So, we did this Kochi to Mysore Road trip with my family.  Having tanked up my Seltos HTK+ IMT the previous evening (43 Litres petrol @ Rupees 107.61) we left Kochi at 3:30 AM on a Sunday. We had a great drive all the way to Mysore City. We had a pitstop at Ananda Bhavan, (235C+97R) near Hindustan petroleum, L&T bye pass for breakfast at 6:35 AM.

We took a 45-minute flavoursome break for Masala Dosa and Poori which were not just appetising but great and something which indicated towards better tasting dosas as we travelled closer to Mysore. The dosas available in Tamil Nadu and especially Mysore taste way better to the insipid fare available in Kerala which is mostly made from overly sour batter and plain bad masala of mashed potatoes which is neither fresh nor crisp.

I must also add that the male and female washrooms at Ananda Bhavan were clean and well maintained. I am not sure if it was because we were among the first customers that morning.

From there on it was a beautiful drive all the way to Mysore. I had added Satyamangalam as a waypoint on the Google maps route I had charted, as the recommended road  shown was the shortest route which bypassed Satyamangalam and not the best one to take. It is advisable to mark waypoints on Google maps to avoid roads which pass through small towns/villages bypassing the main arterial roads.

I made certain not to miss the exit into the service road towards Kamanaikenpalayam- Annur road and then take the sharp left to Kamanaikenpalayam – Annur Road/Somanur Rd.

The roads are all great and you will be passing through beautiful landscapes and village life if you are the kind who enjoys it. However, we did not take any break apart from the one at  Ananda Bhavan.

Next, we passed through Annur, Puliampatti and Satyamangalam (where I had placed a waypoint on Google maps. To add a waypoint on Google map all you have to do is add a destination marker)

At Annur, Google maps directs you through a shorter route again no matter what you do. Avoid that road as it is a single lane one-way which has been barricaded as a no entry. 

I skipped that deviation to the barricaded road to the right and travelled ahead to reach the point where the road merges. Here I took the sharp right turn towards Sathy Road/NH 948.

The roads were excellent again and after Annur we passed through Puliampatti. Our country has made good progress in developing national and inter-state highways thanks to the efforts of many governments over the years. No single person or government can stake claim to having contributed to the development of national highways.  At the same time it is saddening to see folks in rural areas and villages having to defecate in the open despite the much vaunted and publicised claims of having made the country 100% open defecation free. Whoever made that grand statement never travelled through the villages of India.

At Satyamangalam, the road curves to the left and we stayed on NH 948 after which we pass through Bannari on NH 948.

Here we came across the first Forest Check Post as we entered Satyamangalam Tiger Reserve. Satyamangalam Tiger Reserve plays a significant role in our geography and ecosystem and that of the gene pool. The reserve acts as corridor in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve connecting the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats and remains a key link connecting the gene pools of other protected areas adjoining it including the  Bandipur National Park and  Mudumalai National Park which we hoped to pass through the next day on our way to Coonoor.

At Satyamangalam town, after about 110 metres we came across the first hairpin bend. Here we have to pass through 27 hairpin bends in total.

On the way you will come across two viewpoints for selfie enthusiasts- one at Talamalai viewpoint and the other one at Dhimbam viewpoint (For which you will need to take a diversion off the main highway). We decided not to stop and move forward.

There are sign boards placed at intervals in the roads passing through these forests which show animal crossing areas. We learned why from experience. As I was driving at a steady pace with a truck ahead of me, out of the blue or rather the brown dry landscape we were passing through, galloped across a wild gaur the size of a truck. And when I say galloped, I mean galloped like a deer. One is only likely to imagine a wild gaur as a slow moving animal grazing leisurely unless provoked. For the first time we had encountered a gaur sprinting across the road, taking leaps and strides like a horse at an obstacle course. The gaur had barely missed the truck ahead of us. I am not sure what spooked the gaur. Could it be an apex predator, we will never know.

After we crossed the Dhimbam Forest Check Post we reached Hasanur all the while passing through beautiful scenery and rural landscapes filled with paddy fields, vegetable farms of cauliflower and cabbage. Fields of sunflower as well as papaya farms to my surprise. When you pass through the beautiful landscape of forests and villages of Satyamangalam, remember that Veerapan once reigned here and the village- Gopinatham where he belonged lies not far from here. It’s unimaginable to think that this area was wiped of all elephants at a point of time. But when you pass through the forests of Satyamangalam you realise how the unwelcoming and inhospitable lands played tricks on those who pursued the brigand king. 

The next two towns we crossed before reaching Mysore were Chamrajnagar and Nanjangud where we encountered some traffic on the way. The roads were wide and excellent again. 

So, in brief-

Kochi-Palakkad-Coimbatore Bypass- Annur- Puliampatti- Satyamangalam- Bannari (27 Hairpin Bends)-Dhimbam-Hasanur-Chamarajanagar-Nanjangud-Mysore.

We reached Mysore at 12:30 PM sharp, having left at 3:30 AM from Kochi. 

We had lunch at Mysore after checking into a hotel. Took a nap and went to watch the Mysore Palace Sound & Music show which starts at 7 PM.  Mysore gets very crowded on weekends and it was to be seen at the palace grounds. 

Vegans can leave now. Later that night we had dinner at Ruchi mess, which is a fantastic little place for meat loving carnivores. It is located in a narrow by-lane off Vinobha Road, and we parked the car on the main steet and walked the last distance. Their specialities are mutton vade, mutton thale and mutton chops to go with neer dosai, ragi mudde or mutton pulav. Yes, the pulav here has mutton in it. They have a huge meal called  Bakasura Badoota, roughly translated means a large meal fit for the  rakshas ( Bakasura) or a demon. Mutton thale has everything from the head of a goat including its brain and tongue. And someone in our party did find what she thinks was the eye of the goat. You wouldn’t know how good it is unless you tried it.

I must insist that while at Mysore one should try their Masala Dosa to really appreciate what a really good dosai is unlike what we have to deal with here in Kerala. I have to say I am all for eggs, but the only reason they invented egg masala dosa is to hide the sourness of the batter and the even worse masala. I would happily admit I travelled all the way to Mysore for a good masala dosa and it was worth every penny.

Next day we went to tour the inside of the Mysore Palace and later to the Mysore Zoo and Brindavan gardens.

There is an electric golf cart available at Mysore Palace to tour the grounds and you can also hire a wheelchair if you have elderly family members with you.

Sadly, it is not possible to move with a wheelchair within the Mysore Palace edifice where untold tales lay within its walls only to be narrated by the guides. The layout and design inside the palace is not wheelchair friendly as you have to manage staircases and there are no elevators or wheelchair accessible stairs. This was a challenge for my mother. I do hope they rectify this oversight for the benefit of all elderly and challenged.

Mysore Zoo has an electric golf cart if you wish to take one. I advise those travelling with the elderly or challenged take this or hire a wheelchair. If you enjoy walking, do that and you will get to see a lot more and spend more time at each of the animal enclosures unlike the electric golf carts which whizz past with running commentary of the pilot. The notable animal enclosures were the one with the Bengal Tiger, the White (albino) Tigress which last year had given birth to cubs at the Zoo which made the news as it was a much-celebrated event.

The green anaconda which was brought from Sri Lanka through an animal exchange programme between countries. The King Cobra which gets massive respect for its reputation. Cheetahs from South Africa’s Ann Van Dyke Cheetah centre which was brought under another animal exchange programme. The cheetahs are fed raw beef I am told as they should be. With reference to the translocated cheetahs one realises,  it is not the first-time wild animals have been brought into the country from foreign lands, but it is the first time so much ruckus has been made about it for the vanity of a single individual. An African elephant wouldn’t be here unless it was translocated into the country thanks to the efforts of many involved. 

The golf carts at Mysore Zoo are made by Maini, one of the pioneers in the EV industry in India. I believe they were the first to launch a commercial four wheeled EV in India, the Reva which was acquired by Mahindra. Another point I would like to add here is I did not come across many EVs in Mysore unlike in Kerala. I am not aware of the EV charging infrastructure in Mysore. I will leave that for someone else to explore.

Later that evening we visited Brindavan Gardens which is about 20 Kms from the city centre. It was super crowded on the Monday evening we visited probably due to Onam. Parking was tough to find and jam packed. It is advisable to drop your family at the entrance, especially the elderly so they can avoid walking from the parking area to the ticket counters at the entrance. The ticket counters also had long queues at 7:00 PM. We had reached late. The Brindavan Gardens closes at 8:00 PM so it is advisable to leave at around 4:00 PM from where you stay in Mysore as it is a 45-minute drive from the city.

Again Google maps failed us in showing us the best roads and rather it showed us the shortest route through not so good roads. Stick to the KRS dam road and that is the best route to take.

Brindavan Gardens is best explored lazily on foot in the evening as the cool wind blows. However, as time was a constraint since we reached late and had elderly accompanying us, we had to take an electric golf car which whizzed us past by many sights for what I think was a 15-minute ride and 2 stops on us insisting the pilot do so.

So there ended our second night in Mysore.

Next day we left for Ooty at 11:10 AM via Gundulpete- Bandipur Tiger Reserve- Mudumallai Tiger Reserve and Masinagudi which was an excellent route for its scenery, hills and wildlife. We came across all sorts of deer in plenty, an elephant hiding in the forest and yes even a bear which was my first sighting of one in the wild. As much as we wanted to see animals in the wild we prayed for an incident free drive. I was not really keen on coming across a wild elephant on the road. A tiger sighting would have been very interesting, but that didn’t happen. We did come across a sloth bear lingering around a tree which was the highlight of the day and the event created most noise amongst the passengers in the car. Peacocks were plentiful and so was the grey langur. We also spotted a wild boar feasting on plastic dropped by terrible tourists. The worst kind they are. 

To reach Ooty we pass through Bandipur National Park and  Mudumalai National Park covering 37 hairpin bends which I found challenging in my Seltos possibly because of my inexperience in driving through steep terrain. I found the IMT very suitable for this drive. But nevertheless, it was a beautiful drive on a beautiful day.