Off the Beaten Path Solo by Moto in Tamil Nadu: Kolli Hills, Pachamalai Hills and Tiruchirappalli

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Years ago, I had planned to travel to South India but then life got in the way. My travel dreams never die, this one certainly didn't. A couple months ago, it looked like my busy schedule might possibly be opening up for a trip. The weird thing about my work is that I put the pieces in place but have to stay non attached, literally not knowing if I will travel until a day or two before a journey. This time it worked, the skies parted (figuratively) in mid November, I happily pulled my trusty backpack together and headed for Seatac Airport. I was excited, to say the least. Long flight through Paris and into Chennai, Tamil Nadu. I don't really care for big cities, I also often tend to pick places to begin my trip that look culturally interesting, manageable in size, with interesting looking natural features nearby that seem to have the potential for good exploration/adventure.

My research in the previous month kept coming back to a third tier very interesting looking city called Tiruchirappali (Trichy for short). It seemed to have fantastic looking ancient Dravidian Hindu temples, a nice riverside location, mountains nearby, didn't look touristed at all by Westerners. In short, the kind of place that I love. So that was it, I stopped fighting my over excited mind and flew in there. In my planning, it looked possible to rent fairly powerful motor scooters for very affordable prices, if this worked it would give me incredible freedom. I had secured an international driver's license at AAA before my trip, contacted a scooter shop before I arrived and reserved a bike for 4 days.

I communicated perfectly via Whatsapp with the English speaking shop owner Pretty amazing, I got off the plane in Trichy, the guy met me at the little airport with the scooter, told me to hop on the back. He gave me a quick tutorial, then bravely let me drive with him on back. I had flown 22 hours, was jetlagged and was now driving on the "wrong" side of the road, left lane driving the way it is in India. I almost crashed us once, pulled over to gather my thoughts. The nice guy reassured me, found an ATM to help me get money, even located a shop and secured a bungee cord so I could strap my backpack to the seat behind me.

And that was it, just like that I said goodbye to the guy and headed out of town. I had downloaded maps.me offline maps before my trip as my phone connection wasn't something I could rely on all the time. It worked great, I rigged up a little "station" for my phone/GPS on my daypack, which sat on the front platform of the scooter in front of me. I made a couple left turns, navigated some fairly manageable midday traffic, heading up toward the south bank of the Cauvery River. I made it, turned left and cruised with the wind in my hair out a good paved road on the south side of the wide river. I really had no idea how long the journey would take, I didn't really care. I could see the mountains of the Kolli Hills in the distance, that was my destination. I stopped twice for strong coffees, running on fumes but extremely excited. I crossed the river at Kattuputhur, turned north at Mohanur, then right again at Namakkal, each time getting closer to the beautiful mountains in the distance. At Senthamangalam, I turned right, then right again at Karavalli. Just like that, I entered the famous 70 hairpin bends of Kolli Malai, known around India as a pilgrimage destination but not a foreign tourist in sight.

Kolli Malai, literally translated, means "Hills of Death". I worried in a few different ways but took it easy at the beginning. One fear was quickly allayed, my motor scooter was plenty powerful to get up the elevation. There weren't dangerous dropoffs as there was dense jungle on each side. The very nature of the 70 hairpin bends slows traffic down, I also benefitted by the fact that the cricket World Cup final was this day (more on that later) so the roads weren't nearly as busy, many people home getting ready to watch, have parties. So, the drill is that you must be decisive, focused and use your horn regularly while going around the hairpin turns, to alert drivers who might be coming from the other direction. I was heartened that there were many warning signs telling people to be careful, that people had died on this road. The road itself though wasn't dangerous, only human behavior on it. I settled into the journey, after 10 turns or so it become incredibly fun. I raced faster on the straightaways, navigated the turns confidently, kept company by monkeys who frequent the side of the road in these parts. The views were glorious as I climbed, the temperature dropped about 10 degrees and was very comfortable. I reflected and realized I had pulled off this crazy dream! Found a place that pretty much no tourists frequent, achieved freedom with the scooter rental and was on my way to a place that looked beautiful.

Oh, backing up a bit. On my flight from Chennai to Trichy, a kind Indian man next to me (who lives in Dubai and was coming home for a wedding) chatted me up. He was curious why I had come to this area, how i learned about it, what interested me.I told him all the things I have shared in this story already, told him that initially the shape and color of the ancient Dravidian temples had attracted me. He asked me what i knew about the temples, i replied that i thought they were gathering places for Hindus to express their faith. He looked at me intently and described what he saw as the good and the bad of the temples, that they often were conceived as vanity projects by rulers of the time, and have too often evolved into tourist money making operations. He talked to me about Hinduism itself and how true practice was really about conscious breathing and mindfulness. He told me that some of the temples were more pure in their purpose and that had chosen wisely with the one in Trichy that i would see. He told me that many holy people come to this part of India as the actual gravity is some of the lowest on the planet, I think he was suggesting that people could connect better with their deeper selves when gravity wasn't fighting them. He seemed like he was going to get even deeper, my jetlagged brain was a little tired for the chat. Perhaps he could sense that, told me that he thought the adventure I had planned sounded wonderful and doable. His laughed heartily as we were getting off the plane and said "I like the way you travel, Vincent, you are a student and a teacher and will have a great journey. Stay humble and enjoy it". Wise words, what a great sage to help launch me on my way!

So, I whipped through the last few hairpin bends and crested in the Kolli Hills at a little village called Solakkadu. Felt great and a tremendous sense of accomplishment, pulled over and had a tasty breakfast of dosas and sambal at a roadside hole in the wall cafe, the first of many on this journey. I immediately attracted attention, definitely a rarity to see a foreign traveler in these parts and I was quickly told that they had never seen one arrive independently on a scooter or motorcycle. The people in this village had limited English, I used my translator app, smiles and patience, secured rough directions and that I had about 5 more miles to go to get to my guesthouse. I cruised down the small road at the end of the village, confusing as it started descending, not what I wanted. Past a beautiful outlook down over the hairpin bends and then started climbing altitude again. Rolled through some pretty farming areas, looked to be lots of it around. Rounded a bend, came down a small hill and then saw it, my guesthouse for the night that I had arranged in advance. It's name was, incredibly, Seattle Garden.

When I take an adventure trip to a place I don't know, I usually like to have a room reserved the first night. I figure when I get there, I can always decide I don't like it and find another place. It gives me a place to point towards, a feeling of safety at the beginning of a journey. So, a week before this trip, I was sifting around, looking online at guesthouses in the Kolli Hills. I was happy that there looked to be a few options as it is a pilgrimage destination, of course the one with the name Seattle Garden caught my eye. I reached out to them, turns out the owner is a super friendly Indian national who lives and works in Dubai. He established this hotel/guesthouse in the mountains, where he plans to retire in about 10 years, named it Seattle Garden after the memory of a trip to Seattle he took years ago. He was amused by the coincidence, told me that I would be the first visitor actually from Seattle to stay at his place. In the course of a few emails, he learned the scooter rental I had planned/proposed adventure to get to him. He told me that he wouldn't accept any money from me and that his staff would welcome me with open arms.

So that's where I ended up the first night, I rolled up and three members of the staff came out with huge smiles with the owner on the phone in Dubai. They set me up in a very cozy room looking out over a pretty little clear flowing river and surrounded by plantations of coffee beans and peppercorn, a cultivated vine that grows up many of the trees in this area. They introduced me to the rest of their staff, got me some local food right away. I threw down my bags, took a hot shower and lay down and took a deep happy breath. This guesthouse is part of a little village, I wandered down the road,met the husband of one of the guesthouse employees, he invited me to come by later that afternoon to watch the cricket World Cup final, amazing.

I was super excited to get over to a well known temple and waterfall so hopped on my scooter with my daypack, headed over there, a pretty ride across rice field country, about 3 miles away. I could quickly tell that one of the great joys of this area was going to just be to ride through the countryside, locals were waving and smiling as I rode by. I made it to Arapaleeswarar Temple, the name of it, inquired about going down to the waterfall, turned out the entrance had just closed for the day and I'd have to come back in the morning. The temple complex was old and atmospheric, peaceful in the afternoon. I took my shoes off at the entrance, explored the grounds. As would happen many many times during my trip, locals came up and asked me for selfies with them, that allowed me to turn the tables and get photos with them. The area around the temple has a number of small shops and cafes. I wandered around peacefully, had some food and a fresh green coconut, just took in the sights, smells, colors and activity around me. I hopped on the scooter, headed back down the road toward the guesthouse, found a flying up tasty chicken on the side of the road, marinated in tandoor spice and covered with ground ground peppercorn. Tasty, tasty, back to my guesthouse and headed down the road to where I had been invited to watch the cricket match. To clarify, cricket is a big big deal in India, the World Cup was based in India in 2023 and this was the final India v. Australia.

I walked past the front of the guesthouse, I think slightly upsetting the employees when i told them that I wouldn't be eating there. When I told them "cricket match", they smiled and understood.I walked down the little road and up to a humble earthen home, knocked on the door. The guy i had met earlier opened with a huge smile, I don't think he thought I would show up. I was greeted by about 7 or 8 members of his extended family, there were all lounging on cushions on a tile floor, watching the match. A cushion was tossed me way, told to sit down, very tasty chai and curry came out soon after, idly (little rice cakes) and a veggie mix. Many of the people in this area seemed to be vegetarians, probably devout Hindus. On the other hand, there was beer being passed around and they were raucous cricket fans for sure. All I could do was crack a huge smile. sit down and enjoy the match. It didn't go well for India, devastating loss to Australia. I left before the final result was in place, my guests seemed resigned to the eventual outcome and smiled and thanked me for coming. I was exhausted, what a first day it had been!

Lay my head down, the sounds of the small river outside my room. Jetlag was tough, just slept a few hours, played around on my phone excitedly with ideas for my trip. The guys in the guesthouse had made me promise to eat there for breakfast as i had missed dinner the night before 😊. Tasty, they prepared eggs, dosas and chutney, along with strong coffee, I needed it. Somehow managed to sleep another hour after breakfast, packed my daypack, hopped on the scooter and headed back toward the temple and (hopefully) waterfall. This was my third time driving these roads, beautiful farm fields, rice paddies, so many locals smiled and waved to me, people seemed very friendly here though kept telling me that no foreigners came here. Honestly, this was baffling to me. This area was so refreshing and beautiful, quite accessible with fine guesthouse options, felt so authentic too.

Parked my bike at the temple, decided to take my phone along in a waterproof pouch, paid my 30 rupees (40 cents) and headed down the long steep 1000 steps, beautiful rocks and lush foliage all the way down. Just a few people on the trail as it was fairly early in the morning, quite a few monkeys along the way and a chai stand about halfway down. Although sleep deprived from the night before, my spirits were lifted by the nice people and families I met along the way and the stunning natural surroundings. Made it down to the bottom, powerful Agaya Gangai waterfalls cascading down, more impressive than i was expecting. I took in the scene, quite a few pilgrims in the water, using the ropes to make their way up to and under the falls, lots of happy chatter and yelps as the water is cold. I met a group of young medical student guys there for a break from classes, they told me that it was safe to go across the swimming hole and under the falls, just to be careful on slippery rocks on the way. I did it, went all the way under the falls, felt the power of them crashing on me while holding onto metal rods secured in the rock. Was I purified? I don't know, but the experience sure was amazing! When I came out of the water, i was interviewed by a semi famous Indian Youtuber, have no idea where that video ended up 😊.

Said goodbye to this beautiful place, had a long peaceful walk back up the stairs, at same pace as elderly Chennai couple for awhile, enjoyed chatting with them. I had noticed that people from larger cities spoke English better, makes sense I guess. They were in the region for a wedding and had come up to the falls for the first time in their lives. I stopped with them at the midpoint chai station, actually had some revitalizing tasty herbal soup, made with roots and plants from this area, earthy but tasty and energizing. At the top, activity was picking up, more people arriving this time of day. I had more dosas and a whole fresh pineapple a guy prepared for me. I could tell already that I was really going to enjoy fresh fruit on this trip. Rolled out of the complex, after a mile or so took a side road, found a vibrant local food market, wandered around there for an hour or so talking to locals. I was quickly getting comfortable in my skin on this trip.

Had a little nap in the afternoon, relaxed and enjoyed the property at the guesthouse. Really special place, small waterfall just down the path from my room. I just couldn't get enough of the pepper berry vines, so interesting. Surprise, more dosas for dinner 😊, the staff brought me out a cold beer but I was so tired I only had a few sips. Jetlag was walloping me, I headed to sleep early at 8PM, slept in two stages during the night but managed to get a total of 7 hours sleep in, not bad. Up early the next morning and packed my larger bag to head out after breakfast. Met a nice couple with good English from Bangalore at breakfast. Their son lives in Chicago, we ate together and had a nice visit. I said goodbyes, strapped my bag onto my scooter and headed out!

I had some confusion at first with Maps.me not picking up the little roads on my phone but then it seemed to correct itself and I was on my way. My plan was to head of the north side of the Kolli Hills, looked to be small roads but not as steep as the hairpin bends I had had on the way up. There were a few places where the road got narrow and a bit dicey, i don't think a car could have made it but it was perfect for a scooter. Really pretty rock formations, peaceful little villages, Hindu temples, surprised but happy looking people as I rode by. This looked to be an area ripe for exploration on a future trip. After an hour or so of decline and beautiful scenery, the day was getting hotter as I hit the lowlands, I had been riding without my helmet so lathered up with sunscreen to protect myself. I rode through larger agricultural plantations, rejoined the main road at Thammampatti, headed south through smaller towns, central areas covered with banyan trees, people milling about in the morning heat, going about their days. Larger trees seemed to serve an important purpose, shade to get people out of the sun. Often i saw groups of people visiting with their cups of chai under the trees, waiting for the bus, finding respite from the heat. I was so glad I had come in this slightly cooler time of year, it was bearable.

After a great morning ride, i reached the junction at Uppiliapuram, turned left and headed up to the Pachamalai Hills in the distance. Where I roughly had known where I was going in the Kolli Hills, this part of the journey was going to be less predictable. I felt stronger than a couple days ago, better slept, with knowledge and increasing confidence. More than anything, I felt strong, excited and ready for adventure! Really pretty as I hit the hairpin bends on the way up to Pachamalai, almost no cars on the roads, only a few scooters and motorcycles. Pachamalai is a mostly rural mountainous area with almost no facilities for tourists. Again, it's hard to fathom as it isn't that far from Trichy and is really beautiful. I crested at a little village called Top Sengattupatti, drove small roads to see villages in the middle of nowhere, the farthest I got was a friendly little hamlet called Boothakkal. I had a bit of a scooter accident, scratched my leg and could tell I needed to tend to it. This influenced where I decided to stay. Instead of trying to manifest a room in one of these tiny places, I headed back to the slightly larger Top Sengattupatti, seemed to be a few more people who could speak English a bit there. One guy had told me that there was a small guesthouse run by the Tamil Nadu tourism department. I guess years earlier they had had ideas of nurturing tourism in this area but it had never really taken off, hampered by bad roads and lack of a notable temple/waterfall, pilgrimage places.

I had to talk with three different people to find the guesthouse, finally was directed to a forest ranger guy, knocked on his door and woke him from a nap, he hopped on his scooter and took me over to the room, pretty cool actually, three of them on raised platforms overlooking the valley. It was a little musty and buggy inside, looked like no one had visited awhile but it had character, a decent bed and a shower with warm water. Home sweet home, about $18 for the night. I was glad to have a place to take a load off, clean the wound on my leg. After I settled in, I found a tiny food stall on the road, the guy made me a dosa an an omelette, not bad at all and walking distance from my place. I went out for a scooter ride in the afternoon, explored villages close by, found another food place where I bought some cookies, bananas and the woman made me a tasty chai. This place was beautiful and surreal, zero tourists around, not even ones from India. I just drove little roads, the Maps.me downloaded map had become my best friend, continuing to amaze me with how well it picked up little roads

Took it easy for the rest of the afternoon, soaking in the surroundings. Hung out with a group of kids playing cricket, then met a couple guys weaving straw baskets in front of a temple, just sat silently and admired their craft. They wanted me to buy them but it just wasn't practical on my scooter, they quickly understood that and made a joke out of it. Pulled into a little village, it was about 4PM now, I was surprised by a large group of laughing school kids who came around the corner and almost ran into me. We both gathered ourselves, smiled, their teacher came over to say hello. He was a Christian missionary actually, from Kerala originally, had a little church/school up here. He smiled and welcomed me, cut up a big fresh pineapple to share. His wife made us all tasty chai, his sons were both back from university and visiting the parents. What a special moment in time, I will remember it well. I learned about their lives, living here in a simple earthen home. They excitedly asked me about my journey, certainly had never seen someone like me in these parts. I rode down the road to another little settlement, met some women who had a little convenience store, not much to buy but got these tasty locally made peanut and sugar balls.

In the fading light of the day, I headed back to the junction, had one more chai at the woman's stand, turned right at the big banyan tree and headed back to my room for the night, big smile on my face. My room was spacious, had to keep the lights off as there were quite a few bugs that would quickly gather, looked like moths. It was interesting, I hadn't run into any mosquitoes yet this trip, most of the water i had seen was running water and it wasn't the rainy season, I guess. All things considered, I was very very happy how things had worked out here. It was amazing how much exploring i had done this afternoon. I chilled into the evening, wrote in my journal, just took in the stunning scenery of the surrounding hills and farm fields. What a great day!

Staged sleep again that night, still working through the jetlag, got about 6 hours total. In this case it meant going to sleep at 8PM, waking at 11, then sleeping again from 3AM to 6AM. Woke to a super misty morning, it was 6:30AM and I felt ready to hit the road for adventure, see where I ended up. Bundled up as it was rather chilly, packed my bag, put my pack cover over my backpack and strapped it to the scooter, it was overcast and looked like it might have some rain. GPS continued to work well, at times I felt lost, it knew the way. Pretty incredible 3 hour ride through the mountains, misty rain that one time got much heavier, I pulled over under a big tree until it abated a bit. Just kept riding and riding, lots of beautiful countryside and rivers flowing next to the road, I surprised locals a number of times coming out of the rain on my scooter. I loved their reactions, shock followed by big smiles. They seemed really like kind people, every one I met. Got some great photos of local farming communities on the way, rode through Kambur, Karrupankaduthittu, Tannipuram, Kinathur, Gonnur, Kirapir. Had some intense switchbacks after this, crossed a mountain pass viewpoint where i could see the valley way down below. I thought of the possibility of staying in the hills but there was a whole lot of day left and I was enticed by the thought of warm coffee and good food in the town of Sengattupatti that I could see below. I curled down the steep roads, passing a few more scooters as i got closer to town. I emerged from the mountains in a really beautiful rice plantation area, people waving from their work in the fields.

Rolled into Sengattupatti town, population 6,000, felt huge after the tiny villages I had been in for the last few days. The sun was warm on my face, I needed coffee and quickly found it! A group of guys called me over to a little stand, the "barista" was making super tasty stovetop coffee and chai, lots of little tasty doughnut things too. The group of local guys (maybe 8 of them) crowded around me to get photos, two of them spoke some English and they seemed authentically interested about hearing about my trip, especially in Pachamalai. There seemed to be some more prosperity here, the houses were larger and better built, some agricultural money in town I guess. The group of guys wouldn't hear of me paying, they pummeled me with more coffee and doughnuts until I had to say no thank you. Lots of smiles, refreshed i hopped on my scooter and cruised through the winding streets of the little town, morning activity around a colorful temple. Great ride across open countryside, I passed another temple called Shri Sellandi Amman, then a village named Keerambur, rejoined the main road at the busy junction near Perumal Temple.

Feeling alive and excited, I cruised along in traffic flow to the outskirts of Thuraiyur, turned left and rode with ease all the way into Tiruchirapalli. As I reached the Cauvery River, the rode was busy but not chaotic. It was so fun not to have a plan, I could see the huge Srirangam Temple off to the right and used that as a landmark, exiting the large road and hitting side streets until I got to the temple. I found a spot 2 blocks from the temple, the scooter made it so easy to get close. Locked up my scooter, carried my bags over to a little cafe directly across from the magnificent temple. The owners were so welcoming, asked them if I could recharge my phone. I plopped down in a booth, took a deep breath, reflected on my amazing day so far. Had a big masala dosa and tasty chai, about $1 together. As I ate, I could see the whirlwind of activity around the temple. The colors and architecture were absolutely incredible. I could see a place to walk under the temple and the fact that there were a number of other temples in this complex. I had toyed with the idea of heading to Madurai to see their famous temple after Trichy. I was very clear at this moment looking at Srirangam that I wouldn't need to go to Madurai. This temple was extraordinary, stunning, ancient and once again, I saw zero Westerners around. I was in awe.

Hopped back on my scooter and explored the area close to the temple, wanted to find a good room for the night so i could throw my bags down and really begin to dig in at the temple complex. I cruised down a little lane to the east of the temple, asked at one little guesthouse, they had no rooms. The owner spoke English pretty well and told me rooms were tough to come by around here,as so many pilgrims came to visit from all parts of India. He pointed me down another side street to a buddy's inn, gave me the guy's name to ask for. I found it, bright colors, a little gaudy looking but quite welcoming and modern. The owner came out with a smile, told me the same thing about no rooms. Just as i was about to leave, he called out to me and told me that they just had a cancellation and if I wouldn't mind staying in a triple room, he would give me the single room price of $25/night, AC and breakfast included. I was overjoyed and accepted his offer immediately. The staff insisted on carrying my bags up to room, wouldn't say no for an answer. I tossed my bags down, strung clothesline up, did bucket wash and hung it up to dry.

I stepped out to the temple complex, intoxicating scene with the architecture, smells, colors, devotees all around. I spent hours just wandering, feeling the vibe. As you walk under each temple, a whole new area open up with more temples, little shops, people everywhere. Somehow it all made sense though, people were wandering mindfully, smiles and helpful attitudes everywhere, and of course endless requests for selfies. Back toward the back of complex, there were captive elephants who didn't look so happy but who was I to question? I ate my way through the streets, all kinds of little delicious nibbles, all vegetarian with being so close to the temple. I can still feel it, I was overwhelmingly happy and felt completely immersed in travel the way I love. Before I knew it the sun was sinking low in the sky and sunset was coming. After taking some more atmospheric photos, I walked back to my room, grabbed a shower, rested for an hour, then popped back out to the temple to feel the nighttime vibe, lights on temple buildings and air slightly cooler. Finally, about 9PM, I extracted myself and headed back to my room for the night.

Up the next morning feeling excited and clear. Before bed last night, I had decided to head to Tiruvannamalai next, a rather audacious plan as they were having one of the biggest festivals in India right then, a million people come into town and rooms are hard to find. I decided to take my chances, that something would work out. The owner of my Srirangam guesthouse had connected me with a buddy of his who was a driver, he said he would drive me the 2 1/2 hours for only $20, pretty great deal. So, this morning would be my last in Trichy-Srirangam. The owner of my scooter was dropping by at 10AM to pick it up, I thought I'd take advantage of my last few hours would the bike so got up at 7AM, rode through morning traffic over to the historic town Rock Fort area of Trichy, the looming Rock Fort handy as a reference point. I was directed by locals on a safe and handy place to park, had a coffee on a little corner, walked over to the Rock Fort. I had shorts on and needed to cover my legs as the fort is a temple complex too. I bought a sarong for 50 cents in the entry, the guy who sold it to me helped me wrap it, people around me chuckling at the way I looked.

I headed up the ancient stairs of the Rock Fort complex, quite a climb. Evocative internal architecture, this rock fort was built into this huge natural rock, I think historically served very much to protect the city. I emerged out to the top open part, climbed about 50 more stairs to get to the very top. It was a really hot morning, bought an ice cold coke from a vendor that tasted delicious. Stunning views all over the region from the top, I could see the temple complex down below and the mountains I had been in in the distance. What a great first week it had been so far, I strolled down, hopped on my scooter, cruised comfortably back across the river to Srirangam complex, couldn't resist the urge to stop and admire the main temple one more time. I headed back to my guesthouse, grabbed one more much needed shower, packed up my now dry bucket wash laundry, I was ready for the road. My scooter guy came soon after, he popped up to my room and wanted to hear about my journey and nudge me to leave a review on his website, which I did. He left with my scooter, weird feeling to see it drive off. The scooter had been my buddy, an integral part of my life for this journey. Symbolic I guess, it was time to move on. The guesthouse owner's buddy rolled up, it was time to leave. I hopped in his car and we were off!

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