Place: Rayakottai Fort Trek
Distance: 100kms x 2 = 200kms
Directions: Bangalore > Hosur >
Shoolagiri > Rayakottai
Krew: Gowrish (Gorisha) > Karthik (Sp)
Bikes: Pulsar
Previous Visit: Kabbaladurga - Breaking In
Budget: Rs 200/head
IN LESS THAN
50 WORDS:
Rayakottai is one of the Tippu’s forts towards the
southern region of his kingdom. The fort is situated on a hillock which offers
a brilliant 360 degree view from the top. This fort hill trek after being
cancelled for umm, I guess 5-6 times finally was conquered in July 2016. So,
basically this trek was done to unbundle the mental and physical locks of Gow
and to get him back on track.
INTRO &
PLAN:
It had been 3 weeks since our slow ride to
Kabbaladurga. So was excited and wanted to get another two chapters in the bag
for the month. Once I realised my stamina is pretty good on the previous trek,
another trek was for sure. Rayakottai had been on our to-conquer list since a
few years but could never get the job done. Finally after flopping about 5-6
times, I told Gow that even if nobody accompanies us we both would head out.
TIME: 22:00 (20/7/2016)
ASSEMBLE
& LEAVE:
Oh yeah woke up at 05:00, did a few push-ups &
sit-ups, had a sip of coffee & was all set to go! I had to pick up Gow from
Bommnahalli, so took off from my home at about 05:45. For a change I rode
through the city towards silk board (it
had become my regular office route for a few months) Cruising past JP nagar
and BTM looking at the tall builidngs with amazement finally touched Silkboard
and went towards Gow home to pick him up. Gow, by the way had met with a fatal
car accident right after the day we had gone to Melukote in June 2015. So it
was time for some unbundling.
TIME: 06:30
RIDE 1:
(Bangalore – Hosur – Shoolagiri - Rayakottai)
So, this was a straightforward 100kms ride to
Rayakottai. Even though there was a shorter route via Attibele and Hosur we
chose the Shoolagiri route as it was simple and straightforward and primarily
on highway. As we left Bangalore, it was quite some days since we had rode this
early, the morning air felt amazing. Riding in the cold air, we reached
Attibele Industrial Area, waving a “hi” to our office we continued further to
cross the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border. We decided to search for a breakfast
place a little ahead of Hosur. Having no luck we ended up in Shoolagiri.
Here we pulled over near a local and with great
difficulty asked for the directions to Rayakottai in Tamil. After receiving the
directions we thanked the person and our eyes fell on a big green road which
showed the way to Rayakottai. I looked at Gow and he said “Yeah, I knew it was there, but wanted to see how well you can manage Tamil”
Anyway, the roads after Shoolagiri turned into country
roads and Rayakottai is about 17kms from the deviation. The roads nevertheless
were brilliant and the surroundings were pristine. It reminded me of all the
wonderful trips we had on this route (Hogenekkal, Panchapalli, Yercaud)
Finally after waving hi to 3 demon like gods beside
the road and asking locals for directions we fast approached Rayakottai. The
first glimpse of the fort hill made me kind of nervous. This is because I had
read that it was an easy trek and I could see only steep faces. Also I was
expecting it to be like Mandharagiri trek(small short trek). Anyway, we parked
the bikes near the foothills and with the lizard king’s spirit wide awake we
were ready to conquer another hillock.
TIME: 08:00
RAYAKOTTAI
FORT TREK:
Alright, we had forgotten to eat breakfast, we had not
packed any refreshments or water and we were set! So, how did this trek go?
The trek actually turned out pretty decent. The
ascension took 1.25hrs, but it can be easily covered within 30-45mins. But the
ascension was of a totally different experience. It was like more of a walk
through thick forest and fallen fort walls. We were constantly alert as we were
the only two on the hill. The view begins to grow better and better with small
steps. A lot of exploration goes along with the fort climb and Gowrish recovering
from the accident was made forcefully to take not only sufficient breaks but
also to take is the pureness of the nature around him.
At few instance, I felt we were lost even though there
is a clear pathway to the top. Also was worried if Gow could pull through. But
I made sure that the spirits were high with some entertaining false theories as
to why Tippu built the fort at this place.
Just before the top one can find a lot of granaries,
battalion resting houses and other buildings which lay in ruins. We took ample
of rest making sure that we don’t over exert ourselves. As we approached the
top the wind speeds picked up and our tiredness faded away.
TIME: 09:15
TOP:
Even though it was a Saturday, we were little early
and had the place to ourselves. I told Gow that I would be sleeping for a while
and requested him not to wander away :P Finding a soft grassy bed on top I
crashed into a peaceful nap. After 20mins or so of dozing got up, yawned, and
then realised I was in TN atop some hill fort. After speaking for a while, we
decided to head back home as our tummies were growling as we had skipped
breakfast.
TIME: 09:45
DESCENSION:
We took about 30mins to descend this fort hill as we
stopped only once in between. The descent was fast and at the same time fun as
well. As we began the descent we could the see the sun slowly started to blaze.
We felt it was a good thing that we started the trek early. As we reached back
the base, I was glad that my bike was still there :P Hehe. Got onto my bike and
began the ride back towards Bangalore.
TIME: 10:15
RIDE 2: (Rayakottai
– Shoolagiri – Hosur - Bangalore )
Okay, this was a 100kms ride back to home. Before we
left we called up Sukesh, he said that he was at office. So we decided to meet
him and then head towards home. As we left, the ride unitl Shoolagiri was
pleasant and calm after which the roads widened into a national highway and it
became quite boring. (my bike’s engine
was re-bored, umm, so max 4500rpm) After passing through Shoolagiri, we
pulled over at a decent hotel to have our breakfast.
TIME: 11:00
After a nice breakfast we continued further to reach
Hosur. Then we decided to head back home directly as we didn’t want to disturb
Sukesh. Wading away from cops as we didn’t have an extra helmet we made to
Gowrish’s house. After which I rode back through city again swearing at all the
vehicles which tried to slow me down. Reached back home safely for a
well-deserved nap.
TIME: 13:00
CONCLUSION:
“This was an
amazing trip. It might be short and easy, but it was great joy to witness the
Gow back into action after a yearlong rest after a major accident. It served as
a great release both mentally & physically. So, guys, a must visit place if
you are looking for an easy trek with a great, great view you know where to
head…!”
Until next time, Cia \m/
MAPS:
ALL PHOTOS:
No comments:
Post a Comment