12 Monsoon Road Trips in Western Ghats to get mesmerised! -

Monsoon Road trips?

Yes, Monsoon in Western Ghats in India is mesmerising and if you love driving like we do and are a road tripper, then there is nothing more pleasurable than driving during Monsoon in Western ghats. The rains in the Western Ghats creates magic all around. It turns the hills green. Cascades tumble-down beautifully from nowhere in the mountains. Streams hitherto dry get back their life. It is green and beautiful all around.

Here are 12 Monsoon road trips we have listed for experiencing the Monsoon in Western ghats at its best. We have done some and some have been suggested by our friends. We bet that these drives will bring a smile to your faces.

All these road trips are worked as a loop from a prominent destination. Click on the route link to take you to Google map link. Typically these drives need two days of travel with a night halt. Of course, there are opportunities to extend the trip and explore around the places. If you want to explore more, then you need to provide for additional days.

We have provided related links to posts in this blog in each section.

Go ahead and explore. Enjoy these monsoon road trips and comeback refreshed and mesmerised. Our heartfelt thanks to H V Kumar – a legend among Indian road trippers – for his valuable help and guidance in helping me compile this list.

Please also check out our latest post on Experiencing monsoon in Karnataka in 12 days by road with detailed day wise itinerary – Road Trip from Bangalore 9 – Experience Monsoon in Karnataka in 12 Days!

Please click on the pictures to see them enlarged size.

Monsoon Road Trip 1 – Malnad Magic

Nameless waterfall near Balehole

Route – Hassan – Mudigere – Charmadi – Balehole – Sringeri – Agumbe – Tirthahalli – Chikmagalur – Hassan

Distance – 465 KMs

Road conditions – Excellent

Tips – This is a quintessential monsoon drive.

You can savour charms of Charmadi ghat with its numerous waterfalls.
Drive on winding mountain roads with water falls every few kilometres.
Visit the famous Shankaracharya math and Sharada devi temple in Sringeri.
Enjoy lovely valley views from sunset point in Agumbe.
Get mesmerised with green landscape in the valley from Kundadri hill.

Recommended night halt – Tirthahalli

One can also do this comfortably from Bangalore to Bangalore with night halt in Tirthahalli. Check this post in this Blog – Monsoon drive in Malnad – Countless Waterfalls & Visual Bliss!

Monsoon Drive 2 – Malnad Heritage trail

Beautiful landscape in Kudremukh National park

Route – Hassan – Mudigere – Charmadi – Ujire – Moodabidri – Karkala – Sringeri – Chikmagalur – Hassan

Distance – 400 KMs

Road conditions – Very Good

Travel Tips – Another lovely drive through Malnad region of Karnataka.

Enjoy the experience of myriad waterfalls on Charmadi ghat.
Visit the famous Manjunatha temple at Dharmasthala.
Visit Jain shrines and 1000 pillared temple in Moodabidri.
Check out 35 feet Bahubali statue in Karkala.
Drive through pristine forests of Kudremukh.
Visit Shankaracharya mutt and temple at Sringeri.

Recommended stay for night – Karkala

Monsoon Road Trip 3 – Malnad Coffee Trail

Rolling meadows of Sakleshpur

Route – Hassan – Sakleshpur – Madikeri – Sullia – Subramanya – Hassan

Distance – 331 KMs

Road Conditions – Very Good with some broken patches.

Travel tips – Here is an opportunity to drive through the beautiful landscape of meadows and rolling hills…..

Experience the rolling meadows of Sakleshpur.
Visit Manjarabad fort built by Tipu Sultan
Enjoy the glorious sight of Mallalli falls
Drive amidst Rolling hills and cascades in Coorg,
Visit the famous temple town of Subramanya.

Recommended Night halt – Madikeri

Check this post in this Blog – Sakleshpur – Mesmerised in Monsoon!

Monsoon Road Trip 4 – Trails in Tea Country

Chinnakanal Waterfalls, Munnar

Route – Coimbatore – Munnar – Athirapally Falls – Valparai – Coimbatore

Distance – 550 KMs

Road conditions – Very Good

Travel Tips – An experience to cherish for! Driving on a winding road amidst green cape entails you to

Visit a paradise called Munnar
Check out Mini Niagara at Athirapally falls,
Drive on one of most beautiful hill roads in the country between Athirapally and Valparai,
Experience the serenity of Valparai and its wildlife.

Recommended Night halt – Athirapally falls

Check out this post on this blog – Munnar to Valparai – Spectacular monsoon drive!

Monsoon Road Trip 5 – Enchanting Uttara Kannada

Beautiful temple at Banavasi built by Kadambas

Route – Hubli – Sirsi – Gokarna – Karwar – Dandeli – Hubli

Distance – 427 KMs

Road condition – Very Good

Travel tips – Another great malnad and coastal drive. Unexplored region. Excellent roads and unspoilt forest roads make this drive memorable.

Drive through pristine forests of Uttara Kannada and experience numerous cascades on the way.
Explore numerous waterfalls around Sirsi and lovely temple at Banavasi.
Visit one of the nine jyotirlingas and lovely beaches at Gokarna.
Experience river rafting in Dandeli.
Go for bird watching in Dandeli including Hornbills.

Recommended night Halt – Gokarna

Check out this post on this blog – Driving Holidays from Bangalore – Exploring Uttara Kannada

Monsoon Road Trip 6 – Malnad and Karavali combo

Jog Falls

Route – Shimoga – Gudavi – Jog Falls – Honavar – Udupi – Agumbe – Tirthahalli – Shimoga

Distance – 507 KMs

Road condition – Very good

Travel tips – This is again a lovely drive through pristine forests of Western ghats and along the coast.

Visit Jog falls in its full glory.
Drive through bio diversity hot spot of Sharavathi valley.
Pay obeisance to the second tallest shiva statue in the world at Murudeshwar.
Enjoy the vistas at Maravanthe.
Pray at centuries old Krishna temple in Udupi.
Experience gorgeous valley views at Agumbe and Kundadri.
Watch birds at Mandagadde bird sanctuary.

Recommended night halt – Udupi

Monsoon Road Trip 7 – Drive through Hill Country

Lovely landscape between Gudalur – Kalpetta

Route – Mysore – Gudalur – Meppadi – Kalpetta – Mananthavady – Kutta – Hunsur – Mysore

Distance – 350 KMs

Road conditions – Very Good

Travel tips – We stumbled upon Gudalur – Meppadi road on one of our trips to Wayanad. It turned out to be a fabulous drive.

Do a quick safari in Bandipur.
Drive through forest of Mudumalai.
Drive on winding roads through lovely tea gardens after Gudalur
Enjoy boat ride in Pookot lake.
Experience the beauty of meenmutty water falls.
Visit centuries old Thirunelly temple in the middle of forest.
Drive through Nagarahole national park.

Recommended night halt – Kalpetta (Wayanad)

Monsoon Road Trip 8 – Drive through Unexplored Kerala

Valley view from Calvari Mount in Kattappana hills

Route – Kumily – Gavi reservoir – Sabarigiri Hydro project – Angamoozhy – Elappara – Vagamon – Arakulam – idukki – Kattappana – Kumily

Distance – 287 KMs

Road conditions – Very good

Travel tips – An unexplored circuit. Driving through some of the best preserved forests in the country. If you want to visit the reservoirs, you may have permission.

Go for a quick safari in Gavi forest.
Enjoy the meadows of Vagamon.
Enjoy the views from Calvery mount in Kattappana
Get awestruck at the sight of Idukki dam.

Recommended Night halt – Vagamon

Check out this post on this blog – Visiting Wonderful Vagamon – The unexplored secret of Kerala!

Monsoon Road Trip 9 – Magic of myriad cascades!

Amboli ghat in Monsoon

Route – Belgaum – Amboli – Sawantwadi – Chorla ghat – Belgaum

Distance – 230 KMs

Road conditions – Very Good.

Travel tips – What else can one expect expect to get amazed at nature beauty when you drive on this circuit? It is pristine and it is beautiful. You will also get a chance to eat Malvan cuisine in Sawantwadi.

Recommended night halt – Sawantwadi

Check out these posts in this blog – Monsoon Drive in western ghats – Awestruck in Amboli!

Monsoon Magic – A quick drive to Goa and Malnad!

Monsoon Road Trip 10 – Konkan Odyssey

View from Ratnagiri Fort

Route – Kolhapur – Ratnagiri – Chiplun – Khed – Mahabaleshwar – Satara – Kolhapur

Distance – 517 KMs

Road Conditions – Very Good with some rough patches

Travel Tips – This is driving odyssey through green Konkan.

Visit the mighty citadels on the Konkan sea coast at Ratnagiri.
Enjoy the landscape of Konkan in monsoon.
Explore the famous hill station of Mahabaleshwar.

Recommended night halt – Mahabaleshwar

Monsoon Road Trip 11 – Scenic Sahyadri

On Tamhini ghats

Route – Pune – Tamhini ghat – Kolad – Pali – Khopoli – Pune

Distance – 260 KMs

Travel tips – This is a day trip. This is a sheer bliss of driving in monsoon. The landscape is awesome. Myriad waterfalls greet you on the way.

Monsoon Road Trip 12 – Sahyadri Splendour

Malshej Ghat

Route– Mumbai – Kalyan – Malshej Ghat – Akole – Bhandardara – Igatpuri – Mumbai

Distance – 410 KMs

Road Conditions – Very Good

Travel Tips – This is for pleasure of driving in Monsoon in Sahyadri. It is a bliss to drive amidst green forests with waterfalls all around – check the picture above.

Recommended night halt – Igatpuri

The monsoon is still on and it is raining in Western Ghats. Time to go out into the rain and experience the bliss of nature!

Have you driven in Monsoon in Western ghats? Please share your experience.

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