Sathyamangalam – Mettupalyam Road (Sathyamangalam- Ooty/Kotagiri Road).

Sathyamangalam (Sathy) to Mettupalayam road, people also call as Sathy-Ooty road, Sathy-Kotagiri road is one of the best place to go for a bike ride. Sathyamangalam is located on the southern part of Western Ghats which is extended from the Nilgiri hills and mostly covered by sloping lands. Sathy is a town in Erode district which stands as the center point to reach Mysore, Bangalore (Thimbam -Mysore route), Erode, Anthiyur, Athaani, Gobichettipalayam(Gobi) from the west places like Coimbatore, Palakkad and from east places like Salem, Namakkal.

Sathy lies on the banks of the River Bhavani, a tributary of the River Cauvery in the foothills of the Eastern Ghats. It is about 65 km from Erode, 58 km from Tiruppur and 70 km from Coimbatore. Since the forests and wildlife will be destroyed there is no railway station constructed in this town.

Nearest Airport :

Coimbatore International Airport, which is 65 km by road, which has regular flights to New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kozhikode, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Sharjah and Singapore.

Nearest Railway junction:

-Tiruppur Railway Junction (58 Km).

-Coimbatore Railway Junction (69 Km).

You can start the ride either from Sathy and travel towards Mettupalayam or from Mettupalayam to Sathy. On both sides of this road, there are agricultural fields. Turmeric, sugarcane, banana, and coconut trees are the most often cultivated crops. The water comes from the Bhavanisagar Dam’s banks is used for irrigation. However, due to the lack of water pipelines in the west segment of the land, agriculture is less developed than on the other side.

Sirumagai , a Panchayat town in Coimbatore district is well known for handmade woven Silk Sarees. The road that extends till this town from sathy is the main part of the ride. You will be able to find check post at the forest beginning. The forest road is divided into two parts whilst the middle part is having few villages. The first part of the forest road starts from Alampalayam to Naalroad which is of about 2.8 km. The second half of the road is about 6 km from Naalroad to Uthathandiyur/Ayyampalayam. There is a bridge where you’ll be able to see the Bhavani river flowing from the Dam.

This second forest road is the longest one than the other. On the second forest road there is an junction from where  you can travel to Sirumugai/Mettupalayam/Ooty/Kothagiri on the straight road.While turning towards the right you can reach Bhavanisagar Dam. This road is fully covered with trees on both sides. People can sometimes spot Elephants crossing the road. Night ride will be thrilling because you could not tell when and where the elephants will cross the road.

In the image below, you can see that the road is rainy in one area while it is not raining in the other.

Bhavanisagar dam – Sathyamangalam:

The Bhavanisagar dam is 16 kilometres (9.9 miles) west of Sathyamangalam and 10.3 kilometres from the Bhavanisagar view point on the Bhavani River. It is Tamil Nadu’s second-largest dam. The Tamil Nadu government maintains a Children’s Park. Villages with picturesque scenic beauty could be found on the way to the dam, making it an excellent location for photo shoots. This dam is about 80 Kms away from Coimbatore and considered to the biggest dams in the southern India.

 

Oothimalai:

On your ride, you can stop at this location as well. One of the Murugan Temples in Irumborai is located at the peak of the hill (9.2 Km from Bhavanisagar View Point). This temple is only open on Mondays, Fridays, and other Murugan festival days, although you are allowed to climb the hill at any time. From the top of the temple, you can see the surrounding villages as well as the Bhavanisagar Dam.

 

Have an awesome ride !!