love the drive from shimla onwards to kufri 50 kilometres i think great road lesser traffic superb twisties ...

[Scuderia]

There is this ghat which connects Mahad/Raigad to Satara; probably known as the Bhor Ghat or something. Supposed to be real dangerous, though havent been there personally.

[quicksilver]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Most challenging for me would be the 36-hairpin, 8 km stretch up the mountain from Masinagudi to Ooty.

thats by far the best ghat section I had driven in India. Ofcourse, my travel by road is limited to South India so I would not say it is the best section yet.

I have seen a lot of new/unmarked cars being tested, which includes the Mercs and Fords... on this road.

[Samurai]

Mother of all Ghats I have seen is Sikkim. The whole state is a Ghat section, it is Ghat state. I didn't get to drive there, but I didn't mind, it was too scary at times. Check this road:

[moralfibre]

I rode from Bangalore to Calicut via Mysore and after crossing Wayanad sanctuary we came across this ghat which was the scariest section of my entire journey on the scooter from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Does anyone know what this ghat is called? We did this section at around 12 o' clock in the night. Other ghat sections in my order of favour are:
- Verandah ghat which connects Bhor in Mahad to Satara road. (Scuderia this is the one.
- Tamhini ghat on the way to Mangaon from Pune (usually the route I take to go to Goa) .
- Gaganbawda ghat connects Kolhapur to Konkan.
- Khambatki ghat on Pune Satara route.
- Khed ghat on NH-17 from Bombay to Goa.
- Ambenali ghat connects Mahad and Mahabaleshwar
- Khandala ghat on Old Bombay Pune road.

[tsk1979]

You drove Kashmir to kanyakumari on scooter?? :clap
BTW that ghat comes after waynad gate if I am not mistaken and is indeed scary, esp in KSRTC buses downhill

[vishwas]

how about the Agumbe ghats in Malnad/Western Ghats of Karnataka? (Between Udupi and Shimoga). No vehicles longer than 15 feet allowed (? not sure about the exact number). And road closes at somepoint in the evening.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by vishwas

And road closes at somepoint in the evening.

Are you sure about that? I know many relatives to travel this route late nights.

[Mpower]

Not sure if you can call these ghats, but I've done Nandi Hills and Thirupathi recently. Liked Thirupathi better because it was less steep and one way.