I along with few friends went on a 3 day trip to Kutta, last weekend, in my XUV, The Mamba.
Kutta is located around 250 kms from Bangalore. The original route is Bangalore-Mysore-Hunsur-Nagarhole-Kutta. We decided to visit Kushalnagar and then reach Kutta.
Day 1
We left Bangalore at 7am. I took the Nice road towards Mysore road.
Breakfast :
Stopped for breakfast at Kamath. This is the best highway breakfast you can have. They have an unlimited buffet @ Rs 100, and that can fill you literally.
Post breakfast I drove towards Mysore. The roads are good, but a lot of speed breakers have popped up from no where. Some are pretty nasty.
Made a mistake of taking the KRS road towards Hunsur. The roads ( whatever is left of them) are pathetic. My car took it reasonably well, but it is just not worth saving a few kms through this road. Best way is to drive till mysore, and take a right towards the bypass to Hunsur. ( I did correct it on the way back).
Hunsur to Kushalnagar is a superb road. Well tarred , not potholes. Traffic was also smooth and mannered. We visited the Golden temple.
Lunch : was at the Potala Kitchen family restaurant, at 1st camp. This is a small market you would see on way to golden temple. Authentic tibetan food. Yummy Beef Momos and Thukpa. Pretty cheap too.
Kushal Nagar to Madikeri , winding roads, but well tarred. You can pick up tasty oranges and Chikkus on the way. Did some spice shopping at the madikeri market too.
Madikeri to Kutta . I had done my route map and study on the road. But this was a disaster which was totally unexpected. With no sign boards on the way, we were mis guided 3 times. What should have taken us 2 hours eventually took us 3.5 hrs, through absolutely off road terrains. Roads were being dug up, detours and people positioned to send you the wrong way. For the first time, I felt lost. High time for a good GPS .
Kutta : I had booked us in Tropical Blooms, a home stay.It has just 3 rooms and can accomodate a max of 9-10 people. It also has a 3 acre plus anthurium plantation.We eventually reached the resort by 7pm. The last 2 hrs drive had me at breaking point. A hot shower, some anthakshari , some coolers and a super dinner with pork and akki roti calmed us to a good deep sleep.
Day 2
I woke up early morn, and as i opened my room door, it was a jaw dropping spectacular view of the Brahmagiri range. The valley was fully foggy and a little later I had one of the best sun rises I have seen.
Iruppu Falls :At 2 kms from where i stayed, this was the only thing we had planned for the day. After a good heavy breakfast consisting of dosas and alu parathas, and a relaxing walk through the anthurium plantations , we headed to the falls. The half a km climb is worth every inch of it, as you get the first glance of the falls. We spend a good 3 hrs there.
A Tip : There is a view point just before you climb the final ascend to the falls. You can make your way down through a narrow way aside this view point. You reach few smaller falls and pools, That is the best place to enjoy the falls. No crowds either.
We came back to the resort, had a totally laid back day. Some lazing with sunbathe in the lawn which over looks the valley and another walk through the 3 acre or so anthurium plantation. We had a good camp fire and another super dinner.
Day 3
Wanted to wake up late, but the early morn view was too much to miss. Ended up waking up way too early. Sitting in the lawn and watching the morning break is so relaxing.
A good breakfast and we started packing.Settled the bills and by 10am we left the resort back to bangalore.
Kutta -Nagarhole- Hunsur : Pretty good roads from Kutta to Nagarhole, which is around 15 kms. The drive through Nagarhole national park is too good. If you are lucky , you can spot a good number of wild animals. The roads are open from 5am to 6pm. We spotted some deers and an elephant which refused to look at us. I didnt click any pics of this ride and now realise, i missed some good pics.
Hunsur-Mysore : I didnt make mistake this time, and drove through Mysore. The roads are really well laid and some bit of work is happening. So beware of incoming traffic.
Lunch : Empire has opened a new branch at Maddur. So to avoid any risks, we stopped over and had the usual Bangalorean food. The joint is well done.
Back in Bangalore : Mysore road into Nice road and exited at Hosur road. The huge trucks which move hand in hand on both lanes refusing to leave each others side, are the biggest spoilers. While I understand their issues, why try to over take when you cant overtake and end up blocking the entire road.
Overall it was 3 days well spent. Awesome drive, the car behaved pretty well. I clocked a mileage of 11 for the drive. I think it is low compared to what others are getting. It was a mix of awesome and pathetic roads, but was not tiring.Refreshed for the year end, and looking forward to many more drives.
Thanks for reading.