71) Nijagal Betta Trek: (20/1/2013)

Place: Nijagal Trek.

Distance: 65 x 2 = 130kms.

Directions: Bengaluru – Dobbaspete – Nijagal.

Particiapants: Deefu > Sp.

Bikes: Pulsar.

Previous visit: Maddur& Kanva.
Budget: Rs150/head

IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:

This was one terrific trek to the ancient caves of Nijgal. As far my knowing goes, this place is hardly known to most of the travellers in the city. This place is perfect for a small half a day trek.

INTRO & PLAN:

Well, I had this place locked in my lists since long. But had never expected it would turn out to be so wonderful. The details of the exact location were hard to find on sites, so it had to be something out of the normal. Deefu being a trek freak was the only one on the confirmed list.

ASSEMBLE:

Yeah I was up at 05:00, did a few push ups & sit ups, had a cup of coffee & was all set to go. Left my home at 06:30 & picked up Deefu at Malleswaram & finally left Bangalore.

TIME: 07:00

RIDE 1: (Bangalore-Nijagal)

This was a smooth 60kms on the highway. As we left Bangalore we cruised at a decent pace to reach our regular hotel for some smashing breakfast. (08:00)

 

After having a light breakfast, we cruised again further to reach Dobbaspete. After by-passing Dobbaspete, we kept our eyes wide open looking for “Reliance Petrol Bunk” which is stated in all other websites. But we ended up recognizing the hill itself many kilometers before.

After parking the bike at the foot of the hills, we had the mountain goat’s spirit awaken & we were all set to conquer the hillock.

TIME: 08:45

ASCENT:

The ascent took about 45mins. But yeah we spent more time exploring the caves, as time is never a constraint for us. As we began the climb, we could see the mighty “Shivagange” standing tall amidst the prevailing fog. Then as we proceeded, we passed through ancient doorways and the twisty passages very similar to Chitradurga.

 

After 15mins through the ancient passages, we came to an open space and we got a very good overview of the entire place. We also spotted the temple which laid in complete ruins & covered with scorched bushes.

CAVE EXPLORATION:

After passing through a few bushes & shrubs, and a few step climbs we found ourselves surrounded by huge boulders. We decided to go below the boulders through a small gap  and explore further. There were Muslim Burial grounds & lots of Voodoo Stuff. Frankly were scared but yeah it was an amazing experience.

Finally we reached the top & sat inside a cave & decided to rest there as it was cool.

As we were drinking water and munching on some biscuits, in came a huge muscular monkey which meant business. We slowly took off as we were the intruders at their home.(& we didn’t stand a chance at this particular fatty :P)

 

We decided to rest in a storage place nearby. We sat for about 30mins talking about our new jobs, old friends and all other shit.  After having some biscuits we decided to leave. Oh yeah, the highway could be seen clearly & so did the Reliance petrol bunk.

TIME: 10:00

DESCENT:

Descent again was for about 45mins. We took a different route this time as we had not encountered the ancient temple on the way up.

Climbing down first we encountered a small building in which a huge carving of Hanuman was present. After which we made our way into a swamp kind of place. Placing each foot with care we made our way to the entrance of the ancient temple.

 

ANCIENT TEMPLE:

The inside of the temple laid in complete ruins. Pillars were pulled down, heaps of sands and pits were all over the place. So after a few minutes of exploring we decided to leave.

As we left the temple, something was pricking my feet. Opened my shoe and found a friendly thorn who wanted me to go back to the Channarayandurga trek. Finally after reaching the foothills we removed our bike and decided to leave.

TIME: 10:45

 

RIDE 2: (Nijagal – Bangalore)

The ride back again was pretty smooth one. We rode at a constant pace till Chandu Dhaba after finding it wasn’t open we crashed at Manoj Dhaba. After about an hour we left the dhaba, dropped Deefu to his place & returned back home.

TIME: 15:00

 

CONCLUSION:

This had to be that trip which sets back the whole body back in motion. Yes it was a small trip, but was an excellent trip to get back the old school roots from the dark pit beneath.

Cheers, Cia \m/

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