Southern Spice (but) just a Slice

If you want to benefit from the whole day of planned activities, you should ideally arrive in Chennai a day before. However if you are arriving on Day 1, try to arrive at Chennai airport by 11 am or before. We start from the airport and head towards the town of Mahabalipuram where we spend some time visiting the shore temples and having a local lunch. We then travel onwards to Pondicherry and spend the evening in the city’s historic French Quarter. Charming architecture and  delightful cafés make this an ideal starting point for our Royal Enfield motorcyle tour of South India.

We wake to the waves of the Bay of Bengal  before we begin our journey West, speeding through the highways of Tamil Nadu, across the Cauvery Delta into a region called the rice bowl of India. Small villages, immense farms, canals, lakes and reservoirs dot the countryside and we cross through several busy towns that showcase rural Indian life to the maximum. Colors, smells, street food, chai, cofffee, bananas, coconuts, there is so much to experience in this region. We are headed to the little known town of Erode and will be visiting one of the country’s largest spice factories- to introduce you to the “The Land of Spices.” and the reason why every colonial power wanted a slice of India. 

We cover a short journey through the plains and start climbing into, what may be some of the best motorcycling country in the world. We are entering the Western Ghats and riding towards Ooty, the summer capital of the colonial British and home to some of the finest Tea’s in the world. With the mountains come twisting roads, and boy! Are they a joy to ride? It’s great riding weather and the countryside is lush. Endless vistas of rolling tea gardens are a sight to behold, as layer after layer of mountains lie, covered under a carpet of manicured green. We cross state boundaries, moving over to Kerala from Tamil Nadu, ride through a wildlife sanctuary (fingers crossed for elephants), and finish the day on a 400 acre coffee plantation.

It’s always difficult to leave this property, the hosts make it such a memorable experience. Managing a 400 acre plantation that grows almost 10 varieties of cash crops and handles over 100 people, elephants, tigers, leopards and monkeys-daily, is not a simple job; there are so many anecdotes to share and so much information to absorb. We stay within Kerala’s wildlife parks, cross borders into Karnataka and notice the vegetation change as we start climbing. We are entering the heartland of Robusta coffee in India, home to a warrior tribe known for their valor and hospitality. The Kodavas are a unique community in the heart of the Western Ghats with traditions and rituals completely different from anything else in the region. They are also famous for Pork curry and home brewed alcohol, which makes them an endearing stop on our various South India motorcycle tours.

From the heartland of Robusta to the orignal home of coffee in India- Chikmangaluru is where the first fertile coffee beans, smuggled from Yemen by a saint named Baba Budan were planted. A stunning peak ( Baba Budan Giri) is dedicated to the region’s patron saint,who, in the 17th century, provided the seed (quite literally) for India’s coffee industry. If we are in luck and the coffee is in blossom, be prepared to be assailed by an ocean of white blossom and the air, redolent with an aroma that’s a mixture of jasmine and vanilla. More pork and home brewed alcohol means that the night will be spent in good company. 

We begin our ride today heading East. We leave the Ghats and coffee plantations behind. After a short descent we arrive at the edge of the Deccan plateau, another unique geographical feature of India and home to some of the less famous, yet thriving empires of the past. Scattered across its vastness is such a treasure trove of architecture, both Indian and Islamic and our destination is one of its greatest examples.

Hampi, the crowning jewel of the Deccan and the capital of the mighty Vijayanagara Empire, is a sight to behold.

This place needs a whole day; take your time and let it all soak in.

A 17th-century city is home to the UNESCO-certified Virupaksha temple and several other monuments that dot this bizarre landscape, which will leave you spellbound. The size and intricacy of the architecture, the boulder strewn landscape and the gentle Tungabhadra River flowing through stand as calm observers to centuries gone by.

A long hot ride along a high speed expressway takes us West, once again. We are approaching our final traverse of the Western Ghats, spending another night in the cool climate of the hills and surrounding forests, before our final descent into the West Coast state of Goa. We try and cover bulk of the KM’s in the early hours of the day to avoid the heat and reach our destination- a resort in the middle of nowhere, with a swimming pool that begs a plunge.

Our last day on the road is rather picturesque and a befitting end to this incredible adventure. The sharp twisting switchbacks keep you focussed as you make a final steep descent towards the West coast of India. We ride through dense forests and roads covered with a canopy of trees that make the sunlight shine like dappled gold, but they also disguise unmarked speed breakers, so please be aware. We find a little traffic as we cross the historic centre of Old Goa with its stunning churches and cobbled avenues. We hit Highway 66 for a short stretch before diverting to inner roads that take us across paddy fields and backwater mangroves to one of South Goa’s best beaches. Say goodbye to your bikes and hello to the Arabian Sea.