Bangalore to Coimbatore in my Maruti Suzuki Jimny

My Honda City hasn't had much running since I got the Jimny to Bangalore (500kms in 3 months). Haven't been visiting home often. So I decided its time to swap the Jimny for the City for a few months

BHPian blueberry recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Life goes on, so does the Jimny.

I've had it in Bangalore for the last 3 months.
No masala to report here again. Boring, reliable, inefficient (as expected).

• Though my GPS malfunctions every time I drive near the old airport. My location is suddenly off by 300m or so.
• Assumed it was interference, but none of the other cars I ride in have this issue.
• If I use the same phone, while sat in a different vehicle, GPS works fine. (looks like your phone uses the vehicles GPS antenna when connected to CarPlay)
• If my wife's phone is connected to Android Auto, then GPS works fine

Looked it up online

• My hunch is that the GPS antenna in the Jimny is faulty.
• Interestingly, the same malfunction doesn't appear anywhere else in Bangalore ( & all the way to Coimbatore).
  Don't know what to make of it.
• Don't think it's an Apple software problem. If it were, the inaccuracy would to be persist, irrespective of where I drive

My Honda City hasn't had much running since I got the Jimny to Bangalore (500kms in 3 months). Haven't been visiting home often.
So I decided its time to swap the Jimny for the City for a few months.

I was driving down alone this time. Decided to be a little adventurous and take the Dhimbham route to Coimbatore.
Jimny certainly would benefit it's legs getting stretched.

Looked up the Bangalore to Coimbatore Queries thread here on T-Bhp and decided to take the Dhimbham route.
Started the drive coming to reach 'Bhama Hotel' for lunch (just before you descend from Dhimhbham Ghat road).

Bangalore-Mysore access controlled express way was a breeze to drive on.
I turned off the Expressway a little ahead of Mandya to head to Chamarajanagar.

• I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of roads from Mandya to Chamarajanagar.
• Great views, Smooth topping & non-operational toll plazas

• These roads are a big NO for me, if I have to do night drives.

Post Chamarajanagar, you get to Thalavadi forest - the nicest part of the drive
- There is a 20Rs entry fee per vehicle & the forest officials were courteous.
- The Thalavadi forest road is open for motorists only from 6am-9pm daily.
- The speed limit is 30kmph

Roads inside thalavadi forest. No stopping allowed.

Caught a glimpse of a spotted deer by the side of the road.

I could snap a picture because the vehicles ahead of me had come to a halt to admire it.

You enter Sathyamangalam reserve forest once you enter TN side. (Best I understand, Thalavadi forest and Sathyamangalam reserve forest are the same - What man made lines do animals recognise anyway)

Once you cross the reserve forest, there are a few roadside shacks for a bite of food.
Though hungry, I soldiered on to Bhama hotel (which ultimately disappointed me)

Few snaps from the buffer area near Sathyamangalam Tiger reserve.

Jimny pointed to the next milestone (you can see Dhimbham Ghat ahead in the distance)

There are a few resorts which have opened up in the Buffer zone of Sathyamangalam reserve forest.
- I'm not aware of the legalities around this. But to me it feels like buffer zones need to be kept as buffer zones, & not make them tourism friendly.

Keeping my scepticism aside, I still went out to check the roads to these resorts hoping to stumble across a good photography spot for the Jimny.

Found a relatively open field with a good background. But didn't spend too much time there.
It was eerily silent (It could just be that its mid-day on a hot summer day; but I didn't want to overrule my gut).

By peak mid-day and post a mediocre lunch, I was in no more mood for stopping or photography.
Crossed Dhimbham ghat and paid my respects at the Bannari Amman temple. (Noticed that every bus & Lorry driver who passes through the Dhimbham route ahead stops here for the lord's blessing).

• Interestingly on the Dhimbham Ghat, I chanced across a line of drool worthy cars going up.
  - a Red Lamborghini Sterrato, a White 530d, a Blue B7 RS4, a District Green S5. (Instagram tells me this is a group from North Kerala)

No more pictures, pushed onto Coimbatore. Uneventful last leg of the journey.

In retrospect

• The route from Bangalore via Chamarajanagar, Dhimbham, Annur to Coimbatore is faster than taking NH544 (via Hosur, Krishnagiri, Salem, Erode, Avinashi)
• The roads are also smoother and there is hardly any lorry traffic. (Saw a max of 15 lorries in the Dhimbham stretch, 10 years ago - you'd see a few hundred)
• Paid a toll of ~200Rs instead of ~700
• Average speed is higher on the Dhimbham route & the Jimny was more efficient.
• Restroom facilities for ladies are significantly better on NH544
• Hospitals / access to healthcare is also better on NH544

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.