Bangalore Jeep Club’s Torrential Trail – Sirsi
The name Torrential Trail was born out of the Western Ghats themselves. The timeless rainforest where clouds never really leave, they simply pause, gather strength, and return with another downpour. This land doesn’t just receive rain; every drop carries the echo of thunder. It was only fitting that Bangalore Jeep Club (BJC) chose this land of relentless monsoons to script its annual off-road saga. But this year’s trail wasn’t just about mud, rocks, and 4×4 might. It was curated like a story carefully layered with the flavours, traditions, and heartbeat of the Ghats. Adventure was the spine, but culture was the soul.
Day 1: When rain meets Jeepers
Sixty Jeepers began their journey from Bangalore towards Sirsi, pristine side of the Western Ghats. The highway was just a ribbon of tarmac unrolling before the real symphony of axle-twisters, slush pits, and forest canopies. Yet, before mud could test man and machine, the Ghats wanted to test something deeper – our spirit of belonging.
The first stop was SCODWES, a sanctuary that believes in nurturing life in its purest form. What awaited us was not a routine welcome, but a celebration – raw, earthy, and heartfelt. Every Jeeper was crowned, not with metal or glass, but with artisanship woven from coconut leaves. A garland of flowers rested on each neck, carrying the fragrance of the land we were about to call home for the next few days. Then came the drink – steaming, comforting, traditional kokum sharbat. The drink sent across the message – “You have arrived. Warm yourself, for the rain will soon drench you again.” In that cool Sirsi weather, every sip was less about taste and more about a feeling of being grounded, connected, and ready.
And then arrived the feast – a cultural trail of its own. Twenty-three dishes, each crafted with local ingredients and ancient wisdom, touched every Jeepers’ heart with both humility and vibrancy. Before a single bite was taken, silence filled the hall for a soulful prayer thanking god, the farmers, and the unseen hands of the cooks. Only then did the food trail begin. Each dish wasn’t just served; it was introduced. SCODWES explained the significance, the origin, and the benefits to the human body. Jeepers, usually quick to gulp down food between trails, slowed down. They listened, learned, and ate with a reverence that matched the experience. For once, the adventure was not roaring engines, it was the quiet discovery of a new way to connect to the land.
With hearts full and bodies nourished, the Jeepers then turned towards another mission – giving back to the very earth that hosted us. In line with Jeep’s Mission One Earth, BJC led a tree-planting drive. Seed balls were sown, biodiversity nurtured, and the act carried out with care, not ceremony. It was a reminder that trails aren’t just about conquering nature, but also about protecting it. SCODWES opened its campus to the Jeepers, showcasing its work, its vision, and its bond with the environment. Walking through, many Jeepers felt a rare pause – as if the roar of engines had given way to the softer hum of life itself.
As dusk approached, Jeeps lined up once again, not for battle but for retreat. The convoy rolled into the serene Ibbani Jungle Resort, embraced by the forest’s calm. There, rest awaited not as a luxury, but as preparation. Because the trail ahead promised to be nothing short of gruelling, demanding every ounce of grit the Jeeps and Jeepers could muster.
Day 1 ended not in exhaustion, but in anticipation. The Ghats had welcomed us, fed us, and taught us humility. Tomorrow, it would test us.
Day 2: Where grit meets ritual
Dawn broke over the Ibbani Jungle Resort like a muted drumroll – quiet, expectant, but brimming with energy. By 8 AM, the Jeepers’ blood still humming from the prior day’s welcome – were already lined up, engines ready, eyes alight. The jungle called, and they answered with a collective roar of enthusiasm.
The day’s theme, “Jungle Drift,” was a fitting name. It an off-road trail beaten, carved through dense undergrowth, rough soil, and occasional surprise boulders. All demanding absolute trust between Jeeps and drivers. Both 4×4 and 4×2 rigs were pitted against nature’s whims, and the jungle answered with a 45 km test of endurance, navigating through more than nine hours of relentless terrain.
Jeepers and JeepHERs, along with the youngest enthusiasts. JeepKids, something bigger than a convoy. They were a relentless tide flowing through the forest, navigating every twist, and obstacles with unwavering determination. By the end of it, the camaraderie was tangible, grins shared over muddy windshields, mutual high-fives, and helping hands pulling each other out of the trickiest ruts.
Day 2’s gala night was no ordinary closing – it was cultural, fierce, and deeply rooted. The local art of Bedara Vesha, also known as the “Hunter Dance,” came alive in the open air, weaving mythology, history, and raw performance into a hypnotic ritual. Under the canopy, Bedara Vesha manifested in a blazing symphony of colour and motion: performers weighed down by peacock-feather mantles, painted faces contorted into fierce expressions, cotton perched on their noses to distort human features, swords brandished in one hand and shields in the other—all driven by the rhythm of the Tamate drums. The dance was centuries of legend, rhythm, and raw emotional catharsis, one that pulses through Sirsi every alternate year before Holi.
Acting as gracious hosts, Mr. Ganesh Hegde and family, owners of Ibbani Jungle Resort, embodied the spirit of hospitality and adventure. They welcomed all Jeepers with specially curated locally made spice boxes – small vessels of flavour and memory, gifts to carry the trail’s essence home. The night wound down with a deliciously hearty dinner, full of warmth and laughter – and under all that, an undercurrent of anticipation for the toughest day yet: Day 3.
Day 3: Where endurance becomes legacy
If Day 1 was culture and Day 2 was camaraderie, then Day 3 was pure grit carved into dense forest, mud, rock and river crossing. This final act was not for all – only the toughest Jeeps with AT and MT tyres and Jeepers brimming with endurance lined up at dawn. The trail ahead was 54 km long, etched deep into the folds of the Ghats, and whispered of brutality that even locals warned against in the monsoon.
The convoy shrunk to nine – tough 4x4s, a mix of Jeep Compass and Wranglers – lean, prepared, and braced for one of BJC’s most formidable challenges ever. The Ghats opened into villages unlike any other. Here, life and wilderness coexisted without protest or pretence. People lived quietly, independently, with minimal resources. Electricity wasn’t brought in by grids or towers; but born out of ingenuity – tiny turbines harnessing the waterfalls on each farm, giving light to each household. No complaints, no excess, just resilience wrapped in simplicity. For the Jeepers, it was a revelation: in a world wired with convenience, here was a village thriving on self-sufficiency, hospitality, and grace. The village seniors welcomed the Jeeps warmly, their smiles carrying both wisdom and pride, as if acknowledging a shared spirit between man and machine – both stubborn enough to endure the storm.
Then, the trail unfolded. At the trail start, the Jeepers stood before the majestic Mattighatta Falls, cascading like the Ghats’ own applause for their persistence. Thereafter, mud clutched at tyres, rocks jutted, trees laid across paths like fallen sentinels, and slush pits dared every Jeep to falter. Yet, with every gear shift and wheel turn, the Jeeps rose to the occasion, engines roaring like defiance against the elements. Even the locals, used to the harsh rhythms of the Ghats, shook their heads in awe – these tracks, after all, were ones even they avoided when the monsoon ruled. Six relentless hours for just 54 km. That statistic alone spoke louder than any metaphor. It was not just a drive; it was an ordeal and a badge of honour earned in mud, sweat, and solidarity.
As dusk gathered, Jeepers exchanged firm handshakes and heartfelt words before steering their Jeeps back toward Bangalore. The night convoy, engines humming in rhythm, carried not just people but a newfound unity. Windows down, headlights slicing through the darkness, the ride home was less about distance and more about reflection. Every Jeeper knowing they had been part of something unforgettable.
The Takeaway
Torrential Trail 2025 was not just an event – it was a mirror. A mirror of endurance reflected in Jeepers, of resilience reflected in the villagers, and of raw untamed beauty reflected in the Ghats. It reminded us that adventure is not about conquering, but about immersing; not about testing machines, but about revealing the spirit inside those who drive them. In mud we found humility. In rain we found resilience. And in Jeeps, we found ourselves – united, trail-rated, and forever bound by the thunder of the Western Ghats.
Happy Jeeping!
(Write up by Aravind Hegde, a proud Jeeper from Bangalore Jeep Club)
