Thrills along hairpin bends of Kolli Hills

Located in Namakkal district in central Tamil Nadu region, Kolli Hills is a rider’s paradise. The hills are part of Eastern Ghats mountain range and are located at a distance of about 300 km from Bengaluru. A one-day trip is enough if your itinerary is limited; I would recommend 2-3 days if you want to see all the places.

I went on the trip with a riding group called the ‘5th Gear Riders’. We started from Bengaluru around 4.30 am and riding at moderate speeds, we covered the distance in about six hours, including breaks.

The adventure begins once you reach the bottom of the hill and start the ascent.

Continuous hairpin bends, a steep ascent, the valley on one side and the mountains on the other side — it was thrilling yet dangerous. If you lose concentration even for a moment, you can drive off the edge off the road into the valley or collide with vehicles coming from the opposite side of the bend. The uphill ride took around 30 minutes.

Our first destination was the botanical garden, which was poorly maintained. From there we started for the Agaya Gangai waterfall. It is a 1,050-step descent on steps cut out from rocks. Going down the steps was easy for most of us but after all that exercise
we needed some energy bars.

The water was quite tempting and most of us, barring one or two, decided to go in for a bath. We had to pass the river created by the falls to reach the bottom of the waterfall and it was thrilling. The rocks at the bottom of the river are slippery and sharp.

There is not much by way of safety measures but the authorities have tied a thick rope across the breadth of the river, which was very helpful in crossing the river during high current.

Once we reached the bottom of the falls, we stood on the humongous rocks with water falling on us from a height of more than 100 feet. Along with the cold wind, it was like getting a massage.

After spending some time in the falls, we started the ascent to return to our bikes. It took us around an hour to climb back and almost all of us were exhausted at the end. You need really good stamina to climb those steep 1,050 steps.

After reaching the hilltop, we started the downward ride down, enjoying the views, and reached the bottom in around 20 minutes. There we had tea and snacks and started the ride back to Bengaluru.

We had dinner at a roadside dhaba enroute to the city but the food was quite expensive. The night ride was slow and difficult as all of us were tired and truckers prefer to drive at high beam which makes driving hell. However, we reached Bengaluru safely by midnight.

Fact file

Distance from Bengaluru - 300 km

Places to see - Agaya Gangai waterfall, Arappaleeswar Temple, View Point, Siddhar Caves, Mini falls.