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A cluster of 7 Hills
Situated at 3000 feet above sea level, traditionally, it is believed that seven peaks form the Male Mahadeshwara Betta. Like the 27 hairpin bends of Dhimbham, the Male Mahadeshwara Betta (MM Hills) also has 27 hairpin bends. While all the 27 hairpins at Dhimbham go down towards Sathyamangalam and vice versa, the hairpins of MM Hills are spilt in the upward and downward track. This route is taken not only by those visiting MM Hills but also by those passing through to the other side - Mettur and then other parts of Tamil Nadu. A grand arch at Thaalu Betta welcomes everyone to MM Hills and it is from here that twists and turns of hairpins begin. After reaching the peak of a mountain, one has to go down a few hundred metres to reach the temple town. This downhill road combined with a climb up the peak makes the 27 hairpins.
The road from Tamil Nadu is fabulous, which we had done back in 2018. Bangalore - Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri - Mettur - MM Hills. An overnight stay here is a nice thing to do, to soak in the twilight, with divine music coming from the temple. This time, I went from Mysore, and the only option was to take the Kollegala route. The roadwork from Kollegala towards MM Hills is still a work in progress. Some patches don't have roads at all. It was amusing to see the way TVS XL and smaller capacity bikes zipped past on these nonexistent roads while I was trying to tame the power in my bike over these patches.
Pic courtesy:StarofMysore
An interesting deviation at Hanur takes one to MM Hills and the other towards Sathyamangalam. I tried to explore this route but had to turn back because of the bad roads and eventually non-existent roads. A place by the name of Oosimalai intrigued me and made me take this route. This route calls for a proper adventure bike, and Kiki was not one of them. The alternate is to come from the other side, Dhimbham Ghats and Sathyamangalam, then deviate towards Oosimalai. A lot of boards announcing the newly opened MM Hills safari were seen all along the way till Ajjipura. It is a 21 kilometre stretch safari, with 06:00 hrs to 09:00 hours and 15:00 hrs to 18:00 hrs slots.
Pic courtesy:StarofMysore
I breakfasted at the same restaurant I'd eaten on my last ride towards MM Hills (and had turned back after the bad roads and headed to Dhondeling monastery instead and back to Mysore via Hasanur - Chamrajnagar). The round trip, including the ramble on the less trodden Ajjipura and Rampura towns, was 314 kilometres. It being a weekday, the destination was not crowded, roads with scant traffic. The winter weather ensured it was not hot, though it was sunny.