Place: Savandurga Trek.
Distance: 40 x 2 = 80kms.
Directions: Bengaluru – Kengeri - Big Banyan - Manchinebele - Savandurga
Particiapants: Dileep (Koof/Isro) > Madhu (Braca) > Karthik (Sp).
Bikes: Thunderbird > Pulsar
Previous visit: Muthati - Black Tranquilizer!
IN
LESS THAN 50 WORDS:
This was one the endurance tester kind of trips. A normal hike was
turned into a military training pushing our bodies back into life from the dead
grave into which it was forcibly driven. Ending the trek in a festival flooded
town with free dishes and drinks was something new we experienced on this
chapter. (And without a smart phone planning was much more simple, you can take
my word on this! – just call and inform and head out, Ashte:P)
INTRO &
PLAN:
IT had been 4 days since our trip to Muthathi, a much needed steam
release I must say, so wanted to push another one for this month. It had been 4
months since our previous trek to Bhasmangi Fort. Body had rusted pretty bad,
so suggested Savandurga. But it was turned down as it was hot and most of us
wanted to swim (including me!) So, Mahadevpura it was, reminding us of the year
back funny trip we had taken. Dilip, Madhu & Dhanush were on the confirmed
list.
TIME: 22:00 (20/5/2016)
ASSEMBLE
& LEAVE:
Yeah I was up at 05:00, did a few crunches
& cycling, had a cup of hot water & lemon and was all set to go. The
meet up was scheduled at our at Decathlon, Mysore road. So left my home to pick
Madhu and waited for the other two on SH-17. As Dany couldn’t make it it was
only Dilip who came. Once all three were there, Madhu said he wanted to be back
by noon. So we decided that he decide the place. Finally it was back to the
original thought in mind. Savandurga it was. TIME: 07:45
RIDE 1:
(Bangalore – Big Banyan Tree – Manchinbele - Savandurga)
This was approximately 45kms ride, an awesome one I must say. This route
has always been dear to us as most of our initial trips were done on this
route. Once we took the deviation off RRDC, the roads turned silent. We headed
at a very smooth pace riding beside each other in the cool weather. Once we
reached Big Banyan, we pulled over at a new hotel for breakfast.
TIME: 08:15
After a yummy breakfast we had a refreshing tea outside and headed
further. In a few minutes into the ride, we could spot the hillock shining and
blazing under the morn sun. As we rode on, we witnessed the “first glimpse” of
the Manchinbele and pulled over for a couple of minutes.
Once we entered into the Savandurga forest premises, the ride flourished
even more. The roads narrowed and the greenery increased, the noise
reduced. The air felt real fresh and got
us going peacefully to reach the base of
the hillock.
TIME: 09:30
SAVANADURGA:
Well, as a festival was about to commence for the day, the town was
flooded with people. Initially it made me restless, but we found a place to
park our bikes, awakened the goat’s spirit within usand we began the ascent. This climb was a different one , as Madhu
wasn’t used to hill climbing, Dilip had worked excessively on his legs the
previous day and his legs were worn out and me, well i had rusted from the
break I had taken to kill the summer heat. So, this ascent of the hill meant a
lot to us. Like always I have divided the climb into the following sections,
keep up with me here.
i) To the
first fort wall
ii) To the
second fort Wall
iii) On the
second fort wall
iv) Final
Stretch
Well, grab something to eat, drink, sit back and enjoy the hike.
i) To the
first fort wall:
Initial part of the trek was through the small mud path which ran in
silence amidst the green bushes. Once we made it out mud path, the steep
magnificent rock face stared back right into our faces. The blue wavering skies
backing it up as well. We initially chose the steep route but we soon turned to
the normal route as our initial plan was a swim and we weren’t exactly
prepared. But this switch over meant we
had to walk sideways on the super inclined wall and this took a major toll on
our ankles.
TIME: 10:15
ii) To the second
fort wall:
We rested quite some time at the first for wall. Our ascending pace
during the second stretch drastically reduced.
As we began climbing up towards the second fort wall a beautiful scenery
began to emerge behind us. Manchinebele started to reveal itself amidst all
green thick forest. IT was a breath taking sight and got us pumped up. With a
few naps on the rock and some hard pushing we made it to the second fort wall.
iii) Fort
wall walk:
The third stretch was a decent one .
We got on top of the fort wall and kept walking on it. Once the fort
wall ended we were standing in front of another rock face. By now, Dilip &
Madhu had started cursing and swearing at me big time, whole heartedly as well
haha. Dilip’s leg had hit the bucket and it was failing to carry him any
further, but with enough pushing as we climbed up another scenery emerged. TG
reservoir another beautiful water body could be spotted along with
Manchinebele.
iv) Final Stretch:
Once we were done with the third stretch, we hit flat ground for a
change and a few ruined outposts. We grabbed a litre of water and shared it
among us. But as we continued a little further we could spot the Nandi and
pushing through the final stretch we made it to the top.
TIME: 11:45
TOP:
Once we reached the top, said “hi” to the quiet Nandi which sits on top
of the hillock. Then rang the bell thrice and after exploring the place, we sat
down enjoying the breeze for a while before we dozed off. After about 15-20mins
we awoke fresh and rang the bell thrice again and was all set to climb down.
TIME: 12:30
DESCENSION:
The descend was pretty neat, with a few incidents. It took us 1h to descend. As we left the top,
we covered the top two stretches pretty quick. And as the festival was in full
swing we could hear the drum beats way up to the top and we began dancing our
way to the bottom. We could feel our knees and thigh muscles put into work. It
felt good, no great. The decension was pretty much non-stop we made it town.
TIME: 13:30
FESTIVAL:
Trust me, this part of the trip completely was new and blew us away. As
we entered the town, the festival was in full swing. People came running and
offered us free “Panka”, “Buttermilk” and various kinds of dishes. Why are we being treated so nice, we thought.
Nevertheless we gobbled up a few dishes here and there and drank almost till
our neck. Unwillingly we left the color flooded town.
TIME: 14:00
RIDE 2:
(Savandurga – Manchinebele – Bangalore)
After a treat at the Savandurga. We rode back in the same route until
Manchinbele, from where we took a deviation and landed up at our regular dhaba
at Bangalore University. Madhu stayed
for a short while as he had other plans. Dilip and me sat leisurely and left
the dhaba afloat after 1-2hrs to reach back our respective houses.
TIME: 17:15
CONCLUSION:
"Well, this, was an all out war against my strained diaphragm. And guess what, it held pretty well and actually set it free. Koof proved he's one tough player by pushing through till the end inspite of his strained legs. And well Madhu, showed unusual enthusiasm to hike uphill, which i must say was very surprising (and kind of funny):P"
Until next time, Cia \m/
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