Thursday 1 December 2016

Bandaje Arbi Falls and Ballarayanadurga fort Trek - November 26th and 27th, 2016

This trek was decided at the end moment, since the initial plans was to go Kumaraparvata, and with that being cancelled due to some reasons, I and my other friends who were up for KP now turned to Guru, who was organizing Bandaje trek for same dates. He said there are seats available to accommodate us, and we ended up for this trek. We thus started from Majestic at 9 PM, 20 of us in the minibus and headed towards Ujire.

Day 1, November 26th: (trek to Bandaje Falls and camp for the night)


We reached Gowdara mane at 6 AM. We were a little late though, and we quickly freshened up, since the owner warned us about other two groups who were yet to come. We had breakfast and we got ready for the trek. The forest department officer came to collect the fee and complete the formalities. We were late already, and with a small formal intro and guidelines, we started the trek at 9 AM.

Intro before the start of trek


It was a 8km trek till falls, and the guide said it's a moderate to difficult trek. Taking everything that we need for two days, our bags were relatively heavy, which made it a little difficult for us to trek. Initial 4 km was inside the forest. Though it was steep and a little tiring at times, all those trees never made us realize the heat of the hot sun above our heads. There were few water streams to cross, and in one of them, we took a long break to relax as well as to take some pics. It was relatively an easy trek for these 4 km, and we reached the end of the forest line. It was 12:30 PM and we stopped here for lunch.

Initial forest route

Water streams in between

Lunch point


From here, it was another 4 km walk. No more forest and it was a plain grassland. Just another walk of 100 mt gave us the first view of the falls - that is where we need to reach for today. It never looked it was 4 km away, nor it seemed difficult, since it wasn't that steep as well. But the sun was waiting to drain all our energy, and with those heavy bags, we found it too difficult to trek. We took repeated breaks wherever we found trees and didn't want to let go of that small shade the tree provided. We stayed there for as long as possible, but we had to move ahead to reach our destination. There were no clouds as well to relieve us, and we somehow continued to walk slowly and steady. We finally reached the last stretch up, where the grassland ended on the edge, and from here it was full of trees, with a small way down for about 100 mt to reach the falls. This was a little steep and we then had to cross the stream, and another 50 mt on those rocks took us to the tip of the falls. We were here finally, at 2 PM.

Second half of trek in grasslands


The first touch of the water sent chills through our body. The water was too cold for the temperature of the day. It was surprising, but the fact is that the sunlight never touched the water since it is well hidden beneath the trees of that small patch of forest, keeping it cool always. We went to the tip, and came back and thought of playing in water. We all hesitated to get ourselves soak completely, since it was too cold. But we wouldn't even give up, since it will be very refreshing after a tiring trek. Once we were all in, it was an amazing feeling and all the pain and weariness of the trek disappeared. It was a rejuvenating feeling when we sat under the water, while it gushed forcefully on our heads and our backs. We played in water for an hour, took some pics and then went near the tip of the falls to take some more pics :-P We also took a leap to find out the length of the plunge the water took from that tip, and we estimated it to be about 100 mt. We rested there for a while, and we went to set up the tents and cooking area, and then prepared coffee. It was close to sunset, and coffee was an awesome drink for the moment.


Siva, trying to take a look down the falls

Playing in water


We had to set up tents in the open land, next to those trees and on the tip of the grassland. About 50 mts away, there were a few rocks and we made arrangements to cook our dinner there. Moon was no where seen since it was going to be a new moon day 3 days later, and thus a million of stars in the sky could be seen clearly. All were sitting near the cooking area, and while we cooked bisibelebath, we had a formal intro session, and talked about various other topics, since we hadn't got a chance to do that with the entire group for the whole day. At around 9:30 PM, the dinner was ready and we all had it and walked towards the tents to settle down to sleep. After settling down, Guru, Vatsa, Siva, Adithya and I decided to spend some time near the cooking area and watch the sky for a while, and we went there along with our jackets and sleeping bags. Vatsa also did some star photography, and we slept around 12 I guess. At 2 AM, Guru woke us up, asking us to move inside tents, since it was getting too cold. We thus crept into our tents and slept peacefully.

Campsite


Day 2, November 27th: (Trek to Fort and back to falls, and then to homestay)


Not everyone wanted to come to fort, which was another 5 km trek in the plain grassland. Thus only 9 of us out of 20 decided to go till fort and come back. We woke up at 6 AM, and though Guru had said strictly to start by 6:30, we were late by 15 minutes when we started. The guide didn't accompany us, saying the route is clear enough to figure it out for ourselves.

Despite the guide saying there are no deviations, we somehow missed the route initially and went for about 300 mts and realized we were on wrong path. As per the guide's say, there is only one route - true, but the rock patches in between will not tell you in which direction you need to go. Coming back, we figured out the correct path and we continued the trek without giving up. Thanks to Guru, who volunteered to find the route by going beyond the hills to check for the correct route, while the rest of us were too tired to do it.

View around, on the way to fort


After a walk for another 30 minutes, we got the first glimpse of the fort. It looked far, and there was yet another couple km to cover. But the path wasn't steep, and the view was beautiful. We also found a herd of Bysons far on the other hill. Kuduremukha peak was also visible on the left side. We walked along the flat land, with sun above us and making us tired, though  it was just 9 AM. With some up's and down's here and there, we reached the final hillock upon which the fort was situated. It was a climb for another 200 mt to reach the fort, and we finally made it.

Ballarayanadurga Fort

View from the fort

Group pic at the peak


It was 10 when we reached the fort. It had a couple of trees inside, below which we rested for a while and then took a look of the view around the peak. We took some pics, and we started to trek down again at 11:15 AM. All we had had was a guava, which Guru had bought along. We walked down those inclined grasslands, and without taking any breaks, we reached the campsite at 1:15 PM. All others had rested well, and had had Maggi for breakfast, leaving some for us as well. Meanwhile, the group which didn't come till the fort left with the guide, while we prepared second round of Maggi. We then had the breakfast cum lunch, packed our bags and started our trek around 2:30 PM.

We had to be fast enough to reach Gowdara mane before it got dark. Thus we didn't stop anywhere much, and were making sure everyone was together. The guide had left marks for us in the deviations, making it easy for us. With all the effort put, we finally made it to gowdara mane at 5:30 PM, and we were too hungry now, and had our lunch.

We decided to start the journey at night, since we would reach Bengaluru somewhere in midnight, had we left then. We thus took time and relaxed, and also took bath in  hot water and got ready to leave at around 8:30 PM. We decided to stop near Kottigehara for neerdose, and it was 10:30 when we reached there. Neerdose was too good and ending the meal with coffee, we started the journey to Bengaluru. We had the feedback session, recalling all those wonderful moments, and then slept while the bus made its way to our city.

Yet another destination in Western Ghats was thus accomplished! :)


Wednesday 23 November 2016

Bike trip to Lepakshi and Avalabetta - 19th November 2016

Lepakshi has been alluring me for a long time, and I decided to visit it on a free weekend, on my Activa. Round trip would be approx 250 kms, and I was waiting for a chance to make it. And when I got a free Saturday, I made a decision to go all by myself, and then Guru, my friend, was stubborn to not let me go alone, and he convinced me to cover even Avalabetta and Gudibande if I went with him. I had to accept, since he wouldn't listen to me.

We started at Hebbal junction at 12:20 PM. (Both of us had work in bank and we had to finish it and then leave) Giving a break of about half an hour for lunch near the airport, in an hotel where Idly vada was just too tasty, we resumed our drive to Lepakshi again without wasting much time.

The drive was good as always, reaching a speed of 126 kmph :-P We reached the temple at 2:20 PM. The temple was a little crowded since it was a weekend. Though it was peak noon, it was cool inside the temple- thanks to those huge stones. Though not very huge, the temple is good, but it hasn't been maintained that well. There are paintings on all the ceilings, and most of them are worn out. Guru also showed me the floating pillar (which otherwise I would have missed). We then went and sat in the shade for a few minutes before moving to our ext destination. If we had time, I'm sure i would have taken a nap for a while there, since it was cool enough and soothing. (No pics taken at Lepakshi)

We started again, realizing we had 2 more places to cover. We switched on the map, and started toward Avalabetta. I said him to chuck the plan of Gudibande, since it didn't look that interesting, and also because of the shortage of time. We passed right in front of Gudibande fort, and it looked interesting. But I thought of visiting it some other time, and said Guru to continue without stopping. We drove past and reached the hilltop at around 5 PM.

I had Avalabetta on my list for a very long time, and was very fascinated seeing the pictures. Guru said me that the entry has been banned recently, and he wasn't sure of the news. When we reached there, the disappointment was waiting. It was indeed banned since 15 days. Reason being, a girl fell from a rock for about 25 feet and hurt herself badly, and while taking her to hospital, she breath her last. Since then, the entry to the temple is banned. That moment was very disappointing for me, since I was missing the chance to visit that place in just a matter of 15 days!

Now the interesting part starts: Me and Guru started convincing the forest guard, but he was stubborn and wouldn't listen. But Guru didn't give up, He built a story that he was leaving the town in the coming week and wouldn't come back to this place, and that I had never seen it at all, and requested that at least he let me go see it. After a few minutes of this story narration, knowing that we wouldn't give up, he agreed to let us, but only after a few more visitors who were there around left. We waited for another 10 minutes and we were let to go.

After a climb of about 10 minutes, we reached the view point where a lot of DP's have been clicked. The moment I saw it, I was awestruck, and also felt bad that this place was no more accessible to public. That place was just wow!! The projection of the rock was something unnatural and different. It kinda looked artificial. I went and sat there and got a few pics. I wanted to sit there for a while, but due to lack of time and also remembering the guard's warning to come as soon as possible, we started back towards the temple at the peak.








The beautiful place where you get a beautiful view!

Another climb of about 10 minutes, we were at the top. No wait, a little down to top. Behind the temple, there was a small rock and the peak of that rock was the highest point. To reach there, you have to climb the rock which was carved lightly on the edge and on the side to support your leg and hand, as you climb. At the first sight, the climb looked easy, but when you take a closer look, the climb is a little risky and a little scary too. I started to climb, and it was pretty tricky. You need to be careful, and even a small mistake can cost you big. I made it to the '5 feet below top' point, and getting on that last small rock was too risky and I didn't go there. Guru also climbed after me. I again wanted to stay here for a while but... :(

Climbing down


Anyway, I was just too satisfied and excited that I got to see it finally!! I was just so lucky to have gotten here in spite of the ban. I thanked Guru a lot- without him I would have missed something big. First Guru climbed down, showing me how to actually climb down and then I followed. Climbing up and down this rock was an awesome experience, though it takes a very short time. We then ran down towards the base where we had parked our vehicle.

Reflection in a small pond near the rock point

We thanked the guard and started the drive. It was close to 6, and the combination of cool breeze, dusk light and country side road was just awesome. It was another 20 minutes till we reached the highway. We decided to stop again near the same hotel for dinner and then start the final stretch of the drive. We came to the hotel around 7 PM, and Masala Dosa and Hot Coffee was a perfect meal. We started again, taking another 25 minutes to reach the Hebbal junction, from where we departed in different directions to our home.

In a nutshell, It was a great drive of about 250 kms for the day. It was close to 8 when I started from Hebbal junction, and about 8:45 when I reached home. The day was awesome, and all credits goes to Guru- Thanks a lot dude!!! :)


Wednesday 16 November 2016

Badaami Hampi Trip- November 4th to 7th, 2016

How can I not take a trip on my birthday, when I love traveling so much? What else can be a better gift for me, from me? I thus decided to go Badami, Pattadakal, Aihole and Bijapur. I initially thought of going solo, but then Akshata and Shreya also wanted to come along. Akshata insisted to add even Hampi in the list, thus extending it to a 4 day trip, which initially was planned for 3. Shreya couldn't join us for first two days due to some personal work, and thus Akshata and I boarded the GolGumbaz express from Bengaluru at 7 PM on 3rd Nov.

Day 1, 4th November: (Full day Bijapur trip)


We got down in Alamatti station, and walked towards the highway and booked a room in Ashoka Hotel. The rooms were decent and we got ready quickly. After having breakfast, we inquired and found out that we would get buses right in front of the hotel to Bijapur. We thus waited for not more than 10 minutes, and we boarded a bus.

It was 10:45 AM when we started, and it was already very hot. This part of Karnataka is too dry and hot compared to the south. We reached Bijapur at 12:30 PM and we walked towards Barah Kamaan, which took just 10 minutes. This was an unfinished building, just with the basement being done. We went to the watchman there and asked him to explain about the significance about this place. He said us the story about this and Gol Gumbaz, and how the king who constructed the Gol Gumbaz killed his own son, who had started building this monument. The reason why it's called Barah Kamaan was that it was supposed to have 12 floors, and this building was designed to such a height, that its shadow would touch the foot of Gol Gumbaz during sunset. (Distance between Barah Kamaan and Gol Gumbaz is about a km). The father was jealous that his son's monument, if completed, will gain much more publicity and fame than the one built by him (Gol Gumbaz) and thus he killed him when the construction was just being started. There is also a tomb of his queen in the same place.

Barah Kamaan entrance

Tomb inside the monument

Barah Kamaan


We took a lot of pics here and spent altogether an hour, and then started to walk towards Gol Gumbaz. It was hot and we had cane juice on the way, and we reached Gumbaz in 15 minutes. There were many people here than in Barah Kamaan.

We entered and climbed those 7 floors to reach the highest floor, where people were shouting to hear the echo. This was particularly nuisance and it was unbearable. They were all acting like uncivilized people, shouting at top of voice and making weird sounds. Without able to bear it, we climbed down quickly and came out of the compound. We went to the hotel just opposite to the monument and had our lunch. We then took an auto to the bus stand, since we were tired to walk and also, it was too hot. We thus reached the bus stand and boarded the bus at 3 PM.

Gol Gumbaz

A monument next to Gol Gumbaz


We got down near our hotel at 4:30 PM. The entrance to Alamatti dam was next to our hotel, and having nothing to do sitting in the room, we chose to go to the dam. We went to those parks there, and it was not very attractive. We came out quickly and went near the huge building complex near Mughal gardens, and sat there, watching the sun go behind the dam gates. It was a huge dam, and the water level was full.

A well constructed building near the dam

Red sky behind the dam vbidge


It was getting dark, and we had a few chats. We inquired people around there about visiting Badami and other places. From what they said, it was clear that the public transport was not to be relied on, for it's frequency was too less, and it's impossible to cover all those places in one day.  They suggested that it's better to hire a car, but that was going out of our budget. Seeing our confusion, one uncle there got us an auto driver for 1200 Rs for the full day trip. We thought it was a better option than all other and we agreed. We said him to come near the hotel at 5:30 AM and we started to walk back to hotel. We had dinner and went to sleep, since we had to get up very early the next day.

Day 2, 5th November: (Badaami, Banashankari, Mahakoota,  Aihole, Pattadakallu and Sangama)


We were ready by 5:30 AM as promised to the auto driver, but he was late by half an hour. We started the journey at 6 AM, and it took 2 hours to reach Badaami. He went through a shortcut, and it was a countryside journey which was pleasing to our eyes. We reached Badaami at 8:15 AM.

There are 4 caves, and only the first one has some carvings and structure, while the rest are mostly empty. The lake next to it was looking good, and we didn't have much time to go around and explore. Also, it was already sunny and we were too hungry. We left there at 9:15 AM and asked the driver to stop at a hotel for breakfast. He drove to Banashankari temple, where there were quiet a few hotels, and we had our breakfast there.

Badaami caves

One of the structures in badaami caves

Man made lake next to Badaami caves

Temple in the lake


This one is an old temple, and was nice too. There were quiet a few people, and we finished the darshan in 10 minutes. We then started again to stop at Mahakoota after a few minutes. This was a relatively big temple, with a Kalyani as well. There were no much people here. We were done with darshan quickly, took a few pics, had some guava and started the journey back, now towards Pattadakallu.

The roads were not that good here, and they were being constructed in a few places. It was thus very dusty, adding to the uncomfortability of the hot sun. We were glad that we did not come here depending on the local or public transport. In 30 minutes, we reached Pattadakallu.

This was very well maintained by the government, and it was a group of temples. The green grass all around accentuates the beauty of the red stoned structures. It was only 11:15 PM and it was very hot. We visited all the temples, though few of them were empty. All structures look mostly alike, but the minute designs are different from one another. We took quiet a lot of pics and spent more than an hour. We then left there by 12:30 PM. We were hungry, and we decided to have lunch and then resume the journey. We thus went to KSTDC hotel, and the lunch served was good.

Pattadakallu

One of the structures in Pattadakallu

Pattadakallu

Pattadakallu

Pattadakallu

Pattadakallu


We started the journey at 1 PM and reached Aihole in another half an hour. The structures here also looked very similar to Pattadakallu. We spent an hour here, visited all the temples and started again.

Aihole


We now headed to Kudala Sangama, and it was a little far. It took us 90 minutes in all, and we went directly to the temple. Here River Malaprabha confluences with Krishna, and this is also the sacred place where Basavanna gave up his life. Though the river was huge, it looked calm and the view was pleasant, since the sun was making its way to sign off for the day. We visited the temple and got the darshan, and then went to the Basaveshwara Aikya Mantapa, to see the place where Lord Basavanna breath his last while meditating. From this point, the view of the river looked beautiful.

Koodala Sangama temple

Aikya sthala inside the river

Krishna river


From here, it was only an hour's journey back to our hotel. We thus relaxed for a while near the river before starting the journey again. We had ice cream and started the journey back. We asked the driver if we can somehow reach the backwaters of Alamatti dam, and he said he will take us there.

It was 5:30 PM when he took us to the backwaters. Since the dam was full, it looked like a sea, with no land seen beyond the waters of the dam. The sun was almost near the horizon, and the sky was a beautiful orange color, with it's reflection in water. We took a few pics, and asked the auto guy to drop us back to the dam. He did so, and we paid him and thanked him for the day's trip.

Alamatti dam back waters

Sun setting behind the dam bridge


We went and sat near the complex again, for the evening was getting cool and we needed some relaxation as well. Sun had not set yet, and we waited till he went down and then the lights of the dam were on. We didn't have any interest in Musical fountain that was to happen at around 7:30 PM, and thus we walked back to hotel after having a round of chats and dinner in the hotel. We watched TV for a while and then slept.

Day 3, 6th November: (Reach Hospete and Visit Hampi)


We got up and got ready quickly, to leave for our next destination. We had found out that it will take about 4 hrs to reach Hospete from Alamatti, by bus. Shreya would join us in Hospete, taking a bus from Harihar.

It was almost 12 noon when we met her at the bus stop. From there, IB was a km's walk. We walked in the hot sun, and settled in the room. We thought of going out for lunch, and planned to have dinner in the IB and thus freshened up quickly and left for Hampi, which was about 20 minutes by bus.

We reached Hospete bus stand, had lunch and took a bus to Hampi. We first went to Virupaksha temple. It is a very huge temple and when we went, it was closed. We were informed that it will open in a while, and thus we took a small tour around the temple. We saw the inverted reflection of the gopura of the temple, which was shown by a pandit there. We also clicked a few pics, and then got the darshan of the god. It was around 2:30 PM, and we made a deal with an auto driver to cover important places before evening. He thus took us to some 8-10 places, which included Ugra Narasimha temple, Kadlekalu Ganesha, Lotus Mahal, Stepped tank, among which the last one was Vittala temple. It was almost dark when we were dropeed back to bus stand, and we took a bus back to Hospete.

Virupaksha temple
Akka Tangiyara Bande

Lotus Mahal

Queen's bath



Stone chariot in Vittala temple



Near bus stand, we went in search of rotti's, since the IB caretaker asked us to get just the rottis and he will take care of the rest of the things. We then took another bus and then an auto to reach IB. Food was ready, and Yennagayi palya was too good. We ate to our full and settled on our beds. We were tired and thus slept quickly.

At 12 AM, both of them woke me up with a cake and gifts!! Shreya had made a card for me and Akshata gifted a couple books. We were tired, and thus slept again within half an hour.

Awesome and tasty food @ IB

Birthday celebration! :)


Day 4, 7th November: (Full day at Hospete)


We didn't really have much to do today since we had covered Hampi the previous day. None of us were really interested in architecture and temples and thus we decided to spend time resting. Shreya's dad's friend was a government official (with whose influence we had got to stay at IB) and he visited us in morning around 9, and he took us in his car for Hospete dam visit. We got a chance to go till the other end of the dam, where there was another IB. From here we could get a bird's view of the whole dam and it was worth a sight. We thanked him for taking us there, which otherwise wouldn't have been possible for us to go there. He dropped us back to IB around 12 noon.

Hospete dam, as seen from Vaikunta Guest House


We then took bath, and these girls had plans of dressing me up in a suit and click pictures!! A terrible idea, and I was feeling a little too awkward in the suit, wearing the heavy jhumka and all that. Well, I had to listen to them and I was glad that it all got over in 30 minutes. We then spent next few hours lying lazily on bed and chatting.

Shreya had to leave around 6 PM, and our train was at 9 PM. We went to the bus stop and sent her off. While walking back to IB, we decided to spend some time near the dam, and when it was about to get dark, we went to the IB, and packed our things and got ready to leave after dinner. After a simple meal provided by IB caretaker, we thanked him for his hospitality and left to the station. After an overnight journey, we reached Bengaluru at 7 AM next morning.

Sun set seen from dam

Dam waters, and IB also seen upon the small hillock


Another birthday was spent well in a new place, and a long waited destination on my list was thus striked off! :)