Southern India Coast-to-Coast Motorcycle Tour

Your South India motorcycle tour begins with the flight to India. Late at night or early the next morning you land in Trivandrum, the capital of Kerala. We pick you up from the airport and bring you to your hotel in Varkala (approx. 50 km).

The beach at Varkala invites you to sunbathe and swim - a relaxed start to your motorcycle tour of India. If you like, have a shirt tailor-made by one of the local tailors, or simply spend the day at one of the beach cafes. In the evening you meet the group for the first dinner together.

Now we bring the Enfields out of the garage, and everyone picks their own bike. On this Royal Enfield motorcycle tour you first get a short briefing, then head out along dreamy coastal roads, through a short sandy stretch and onto the highway for your first taste of the motorcycle.

On this ride from Varkala to Kanyakumari you follow small coastal roads to Cape Comorin. Along the way you visit a Kali temple and the royal palace of Padmanabhapuram. In the evening a pooja awaits you at the temple of the goddess Kanya Kumari, overlooking the Bay of Bengal.

Shortly after Kanyakumari this onroad motorcycle tour of India crosses miles of wind farms, before you reach Madurai after around six hours. In the evening you visit the Meenakshee Temple and round off the day with dinner high above the rooftops of the city.

On your Royal Enfield rental motorcycle you push deeper into the interior of Tamil Nadu, where Western tourism becomes rare. Time and again you pass statues of riders on rearing horses, before reaching Thanjavur in the early evening.

Thanjavur impresses with Dravidian temple architecture, above all the Brihadeeswara Temple. This Tamil Nadu motorcycle tour then continues on to Pondicherry, one of the few former French colonies on Indian soil.

To this day, police officers in typical French-style uniforms patrol the streets of Pondicherry. On this Pondicherry motorcycle stop there is time for the seafront promenade, cosy cafes and the lingering traces of French colonial history.

Only a few kilometres separate you from your next stop, Mahabalipuram. This leg of the Coast-to-Coast India motorcycle trip takes you past the Auroville ashram, where people from over a hundred nations experiment with peaceful coexistence, before you arrive in the afternoon.

Mahabalipuram is a stronghold of stonemasons: everywhere, artists turn stone into intricate reliefs. This stop on the Madurai temple motorcycle route also has beautiful beaches right at hand, ideal for a quiet day away from the bike.

Well rested, you swing back onto your motorcycle. We have split the route to Trichy into two stages, so along the way you can take in the rawness of Indian rural life as the road shares space with the surrounding farmland.

Today you ride the second stage from Mahabalipuram to Trichy. This section, too, is accompanied by plenty of farmland and nature - a quiet stretch far from the Munnar tea plantation region, before the great temples draw close again.

Alongside Madurai, Trichy - together with neighbouring Srirangam - is home to the largest temple complex of the trip. Numerous Vishnu shrines spread across an area enclosed by seven rings of walls. From the Rock Fort you get a sweeping view over the bustling city.

One last time you cruise across the Deccan highlands, through wide fields and narrow villages. Arriving in Palani, everything revolves around the Murugan Temple on its rock, visited by over seven million pilgrims each year - the climb is worth it, and there is also a lift.

From today, everything changes: this Munnar tea plantation ride takes you through two nature reserves, the Indira Gandhi and Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuaries, until lush green surrounds you and hip-high tea bushes have conquered every square metre.

Munnar sits in the middle of tea plantations. You visit a tea factory and learn how the drink is made, before riding up to the so-called Top Station - one of the most beautiful rides through the mountains of Kerala.

Between tea fields you cross huge spice plantations today, growing cardamom, pepper and chilli. In the early afternoon you reach Thekkady at the entrance to Periyar National Park, with time left to relax and shop.

A well-earned rest day: in this Thekkady Periyar region you can take a guided walk through the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary or enjoy a peaceful boat ride on Lake Periyar. Numerous Ayurvedic massage centres round off the day.

Ahead of you lie seven hours of mountain riding through lush vegetation - one last time you enjoy the curves of the Western Ghats. The closer you get to the sea, the warmer it becomes, until you reach your accommodation amid the backwaters of Kerala.

Before riding back to Varkala you explore the Kerala backwaters aboard small motorboats - a palm-fringed canal system comparable to the Everglades. At midday you set off on the last motorcycle leg of the trip.

Now it is time to relax: an Ayurvedic massage, sunshine on the beach, or freshly caught fish for a farewell dinner. Memories of the Trichy temple complex slowly settle in as the trip draws to a close.

For those who did not already fly out overnight, today brings the transfer to Trivandrum. If you enjoyed this route through the Munnar tea plantations and temple towns, we would love to have you join us again - perhaps to Rajasthan or Ladakh.