LEGENDARY JEEP® TRAILS – LADAKH
JEEP® has announced it’s official Ladakh Trail for Exclusively for Jeep Owners between 16TH JUNE – 28TH JUNE 2018. To Register or for more details visit Jeep Trails India.
JEEP® Official Ladakh Trail
Monsoon Trails in God’s own Kerala – Jul 14-16, 2018
The Monsoon Trails in Kerala was initiated and organized by KJC, had an equal participation from neighboring states Tamilnadu and Karnataka. This trail fulfilled the craving of Jeepers to drive through lush greenery and rainy off-roading over the slushy paths. Jeepers also had an opportunity to steer through the dense jungles of Idamalayar reserve forest.
The journey started from their respective cities of 3 states to meet up for lunch at a river side resort in Pollachi. All Jeepers were welcomed by a scrumptious lunch and a foreword / guidance to all Jeepers about the route to take, safety advices and off-roading instructions by FCA Team. A Jeep merchandise stall was also made available in the venue with lot of interesting stuff for Jeep fanatics.
A welcome kit consisting of snacks and emergency gears for insect / leeches care was placed in each Jeep. The convoy lined up to their assigned positions and moved forward through the Aliyar dam and Aliyar reserve forest to reach Valparai. The convoy of 32 Jeeps cruising through the towns and villages, astounded the onlookers and many came forward to question as what was going on. The convoy was give an almost a green corridor path by the pedestrians and by on-coming traffic – with dozens of cameras capturing us.
The Monkey falls greeted us to start our climb up hill to cover the strenuous 40 hair pin bends to reach our respective destinations. En-route we passed through a few famous places like Carver Marsh statue covered under scotch mist, breathtaking view points to overlook at the overflowing river and Muneeshwarar temple. All Jeepers were accommodated in the best available resorts of Valparai and the age old well maintained bungalows. After a quick freshup and couple of Jeepers taking a quick walk through the tea plantations greeted by lot of Leeches and Bison, headed to group dinner and cocktail at Directors Bungalow. Jeepers exchanged their experiences and winded up on time to retire to bed as scheduled.
Day 2 started off early with Jeepers lining up by 5:30 AM for the 4 kms off-roading trail through the Briar’s plantations which was exclusively made open for Jeepers – another great endeavor by KJC organizers. Everyone were astonished by the capabilities of their beast cruising through the slippery slush, bouldering the rocks, crossing the water logs and climbing the unimaginable steep slopes. After a fresh tea break at the peak all of us headed back to our respective bungalows / chalets and tents for the late breakfast.
A quick lunch at Director’s bungalow and everyone lined up for the next journey through the reserve forest to the Athripilly falls. All Jeepers were disappointed when the scheduled trip was about to be cancelled due to road closure through the narrow lanes of forest due to falling of trees and a local bus veered off – blocking the road. When everyone were about to turn back their Jeeps, the organizer got a green signal from forest officials to enter the forest area and those officials were kind enough to lead our convoy for few kms. The view through the dense jungle ride was astonishing with a few water crossings and whispering birds / animals all through, also a few resonance waterfalls on the way to main water falls.
The entire forest roads were filled with and only Jeeps all through, as this was limited entry roads with pre-approvals to drive through the jungle. The most highlighted scene of this trail was we keep seeing boards everywhere like elephants crossing / animals crossing, but for the Jeepers it was unique sight as if the elephants were warned with a board “Caution – JEEPERS crossing please give way”.
The next stop at Rainforest resort opposite to Athripilly water falls hosted a grand dinner exclusively for us, with very tasty and live counters of local delicacies. The view was mind-boggling from our seating area and we could feel the showers and mist from the falls. There comes the end for another fabulous trail and respective Jeepers departing to their schedules or stays, clutching lot of memories from the drive.
The additional stay for BJC and MJC was well spent witnessing the spectacular FIFA finals on big screen with Champagnes, Beers etc. Everyone back to home shared their experiences of the Trails and thanked whole heartedly the organizers for putting forward such an exceptional show, the last liner uttered as usual – when and where is the next trail..
Happy Jeepin.
Original Agenda and Itinerary:
Kerala Jeep Club has planned a Monsoon trail during June/July. This will be a great opportunity and experience to enjoy the drive through the natural beauty of Gods own county during the splendid rains in Kerala. This will be planned along with Bangalore Jeep Club and Madras Jeep Club, including participation from south members as well as from other club members who wants to drive down to Kerala.
Depending on the availability of space for co-passengers in our jeeps, the invite will be extended to North, West and East members so that they can fly down here and join one of the jeeps and enjoy the drive.
Contact Here to be part of it.
Summary
Dates Planned: 14th and 15th July
Route Planned: Pollachi -> Valparai -> Athrimpally
- 40 hairpin bends to reach Valparai from Pollachi
- 55 kms from Valparai to Athrimpally through core forest.
- Offroading Trail planned at Valpari Briar Plantations
Itinerary
BJC & MJC:
- BJC to start by 6:00 AM from Atibelle Toll Plaza, Bangalore
- MJC to start by 4:00 AM from Poonamala Toll, Chennai
- Break fast at Sai Sangeeth , Dharmapuri by 8:00 AM to 9:00 am.
- 9:00 AM drive to Pollachi
- Lunch at Pollachi by 1:00 PM (Place: Sakthi Resorts), SAKTHI RIVER RESORTS INDIA PVT LTD, 10th km , Opp to Subbe gounden pudur pirivu,Meenkarai Road , Trissur Highway , Pollachi.
KJC
- Meet at Saravan Bhavan , Vadakkencherry for Coffee at 10:00-10:30 AM
- 11:00AM Drive to Pollachi. Reach SAKTHI RIVER RESORTS by 12:30. Have early lunch before the MJC and BJC. Once MJC and BJC arrives, KJC will help with stickering the vehicles, arranging convoys etc
Starting Point of Drive: Pollachi (on a Saturday, 14 th July)
- Once MJC and BJC arrives, KJC will help with stickering the vehicles, arranging convoys etc
- Sub convoys will be arranged depending on your assigned place of stay with an admin vehicle for each sub convoy
- Starting point of drive from SAKTHI RIVER RESORTS by 2:30
- 2:30 PM drive together to Valpari. This is a 2 hrs scenic drive with 40 hairpin bends.
Saturday Night
- Reach Valparai by 5:00 PM
- Each team will go to their respective assigned resorts/Bungalows to get fresh
- Stay is arranged at multiple bunglows like
- Stanmore Bungalows, Briar Group
- Monica Bungalows, Briar Group
- Sirukundra Bungalow, Briar Group
- Fair Villa Bungalows, Briar Group
- Directors Bungalows , Briar Group
- Soul Bungalows, LNB Group
Meet for Dinner by 8:00 at Directors Bungalow
Sunday
- Breakfast 6:30 to 7:30 at their respective bungalows
- 8:00 AM Trail through Briar Bungalow plantations.
- Lunch 11:00 to 12:30 at Directors Bungalow.
- 1:00 PM drive to Athrimpally. This is around 60 KM scenic drive through Sholayar forest to reach Athrimpally.
- 3:30 PM: Reach Rainforest Athrimpally for dinner with lake access and waterfall view at Rainforest Resorts, Athrimpally
- 8:00 PM: Bangalore and Madras group will move to Trichur for Sunday night stay at Casino Hotel and for the screening for World cup Finals. Kerala group will disperse (any one requesting stay will be provided a Sunday stay).
Monday
- Vadukumnathan Temple visit for those who wants at 6:00 AM
- Morning Breakfast at Casino. Start from Trichur by 8:00 AM to Bangalore and Chennai
- Teams will drive back to their respective places
Bangalore Jeep Club Breakfast Drive – May 6th
Original Agenda:
Friends,
Greetings from the Bangalore Jeep Club!
Our very first Breakfast drive to Saisangeet in Dharmapuri and we did love you to join us.
Dharmapuri is a city in the western part of Tamilnadu in South India and is located in the foot hills of Vytla Hills. The town is located some 130kms from Bangalore. It is one of the top leading Mango cultivator and producer of the state.
Saisangeet serves authentic and mouth watering South Indian food. Also, there is a tentative plan to visit Mango Farm of one of our fellow Jeeper.
When – 6th May 2018, Sunday
Where – Saisangeet, Dharmapuri
Price – Self sponsored
Happy JEEPing! This promises to be an enjoyable drive for sure.
Bangalore Jeep Club
When we met as JOG – Oct 29, 2017
Ever since the Jeep Owners Group (renamed as Jeepag) was established, there has been a constant push to meet and interact with fellow Jeepers, with the intent to share experiences and suggestions. The idea to meet took shape when a fellow Jeeper sent out an invitation to meet for an early morning drive to the outskirts of Bangalore into a small village and grab some of the staple Karnataka food.
The idea got an overwhelming response from fellow community and all 6 members from Bangalore came together for the wonderful drive to Nandi hills and get our hands on some traditional food from the village. The event was very well captured by our fellow enthusiast Chirag (not in frames – he was behind the camera).
This was the 1st ever meet of JOG in India and instigated many more nation wide mini meets.
Bangalore Jeep Club – The journey begins! – 8th Apr, 2018
For some, it is the modern urban-chic, with ancestral characteristics (design), that is the attraction, while for others it is akin to pampering their gorgeous girlfriend. But for an avid adventurer, what matters most is not where one goes, rather how one gets there, especially when their association has been set with Jeep! Sitting behind the wheel of a Jeep, no distance is long enough. One such EPIC journey began from the Bangalore Palace to Buckingham Palace, covering approximately 16000 kms by a fellow Jeeper and this was a good enough reason for the Bangalore Jeep Club’s launch meet. The occasion was apt, for flagging off the journey, which seemed to fulfill a promise of joyful while discovering the unknown, in a way that only Jeep can provide. The beautiful and scenic Bangalore Palace, in Bangalore, was the venue, where the Bangalore Jeep Owners club met at the break of dawn on 8th April 2018.
Within a short time, the flow of jeeps began, driven by enthusiasts, who were accompanied by friends and family, to grace the occasion. The flagging off ceremony commenced with good wishes flowing from all directions, wishing Godspeed from God’s own country and no one know how more than an hour just passed by. The exhilaration and enthusiasm witnessed at the ceremony was overwhelming! Media bytes, drones and 100’s of cameras, whether mobile cameras or DSLR, were out capturing every moment and every expression, creating a flutter of the shutter sounds and flashes could be seen all around. It provided a sense of serenity for sure.
The convoy started its journey from the Palace, headed towards its next destination that was 90 kms on the Hyderabad highway, which was a pit stop to catch up some lip-smacking food. Memories were created even at this spot, as mothers could be seen chasing their kids with a plate of food, who were in turn running behind the ducks at the location. The sight was another reason to bring a smile to the faces of those who were present.
Some very interesting group interactions take place during meals and this time was no exception. An enthusiastic discussion ensued on the most spoken topic of Headlights, flaunting accessories, upcoming trips, especially the one that would cover Leh and Ladakh, plans for next Bangalore meet and much more.
Finally, Jeepers gave a grand send off to Mr Chandramouli with a perfect Jeep Wave, which was not just a wave of the wrist, but also with the Jeeps getting together and forming a perfect V.
Happy Jeepin
Bangalore Breakfast Meet and Drive – Feb 25, 2018
CM’s Road to London
Don’t miss out, watch CM’s Live Blog from his “Road to London”.
Our Fellow Avid Jeepster Mr. Mouli CM is up for his Grand Voyage “Road to London” on Sunday Apr 8th. Do Join at Bangalore Palace Ground on Apr 8th at 06.30 AM for his trip’s Flag-off Ceremony and a 80 KM Drive on Hyderabad Road from where he continues to Imphal to start his epic journey.
The Beast:
His Road to London:
