Trip to Kolli Hills.

On 8th march 2008, me and four of my friends decided to go to a place called Kolli Hills in Tamil Nadu. A distance of about 144 kms from my hostel..driver...me..vehicle...my car...time 4am...and so the journey began...

By the time we hit the highway and started off the journey it was like 5am..or so...and still pitch dark...the highway stretch for about 40 odd kms was on the banks of the Cauvery river and the road was pretty misty....paddy (rice cultivations on either side of the highway added to the misty morning...and to the slow speed of driving....we took our stops in between at a place called Musiri..had some stuff to eat and then moved on again untill Namakall which is about 95 kms from my hostel and about 82 kms from Trichy city...the sun had risen, the breeze was still cool...and we drove on...gossiping our way thru..listening to some awesome music from Floyd, Linkin park etc...and also took a wrong turn and went 20kms extra.. lol... :D...finally around 9am we reached the foothills of Kolli...

foothills of Kolli...see the mist rising in the morning..

a variety of rice that grows once in 40 years at Kolli foothills

now the grind began..25kms up..and 70 hair pin bends to negotiate and my first time driving up hill...was i scared..hmm..a lil..as i didnt ve an idea of the slope gradient here..but then what the heck..n we drove on...one by one the hair pin bends came...some steep and some a lil more steep...but it was fun...n i was enjoying taking the car up...almost no traffic...lush green hills and just 5 of us in the car...stopped the car on route..posed here n there...clicked a few snaps

awesome view..n dats my car :D

on the way up

and kept moving on...arnd hair pin number 55 we met a grp of my college frnds who were returning from Kolli hills...so we stopped...said our hi's shared a few laughs n then moved on....and then came bend no 58...and my car overheated..the engine temperature shot up..and the fumes frm the engine started to rise...a bit scary eh...parked the car away frm the next turn and then started engineering with it...opened the bonet..then the radiator cover and poured in alot of water...allowing the engine too cool down...after about half n hr there and with the cooled out engine...another 12 hair pin bends to negotiate..we moved on...reached the resort arnd noon driving slowly and steadily...

finally we reached the 70th hair pin bend

searched for a car mechanic to check if there was some isssue..didnt find one..so not wanting to risk the car..hired a cab and proceeded to the water falls 12kms away...Kolli hills is famous for this waterfall...reached the location where the falls are...but now comes the interesting part..to reach the falls one has to walk down 1000 steps...and trust me it sounds not so easy...but it is fun...

a part of the 1000 steps going down to the waterfalls

the Kolli waterfalls

and we all had a good time...stopped on the way..took a few snaps..caught our breath n moved down towards the falls...and finally we reached there...and it was an amazing and breath taking site...so...wat were we waiting for..changed into my swimwear and headed for the falls...damn the water was amazingly cold...waded thru the small pool and went and stood directly under the waterfall to feel the water falling on u with such intensity....it was an amazing experience...just the cold water falling on u and making u shiver and u enjoy it...fun aint it...so after spending an hr under the falls...we moved up back again...

a view of the Kolli hills while climbing back up

climbing a 1000 steps to reach the cab...i enjoyed climbing the steps..didnt have to halt much..just 2-3 times to catch my breath...im happy my stamina is improving....lol...it was arnd 6pm and we moved back to the hotel where we were gonna put up...went out with a few frnds to search for some good non-veg diner..and finally managed to get a good chicken dish for ourselves..walked on the roads of Kolli in pitch darkness..it was fun...n a lil scary...but more fun..ate my diner..and finally slept arnd 11pm...i was dead tired...

paddy fields on the way back

the view...

next morning we got up at 7..and decided to head back to the institute by 7.30..so we checked out at 7.30...i also wanted to get the car checked up in Namakal for knowing if anything was wrong or not...took a few snaps on the way and then started our descend..negotiating the 70 hair pin bends again...this time down hill...i put the car in neutral and drove it down almost the entire 25kms...something u shudnt do..but it was fun...

the final hair pin bend on our way down

reached Namakall after driving for about 50kms..got the car checked up...thankfully there was ntn wrong n it had just over heated...so having had that assurance..we headed back to my institute in Trichy...drove at arnd 110kms...for the next 80kms going thru villages, paddy and banana plantations...and along the banks of Cauvery..finally reached my institute at arnd 1.30pm..just in time for lunch...amazing drive it was...enjoyed it to the core...

Video of the drive up to Kolli hills..



First video of the drive down hill



Second video of the downhill drive...amazing scenery :)



PS- went to class after that at 4..came back at 6.30...there was a cultural event here..and after that danced on the dance floor that was setup for about an hr or so...had fun...dead tired again..driving..classes...dancing..n its 3.30 am now...i ll go hit the bed...