South Mountain Trails at Vagamon
The second major event by GOJ in association with BJC was scheduled in 3rd week of January. The trails was structured by the organisers from GOJ with a couple of recce to purpose the best experience for all Jeepers. The main event was organized at the famous Vagamon Heights and the off-roading was also in a controlled path inside their property.
Jeepers were thrilled at the preliminary approach to the reception of this resort itself with great off-road path and not to remark – only the resort’s private vehicles with their expert drivers were only allowed to ferry guests from parking place to reception area – but the path was exclusively open for all JEEPS.
A welcome drink to all Jeepers followed by lunch and exchanging of experiences amongst Jeepers was a pleasurable beginning to the event. The off-roading drive kicked off by 15:00hours and was scheduled to conclude at mountain top sunset point for a helicam shot. The drive’s first pit stop within 800mtrs was for a briefing of the off-roading pattern and advises to new comers by an experienced fellow Jeeper.
From there the drive through rough terrain was for the first steep ascend wherein every Jeeper was again briefed about approach procedure and maintaining the momentum. All Jeepers were able to climb the hill with ease and were delighted by the performance of their beast. The convoy lined up in same sequence as they started and proceeded to the next level off-roading with another hairpin ascend followed by downhill crawling on the stones. The path was barricaded with caution tapes on the edges of the boundaries of the mountain by the resort team – so that the Jeepers can maneuver swiftly.
With a few more rough terrain experience of stones, sand, mud the convoy descended on the lake area one by one. The trails proceeded to the last and exhilarating water / slush crossing – every Jeeper was guided cautiously with the speed to be maintained while crossing the muddy slush. The off-roading for the day was thus concluded by everyone lining up for the spectacular photo shoot at the sunset point.
All Jeepers with their family later assembled for the special cocktail dinner with lot of entertainment by fellow Jeepers and their family members. A little chilling weather later heated up by the activities on the floor and churning the cocktails. Karaoke, camp fire ballets and few more indoor activities kept everyone busy on their toes – till all restored back to their respective rooms.
DAY 2 started off with a group breakfast and the convoy lined up for yet another exciting drive through the narrow and secluded roads of Vagamon. The drive later moved through the town of Vagamon to reach one more hill top for yet another stunning photo shoot. The peak at the hill top was exclusively for the local extreme 4×4 tour operators, but a couple of our Jeepers tried to tame their beast on this stretch too and was successful with assistance from the fellow Jeepers.
This was also the dissolving point for other Jeepers who were supposed to head back to their respective cities. The rest of the Jeepers thus proceeded to the lunch point at the resort with added off-road drive to the reception area.
There comes the curtain down for yet an amazing trail.
Happy Jeeping…
Original Agenda:
Our main event and the off-road trail will be organized within the properties of Vagamon Heights Resorts. This includes Jan 19th Barbeque Dinner and Cocktail Party, Jan 20th Breakfast, Off roading trail sessions with in their property and Jan 20th Lunch.
For accommodation, since the rooms are limited in Vagamon Heights, the Jan19th night stay we are getting arranged at nearby hotels to Vagamon Heights. Since the night stay is going to be in different hotels, please don’t expect the same standards across these places. We are working with Vagamon Heights to confirm on the near by resorts and will update soon.
Tentative Itinerary
Jan 19th
- 12:00 PM: Lunch place to be decided. It will be near Kattapana. People driving from different parts of Kerala is requested to reach here before 12:00 PM. BJC/MJC will be reaching here via Dindigul after overnight stay.
- 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM: Lunch.
- 1:30 PM: Start of the Drive through the Scenic Routes in Kuttikanam and Vagamon. Route
to be finalized soon. - 5:30 PM: Reach Vagamon. Each of you will go to the respective resorts where the room is
allocated. Get Refresh. - 7:00 PM: Reach Vagamon Heights Resorts for the Barbeque Dinner and Cocktail Party
- 11:00 PM: Back to Respective Resorts
Jan 20th
- 6:00 AM: Those who wants to participate in the Off-road trails needs to reach Vagamon Heights by 6:00 AM.
- 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM: Off-road Trails.
- 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM: Breakfast
- 10:00 AM: Back to respective resorts to get refreshed
- 1:00 PM: Reach Vagamon Heights for the Lunch
- 2:00 PM: End of Trail and the group will disperse
South Mountain Trails at Vagamon
The second major event by GOJ in association with BJC was scheduled in 3rd week of January. The trails was structured by the organisers from GOJ with a couple of recce to purpose the best experience for all Jeepers. The main event was organized at the famous Vagamon Heights and the off-roading was also in a controlled path inside their property.
Jeepers were thrilled at the preliminary approach to the reception of this resort itself with great off-road path and not to remark – only the resort’s private vehicles with their expert drivers were only allowed to ferry guests from parking place to reception area – but the path was exclusively open for all JEEPS.