[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Prologue - 



Live our ride here -




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gnnsfcu6R5M&t=7s

Starting with these two pictures as they were the real takeaway memories from the ride. The way most kids look at us bikers like some sort of superheroes is definitely addictive.

Recently there has been a lot of negative sentiments against big capacity motorcycles due to a couple of accidents leading to the loss of young innocent lives. Accidents do happen at times - but a small and humble request - Ride safe. Spread Cheer. 






PS - Thanks to BHPian arun_josie for his detailed travelogue (A quick visit to Pamban Bridge (Rameswaram), Dhanushkodi & Thanjavur) and answering my queries regarding it. Thanks to BHP'ian couple nandita_bayan21 and atul.ktm for their beautiful travelogue and photography and answering my queries. These two travelogues really planted the seeds of a Dhanushkodi ride in our heads.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

(Pic Courtesy - rbp)

Rameshwaram and Dhanushkodi are famous for so many things - temples, beaches, religious relics - but this travelog is about none of all that. What interested us was a road - A beautiful two lane road leading upto Land's end, sandwiched between the Bay of Bengal on one side and the Indian Ocean on the other - with the majestic Pamban bridge in between for company. This is purely a petrolhead perspective, and there is obviously more to these places than what we could experience. However, the below log is an account of what we expected from the place and what exactly left us wide grinned upon our return -

You join a couple of friends who rode down there just for this experience - Of a sunset view of the Pamban and a sunrise at Dhanushkodi.

Riders -

1. Mahesh - Yamaha R3.
2. Raghu (BHP'ian rbp) - Kawasaki Ninja 650.
3. Tarun (BHP'ian tarunactivity) & his wife Anisha - Triumph Tiger 800.
4. Sujai (myself) - Kawasaki Versys 650.

Full Route Map -

Day 1 - 9th March 2018

Tentative plan that we had prepared for the day -

6 am start from Electronic City toll.

1. Breakfast stop can be at Dharmapuri COCO bunk with A2B. 8 am. 2 hours ride time. 132 kms.

2. Fuel top up and short break at BP COCO Bunk near Namakkal. Ride time 1 hour 15 mins. 89 kms. 10 am.

3. Lunch at Dindigul Thalapakatti, Dindigul. Approx 1 hour 45 mins riding time. 130 kms. 12pm.

4. Fuel top up. BP Coco Bunk near Madurai. Riding time 30 mins. 49 kms. 1:30pm.

5. Mandatory stop at Pamban bridge. Riding time 2.5 hours. 184 kms. 3:45 pm.

Note - 3:45 pm is the timing for the train to cross this majestic bridge. No train afterwards.

5. Check into Hotel Ashoka at Rameshwaram. Riding time 30 mins. 14 kms. 5:30pm.

Spend evening walking around Rameshwaram temple town. Or just for taking rest.

Mandatory click of the odometer reading at the start of the trip. Thankfully everyone was almost on time, and we could start from electronic city by around 6AM as planned -

Such beautiful sunrises really make a ride so much better and refreshing. All the drowsiness from waking up earlier than usual, washed away by the orange glow of the rising sun -

Shoolagiri (A very popular breakfast destination for Bangalore bikers) came up too early for us on this day. We just enjoyed the sunrise and the beautiful vistas of the Hosur valley as we rode further ahead till Dharmapuri A2B (attached to Dharmapuri BPCL COCO bunk) -

(Pic Courtesy - Anisha)

Breakfast at A2B was pretty uneventful and below the standards that we have come to expect from A2B. So much so that no one even wanted to click a picture at the place. Anyways, the break really helped the spirits and we made good progress from then on till Namakkal -

(Pic Courtesy - Anisha)

First fuel stop at the BPCL COCO bunk, Namakkal -

(Pic Courtesy - rbp)

Lunch stop at Dindigul Thalapakatti at Dindigul. This branch is really close to the highway but we ended up wasting 3-4 kms to enter the place thanks to some wise authorities at Dindigul deciding to make service road entry and exit points as confusing as possible.

Good spacious covered parking facility with security watch.

Dindigul biryani is quite famous and has its own charm, but the taste may not be to everyone's liking, specially those who consider the Hyderabadi Dum Biryani as the only real flavour on earth -

Being TN - It was hot and humid to say the least. Lot of water and a nice lunch at Dindigul’s famous Thalapakatti later- and were soon on our way to the start of the two lane national highway 87 off Madurai towards Rameshwaram.

Photoshoot while waiting for the team to regroup before entering the Pamban -

NH87 was under construction and repair at many places and we really couldn’t stick to the the timelines. Nearing Pamban - one thing was sure, we would have missed the 3:45 PM train crossing, as was mentioned in one of the earlier travelogues. Would have been be sad to miss out on such a grand sight after travelling so much.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

The majestic Pamban bridge -

Pamban bridge has always been the stuff that dreams are made of! We grew up in the 90s hearing advertisements from Sankar cements how they were the force behind the Pamban (God knows if true!), but I've always wondered how such a long bridge can be built over the ocean floor. The longest sea bridge in India till recent times and it stands majestic in the middle of the ocean even after a century of use.

(Pic Courtesy - Anisha)

The most distinctly identifiable feature of the Pamban rail bridge -

The center portion can be raised to allow water traffic to cross through -

Beautiful view of the Indian ocean from the Pamban -

Lots of colourful boats really add to the beauty of the scene -

No, we did not miss the train even though it was almost 5pm by then. Here we were saved by the 'Chennai Express'.

(Pic Courtesy - Anisha)


(Pic Courtesy - Raghu)


(Pic Courtesy - Raghu)


(Pic Courtesy - Raghu)

Mandatory clicks with the train in the background. Glad that Tarun and Anish were both smiling at this point, with them being the only bike with pillion and the bike itself is new -

Found this picture really funny. Everyone resorting to their own ways of ensuring the train pictures have been clicked, wheras the whole group with their helmets still on while walking around looks like a bunch of aliens as a whole!

Pic Courtesy - Anisha.

The bikes parked at the Pamban road bridge. Please dont be furious about the 'No Parking' sign as the place has become a tourist destination on top of the bridge. Our bikes were causing zero obstruction to anyone, whereas there were even SUVs and mini buses parked on the bridge as per their wishes -

Finally parked at Hotel Ashoka, Rameshwaram -

Choice of hotel was excellent considering the budget as well. Thanks to Atul and Nandita again for the recommendation. Clean rooms and facilities with locked parking space and a very reasonable price that came to a little above 1k per head.

Day 1 ended with a short stroll around Rameshwaram town, exploring local shops, culture and food -

Pic Courtesy - Anisha

The famous Ramanathaswamy Temple at Rameshwaram -

Daily Train timings from Rameshwaram for reference to those driving / riding down to see this sight -

Rameshwaram Express - Incoming - 11:45 AM.
Chennai Express - Departing - 5 PM.

Intermittent -

Monday, Thursday and Saturday -
Tirupati Express - Departing - 4PM.

Sunday -
Coimbatore Express - Arriving - 8:45 AM.

Only the ones crossing during daylight timings mentioned above.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Day 2 - Sunrise at Dhanushkodi

Had to wake up early morning, for the sunrise at Dhaushkodi was the prime reason why we came down so far for an overnighter. And it sure was worth it -

(Pic Courtesy - rbp)


(Pic Courtesty - rbp)

I swear this is one rare place on earth where the road adds to the beauty of the landscape. It has a charm of its own with the oceans on either side of the road -

(Pic Courtesy - rbp)

Quite a unique looking shell that Anisha found at the beach -

Photoshoot at Dhanushkodi -

(Pic Courtesy - Tarun)














(Pic Courtesy - Tarun)


(Pic Courtesy - Tarun)


(Pic Courtesy - Tarun)




(Pic Courtesy - rbp)




(Pic Courtesy - rbp)


(Pic Courtesy - rbp)


(Pic Courtesy - rbp)


(Pic Courtesy - rbp)


(Pic Courtesy - rbp)


(Pic Courtesy - rbp)


(Pic Courtesy - rbp)

With their machines -


(Pic Courtesy - rbp)


(Pic Courtesy - rbp)


(Pic Courtesy - Tarun)




(Pic Courtesy - rbp)

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Pier photoshoot -

Found a nice little pier to have a small photoshoot of the bikes (again). Location of this one can be clearly identified from the video, incase anyone needs it for reference.

(Pic Courtesy - rbp)


(Pic Courtesy - rbp)


(Pic Courtesy - rbp)


(Pic Courtesy - rbp)

Quite an interesting thing that happened when we were waiting at the Pier. Mahesh's Jio sim went into international roaming and welcomed him to Sri Lanka.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Return Ride -

Tentative ride plan that we had prepared for the day -

Day 2 -

1. 5:30AM start from hotel. Till checkpost which opens only at 6am. Riding time 20 mins. 17 kms.

2. 6 am to 8am. Dhanushkodi. Sunrise, photoshoot, Ghost town etc. Riding time 10 mins. 5 kms.

3. 8:30am. Check into hotel. Breakfast. Freshen up and departure by 9:30am.

4. Lunch and Fuel stop at A2B, Madurai + BP Coco bunk. Riding time 3 hours. 196 kms. 12:30pm.

5. Fuel stop at BP Coco bunk near Namakkal. Riding time 2 hours. 175 kms. 3:30pm.

6. Coffee break at A2B, dharmapuri. Riding time 1 hour 30 mins. 89kms. 5pm.

7. Fuel and final break at HP Petrol bunk + CCD Shoolagiri. Riding time 1 hour 15 mins. 91 kms. 6:30pm.

8. Ride back home. Hopefully reach around 9pm for everyone.

However, since we lost a lot of time during while coming due to the Madurai route being under construction most places, it was ditched in favour of Trichy route for return - also with the added benefit of trying out a different road. Overall - it might not have saved us much time, but the route was definitely refreshing and scenic all the way up until Namakkal, where it joined back to the 4 lane road.

Mostly well paved two lane roads up until Trichy. With only some broken tarmac at places. Yep, and a few unexpected giant potholes.

Waiting at Ramanathapuram to regroup before taking the diversion to Trichy -

Ramanathapuram - Karaikudi stretch. Mostly good, but with some broken patches and a couple of huge unexpected potholes -

Waiting at Pudukottai for another regroup. It was a hot and humid day so everyone trying was squeezing themselves under whatever small little shade was available -

Not a very rare sight to see both heads turn, when riding such bikes with full riding gear -

Fuel topup at Pudukottai. 'rbp' got a shock of his life and was clueless when the lady attendent could not understand 'Seven Hundred rupees'. I had to help him out with my weak Tamil knowledge.

Crossing Karaikudi town via bypass. Had planned to stop for lunch at Karaikudi, but there was not even a tree under which we could stop to regroup and decide about lunch. Just pushed on further till Trichy -

Regroup happened when finally found a small tree. Here we are starting from Karaikudi off towards Trichy -

Beautiful two lane roads all the way till Trichy -

Nice vegetarian lunch at Trichy -

Beautiful two lane roads all the way from Trichy till Namakkal -

With some broken section of tarmac at places. But the Versys didn't really care much about it -

Much needed coffee break at Namakkal -

Kids smile when they see bikers -

Adults are more likely to stare -

But can't deny that heads still turn -

Back on to beautiful four lane roads from Namakkal all the way till Bangalore -

And a beautiful sunset on the move too -

Regrouping once again before entering Salem -

Sales was a traffic mess as usual, with the bypass construction as in full swing -

Have you seen Tarun? He was just right between us. (Meanwhile, Tarun took a wrong turn towards Salem City rather than the bypass).

Small dinner / snacks stop at Dhaba Express post Krishnagiri. Tarun putting the cot kept outside the dhaba to full use.

Entering Bangalore back at night -

Mandatory odo click at the end of the trip. I was back home by 10:50 pm.

1294 kms of fun overall for the overnighter. Planning has already started for the next one -

[.anshuman]

Thread moved here from Assembly line. Thanks for sharing

[DieselDestiny]

Nice one Sujai!! Brings back memories of my travel to Dhanyahkodi, 4-5 years ago. Appears like the road reaches a longer distance than before.
There is a beach, mostly deserted and hidden behind the casuarina groove, on the road to Dhanushkodi. Was a beautiful spot and we had enjoyed an evening of sun and sand .
The view from the Rama temple on way to Dhanuskodi is also quite mesmerising. The temple is an island and the road reaching it cut across the sea, feels almost like the view while traveling on the white Rann.

[adi_gt]

I did this exact circuit on my P150 during new year vacation in 2009. The road till Salem was beautiful four lane and it was under construction for about 250km till Madurai. It was one of the most exciting journey I did due to those broken section of roads and one way sections of the stretch. The back was paining like hell after reaching Madurai so I and pillion rider friend decided to stay overnight and proceed to Rameshwaram next day. On my return leg from Rameshwaram I took a wrong turn from Ramnadh towards Thondi and ended up at a closed road. I and my friend opened up our google map printout (good old days without smartphones and 4G data) and figured out our way to Trichy.
It was fun and a real fun at that.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by DieselDestiny

Nice one Sujai!! Brings back memories of my travel to Dhanyahkodi, 4-5 years ago. Appears like the road reaches a longer distance than before.
There is a beach, mostly deserted and hidden behind the casuarina groove, on the road to Dhanushkodi. Was a beautiful spot and we had enjoyed an evening of sun and sand .
The view from the Rama temple on way to Dhanuskodi is also quite mesmerising. The temple is an island and the road reaching it cut across the sea, feels almost like the view while traveling on the white Rann.

Thank you. . Yes, the road recently opened till Sangamam, almost as far as it can ever go.

We had noticed the casuarina groves - but did not have the time to explore on this particular trip. There is a plan to drive down post summer for a more relaxed sight seeing experience, as this trip was more about the ride rather than the locations enroute.

Originally Posted by adi_gt

I did this exact circuit on my P150 during new year vacation in 2009. The road till Salem was beautiful four lane and it was under construction for about 250km till Madurai. It was one of the most exciting journey I did due to those broken section of roads and one way sections of the stretch. The back was paining like hell after reaching Madurai so I and pillion rider friend decided to stay overnight and proceed to Rameshwaram next day. On my return leg from Rameshwaram I took a wrong turn from Ramnadh towards Thondi and ended up at a closed road. I and my friend opened up our google map printout (good old days without smartphones and 4G data) and figured out our way to Trichy.
It was fun and a real fun at that.

Nice. Glad I brought back some of your memories.

The section till Madurai is fully completed now, but beyond that it is under construction for the most part till Rameshwaram. We would prefer the Trichy route instead now - because it is a better two lane road and a better experience even though time taken for both the routes are same.

[haria]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Rameshwaram and Dhanushkodi are famous for so many things - temples, beaches, religious relics - but this travelog is about none of all that. What interested us was a road - A beautiful two lane road leading upto Land's end, sandwiched between the Bay of Bengal on one side and the Indian Ocean on the other -

Nice travelogue! Evoked good memories for myself also! I did this sometime in 2011 (in car). Are the roads to Dhanushkodi there till the end ? ie, the tip of the land ? In 2011, we had to take a 4WD jeep to cover the last 3/4 Kms, which itself was quite an experience, driving thru the sands and beaches and the ruins. I enjoyed that drive also - though bone jarring! :-)


Is that stretch still available ? (I mean ,the ones thru the sand/beaches ?)

Great that you guys could cover 1K+ KM in couple of days in a bike!

With a niggling back ache, I can't even dream of this! :-(

[androdev]

Always a pleasure to read your travelogues! This is a fabulous destination. I wish they build a road all the way to Sri Lanka!

[unni246]

Splendid review Sujai, which comes at the right time as a blessing for us.
I have finally planned to visit Madurai & Rameshwaram (a trip pending since years) end of this month for the Easter weekend with my wife.
My plan is Day 1 overnight stay at Madurai and Day 2 & 3 at Rameshwaram including return trip to either Coimbatore (visit family) or back to Bangalore.

Have couple of questions for You:

• Is it recommended not to take the Madurai - Rameswaram stretch due to the road works?
• The road to Dhanushkodi / Sangamam is it open for all kind of pvt vehicles? Also is car parking available at the tip?
  I heard about 4X4 vehicles taking you across the beaches to the old ghost town, is this road a similar parallel stretch?

Thanks in advance

[saratjyo]

Nice travelogue. The roads in the pics are making me to go there right away. Hopefully will do this trip by this year.

And I can see that Ragu's Ninja 650 is having the air cushion to his seat if am not wrong. Does it really help? I have got the fego float which I ordered for the trip that I was planning to go. But it was delivered only after a day of starting my trip. So I haven't tested it yet. I think I need to plan a trip just for testing it

[varunanb]

Originally Posted by haria

Is that stretch still available ? (I mean ,the ones thru the sand/beaches ?)

(

No the sand stretch has been tarred few years back and you can ride upto the tip.That particular stretch of 5 or 6 Kms is one of the best ive driven and will go there again just for the sunrise at Dhanushkodi.

Also seeing the train at the pamban bridge is like a man walking on a tightrope only difference the train weighing few 100 tonnes and carrying 100's of people in it.

One of the few pics clicked while returning from Dhanushkodi. We had stopped to collect the super soft sand my mom wanted. The place was so beautiful and my daughter enjoyed it to an extent we forgot to click pictures of sunrise nor the beach .