[knightrider_7]

Eleven Ford EcoSports. Twenty-one days. A total of more than 90,000 kilometers combined. The trip was organized by EcosTVM club, an Ecosport owners club based on Trivandrum, Kerala.

The journey started on April 17, 2025, with ten cars leaving from Trivandrum and one more joining from Bangalore. I was the one from Bangalore and we joined the trip at Chennai, where the team had planned to stay for the night.

Over the next three weeks, we covered around 10 states, visited places like Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. This travelogue documents the key moments, places visited, and experiences from the trip.

The entire trip video is being uploaded in the EcosTVM club YouTube channel, day wise. The video is in Malayalam, so everyone may not be able to understand it.

The trip went like this:

17th April; Day 1: Trivandrum/Bangalore to Chennai
18th April; Day 2: Chennai to Vizag
19th April; Day 3: Vizag to Kharagpur
20th April; Day 4: Kharagpur to Siliguri
21st April; Day 5: Siliguri to Shillong
22nd April; Day 6: Shillong to Mawlynnong
23rd April; Day 7: Mawlynnong to Tezpur
24th April; Day 8: Tezpur to Tawang
25th April; Day 9: Tawang
26th April; Day 10: Tawang to Bumla pass
27th April; Day 11: Tawang to Guwahati
28th April; Day 12: Guwahati to Gangtok
29th April; Day 13: Gangtok
30th April; Day 14: Gangtok to Lachung
1st May; Day 15: Lachung to Zero point and back to Gangtok
2nd May; Day 16: Gangtok to Kolkata
3rd May; Day 17: Kolkata
4th May; Day 18: Kolkata to Puri
5th May; Day 19: Puri to Vizag
6th May; Day 20: Vizag to Chennai/Tirupati
7th May; Day 21: Chennai to Trivandrum/ Tirupati to Bangalore

Now let's meet the participants, starting from the left.

Knight Rider, Shadow, Iravatham, Old Monk, Thunder (Escort), Ping Pong, Silver Surfer, Viper (Media), Red Bull (Pilot), Albatross, and Brooklyn.



The below was our convoy format:

1. Red Bull (Pilot)
2. Albatrozz
3. Shadow

4. Iravath
5. Brooklyn
6. Silver Surfer

7. Knight Rider
8. Ping Pong
9. Old Monk
10. Thunder (Escort)

11. Media coverage - Viper (No*specific*space)

Basically, like this:



All the vehicles, except mine were based out of Trivandrum. We decided that I will be joining the convoy at Chennai, our first halt.

So, all the groundwork were done, we had a common WhatsApp group, in which we constantly shared the trip updates, including live locations of all the cars. We even had people to lookout for us in Trivandrum, tracking our vehicle movement! Here, I thank everyone, who worked behind this to make this epic trip a reality.

In next posts, I will detail the day wise journey from what I can gather from my memory.

Credit to respective owners for the wonderful photos, which I will be sharing in the next posts. Special mention to Viper, Brooklyn, Shadow and Albatross for their efforts in taking these pics.

[knightrider_7]

17th April || Day 1: To Chennai

On April 17th, our trip officially started by a small flag off ceremony from Trivandrum at 5 AM. Compared to the people started from Trivandrum, we had only half of the distance to cover for the day and hence we started by 9 AM in the morning after having breakfast at home and packing our lunch.

There was nothing much to write about on Day 1 as the entire day was full of drive.

Some pictures from day 1.

Viper




Red Bull



Thunder



Somewhere along Bangalore- Chennai highway.



We followed the below route from Bangalore, and we reached the destination for the day, Hotel Le Raj Courtyard around 5PM in the evening.



And this could be the route from Trivandrum.



It took around 3-3.5 more hours for others to reach the hotel, at around 8:30PM. While we had dinner at the hotel itself earlier, the others opted to have it from nearby restaurant outside the hotel.

Day 1 video link from YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkuk6N7T5FM

18th April || Day 2: To Vizag

Day 2 plan was to reach Vizag by evening. However, after having the complimentary breakfast, we could start only by 8:30AM. This day, also was full of drive, maybe as a highlight we can say we crossed Krishna and Godavari rivers along the way.

This is how the morning looked like:



The map for day 2:



Some pictures of our cars and the route on the way:



Ecosport everywhere!



Around 2 PM, we stopped for lunch at Delhi Highway Restaurant Ongole, a vegetarian one with decent food. Then again resumed the journey towards Vizag.

Brooklyn



Knight Rider



Viper and Thunder



The roads were good throughout the stretch with less traffic (except near Vijayawada)



At tea break



Vizag was lit up at night. We reached there around 11PM in the night.



The hotel which was booked for the night was Treebo Black & White. But due to some lame reason, our booking was automatically cancelled, while we were not informed of this. Although we got the refund some days later, at that time of the day it was frustrating. We checked into another nearby Hotel Krishna for the night.

Day 2 video link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwOMbmVoC-Y

19th April || Day 3: To Kharagpur

This was also similar affair as in previous day, with another day full of driving. Left the hotel in the morning around 7:30AM in the morning. Stopped for breakfast in a decent hotel, Hotel Aparna near Vizianagaram.

Day 3 map:



Lunch was at Hotel Raj Dhaba, near Chilika Lake, Odisha. This picture was taken from its parking lot:



Dinner was at Hotel Niladri Inn, Balasore. It was already 9PM by the time we reached the restaurant. After dinner there was around 1-1.5hrs journey further to our hotel for the night.

Reached Hotel Annapurna Inn, Kharagpur around midnight.






Day 3 video link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAdUZUcC8Lg

[knightrider_7]

20th April || Day 4: To Siliguri

Yet another day of driving.

We started from the hotel after the complimentary breakfast at around 8:30AM.

Posting some pictures taken along the way:













Saw many e-rikshaws in WB.



Around 2PM had lunch at Express Dhaba near Plassey. Now when I write this, found that this was the place in history for Battle of Plassey. That monument was just 5kms away from the lunch stop.

We continued the journey again..



At a Jio BP pump for washroom break along the way:



We had tea break around 6PM at TRP Zone near Malda.



After this, it was a continuous 5-hour drive (as per Google) to the hotel in Siliguri, where we had asked to prepare the dinner for the night. We passed through Kishanganj, BR, which was the 6th state on the way from the start of the trip.

The hotel asked us to reach by 11PM and we all did reach 15 minutes earlier than that (beating Google's estimate by 1 hr), only to find that they have not prepared our ordered food . Goes on to show how futile it was to take that much risk to reach the hotel on time that night. Food arrived around 12PM, and we all went to bed by around 12:30AM.

The route taken on day 4:



Day 4 video link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeKVsL6QAbM

21st April || Day 5: To Shillong

This was the day we reached our first major destination: Meghalaya. That excitement was there on everyone's face in the morning. We started to Meghalaya around 9AM after the complimentary breakfast at the hotel.

We stopped near the Teesta bridge for snaps.

Teesta river:



The team



We continued the journey through NH27.

With Ping Pong:



Knight Rider, somewhere along the route:



We stopped for lunch at Hotel Sankosh Valley around 1:30PM, near the Assam border. After spending around 1.5 hour there, we continued the journey. Around 5PM we stopped for fuel and tea stops.

Had a good Assam Tea:



Shortly after passing Guwahati, we entered Meghalaya:



Around 8:30 PM, stopped for dinner at Garden of foods:



Nice ambience:



Ecos



After the dinner, it was the ascend towards Shillong. Our stay was at F N Guest House. The roads leading to the guest house after Shillong were in bad condition. However, we managed to reach by 11:30PM and called it a day.

The route taken on day 5:



Day 5 video link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axG_kaQwYwE

[knightrider_7]

22nd April || Day 6: To Mawlynnong

After five days, this was a day in which the drive was less than 200km. However, the trip end time for the day was no different! More on that later.

We started around 8:30AM in the morning, to a very nearby restaurant: Megha Hills. Had breakfast there and left at 9:30AM to our first stop at Mawkdok Dympep Valley Viewpoint.

There was nothing much to see except the fog. And that was the case for almost the entire day.

This was the scene when we went there:





We then continued the journey to second point, Garden of caves. In between had multiple stopovers for photoshoot.

The roads less travelled



Viper leading the way



The All-in-One frame



Reached Garden of caves shortly and had a good time there.







After this, had lunch near Cherrapunji and proceeded to Sven sister falls. There also we couldn't see anything except fog.

Viper in the fog



Enter the Thunder



One of the best pic of the lot



When we started the journey to our next halt, at Mawlynnong, the ETA was around 8PM. But little did we know that what was there in the locker for us.

The initial stretch of the journey was good, as the roads leading to CHerrapunji was in good condition. Things got changed very quickly, coupled with the early sunset in northeast, this was what we had at around 7PM.

See the state of roads in the screen capture from the video:



And then came the fog.. literally except for the rear brake light nothing else was there to see.



Due to the bad roads and the weather, we stuck at some point for more than half an hour. Took the help from a local cab driver, who showed us an alternate way, and finally we managed to reach our stay at around 9PM.

It was raining cats and dogs out there and we somehow had dinner from a nearby restaurant, West Corner restaurant (have to say the food was nothing write about). The stay was arranged in a cottage with roof made of sheets. Coupled with the heavy rain, the sound and the company of flies, many could not even sleep that day. The Pahalgam attack was on this day, and we just thanked God that we were all safe that day.

The map for the day looked like this.



The video link for day 6:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ld5ZCLo98I

[knightrider_7]

23rd April || Day 7: To Tezpur

Our start was very delayed this day. We had breakfast around 8AM from the same restaurant where we had dinner yesterday. Did some roaming around the "cleanest village"

The welcome board:



Some village life pics taken by Shadow:









We went to the top of a skywalk made of bamboo tree. It seems Bangladesh can be seen from there.



Knight Rider waiting for others



Cars waiting for their owners:



Click!



After the photoshoot, we started the journey towards Dawki, the India- Bangaldesh border.

Some waterfall on the way:



Viper passing the bridge:



Reached the border just past noon. Took some pictures from there.

Welcome to India



The other side:



The team at the border:



I seriously don't remember where we had the lunch (or did we even have it?). But the return journey was smooth with good roads. Nothing like the horror plot we saw yesterday.

The winding roads with mountain view:



Viper again:



We stopped for dinner at the same place, Garden of Foods, where we had the dinner when we entered Meghalaya. This time we reached there around 6:30 in the evening but spent a good 1.5 hours there. We resumed the journey after the dinner to Tezpur, where our hotel was a new apartment.

We checked in, had the birthday celebration of Old Monk's daughter there with cake cutting and all.



All went to bed after that for the exciting journey to Tawang on the next day.

The route map on day 7:



The video link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC-_KqnztXM

[knightrider_7]

24th April || Day 8: To Tawang

For a change, we had an early start around 6:30AM today. Within an hour, we reached Arunachal Pradesh border.



All of us filled full tank diesel just after the border as the fuel prices were really low at Arunachal. Shortly after refueling, we stopped for breakfast. After breakfast, around 9AM we started the ascend towards Tawang.

Old monk waiting for others:



We had thick company of fog around 10AM towards Tawang. Since it was morning, we could manage that. Around 11AM, we were almost near Tenga valley.



We continued the journey after a short bio break at Tenga valley.



The landscapes kept changing.





Around 1 PM, reached near Dirang.



Stopped at Hotel Seven Eleven there for lunch. We took liquid money from the nearby Canara Bank ATM, anticipating UPI/ range issues. By the time we left, it was already around 3PM.



It was exciting to see the mountain landscape in real for the first time for me.



Soon, we were near the Sela tunnel. As we did not want a repeat of our Meghalaya episode at night, did not opt to go through Sela pass. Missed that Welcome to Tawang Gate



Viper near the sela tunnel



With Knight Rider in the company



The map looked like this near Sange



Entering the Sela tunnel



Soon after the tunnel, there was a viewpoint:



Mission accomplished



Different views, the same car.



After spending some time there, we continued the journey to the hotel for the stay.

Old monk leading the way this time.





Around 7PM, we managed to reach Kitpee Kee Homestay, where we had booked the rooms for 3 nights. We had already given our preference for the dinner by evening, and the food was ready by the time we finished freshening up. The temperature was around 11C by the time we went to bed after the dinner. As the room had heater did not feel that much cold anyway.

The map for the day 8.



Day 8 video link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYA1aDkUvQ0

[knightrider_7]

25th April || Day 9: Tawang Monastery/ Giant Buddha/ War Memorial

Parking at the homestay:



View from the homestay:



After the complimentary breakfast, we started to our first spot, Tawang monastery. Reached there around 12PM. Did some shopping near that and then went to see the Monastery.

On the way to Monastery



The front view



Inside view:





Getting closer



After the monastery visit, we went to Giant Buddha statue nearby.

Giant Buddha statue:



The team in front of the statue:



Viper next



Cars and the team behind the statue



We had the lunch at Fat Monk restaurant near to the statue.
After the dinner, we went to visit the Tawang War memorial.

War memorial





It was already 5PM and rain was starting in sprinkles. We decided to go back to our homestay. In the evening, we had a small party at the homestay with food, music and dance and everyone had a very good time.

Map for the day:



Day 9 video link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG8gBsUfmcg

[knightrider_7]

26th April || Day 10: To Bumla Pass

The second day at Tawang was planned for visit to Bumla Pass. We had already obtained the permits through Arunachal online eILP. This day, we did not take any of our cars, except Viper due to concerns over the road conditions & snow.

So, we all hopped in the taxis, two Innovas and two Xylos and started the journey to Bumla Pass by around 8'o clock.



We saw many forms of lakes along the way. Don't even know their names!











Soon we started to see snow on the roadsides as well





Viper posing for a snap



More snow and snow covered mountains...











We reached around 11:00 at Bumla, but the time was showing China time at 2:30PM. Spent some time there. We took group photo and individual photos provided by Indian Army there itself:





We had planned this one long before, people from Kerala, in Kerala mundu



Viper and its owner at Bumla pass. The only car in our group which made way to this beautiful place.



Many were experiencing breathlessness due to high altitude, liberal use of oxygen cans happened all along. Luckily for me and my family, did not have any such issues.

After Bumla, we went to Shungetsar lake, which was on the way.









By the time we left the lake, it was actually 2:30PM Indian time .
The taxis dropped us back to our homestay.

While many people went back to Fat Monkey restaurant for lunch, some of us stayed back opting for parcel. There was nothing much after that for us, except, some people went to visit local market for shopping.

The dinner was served at homestay itself. Our plan was to leave early the next day morning. So finished all formalities with the homestay on that night itself and went to bed.

The day 10 map:



Day 10 video link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27YGt2sU2b4

[knightrider_7]

27th April || Day 11: To Guwahati

The day started early. Our plan was to start early from Tawang. We had small tea and decided to have breakfast on the way. Before 6AM, we were on the road.

We got a warm sendoff from the homestay.



Except for some photoshoot along the way, there was nothing much to write about.

Thank you Tawang!



Viper, Ping Pong, Old Monk, Red Bull and Iravatham posing





The other side



I love Tawang



Sela tunnel entry view



All cars posing in front of Sela tunnel



More pictures along the way.









We had the lunch from Tulsi restaurant near Sessa. After the lunch restarted the journey by 2'o clock. Refueled at a pump near the hotel around 7:30PM. By 8'o clock we reached Hotel Silver Regency in Guwahati. We ordered food through Zomato from the hotel and called it a day.

The map for day 11. As I write this, the Northeast is troubled with floods



Day 11 video link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3VqlIzs-Ec

28th April || Day 12: To Gangtok


Today also we had an early start by 6:30AM. Soon after we passed Guwahati city, the rain started. The heavy downpour continued for some distance and at times the visibility was also affected. It was a bit nerve-wracking but also oddly calming—like nature reminding us of who’s in charge.



We stopped for breakfast at Hotel Druk, some 200km away from Guwahati. Soon after the breakfast, we were back on road.



Stopped for lunch at Dooars Restaurant near Banarhat at 1:30PM. It took around 2 hours to restart the journey due to delay in the hotel.

We continued the journey and soon we started the climb towards Gangtok. Due to narrow roads and truck traffic, the progress was very slow after this. In addition to that it started rain intermittently along the way.

The stretch from Kalimpong to Gangtok was one of the unforgettable drives of our trip. Seeing the steep rocks on one side and the mighty Teesta River on the other side was an experience itself while navigating through those narrow roads. It was an exciting experience I fondly remember even when I write this now.



We were at the Hotel, The Mansarovar hotel & banquet by 9PM. We had dinner from the nearby restaurant itself. The next three days our vehicles will be resting as our plan was to explore Sikkim through rented Innovas.

The map for day 12:



Day 12 video link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GFUtNjwLMg

[knightrider_7]

29th April || Day 13: Nathula Pass

Our stay was at this location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/qSVoWr6jvFgyHjD98

This was very near to Tashi viewpoint. Mount Kanchenjunga can be viewed from here.



Mount Kanchenjunga view







We had arranged four Innovas for us for the next three days. After having breakfast from the restaurant attached to our stay, we started by 9AM. The destination for the day was Nathula pass.

Some pictures on the way.













On the way to Nathula, procured the snow boots and suits for rent and continued. The traffic was high that day and we were very slow towards the final 2-3kms. Unfortunately, with just 1km left, snowfall started, and our taxi drivers quickly took the U-turn.

Yes, we had missed Nathula pass which was just less than 1km away. However, as the drivers know the weather and its consequences better than us, we were lucky not to get stuck there for more time with kids and families.

On the way back, we stopped somewhere just to experience the snow.



Happiness



Time flies fast we were again in China time.



After spending some 20-30 minutes in the snow, we continued our return and stopped briefly near a lake, which I believe was Tsomgo Lake.



We had the lunch from the hotel near the shop from where we took the snow suits for rent. After lunch, the taxis took us directly to our stay.

In the evening, we visited the local market for a bit of shopping.



After the market visit, we had dinner from nearby restaurant attached to Preisha hotel. On that night, some of us had a rethink about the next two days' plan as just a week ago, North Sikkim had experienced landslides. Moreover, some of the members could not adapt to the mountain weather also. Hence only half the team was there for North Sikkim exploration and rest of the team decided to either stay in the hotel or proceed to next destination.

Map of day 13 travel



Day 13 video link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgJKH45bV6o

30th April || Day 14: Lachung


Today we had early breakfast at a nearby hotel just opposite to the Tashi viewpoint. By 8-8:30AM, we started our journey to Lachung.

Found this en route:



Our first stop was near Butterfly falls, which was a disappointment. Did not waste much time and continued the journey. By noon, we reached Mangan and had lunch from there.

Continued the journey and saw some waterfalls on the way.



After some time, reached near Chungthang. Roads to Lachen and Lachung starts from here. Lachen was also in our plans before the trip, but was cancelled as due to the previous week landslide, permits were not issued.

Throughout the way, we could see many patches where the roads were completely washed out. Like on one side lots of rocks from landslide and the other side deep excavations and a narrow passage in between these two in mud.





Had a stopover at Bheem Nala falls on the way to Lachung.



Towards Lachung, Mount Katao was in company throughout.





Reached Lachung by evening.



Our stay was arranged in Rufina Royal at Lachung. Hotel was just alright, did not justify the premium.

The view from the hotel:



At night we went to Way Out bar, where we had the dinner. Needless to say, this was the worst food I ever had in my life. Came back to stay and went to bed after that bad experience.

The map for day 14.



Day 14 video link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1mOg0z4hlc

[knightrider_7]

1st May || Day 15: Zero Point

An early day, started with complimentary breakfast. We had to cover Zero point, Yumthang valley and had to return to Gangtok.

This was arguably the best day of the entire trip. Wherever you look, it was mind-blowing photo frames. I will skip the narration for this day and let the pictures do the talking.









































At Zero Point...



















After the Zero Point, we just stopped by Yumthang Valley.











Next stop was for lunch (at 4PM) at Mangan on the way back, where we had the lunch the previous day. We reached our stay by around 7PM.

Of all the places we visited, Sikkim had a special charm and beauty of its own and except for the dinner experience at Lachung, it was the best two days we had spent.

Map of day 15:




Day 15 video link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RvXoL1xbq4

2nd May || Day 16: To Kolkata


By 5:30AM, we were on the road, gunning down the ghats of Sikkim. Since the traffic was less, had a very enjoyable drive down the hills with ecosport. It was such a pleasure to drive the EcoSport on the roads like this. I had the very similar experience while coming down from Meghalaya also.

Our breakfast was at around 9AM at City Dhaba near Bagdora. Soon after the breakfast Viper and our leader left the party to Kanpur, and we continued the journey towards Kolkata.

Bye bye Viper



The next stop was for lunch at Pardesi Dhaba near Malda. In between, we were driving through interior Bengal villages as Google shown us a shortcut bypassing Kishanganj. The route was scenic, but we could have good progress on the highway. By the time we left, it was around 3:30PM.

Lunch stop..



Somewhere on the way, we stopped for a tea break around 5PM.



Continued the journey and on the way, searching for dinner, wasted a good 1 hour trying to find a good restaurant. Finally, had the dinner at Bengal Dhaba on Kalyani expressway. Spent a good 1 hour there for food. We reached Roland hotel, Kolkata just after midnight.

Map for the day.

[knightrider_7]

3rd May || Day 17: Kolkata

Since the last day we had reached late, had a sound sleep and woke up very late. Had the complimentary breakfast from Roland hotel itself. We decided to keep our cars in the hotel itself and use Uber/Ola for local trips. By the time we reached Victoria Memorial, it was already 12PM.

Some pictures from Victoria:














Some of our team members were able to visit other places also with an early start. Posting that too here:








After Victoria, we had lunch from Lazeez restaurant near Rabindra Sadan metro station. After the lunch we went to the Science City. We had the rope way ride, explored different areas inside it and it was an enjoying experience, especially for the kids also.





View from the rope way ride:

















Some Kolkata views captured by Shadow:








We went to Howrah bridge after leaving from the Science City.











Went to the new market for shopping and then had the dinner at Arsalan restaurant. Finally, around 10:30PM reached back our hotel and rested for the night.



Our cab map on Day 17:





4th May || Day 18: To Puri


The next destination was Puri. We had packed sandwiches from the hotel in the morning and after 5AM, we started. The drive was smooth, and we made good progress along the way. By around 2PM we had reached Puri. Our stay was arranged at Hotel Treebo Sidhartha International.





After checking in, we went to The Fisherman's Kitchen for lunch. Came back to room and rested for some time. While some of the team members opted to visit Konark Sun Temple in the meantime.














In the evening, we went to Puri Jagannatha Temple area and did some shopping. Tried to go to the temple, but it after seeing the rush, opted against it.





After coming back, went to the Puri Golden Beach.





Came back to the hotel and had the dinner. Later in the evening, we had a small birthday party for Red Bull.





The map for Day 18:

[knightrider_7]

5th May || Day 19: To Vizag

This day the plan was to actually go to Konark Sun Temple in the early morning and then go to Vizag. While three of us, Red Bull, Thunder and Albatross went to Konark, some of us including us opted against it. I had anyway missed Jagannatha Temple the day before, so thought will cover this also in the next trip to Puri.

Some pictures from morning drive of the cars went to Konark:










We started our journey to Vizag after the complimentary breakfast at the Treebo hotel. The roads were completely free and we made good progress. The lunch stop happened around 1PM, at Chancellor Motel after passing Chatrapur.


Somewhere in Odisha for fuel stop:





After the lunch, we were back on the road. Around 2:30PM, we crossed Andhra border and were back in South India. Our stay was arranged at Sri Brundavan Grand Inn, just after Vizag.








While most of the team went to Vizag beach, here also I opted out, as my plan was to leave early to Tirupati the next day. By around 6PM, we reached the hotel. Had the dinner from there itself and called it a day.


Victory at Sea Memorial visited by the team:




Map of the day 19:





6th May || Day 20: To Tirupati


We woke up early and were ready by 5AM. Since the team went to Vizag reached late the night before, many of them were still in bed while we were about to go. Saw Ping Pong and Silver Surfer just before leaving but could not even say a proper Goodbye to the other team members.

The drive on the day was nothing spectacular. As the roads were good throughout, our progress was very fast.

We had our breakfast at Food Pyramid before reaching Rajamahendravaram. Food was quick and off we continued the journey.

Some pictures on the way:







The lunch stop was at Ongole V Grand family restaurant. After lunch, we did not stop anywhere and by 5PM, we reached Tirupati, where I had booked stay at Hotel GSR Srinivasa Inn. Had I not booked that, we could have continued directly to Bangalore.


Meanwhile the other team had a good photoshoot:

Red Bull



Thunder






Their stay was at Chennai, at PRC Residency in Tambaram. They all reached there by 8:30PM.

Our map for day 20:




7th May || Day 21: To Bangalore

The last leg of our journey was very short, compared to the other folks, as they had to travel ~ 800kms more. So, we leisurely started from Tirupati after the complimentary breakfast and started the last leg.

The drive was uneventful, and before 2PM we reached Kadathuvallam restaurant for lunch. The food was good and tasted like we get from Kerala. It was so satisfying to have Kerala food, after so many days.

From the restaurant, our flat was just 3km away and we reached in no time there after the lunch.

I had covered 7750km+ for the last 21 days, and got a good mileage also considering the terrain we had in Meghalaya, Sikkim and Arunachal.




The other team to TVM had started early by 6AM. They reached TVM by 8:30PM. They had a small gathering at ECOSTVM turf, with mementos. We missed those moments. Already planning on a trip to TVM to get our memento



With this, our epic trip of Northeast came to an end.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Utopian]

What an epic journey! Kudos to the organisers for planning this itinerary and you for documenting the journey so well. The Ecosports, despite all the years look so suitable for the journey. Thanks for sharing.