Bikepacking india

[Paulwong]

Hi, has anyone done much bikepacking/touring in india as I'm hoping to do so myself but was wondering how easy it would be to find accommodation every night or if I should take my tent and sleeping bag etc , try to keep my load as light as possible??? I would be going from coast to coast, south India.
Many thanks
Paul

 

[Jameshow]

I might be out of date, but I expect it would be quite easy to find accommodation formal and informal, esp in the south of India. We were there 20 years ago (north) and the people were very friendly I worked with teachers from the South.
You might find the hygiene and room inhabitants a bit interesting though!

What's your likely route?

I would love to do it!

 

[slowmotion]

We've been to Kerala a few times in the last six years, hiring a driver to get us about all over the place. There are "homestays" and guest houses everywhere, catering for all budgets. I would warn you that Indian drivers seem to have an entirely alien concept of risk. This is reflected in their RTA statistics.

Lovely country and people.

 

[T4tomo]

I would warn you that Indian drivers seem to have an entirely alien concept of risk.

based on fate, if its your time its your time, if its not its not and how you drive makes no difference

 

[slowmotion]

based on fate, if its your time its your time, if its not its not and how you drive makes no difference

How you drive seems to depend on the size of your vehicle,and your sense of entitlement/status. Big lorries and buses give way to nobody, whatever the circumstances.

Cyclists are on the lower rungs of the pecking order.

Edit: BTW, the Western Ghats have a large number of very long gruelling hills, so travel as lightly as you can.

 

[T4tomo]

Big lorries and buses give way to nobody, whatever the circumstances.

except the sacred cow.....

 

[8mph]

I cycled from Rishikesh to Goa an back to Delhi in 2019 and hotels were easy enough to find most of the time. I did buy a cheap tent in Mumbai and used it about 5 times, mostly on beaches.

I would assume you'd be OK if traveling through touristic areas or near highways or hotels. You should probably check the areas that you intend to travel through, some rural areas have very little in the way of infrastructure and commodities.

India hotels can be hit or miss, the highway hotels in particular. I'd usually do an Internet search for hotels and ring in advance. "Oyo" is an OK chain with budget friendly, clean rooms.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Unless things have changed in last 25 years, accommodation should be easy to find. Unless you demand 5* every night.

 

[Paulwong]

I might be out of date, but I expect it would be quite easy to find accommodation formal and informal, esp in the south of India. We were there 20 years ago (north) and the people were very friendly I worked with teachers from the South.
You might find the hygiene and room inhabitants a bit interesting though!

What's your likely route?

I would love to do it!

Thanks James, cockroaches and rats to look forward to 😆, thanks for replying, my route would be from chennai to kochi copying a route I found on Internet

 

[rualexander]

I cycled across southern India back in 1995.
Started in Madras (now Chennai) and cycled south down the coast via Pondicherry, before heading inland via Kumbakonum, Thanjavur, Dindigul, up to Kodaikanal, then to Mysore via 'Ooty', and then on to Goa via Jog Falls.
No problem finding accommodation.
Didn't carry any camping gear.
Cheapest place was 10 rupees for a night in a dorm at one of the national parks (about 20p at the time, but it did include breakfast 😂).
Roads were surprisingly pleasant once out of the chaos of the town's and cities.
Probably more traffic now though.
Watch out for tigers crossing the road though.
And elephants.

 

[Chris S]

I wouldn't risk it.
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo...ed-for-life-in-rape-of-swiss-tourist-in-india

 

[rualexander]

I wouldn't risk it.
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo...ed-for-life-in-rape-of-swiss-tourist-in-india

🙄
Terrible as that is, India is a big place with over billion people, and apart from the odd dose of 'Delhi belly' most tourists have no problems.
Might as well say you wouldn't risk going anywhere.

 

[Gillstay]

Some friends of mine were their on honeymoon and got caught in monsoon floods, the driver went off the road, they were rescued and set off next day into a sudden riot where the people on the bus in front were burnt to death, the village elders got them out of the car and into a hut though the lady was molested, then the next day after being in fear all night they got back to their hotel to meet men with automatic rifles on the landing. They turned out to be guarding a chap in another room, but despite this their hotel room had been broken into and robbed.
Their was more but they declined to say ! So yeah just the same as anywhere else.

 

[rualexander]

10 million foreign visitors a year, to a country of a billion people, so sure a few will have a terrible experience.

 

[slowmotion]

I wouldn't risk it.
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo...ed-for-life-in-rape-of-swiss-tourist-in-india

A six year old French tourist was thrown off Tate Modern by a Brit.

https://www.theguardian.com/society...of-tate-modern-now-less-reliant-on-wheelchair

I'm not moving out of London anytime soon.