There is something intimate about exploring unknown land from behind a steering wheel or through the visor of a motorcycle helmet. You feel the landscape change. You smell the forests. You stop when the view demands it, and you break bread with the locals. Road-tripping lets you capture the essence of a place in a way typical tourist attractions just cannot. However, it also requires a fair bit more planning than just opening Google Maps and clicking on ‘attractions’.
That’s where MotoRover comes in. They’ve been curating driving and riding tours since 2017, taking travellers across international borders and letting them experience countries without having to worry about the route, vehicles, hotels or logistical support. As Satish and Sudha Darbha – who travelled with MotoRover on their first drive through Scotland nearly 10 years ago – put it: “We just pack our bags and enjoy the drive.”
For their 100th road trip, MotoRover picked an appropriately special destination – Norway. Few places have been so thoroughly sculpted by nature and then gifted with roads that seem designed specifically for people who enjoy driving. Towering mountains, enormous fjords, glassy lakes, glaciers, waterfalls and dramatic coastal roads create a landscape that changes around almost every bend. As Dr CA Sangeeta Shankaran Sumesh put it, “every turn of the road is a visual treat”.
MotoRover usually conducts their motorcycle and self-drive car tours separately. However, on this journey, they combined the two formats into a single expedition, bringing together a convoy of nine Volvo SUVs and a mix of BMW motorcycles, along with a group of 26 travellers. Each convoy had its own guides and support vehicles, but both followed the same route, stopped at the same places and finished each day at the same hotel.
“At first, I was contemplating whether we would want to do this with a totally unknown group,” said traveller Avinash Bajaj. Any initial apprehension, however, soon faded, with Sridhar Balaram and Prafullata adding, “We started as strangers and ended as one big family!”
The road trip was flagged off in Oslo, the capital, from a beautiful location overlooking the Oslofjord by India’s Ambassador to Norway, HE Gloria Gangte.
Over the next 10 days, the convoy traced a route through Norway, starting by heading west to the Lærdal Tunnel – a 24.5km engineering marvel and the world’s longest road tunnel. From here, the convoy crossed the Aurlandsfjellet and Sognefjellet mountain passes, explored the popular Sognefjord and Geirangerfjord, and tackled the zigzagging mountain roads of Trollstigen and the Eagle Road. Another highlight was the rather dramatic-looking sea bridges of the Atlantic Ocean Road, which hop between tiny islands. These are all roads that enthusiasts dream of.
Participants also got aboard one of the largest Viking ships in Norway and drove to the edge of Jostedalsbreen, the largest glacier in continental Europe. A rest day in Bergen presented a chance to unwind and explore the beautiful city via an evening boat cruise through the surrounding fjords. For the return journey to Oslo, the convoy took the Hardanger Scenic Route that hugs the edge of the fjord it is named after. Along the way, the group visited a couple of medieval wooden stave churches and even took a ride on one of the steepest cable cars for panoramic views of Loenfjord. Every pit stop offered stunning viewpoints like the Stegastein and Geiranger Skywalks, as well as several breathtaking waterfalls.
While we tend to fixate on the cars and motorcycles that take us there, a whole lot more goes into making a journey truly memorable. Through 100 international drives, MotoRover has nailed the art of the “relaxing adventure” as orthopaedic spine surgeon Milind Gandhi describes it. Because ultimately, the best road trips aren’t only about where you go, but also everything you experience getting there.
With inputs from Piyush Sonsale.