Day 4: Manjoor to Masinagudi
It was an early start to the morning. The plan for the day was to ride in the jeep for 20 km and then start cycling towards Emerald Lake, reach the lunch point by 1 PM after crossing the Ooty boat club and then descend through the Kalhatty ghats towards Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary & reach Masinagudi which was our halt for the night. The biggest catch in this plan was to enter Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary before 4 pm else the local authorities would not allow us to enter the wildlife sanctuary on cycles. The first batch had already miss the opportunity to cycle in the sanctuary since they cycled the first 20 km and couldn't make it here on time. So, the target was set for the day.
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| @ Emerald Lake |
We loaded all the cycles on the pickup van and took seats in the jeep. The main idea of not covering this distance of cycles was to save time so as to enter Mudumalai on time & the route too was devoid of any trees making it really hot during the day. We finally reached the start point for the day after about an hour. We collected our bikes and got ready to ride. This was supposed to the second toughest day of the entire cycling expedition and we were egged on to get through it with flying colors.
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| All set to ride |
We started slowly and though the route didn’t have much uphill gradient the cycling was not easy considering the heat. There was hardly any shade for the first 5 odd kilometers but the route did have vast tea plantations. So, the rest breaks were at least used as opportunities for photography.
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| The route |
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| Towards Emerald Lake |
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| Towards Emerald Lake |
Finally as we got close to Emerald Lake we found some shade with a lot of trees on both sides of the road.
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| Mandar & Ganesh |
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| Towards Emerald Lake |
The final stretch towards Emerald Lake was a pleasant experience and the view of the lake was the icing on the cake. The lake looked amazingly beautiful with blue waters surrounded by greenery. We had some group photographs.
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| Emerald Lake |
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| @ Emerald Lake |
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| @ Emerald Lake |
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| @ Emerald Lake |
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| My bike @ Emerald Lake |
Though we didn’t want to leave but since we were constantly reminded by our camp leaders about the target for the day; we finally moved ahead. While Akhilesh & I was riding along gingerly a local kid decided to challenge us and made us cycle quickly. We spoke to the kid for sometime and clicked photographs with him and then kept moving ahead.
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| With a local kid @ Emerald Lake |
Next we passed by a local carrot factory whereby fresh carrots right out of the fields were being cleaned and packed to be transported to the local markets. And frankly we didn’t need a second invitation to enjoy free carrots. The workers were more then eager to offer free carrots to us. It was really nice to enjoy fresh carrots right out of the fields.
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| Fresh carrots on the way |
By now we were behind schedule and the lunch point was quite some distance away and more importantly the route from here onward was not as straightforward. We needed help from the YHAI volunteers just to be on the right route. We bypassed the main Ooty town and went through the Ooty boat club towards Kalhatty ghats. We passed by the Chocolate museum but didn’t stop here since we would be passing through the same route on the last day towards Ooty and would have more time at our hand. Today since we were short on time we moved on.
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| Ooty Boat House |
We finally reached the lunch point and were really hungry. We opened out lunch boxes and started munching. The target was to leave from our lunch point by 2 pm. We were given additional 15 minutes grace.
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| Lunch point |
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| Hairpin bend |
We were to cycle towards Kalhatty ghats which had some initial uphill for 4-5 km. On the way we passed through the Bison valley which provided a panoramic view of the entire Kalhatty ghats.
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| Bison valley |
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| @ Bison valley |
The route from here onward was a joyride. It was like a roller coaster on cycles. There were 36 sharp hairpin bends and we were cycling downhill all through them. The ride was a pure rush of adrenaline. And in the midst of this joyride we didn’t even realize that we had actually crossed the check post well ahead of time. There was a local tea and coffee stall in between which offered many varieties. We enjoyed the chocolate coffee. It was delicious.
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| A joyride through hairpin bends |
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| Bison valley view point |
While the joyride was exciting we were really careful not to go overboard. One mistake could lead to serious injuries. Once the downhill was over we entered the Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary and road straighten out. There were gradual uphill and downhills from here onward
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| Towards Mudumalai Tiger Reserve |
Though we didn’t see any wild animals we did spot some birds. After riding for about 4 km we finally reached the entrance of the Mudumalai tiger reserve.
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| Mudumalai Tiger Reserve |
We cycled for about 2-3 km and came across Cafe Coffee Day outlet right in the middle of the sanctuary. By now we were very close to Masinagudi and we had some time at hand. So, everyone decided to halt at CCD and enjoy some snacks and beverages. After many days we had chicken albeit in the form of a sandwich. We left from CCD and continued cycling towards Masinagudi.
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| CCD @ Mudumalai Tiger Reserve |
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| A perfect shot !! |
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| A perfect shot !! |
After about 4-5 km we reached the town of Masinagudi but since we didn’t know the exact location of camp we had to wait for the camp leaders.
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| Masinagudi |
We finally reached the campsite and it was a small guesthouse off the main road and very close to a small river. The owner was more than welcoming and friendly. We parked our bikes and went straight to the rooms. We did get the early bird advantage of capturing the beds close to the charging point and an early entry to have bath. There was hot water but one needed to have patience to enjoy it.
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| Camp site @ Masinagudi |
By the time we finished our bath; the owner asked us if we were interested in going by the riverside. We were more than ready and accompanied him. We showed us around and told some stories about tiger sightings and how local cattle have been attached by tigers in the past. Since it was getting dark we decided to head back to the camp.
By the time we reached the camp it was time for soup followed by dinner. We had a cracking time at dinner with plenty of jokes and discussions on the ride today and the expectations of the ride tomorrow. The next day was supposed to the toughest day of the cycling expedition with an uphill of 18 odd km from Cudalor to Naduvattam with no source of drinking water in between. We finished dinner and decided to sleep early since we had plans to wake up early the next day and again visit the river in the morning.
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