[kskthere]

http://youtu.be/3E6-cFlrdAI

NOSTALGIA.

I cannot recollect how many times did I ride my bicycle (and later bike) down the straight stretch of road (now NH563) right in front of my house for no other reason than that I had an urge. It was fun. Exhilarating. And it gently became a habit. Anytime I’m upset or need some alone time, I just start going and don’t stop until I feel better. This experience has had an everlasting imprint on my mind that any such sights are reminiscent of my childhood. The arrow-straight road to Dhanushkodi is one such paragon. Anytime and everytime I see / hear about it, it brings back those childhood memories.

YEARNING.

Now it's only a matter of time before I was filled with awe by Dhanushkodi road and plan a drive. So much so that I was resolute enough to do a solo drive even if there's no one to accompany me. And once I've decided, I put the plan across to my friends, but got positive response only from two. Once we were in agreement with the plan, we did some research on places to visit, route options and activities we want to do. Next was to plan our lodging and figure out how long we want to stay in a place. With everything set, it was time to put the plan into action. We blocked the dates, chalked out an itinerary, and ready to rock and roll.

ITINERARY.

Nov 15: Hyderabad to Nandi hills and Bangalore
Nov 16: Bangalore to Rameshwaram
Nov 17: Rameshwaram to Dhanushkodi and Mandapam
Nov 18: Mandapam to Kanyakumari and Madurai
Nov 19: Madurai to Bangalore
Nov 20: Visit Grover Zampa Vineyards in Bangalore outskirts; return journey to Hyderabad

[kskthere]

QUICK RECAP.

Before going into actual details of the trip, I'd like to take this moment to look back and reflect upon what an eventful year 2019 has been. Over the course of this year, I've visited as many as 31 new places. I have been particularly busy road tripping to some famous places across south India (except Kerala). Though I've had three places (Ladakh, Rann of Kutch and Dhanushkodi) on my travel wishlist I was particularly interested to explore, I could only fulfill the last one. The amount of travel I did though compensated for unfulfilled destinations. To sum it up, 2019 has been one heck of a year for me in terms of road trips.

A year to remember:

http://youtu.be/o4RRPNqC9p8

Some already penned down travelogues on the forum:

• Kondaveedu Fort (A trip to Kondaveedu Fort in our Baleno)
  
• Koilsagar Lake (Group of Balenos go camping at Koilsagar Dam)
  
• Warangal road trip (A drive to Warangal in the summer!)
• Drive to Hampi, Dandeli, Murdeshwar and Goa (Summer drive to Hampi, Dandeli, Murdeshwar & Goa in two Balenos)

Also, a glimpse of another trip done in August of 2019. We were a group of 8 members in 2 Balenos completed a journey to Yaganti, Owk, Gandikota and Horsley hills in 3 days. It was quite an unexpected trip but we planned it well the last minute.

http://youtu.be/heTjr_W2VvE

[kskthere]

DRIVE TO DHANUSHKODI:

Day 1: November 15th - Hyderabad >> Nandi Hills >> Bangalore

EXPEDITION.

It was my first time to Bangalore so I wanted it to be a unique experience. We initially planned to go to Ramanagara hills (Sholay movie shooting location), do Microlight flying at Jakkur Aerodrome and visit a vineyard. We had to alter the plan later and forgo these options though visited Zampa vineyards on the last leg of the journey.

We started off the journey on November 14th night itself to reach Nandi hills early morning to catch sunrise. We had decided to switch turns every 2 hours or so. NH44 is a bliss to drive even though it's the time when most of the interstate buses enter and leave the city. Beware of some unexpected speed breakers especially after crossing Bagepalli toll plaza and a few before. The other friend, who stays in KR Puram Bangalore, had joined us at Nandi Upachar and then we drove through exciting winding ghat road leading to the top of the hill.

Kia Motors India Plant on NH44:


Nandi Hills is at a distance of about 65 km from Bangalore slightly off the Bangalore-Hyderabad National highway. It has become one of the most popular destinations to visit, ideal for both a quick getaway and a long refreshing escape. It also serves as an excellent trekking/cycling destination for people in and around Bangalore. Many from the city head to the hill station to witness the sunrise and enjoy misty mornings. One of the best things about this place is that it can be visited at any time of the year.

Don't know whether people got to know about the news that private vehicles are not allowed to the top of the hill on weekends or it's just a common sight everyday, the place was thronged with visitors on Friday as well. People literally stormed the ticket booking counter like it's a first-day-first-show of a movie. Maybe because every soul present there is making his/her best effort to be in the moment to witness the sunrise.


And we did ours and finally reached the summit just in time.






Foggy weather and clouds obscured the sun for most part, but it was a scintillating experience nonetheless. The spellbinding views of hills and valleys with clouds at a catching distance and sun rising from the fog is an amazing experience.








There are other attractions to explore around the hills but after soaking in nature for nearly 2 hours, our bodies implored us to get moving.

[kskthere]

Day 2: November 16th - Bangalore >> Madurai >> Rameshwaram

EXCITEMENT.

Travel schedules should always be flexible. No matter how meticulously you plan, sooner or later you falter. Our plan was to visit Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai and reach Rameshwaram thereafter, but we did terrible mistake by following Google maps and entered into congested and crowded lanes leading to the temple. We should have inquired with locals about car parking lot beforehand itself. By the time we found parking place, the temple was closed and it reopens again at 3:30 p.m.

We reached Madurai around noon but lost precious time in searching for a parking place .


Having no other choice, we had to skip temple visit and drive towards Rameshwaram where we booked accommodation for the day. We reached Pamban road bridge in the nick of time when a train was passing over the Pamban rail bridge. The view left us awestruck with its spectacular scenic beauty, surrounded by pristine blue-greenish waters till as far as our eyes can see.




Later in the evening, we visited famous Ramanathaswamy temple at Rameshwaram. With the longest corridor of the world and immaculate carvings on pillars, it is definitely a treat for the eyes. Cameras and mobile phones are not allowed, so no inside pictures.




Booked a room in Hotel Royal Park at Rameshwaram, which is in decent location and with affordable pricing.

[kskthere]

Day 3: November 17th - Dhanushkodi

ENCHANTING.

A friend once told me, "Himalayas and Dhanushkodi are two such places every wanderlust must visit at least once in a lifetime. If you haven't been there yet, plan right away!" And that moment has just arrived. We're right there, waiting eagerly. Woke up early even before the alarm bell went off. Packed our bags and ready to hit the tarmac. So we took off at dawn.

Dhanushkodi is approximately 20 km from our hotel in Rameshwaram. We're ready by 5:30 a.m. and reached a checkpoint at around 5:40 a.m. A cop stationed there wouldn't allow private vehicles before 6:00 a.m. Only local buses are allowed before that time. Soon we became jittery. Luckily a police car with KL registration has come. The cop raised the barrier and let our car and other vehicles through as well. We thought there were no more stumbling blocks, but we again were obstructed by another checkpoint at Dhanushkodi town, may be 3-4 km before endpoint. With no cops available to remove sand-filled drums placed as barrier, we watched the sunrise from there itself, stranded and bitterly disappointed. Some infuriated visitors with the help of local fisherfolk removed those barriers and cleared the road to resume the journey again.

It's a magical scene. With the straight strip of road enclosed by the sea on both sides, one cannot put the drive into words, just needs to experience it. The road runs all the way through to the land's end where a solitary pillar of Ashoka stands at the endpoint. It is an exhilarating experience to drive on this beautifully laid out tarmac and get overwhelmed by witnessing the confluence of two oceans. The best thing to do here is to simply soak in the soul-stirring beauty of the surroundings and mesmerize. The beach and the surroundings are well maintained, with little to none plastic trash or garbage found. We spent almost 3 hours before calling it a day.

I'll let the pictures say it all:








































Confluence of two oceans:

A glimpse through our eyes - Complete drive to Dhanushkodi endpoint:

http://youtu.be/49Z4I8H5gTw

After check out from hotel, we visited Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam National Memorial, one of the must see places in Rameshwaram. A great tribute to the Missile Man of India. Memorial is very well maintained both on the outside as well as the inside.




Contd..

[kskthere]

..Continuation of Day 3:

At around noon time, we checked into Cabana Coral Reef hotel at Mandapam, and rest of the day was spent lazing around the resort and beach side.


Set on a secluded property along a beach, this modest hotel is 3 km from the landmark railway bridge to Pamban island. If anyone likes corals, kayaking, snorkelling, gorgeous evening sunset and homemade seafood then this is the place. Only drawback is the resort is difficult to find even with Google maps, and one of the hotel staff had come to pick us up near the Mandapam railway station.




Made from refurbished shipping containers, the air-conditioned cabins with thatched roofs have en suite bathrooms.






Seafront balcony view:






Some more pics to show how the day went:






We couldn't do kayaking and snorkeling due to heavy rain and bad weather conditions.




A sample of many delicious seafood dishes served:


The narrow broken road to the hotel:






Later in the day, we went to Rameshwaram railway station by bus and boarded Chennai Express train and travelled till Mandapam over Pamban bridge. The train started at 5:00 p.m. from Rameshwaram railway station.


It's an exciting prospect to travel over the iconic Pamban bridge on train. As the train approaches the bridge, it slows down on the bridge and from here the train will move very slowly and we'll get to see the spectacular sea on the right and road bridge on the left. The train journey lasted about an hour from Rameshwaram to Mandapam.

One of the most memorable experiences in my life:

http://youtu.be/IDiXL6n2hPM

[kskthere]

Day 4: November 18th - Mandapam >> Kanyakumari >> Madurai

ENGAGING.

We watched bewitching sunrise at Dhanushkodi, and we'd set off to Kanyakumari to witness sunset. Kanyakumari is about 290 km from Mandapam and we just followed Google maps I guess via Sayalgudo-Tirunelveli route and reached by 3:30 p.m.







Gandhi Memorial:


Since there was enough time for the sunset, we took a ferry ride to see Vivekananda Rock Memorial and Thiruvalluvar Statue. The ride takes about 15 mins to reach the memorial. Usually, the queue for the ferry tickets, waiting for the ferry, entering and exiting the ferry is crowded and chaotic, but as we were the last batch for the day, it was a smooth process for us. To visit Thiruvalluvar Statue, we need to take another ferry from Rock Memorial. These ferries make round trips so one can stay as long as one wishes (depending on time of visit) and board any ferry, but there is always a long queue. We couldn't make it to the Thiruvalluvar Statue as ferry ride to the statue was stopped because of rise in sea level and tides. I must say it was a scary, but adventurous ferry ride in those conditions back to the mainland .




Vivekananda Rock Memorial, located about 500 meters off mainland, stands on one of the two rocks. It is said that Vivekananda meditated here and attained enlightenment:












On another rock there is the statue of famous philosopher Thiruvalluvar:






By the time we landed, the sun had almost gone. We quickly reached the sunset viewpoint and captured the sunset on our mobile phones .

http://youtu.be/RsoRLPdJdRY

As we didn't book any hotel in Kanyakumari, we decided to drive to Madurai and put up there and visit Meenakshi temple the next day. The driving time from Kanyakumari to Madurai is nearly 4 hours and we reached Madurai after midnight.

Exciting dish for dinner:


We booked a OYO room in Hotel Boopathy at Permumal Tank East Town hall road. Road to the hotel is very congested and hotel surroundings are messy with litter. But the hotel is at walking distance from the temple.

[kskthere]

Day 5: November 19th - Madurai >> Bangalore

ETERNAL.

Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai is one of the most famous temples in India. Meenakshi is an avatar of Parvati, the consort of Lord Shiva. This is one of the few Hindu female deities to have a major temple devoted to her. The goddess Meenakshi is the principal deity of the temple, not Sundareswarar, unlike most Shiva temples in South India where Shiva is the principal deity. The temple is one of the largest temple complexes in Tamil Nadu. There are many gopurums but the tallest of which is the famous southern tower which is over 170 ft. The entire city of Madurai is built around Meenakshi Amman temple. The Meenakshi shrine has the emerald-hued black stone image of Meenakshi and The Sundareswarar shrine lies at the centre of the complex, suggesting the dominance of the goddess. Here we visit Meeanakshi Amman first and then Lord Sundareswarar. - Information Source: Internet

We're ready by 5 a.m., and walked towards the temple complex. No cameras and mobile phones are allowed inside the temple. There is a locker facility system maintained by Temple Devashthana, near to the southern entrance of the temple. Here we can store our mobile phones, camera, luggage bag etc., before entering into the temple premises. After taking some pictures from outside, we handed over our phones and entered the southern tower. The temple is clean and very well maintained. It is huge, scenic and serene. I've never seen anything like this before. It is overwhelming and disorienting. The temple is both an architectural wonder and a historian's delight. It could easily take a couple of hours to go through every part of the temple. There is already crowd thronging for darshan, but not huge. We completed free darshan easily, had prasadam, lit diyas in the sanctum, took blessing from a huge elephant (need to put Rs.10 in its trunk) and enjoyed strolling through the temple for some time. It was really a divine experience.















At around 7:45 a.m., we hit the Madurai to Bangalore road (NH44), and OMG let me tell you this nearly 438-km super-smooth-and-scenic route is just heavenly to drive. I was behind the wheel both the times, to and fro Bangalore.

So impressed by this road I made a special video:

http://youtu.be/_bdWqT_X3W0

ENTERTAINMENT.

We finally arrived in Bangalore in the early afternoon and then took it easy till evening. Later in the evening, we had fun riding bikes in busy Bangalore traffic; had delicious biryani at Kritunga Restaurant; and wrapped up the day with Hollywood flick 'Ford v Ferrari'.

[kskthere]

Day 6: November 20th - Bangalore >> Hyderabad

On our last day of the trip, we were able to add Grover Zampa Vineyards to our list. It is located in Nandi hills 40 km toward the north of Bangalore. Though not a great time to take the tour but it was a unique experience . You get to see the entire process from segregation of grapes to fermentation to final distillation. It was a good experience, worth a try if you have interest in wine making.

Few outside and inside snaps taken of the vineyard:














Overall Experience:

Exploring your dream destinations is what every travel enthusiasts aspires for. And this trip has given me a chance to discover one such destination in my travel bucket list. This is my longest road trip ever, both in terms of distance (3105 km) and also emotions attached to it. The overall experience has been nothing short of amazing. The memories that we gathered will be cherished for a life time. Hope you liked the travelogue. Cheers

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!

[arvind71181]

Great trip with nice pics.

We also stayed at the Cabana Coral reef when we went to Rameswaram. Me and my daughter were also lucky to view the corals, it was a good experience. Hope you do it the next time you visit.

[kskthere]

Originally Posted by arvind71181

Great trip with nice pics.

We also stayed at the Cabana Coral reef when we went to Rameswaram. Me and my daughter were also lucky to view the corals, it was a good experience. Hope you do it the next time you visit.

Thank you @arvind71181

Lucky you. We were told that early summer and summer are good times for snorkeling to explore offshore reefs. Bad weather put a dampener on our holiday. Seeing our disappointment, Shanmugham, the head staff, made sure we were served some extra seafood dishes at no additional cost. A big shout-out to him and his staff .

[praveen_v]

Wow!! Thats an amazing Travelogue. Well written, beautiful pics and gives me motivation to explore this place in the coming months! Had no idea Snorkeling and Kayaking options are available here. Since you mentioned the hotel is secluded is it safe for family stay? Added to my checklist and hopefully will execute this trip soon.

[arvind71181]

Originally Posted by praveen_v

Wow!! Thats an amazing Travelogue. Well written, beautiful pics and gives me motivation to explore this place in the coming months! Had no idea Snorkeling and Kayaking options are available here. Since you mentioned the hotel is secluded is it safe for family stay? Added to my checklist and hopefully will execute this trip soon.

Yes it is perfectly fine for a family stay. I stayed there for 2 nights with my wife and (then) 6 year old kid and all was fine. But as the OP pointed out, it is a very secluded area with nothing much to do other than lazing and gazing at the sea, so if that is your cup of tea, then go for it

[satyapj]

Excellent travelogue. Last month I too covered Rameshwaram & Kanyakumari as part of my South India road trip. The view and drive through Rann of Dhanushkodi, albeit shorter compared to Rann of Kutch, is equally breathtaking. In fact, Green & blue sea all around you is added bonus here. I too had to miss Meenakashi Temple at Madurai for parking issue, hopefully will visit it on my next trip down the South.