Roads worth the detour
Road trips and motorcycle loops I've collected from reels, forums and friends, each turned into a proper route sheet: a generated route graphic, leg-by-leg distances, off-road and motorcycling notes, forest check-post timings, and free-licensed photos of the places along the way. The ones marked Ridden are trips I've actually done; some come with a ride report and my own photos.
Yathirajaswamy Betta
Bengaluru → Bidadi → Ramanagara → Yathirajaswamy Betta. ~58 km, a bare granite hillock with a cave shrine and old fort remains.
Thimmappa Betta
Bengaluru → Bidadi → Ramanagara → Kutgal → Thimmappa Betta. ~63 km, ride up onto sheet rock beneath giant twin boulders.
Mallappa Konda
Bengaluru → Hoskote → Malur → Bangarpet → Mallappa Konda. ~115 km, a ~4 km hairpin ghat to a tri-state viewpoint.
Kethanahalli Falls
Bengaluru → Devanahalli → Chikkaballapur → Kethanahalli Falls. ~78 km, a monsoon waterfall at the end of a rough rocky trail.
Kaurava Kunda Betta
Bengaluru → Devanahalli → Chikkaballapur → Kaurava Kunda. ~70 km, a granite twin hill near Isha Adiyogi with a short scramble to a 360° summit.
Karadi Gavi Betta
Bengaluru → Bidadi → Ramanagara → Karadi Gavi Betta. ~65 km, a granite rock face above a clear lake.
Gudibande Fort
Bengaluru → Devanahalli → Chikkaballapur → Gudibande. ~95 km, a 17th-century hill fort with 19 rock-cut rainwater tanks.
Channappaji Betta
Bengaluru → Ramanagara → Channapatna → Kodamballi → Channappaji Betta. ~78 km, a red-earth off-road climb to a hilltop temple.
Billa Surgam Caves
Bengaluru → Anantapur → Gooty → Dhone → Billa Surgam Caves. ~345 km, a limestone gorge and caves with an Ice Age past.
Mekedatu & Dabbaguli ADV Circuit
Bengaluru → Bidadi thatte idli → Kanakapura → Chunchi Falls → Sangama (Kaveri–Arkavathy confluence) → a dirt trail to the Dabbaguli riverside on the Tamil Nadu border → home via Anekal. A one-day ADV loop, skipping the highways.
Manchanabele at 5 AM
Two Ducatis, one windscreen. A pre-dawn run from Bengaluru along Magadi Road to a still reservoir with Savandurga on the horizon.
Valparai – Athirappilly Forest Loop
Coimbatore → Pollachi → Valparai (40 hairpins) → Malakkappara forest road → Athirappilly Falls → Thrissur → Palakkad → Coimbatore. ~400 km in a day, billed as South India's most dangerous road.
The Nilgiri Loop
Bangalore → Dimbam ghat → Kotagiri → Coonoor → Ooty → Gudalur → Mudumalai → Bandipur → Bangalore. 610 km, two tiger reserves and a 27-hairpin climb.
Nelliyampathy & Munnar Back-Door Loop
Bangalore → Coimbatore → Palakkad → Nenmara → Pothundi dam → Nelliyampathy → Pollachi → Udumalpet → Chinnar → Marayoor → Munnar → Anachal glass bridge → Bodimettu ghat → Theni → Dindigul → Salem → Bangalore. ~1,260 km over four days, entering and leaving Munnar by its two quiet roads.
Malnad Grand Loop
Bangalore → Hassan → Belur → Chikkamagaluru → Mudigere → Kalasa → Maidaadi sunset viewpoint → Sringeri → Agumbe → Sakleshpur → Hosahalli Gudda → Bangalore. ~830 km over 3 days through coffee, shola grassland and the wettest ghats in Karnataka.
Kunagalu Betta Dawn Ride
Bangalore → Bidadi → Ramanagara → Kunagalu Betta (sunrise trek through a bat cave) → Revanasiddeshwara Betta → Harohalli → Bangalore. ~135 km, out before dawn, back for lunch.
Kolli Hills — 70 Hairpins
Bangalore → Krishnagiri → Salem → Rasipuram → Karavalli → 70 continuous hairpins to Semmedu → Agaya Gangai falls → Namakkal → Dharmapuri → Bangalore. ~620 km over two days to the 'Mountain of Death'.
Kailasagiri Cave Temple & Kaiwara
Bangalore → Hoskote → H Cross → Kaiwara (Bheema-Bakasura Betta, 500 steps) → Kailasagiri hand-cut cave temple → Chintamani → Devanahalli → Bangalore. ~180 km, a half-day loop east of the city.
Bidadi Twin-Betta Loop
Bidadi → Byramangala backwaters → Narasimhaswamy Betta (fort-hill trek) → Kanakapura → Gavi Ranganatha Betta (cave temple, mud track to the top) → Kanva reservoir → Ramanagara → Manchanabele backwaters → Bidadi. ~140 km of village roads, two hill temples, two dirt sections.
Route graphics are schematic, not to scale — always ride with a live map. Collected-route photos are free-licensed (mostly Wikimedia Commons) and link back to their source; photos on ridden trips are my own.