The Tour of Nilgiris (TfN), an annual cycle expedition through the Western Ghats and across Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, will be flagged off from Mysuru on December 9.

More than 110 cyclists will pedal the 950 km route that offers breathtaking views of the countryside and a myriad sight across different topography including plains, coffee and tea plantations, besides wildlife sanctuaries and hills.

The cyclists will get a taste of the cuisines each region has to offer and capture on camera the beauty of Nilgiris, said a statement from RideACycle Foundation (RAC-F), which is organising TfN 2018, the eleventh edition of its annual flagship event.

The eight-day expedition has also attracted the participation of 29 international riders from 23 countries.

Starting from Mysuru, the cyclists will pedal through Hassan, Kushalnagar, Sultan Bathery, Udaghamandalam, Kalpetta and return to Mysuru on December 16 to complete the tour.

Unlike the previous TfNs, which passed through the coffee plantations of Kodagu, this year’s expedition has skipped the district, which was ravaged by rains that caused causing immense damage to its road network.

On day four, while pedalling from Sultan Bathery to Ooty, the cyclists will climb Kalhatti Ghat.

“Every edition of TfN has etched a memory in the riders’ mind and they crave to come back to experience nature. Besides Indian cyclists, more and more overseas cyclists are keen to visit India to pedal in this grand tour. There are seven cyclists from Denmark, four from the U.S., three each from Australia, Germany and UK, two each from Belgium and Canada and one each from Austria, Greece, Malaysia, Philippines and Poland complete the international representation,” said Deepak Majipatil, co-founder, RAC-F.