Kolli Hills 'Mountains of Death'
It was a usual Sunday when I was surfing the net at home looking for new destinations to ride to when I came across Kolli Hills. What caught my eye was '70 hairpins'! The best I had heard in South India was Ooty with 36 hairpin bends and this one is no doubt just double. The destination was set, and too add to the excitement Kolli Hills is also know as 'Mountains of Death'. The much spookier name is not due to the roads but due to local folklore of a maiden luring travellers with her beauty and killing them! Yeah, I know sounds spooky, you go to save some damsel in distress and get killed!
The ride was all set for weekend of 12 March. As usual one call to Arun aka Bevda and he was ready to join in.We started a bit late as usual at about 7 am from Bangalore. The ride till Salem was smooth also the roads were very familiar as this patch had been covered many time. After refueling at Salem, we started again. When Namakkal was nearing, we kept a lookout for a left towards Sethamangalam. The names of all these places are tough to remember and the pronunciations differs a lot from the way we try to read it. Atleast it's easier than Kerela. We managed to get the proper route and once on this route to the base of Kolli Hills we had to ride through small towns on the way. The road here is not a NH but quite well maintained. We were stuck in traffic in a town and this slowed us down a bit. And anyways we were not in a hurry as I had not slept the previous night and was damn sleepy. The only thing going on in my mind was to go to Kolli Hills, find Hotel Nallathambi and sleep for an hour.
After about an hour we reached the base of Kolli hills and the stopped at the base. Wow! Finally a chance to take on the 70 hair pin bends. The road looked narrow and if a heavy vehicle approaches on the hairpins, it will surely get stuck. We jumped back on our horses and started our way to the top. As the first hairpin approached, I saw a marker indicating '1\70'. The winding road looked just awesome. Left and right all the way up to complete 70 hairpins, a very exciting ride. We stopped for a few snaps on the way and complete the winding roads to the top. After asking the locals about accommodations, we made our way to Hotel Nallathambi. Unfortunately there was no vacancy and we headed to another Resort called P.A. Resort. This really blew my brains off. I would have preferred to stay on the road then paying Rs.1500 for that untidy place. There was one more place we had in mind, NPS Lake view. But that too was under renovation. We headed back to Nallathambi and luckily they said that they could provide a room after 3pm.
We sat at the reception, a small lobby with a TV and counter where they sell cold drinks and wafers too. The agonizing wait came to an end and finally we got our room. It was a clean and decent room, though I cannot recall the cost, it was worth it. I removed my jacket and shoes. The bed looked very inviting. I told Arun that I'll take a quick nap after which we can go around to see the view point from where Namakkal town can be seen. Just as I was about to crash out on the bed, I saw Arun remove his bottle of rum form his bag. 3 pm and rum, thats Bevda for sure! I was too tired and took a quick nap which ended up being a long one. I woke up at 5.30pm which ofcourse did not affect Arun who was more than happy to have found some more time to sip on his rum.
I packed my camera and wore my riding gear, Arun was getting ready as pillion this time. We rode to the view point. All the roads at this place are full of twists, hairpins all the way. By the time we reached the vie point it was pitch black. We removed our head torches, I made sure I parked the bike at a proper place and looked around. There was no one around just the sound of crickets. This place is so untouched by commercial tourism that you'll hardly find anyone around. Gives you a good feel, but gives you the goosebumps at the same time. Using our torches, the only source of light around, we made our way toward the View point. It's a small concrete structure, like a watch post from where you can see Namakkal town. The top view of the town with all the lights is just beautiful, but I had a feeling that only a handful of people must be coming here at this time. We took a few snaps. I tried my hands on photography but due to lack of expertise could not get those pro shots of Namakkal town at night. We were the only tourist around that place at that time and we took our own time to get some photos around the place using tripod. We packed our stuff back and check around if we forgot something. It was damn dark and the wind making its way through the bushes was trying to scare us. It hardly mattered as I was worried about buying some whisky on the way back.
I rode back to the market place- a dull road with 5-6 shops but one which was crowded, TASMAC. Hell yeah, found it. Something is better than nothing! In Tamil Nadu, only government shops called TASMAC are allowed to sell liquor. There is hardly any choice available here and you need to pick up whatever is in stock. I bought myself a bottle of rum and some snacks and rode back with my pillion, who was all set for boozing again, to Nallathambi resort. We ordered some food and had good time boozing as usual and ended the day.
The next morning we woke up at 8 and got ready to go to Arappaleeswarar Temple. There is s a very good waterfall right next to the temple which we planned to cover and move on to another spot. We got there on my bike with Arun as pillion. To reach the falls, I had to cover again a dozens of hairpins. The ride was really exciting, but what was in these hills to have so many hairpin bends, quite astonishing. The temple was closed by the time we reached there at 10am, so we decide to move toward the waterfalls. There was an entrance fee of Rs.10 per person and we could see the stairs leading down to the falls. The waterfall was however not in view. With my camera and backpack along with me and Arun carry a bottle of water, we started walking down the stairs. The stairs were never ending ones and were quite steep all the way down. It was quite hot that day and we were tired and sweating . On our way down we saw a small waterfall which was quite scenic but the way down was too tiring. Just when I was asking Arun to talk to couple of people on their way back up about the total steps yet to cover, a lady said that there were a total of 1000+ step and that I won't be disappointed once I get down to the falls. I believed her. Actually it was not the way down I was worried about, it was the way up those 1000+ steps!
Once we reached the waterfall after a tiring way down, truly the view was magnificent.The waterfall is called Akash Ganga, suite the name. It was not at it's full glory, but considering it was March and the place is in Tamil Nadu it definitely was too good. We just freshened up in the cool water, did not get much time to enjoy as we had to leave Kolli Hills by afternoon. Then came the humungous task of climbing up those 1000+ stairs.
The elderly or people having heart problems need to stay out of this. Probably the waterfall will be more enjoyable if you see it in the pics rather than attempting that long walk.
Once we made our way back panting, took a small break and made our way back to the hotel. We had a light snacks and packed our stuff and began the return journey with those 70 hairpins making our joy-ride a memorable one.
This place is truly a beautiful place, calm, untouched by commercial tourism, good place for some time off the hustle-n-bustle in city and for people who love to ride\drive, believe me, it's a awesome ride to Kolli Hills!
Travel Details
Starting point: Bangalore
Destination: Kolli Hills, Tamil Nadu
Duration: 2 days, 1 night
A weekend would be sufficient to visit this place. The hill station is pretty small.
Best time to Visit: Aug to Feb
Although I went to this place in March, I would recommend to visit it during monsoon and winter.
Things to carry:
This is a pretty remote location and I could not find any ATM here. Also, shops and medical stores are limited.
There are not many options for accommodation at this place as it is not yet a commercial tourist spot.
How to reach:
The distance of Kolli hills from Bangalore is approx 290kms.
It should take about 4.5-5 hrs by bike and 6 hrs by car.
Take the Hosur road from Bangalore right upto Salem. The road is 4 lane and neatly maintained. After Salem, the next major town is Namakkal. Right about 5-6kms before you enter Namakkal, there is a left turn towards Sendamangalam. Alternately you can travel via Namakkal too. You might need to ask locals on the way as there is no landmark. Once you join this road continue till Senthamangalam and ask for Kolli Mallai. All the route marker here are written in Tamil, better take directions from locals or use GPS. Luckily Arun knew Tamil and we could make it without any problems.
Route Map:
View Larger Map
It was a usual Sunday when I was surfing the net at home looking for new destinations to ride to when I came across Kolli Hills. What caught my eye was '70 hairpins'! The best I had heard in South India was Ooty with 36 hairpin bends and this one is no doubt just double. The destination was set, and too add to the excitement Kolli Hills is also know as 'Mountains of Death'. The much spookier name is not due to the roads but due to local folklore of a maiden luring travellers with her beauty and killing them! Yeah, I know sounds spooky, you go to save some damsel in distress and get killed!
 |
| View off Kolli Hills |
The ride was all set for weekend of 12 March. As usual one call to Arun aka Bevda and he was ready to join in.We started a bit late as usual at about 7 am from Bangalore. The ride till Salem was smooth also the roads were very familiar as this patch had been covered many time. After refueling at Salem, we started again. When Namakkal was nearing, we kept a lookout for a left towards Sethamangalam. The names of all these places are tough to remember and the pronunciations differs a lot from the way we try to read it. Atleast it's easier than Kerela. We managed to get the proper route and once on this route to the base of Kolli Hills we had to ride through small towns on the way. The road here is not a NH but quite well maintained. We were stuck in traffic in a town and this slowed us down a bit. And anyways we were not in a hurry as I had not slept the previous night and was damn sleepy. The only thing going on in my mind was to go to Kolli Hills, find Hotel Nallathambi and sleep for an hour.
 |
| One of the 70 hairpins |
 |
| The narrow adrenalin filled hairpins |
After about an hour we reached the base of Kolli hills and the stopped at the base. Wow! Finally a chance to take on the 70 hair pin bends. The road looked narrow and if a heavy vehicle approaches on the hairpins, it will surely get stuck. We jumped back on our horses and started our way to the top. As the first hairpin approached, I saw a marker indicating '1\70'. The winding road looked just awesome. Left and right all the way up to complete 70 hairpins, a very exciting ride. We stopped for a few snaps on the way and complete the winding roads to the top. After asking the locals about accommodations, we made our way to Hotel Nallathambi. Unfortunately there was no vacancy and we headed to another Resort called P.A. Resort. This really blew my brains off. I would have preferred to stay on the road then paying Rs.1500 for that untidy place. There was one more place we had in mind, NPS Lake view. But that too was under renovation. We headed back to Nallathambi and luckily they said that they could provide a room after 3pm.
 |
| Beautiful view off the hill surrounding Arappaleswarar Temple |
We sat at the reception, a small lobby with a TV and counter where they sell cold drinks and wafers too. The agonizing wait came to an end and finally we got our room. It was a clean and decent room, though I cannot recall the cost, it was worth it. I removed my jacket and shoes. The bed looked very inviting. I told Arun that I'll take a quick nap after which we can go around to see the view point from where Namakkal town can be seen. Just as I was about to crash out on the bed, I saw Arun remove his bottle of rum form his bag. 3 pm and rum, thats Bevda for sure! I was too tired and took a quick nap which ended up being a long one. I woke up at 5.30pm which ofcourse did not affect Arun who was more than happy to have found some more time to sip on his rum.
 |
| View point- Namakkal Town seen in the back |
I packed my camera and wore my riding gear, Arun was getting ready as pillion this time. We rode to the view point. All the roads at this place are full of twists, hairpins all the way. By the time we reached the vie point it was pitch black. We removed our head torches, I made sure I parked the bike at a proper place and looked around. There was no one around just the sound of crickets. This place is so untouched by commercial tourism that you'll hardly find anyone around. Gives you a good feel, but gives you the goosebumps at the same time. Using our torches, the only source of light around, we made our way toward the View point. It's a small concrete structure, like a watch post from where you can see Namakkal town. The top view of the town with all the lights is just beautiful, but I had a feeling that only a handful of people must be coming here at this time. We took a few snaps. I tried my hands on photography but due to lack of expertise could not get those pro shots of Namakkal town at night. We were the only tourist around that place at that time and we took our own time to get some photos around the place using tripod. We packed our stuff back and check around if we forgot something. It was damn dark and the wind making its way through the bushes was trying to scare us. It hardly mattered as I was worried about buying some whisky on the way back.
 |
| Arappaleshwarar Temple |
I rode back to the market place- a dull road with 5-6 shops but one which was crowded, TASMAC. Hell yeah, found it. Something is better than nothing! In Tamil Nadu, only government shops called TASMAC are allowed to sell liquor. There is hardly any choice available here and you need to pick up whatever is in stock. I bought myself a bottle of rum and some snacks and rode back with my pillion, who was all set for boozing again, to Nallathambi resort. We ordered some food and had good time boozing as usual and ended the day.
 |
| The steep stairs down to Akash Ganga Falls |
The next morning we woke up at 8 and got ready to go to Arappaleeswarar Temple. There is s a very good waterfall right next to the temple which we planned to cover and move on to another spot. We got there on my bike with Arun as pillion. To reach the falls, I had to cover again a dozens of hairpins. The ride was really exciting, but what was in these hills to have so many hairpin bends, quite astonishing. The temple was closed by the time we reached there at 10am, so we decide to move toward the waterfalls. There was an entrance fee of Rs.10 per person and we could see the stairs leading down to the falls. The waterfall was however not in view. With my camera and backpack along with me and Arun carry a bottle of water, we started walking down the stairs. The stairs were never ending ones and were quite steep all the way down. It was quite hot that day and we were tired and sweating . On our way down we saw a small waterfall which was quite scenic but the way down was too tiring. Just when I was asking Arun to talk to couple of people on their way back up about the total steps yet to cover, a lady said that there were a total of 1000+ step and that I won't be disappointed once I get down to the falls. I believed her. Actually it was not the way down I was worried about, it was the way up those 1000+ steps!
 |
| A small falls seen on way down to Akash Ganga |
Once we reached the waterfall after a tiring way down, truly the view was magnificent.The waterfall is called Akash Ganga, suite the name. It was not at it's full glory, but considering it was March and the place is in Tamil Nadu it definitely was too good. We just freshened up in the cool water, did not get much time to enjoy as we had to leave Kolli Hills by afternoon. Then came the humungous task of climbing up those 1000+ stairs.
The elderly or people having heart problems need to stay out of this. Probably the waterfall will be more enjoyable if you see it in the pics rather than attempting that long walk.
 |
| Akash Ganga Waterfalls |
Once we made our way back panting, took a small break and made our way back to the hotel. We had a light snacks and packed our stuff and began the return journey with those 70 hairpins making our joy-ride a memorable one.
 |
| Beautiful view of Hill ranges |
This place is truly a beautiful place, calm, untouched by commercial tourism, good place for some time off the hustle-n-bustle in city and for people who love to ride\drive, believe me, it's a awesome ride to Kolli Hills!
Travel Details
Starting point: Bangalore
Destination: Kolli Hills, Tamil Nadu
Duration: 2 days, 1 night
A weekend would be sufficient to visit this place. The hill station is pretty small.
Best time to Visit: Aug to Feb
Although I went to this place in March, I would recommend to visit it during monsoon and winter.
Things to carry:
This is a pretty remote location and I could not find any ATM here. Also, shops and medical stores are limited.
- Enough cash
- Refill your bike\car
- Foodstuff \ essential medicines
There are not many options for accommodation at this place as it is not yet a commercial tourist spot.
This is the best option available here. Decent and safe place for families. There won't be an extravagant menu but the place is quite clean and affordable. Also, this is the oldest resort in Kolli hills.
- NPS Lake View Resort
- PA Holiday Inn
How to reach:
The distance of Kolli hills from Bangalore is approx 290kms.
It should take about 4.5-5 hrs by bike and 6 hrs by car.
Take the Hosur road from Bangalore right upto Salem. The road is 4 lane and neatly maintained. After Salem, the next major town is Namakkal. Right about 5-6kms before you enter Namakkal, there is a left turn towards Sendamangalam. Alternately you can travel via Namakkal too. You might need to ask locals on the way as there is no landmark. Once you join this road continue till Senthamangalam and ask for Kolli Mallai. All the route marker here are written in Tamil, better take directions from locals or use GPS. Luckily Arun knew Tamil and we could make it without any problems.
Route Map:
View Larger Map
Very detailed review. I had planned to visit Kolli Hills when I was in Bangalore but apparently that morning, it was raining heavily, I was riding 80kmph+(trying to catch up with some folks) and had my first and only skid in Bangalore. 70 hairpins with a twisted handle and broken lights was a bad idea and I decided that I would go there sometime else. I never ever got the time to go there again and would love to go there when I am in Bangalore next. Loved your photos of the Akash Ganga waterfalls. And totally agree about your opinion about Tasmac :-). Very refreshing read. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteAritra De
Thanks Aritra. Hope you can ride back to Kolli Hills till it's not crowded with commercial tourism! The place is realy a good one.
DeleteChote nice one dude kinda refreshed the entire trip memory .... i must say it is a good initiative and hope to see you post more ... Ride safe
ReplyDeleteCheers
Arun Anbumani aka Bevada :)
A very neat and comprehensive review Arnie....
ReplyDelete'Nuthin much... jus the average guy lookin to make friends with the intellects and tryin to make up for the missin brain that the big man forgot to place. Pls help this guy!! Be friends!!'
DeleteGod God God! Missing Brains??? what will happen to google if you say this :)
just super, tomorrow im planned to visit kolli hills with my Royal Enfield, its very useful to me ...
ReplyDeletejust super, tomorrow im planned to visit kolli hills with my Royal Enfield, its very useful to me ...
ReplyDelete#Kollimalai is one of the finest places in #tamilnadu for #tourism. If you wanna make your journey more safe and fun book #ULO #hotels #resorts #rooms #bungalows and #cottages in #Kollimalai.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteCan we stay in our own tent in top of the hill?
Is it safe? Please respond.
Thanks