[Thilak29]

I don't think so.
I have lived in this part of the world for quite some time and no scared me with something like that!

Its a different matter that we found a python in our backyard one fine morning

[Tempelhof]

One view from the Thiruvannamalai - Harur Road; the road avoids hills such as these, but has lots of curves, ups and downs to make the ride even more thrilling

[praful]

I think even a harmless normal road can seem lonely given the right conditions, like darkness, rain, fog .. deadliest combination would be all these three together

For example, Kudremukh is by no means lonely and it has sparse traffic most of the time. Like there was this one time I was riding to Sringeri from Chikmagalur, so naturally I took the Kudremukh route for some extra "zing". But I completely forgot to take a right at SK Border Bus stop and went down all the way Bajegoli only to realize my folly. So what happened then was I had to do this stretch of post sundown at twilight in heavy rain. Saw only a single Tempo Traveller throughout my ride from SK Border Bus stop till I crossed the forest checkpost. To give you an idea here's a picture of the stretch where I wasn't supposed to go. Didn't take any pictures on the correct route because it was getting dark and I did not cross anything but the single TT.

Now to put things into perspective, just make it 'rainier', narrower roads, denser forests and much lesser ambient light.

I haven't been on Sringeri stretch, prior to this ride. But, I'm sure it wouldn't be half as lonely/scary when doing in clear weather and bright sunlight

[chef-de-jeep]

In 2011 was driving from Bombay to Mangalore in my 550 with wife, brother-in-law and a friend. At Kittur my b-i-l happened to "find" a short cut from kittur to karwar. after driving for miles and miles and miles at 40-50 kmph due to bad roads we somehow managed to get to a more prominent village junction where we were politely informed that Karwar is atleast(by conservative measures) 150km away!What we passed by was bad, there was just one esteem in one of the villages that we passed by.Nobody else had anything on four wheels. Ahead the forest area was with worse roads and eventually after driving for what seemed like eternity touched yellapur.The consolation for this was that it was a forested area and can be bad but ,the road currently between Pondicherry and Bangalore is another nightmare finding the correct side of the road can be difficult but in the night it is simply the best form of hell.There is no way you can guess which side the on coming govt bus will go to or go through you and in the worst case of a puncture or a fuel top up there is nothing in between all the way from Krishnagiri to Thiruvanamalai, so much so for a classified SH between two major cities

[devansn]

Year 2006. A few weeks after marriage: Our honeymoon was a trip to Mahabaleshwar (from Mumbai) on our beloved Avenger 180. One evening at Mahabaleshwar, we were at the Arthur Seat point, at around 5:30 PM, may be. Suddenly it became dark and we looked around to realize that there was not even a single human being in that area!

Its a good 10-15 minute walk from the Arthur Seat point to the place where we had parked our bike - that too through dense forest (when people are not around). When we reached the place where we had parked our bike, again, it was completely empty. And at 5:30 or so it was as dark as night! Soon after we started off from there to Mahabaleshwar town, strong lightnings started, followed by an ice rain. My hands and toes were freezing and I could barely ride my bike. With all the lightning and thunder and the darkness and the rain, we both were really frightened - the lightnings seemed to be so close to us! Also, a route that otherwise is really busy, was scarily empty. We were sure that there was no human being in a few kilometers radius!

This was the most scary experience I have ever had in my life...

[tachobells]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Eagerly awaiting a write-up from you after that .

The road in itself is not in bad shape now. You can fly through even in a low car like a civic. I did this stretch in a cousin's Accord back then, when the roads were average . Just that the dense forest atmosphere is creepy with the silence and deserted nature. I could count in single digits (maybe <5) the number of vehicles I totally saw on that ~80km stretch. Also, like another person mentioned, this dense jungle is a notorious elephant zone which you may want to watch out for. Happy journey!

Yes, totally agree.

I've traveled this road more than 10 years back. Then the trees and bamboos on the side of the road were so close to the edge of the road that you would't be able to see even if an elephant was within touching distance.

Nevertheless it was a good experience and thinking of doing that road again.

[lipaul]

Chalakudy - Valparai : Thick forests, dams, waterfalls and wildlife

Chikmagalur - Kemmangundi : Narrow/broken roads, tall grass, estates

Both these stretches have very little traffic, are scenic and beautiful post monsoon. It can also be quite risky if the vehicle breaks down or an elephant encounter happens.

[Tempelhof]

The road from Munnar to Kozhukkumalai Tea Estate, high up in the hill:

[Thunderbird]

Originally Posted by ampere

Adding to REAL creepiness....
I am told Punathur region is famous for snakes? Is that true?
If yes that is definitely creepy !

I have encountered snakes crossing the road couple of times when I drove through this particular route (Bhagamandala - Panathur) .

[KarthikK]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned one place yet on this thread. It definitely deserves to be among the top contenders here - the roads in and around Agumbe, which have the densest rainforests in all of the western ghats. Traffic is minimal barring the Sringeri - Agumbe - Udupi stretch. In places, it can even beat the Valparai - Athirapally road at creepiness.

Originally Posted by ampere

Adding to REAL creepiness....
I am told Punathur region is famous for snakes? Is that true?
If yes that is definitely creepy !

Originally Posted by Thunderbird

I have encountered snakes crossing the road couple of times when I drove through this particular route (Bhagamandala - Panathur) .

I remember another creepy (and lonely) stretch : Agumbe - Kigga - Sringeri road passing through the dense rainforests of the western ghats. I hadn't come across a single vehicle throughout my exploration drive to a waterfall there. There was a signboard put up at one point between Agumbe and Kigga, which read "King Cobra crossing zone. Proceed with caution" .

My friends and I were scoffing at the board and moving ahead, when we actually saw a massive king cobra (assuming from the length and look of what we saw in NGC) crossing the road just 1-2 km from that board. Just 3-4km from that spotting, we saw another king cobra crossing the road, and at least 3-4 green vine snakes dotting the shrubs next to the road area at different points. If one wants to try such creepy routes with guaranteed snake spottings, the Agumbe belt is a snake enthusiast's delight.

Just take care not to park your car in the forest roads for a long time - the snakes here can even get into your engine bay to get some warmth. We had once parked my then car (Accent) to a side of the road in the forest, and gone for a ~3 hour trek to a nearby waterfall. After returning from there, I started reversing the car to get back on to the road, when I saw my friends standing frozen in shock. Since I was already inside the car, I asked them what happened, and one guy screamed "Python!". Apparently, when the car started moving back with the engine running, a 7-8 ft Python-like fat snake just dropped down to the ground, straw colored with brown patches. I don't know what species that is - could be a viper also but we weren't brave enough to go close *lol*. We had 1 look at that snake, my shocked friends somehow gathered their wits, got into the car and we fled the place for our lives!! One unforgettable moment that was!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned one place yet on this thread. It definitely deserves to be among the top contenders here - the roads in and around Agumbe, which have the densest rainforests in all of the western ghats. Traffic is minimal barring the Sringeri - Agumbe - Udupi stretch. In places, it can even beat the Valparai - Athirapally road at creepiness.

Yes Agumbe is a known place for snakes. In fact there are many threads for Agumbe specifically with reference to snakes. And of course its one creepy stretch!

Another section: Try the ghats through Anshi at night. Kadra-Londa via Joida.

[Tempelhof]

Is there a way we can upload videos in this thread ? How to share videos in Team-BHP?

[Tempelhof]

Very, very deep inside the Periyar Sanctuary (near Thekkady), at the Vallakadavu Section - this narrow "road", with no one for miles around, takes us in a jeep, in search of Elephants. Photo taken from inside the jeep, driven by a trained driver, and accompanied by an approved forest guard. We travelled in this road for over 2 hours, with expert guidance from the forest guard, but unfortunately on that day there were no sightings

[Skyline GT-R]

Bijapur - Chitradurga in Maruti 800, with my wife in 2010. No passenger cars seen, Only some Boleros & few Tippers. Absolutely no one on the road sides & very bad roads + occassional rains.

[praful]

Originally Posted by Tempelhof

Is there a way we can upload videos in this thread ? How to share videos in Team-BHP?

Upload to Youtube, paste the youtube link here. It will automatically embed the video.

Ensure you paste the youtube.com link and *not* the youtu.be link.