The morning was misty. It had just rained. Kalpetta town was just waking up and so were we. The morning breakfast Appam and Egg curry were a boost as we bid adieu to Wayanad.

We were in our rain suits above the riding gear, prepared for anything to come. We passed through Padiri reserve forest and Begur reserve forest before cruising through the road sandwiched between Nagarhole NP and Thalpetty WS(Wayanad WS).

Thalpetty WS

Tiny planet

Vadya cruising

As we headed out of Jungle we were invited by a board that said "Irupu falls, not so far". Tempted us to take a detour again through a coffee estate. The waterfall had already invited quite a lot of visitors. Hiking 1km with riding gear did not sound attractive. So, we kept all the riding gear at the ticket counter. The guy happily agreed to it.

Irupu waterfall full view

Irupu waterfall

The Paris Peacock.

From Irupu falls, we headed towards the land of typical mustaches aka Coorg. We were taking the route via Madikeri to reach Sulya and from there to Kasargod. We reached Virajpete by lunch. After searching a goodrestaurant for about half an hour we finally settled for an ugly one where he offered only meals.

And we put on the rain gear again as the clouds emerged from the north western side. Soaked us for some time while we passed through coffee estates and forests. We took a bypass to Madikeri   and directly joined the Mangalore Highway. The downhill ride with twists and turns definitely made the day.

10 kms downhill, you can see Devarkolli waterfall on your left side. There are some tea stalls for a quick refresh.

DevarKolli waterfall

We reached Sullia by evening 4 just in time for a cup of tea. The road from here goes to Jalsoor and you need to take a left towards  Sullia from here. Ah! This road definitely has been the highlight of the day. It was about 4:30 but felt like its too dark. The forests were thick and the twists and turns tested our flexibility. And we  touched Kerala, no! Karnataka, no Kerala again! Yeah! That's right, we crossed states 3 times within a span of 5 kms. As we approached the urban land, it started drizzling again. And we rode to Vadya's uncle's house.




Day 1 Ride: Kalpetta -> Irupu -> Virajpete -> Madikeri -> Sullia -> Kasargod

Route Map:







National Parks covered: Padiri Reserve forest, Begur Reserve forest,Thalpetty NP, Pushpagiri WS, Brahmagiri WS
Waterfalls covered: Irupu
Total distance traveled: 270 kms


Ramnath's happiness index: 7/10.