19/08/2026
2026 OTR Igatpuri Motorcycle Ride. Day 1 - Friday, 7 August.
This was going to be my 3rd ride to Igatpuri after a solo affair in Oct 23 and an OTR one in July 24. This is amongst my favorite monsoon ride destinations and I was super excited. 11 riders signed up.
6 of us started from Vadodara at 5 am, 2 latecomers joined us at Bharuch where another rider joined us.
Breakfast pit stop was the usual one at Navsari where the 2 Surti Boys also joined. Now we were 11 strong! We enjoyed a hearty breakfast here and rode towards Silvassa when it started to rain heavily but we were adequately prepared for it.
Soon we were in Dadra and Nagar Haveli, it was the first time I was in this UT! Our 12th and final rider joined us here and we enjoyed a "cheers" session of our favourite beverage here. Not often one gets a Corona Light Pint for INR 100 afterall!
We entered Maharashtra soon after where the roads turned disastrous but the scenery turned into a magical green! We lapped it up with multiple stops to soak it in and capture it onto our mobile cameras. We had to ride extremely carefully due to the consistent rain and massive potholes.
We stopped at a Highway Dhaba for a delicious lunch in Jawhar which took a lot of time to be served but it was worth the wait. Maharashtrian style Mutton Curry is always delightful.
Next stop was the gorgeous Kasara Ghat Viewpoint where the Railway Tunnels are visible. It is a drop dead gorgeous place to enjoy the magic of this region. Lots of photographs were clicked here!
Next up was the Camel Valley View Point where I stayed back as I had been there twice already.
We reached our Hotel at 6:15 pm after enjoying a fabulous ride of 399.6 kms. Checked-in, settled in, freshened up and soon were ready for the next agenda of the evening! A long bakar session coupled with the choicest of Beverages. Adequately planned shopping was done in the Igatpuri market and the next couple of hours were spent discussing myriad topics.
After a filling and delicious dinner served at our hotel, we called it a day. Sleep came soon after. Next day was going to be super exciting!