I went through this route in late 2022, but in a private taxi with driver. The route was super scenic… And I didn’t feel that “difficult” . Now in April 2023, I drove it with my trusted wagonr. The Satyamangala forest road is surrounded by wild forest land . It’s like a free safari if we drive slowly. And the forest dept also recommends that. 30km/hr says TN forest dept. And they have made a gazillion speed breakers to enforce this speed limit. I appreciated it because I really enjoyed the forest ambiance.

Recently, I read about some court cases about conserving the forest vs developing the infrastructure. Well, drivers should follow the slow speed rules, it’s worth it for most people – speed isn’t good everywhere. This is such a case. The forest environment is a true beauty! Few cases of emergency can move through faster. However, trade trucks and transports need a different route. Sad, if they have to ply the forest routes. In this case, government needs to scale the infra to a much higher level with wildlife underpasses and such things. 

The road is narrow, got a bit harrowing when large trucks passed nearby. But I managed. One time a bunch of monkey children were sitting by the side of the road. Looked so picturesque. With no vehicles behind or ahead of me, I stopped to take a pic …

Dimbum Ghat

27 hairpin bends. But there are railings through out all sides. And traffic wasn’t much. If a slow truck comes in front then overtaking that is a bit tricky as one can’t see opposite vehicles due to the bends. But there were a few sections where we had a little visibility to manage.

Honking while approaching a turn was a system many drivers followed, it alerts the folks on other side of bend (that aren’t visible) to not attempt over taking etc … They had those convex mirrors on all hairpin bends but when I went they were totally covered in dust or something, so of no use at all. But most vehicles have the sense to keep the opposite lane empty during such bends so not much risk.

One small lorry sped up the bends at maybe 60km/hr and it honked incessantly, so these few create a problem. But life can get tough, maybe the driver had genuine reason to speed here. Some of these folks drive these routes so often that they can easily get rash / over-confident.

Have you been this route? How did you find it?