Horsley Hills: The 350km High School Reunion & Windfall Cottage Getaway | Chapter 153 (Oct 15-16, 2017)

Place: Horsley hills

Distance: 175kms x 2 = 350kms

Directions: Bangalore > Devnahalli > Chintamani > Kaivara > Madanpalli > Horsley hills

Krew: Aditya (Adi) > Deepak (Deefu) > Datta (Dattu) > Ashok (Moms)  > Karthik (Sp)

Bikes: Enfield > Pulsar (2)                                                             

Previous Visit: Jengal & Digal Gudda Trek

Budget: Rs 2000/head  

IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:

Alright, this was a super duper re-union of high school friends to have a relaxing weekend atop the serene hills of Horsley. The place as such is tranquil and nice inspite of being well known.  Our visit was primarily planned for a getaway.

INTRO & PLAN:

Adi who had returned from a biking trip to Himalayas called me up on 12^th Oct and said he wanted to meet us all to share his stories. The meeting point Deefu & I decided to be Horsley hills 175kms away from Bangalore. Ashok and Dattu confirmed their presence as well. I booked a stay with Haritha resort right opposite to the swimming pool.

TIME: 22:00 (12/10/2017)

ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:

Yeah I was up at 04:30 as usual did a few pushups, situps and then began sipping a cup of coffee. Left my home at around 6:30AM met Adi near his place. From there we both picked Datta from Mahalakshmi layout and proceeded on the Outer ring road to reach Hebbal. Ashok & Deefu arrived. After a formal greeting we left Bangalore

TIME: 07:30

RIDE 1: (Bangalore – Devenahalli – Chintamani – Kaivara – Madanpalli – Horsley Hills)

This was 175km ride on both traffic flooded highway and beautiful scenic country roads. As we left from Hebbal we encountered heavy traffic. Post devenahalli we took the chintamani deviation. The roads were narrow but the route was scenic. We pulled over at H cross for a breakfast we would never forget.

TIME: 09:15

   

The breakfast was simply amazing. Super duper taste and the way it was served took me back to the Lepakshi trip. 20 Idlys, 10vadas, 3 rice baths, 5 tea costed Rs160.  Feeling damn satisfied with the awesome breakfast, we took a left turn at H cross and proceeded towards Kaivara. This stretch was totally superb, with the huge hillock visible 15-20kms away, good roads we zoomed away in full pace.

Post Kaivara the forest stretch began and the roads to turned patchy. The last stretch was damn tiring as it ran through a lot of small villages, but never the less it was very scenic. We pulled over for a small drink stop and proceeded to reach the final ascension to Horsley hills.

The last stretch to Horsley hills is 10kms and is completely on ghat roads. The ride is awesome and with every kilometre behind, the view becomes exhilarating. One can find a lot of Eucalyptus trees just like the last stretch of Elagiri.  Finally we made it to the top and checked into the reception.

TIME: 12:30

HORSLEY HILLS:

Horsley hills was named after WD Horsley, who served as a British collector in the late 1800’s. Now atop of this hill, there exists a lot of Govt cottages maintained in good condition. Also, some private cottage as well. Its pretty much a commercial place, but the link with nature still exists (not like our other spoilt counter-part – Nandi hills, hahah! )

   

We had booked a Windfall stay where in 5-6people can comfortably crash for a super decent price. We were surprised as to how huge the stay was. We took the service boy’s number (much needed) and wandered off to the swimming pool. After realizing it was quite decent and with the crowd less, we decided to go back to the stay finish of the drink, change our clothes and jump into the pool.

Dattu had got his Frisbee as well, so the good old high school games began – Donkey, Frizbee football, holding breath.  We spent over an hour at the swimming pool as there was no time restrictions. After which we went to the restaurant for some good heavy buffet lunch. Arrr hungry!

TIME: 14:00

After a super heavy lunch, we wandered here and there and returned back to the stay and began playing cards. Evening we took a stroll again, witnessed a beautiful sunset from the view point and decided to sit by 7PM even though it was quite early. 

The session went on until late night and we went on munching on snacks and eating ice cream for some reason. It actually went pretty well. We spoke about all sorts topics like school, college, life, etc etc.. went on up till 3AM before we decided to rest.

TIME: 03:00

DAY 2:

And the early bird award goes to? No prizes for guessing, yep, was up by 4:30AM. Sat back and started having some more. Then Adi and me decided to go to witness the sunrise from the view points as well. It was an awesome view, with clouds shrouding you. The wind speeds were moving the clouds pretty fast and the view below was game of hide and seek.

We went back and woke the others up as well. We all sat back having another small session, after which as Adi had to leave by 10AM, we got ready and had a super buffet lunch and decided it was time to hit back the road.

  

RIDE 2: (Horsley Hills – Madanpalle – Chintamani – Devenahalli – Bangalore)

This was a 175km ride back and took us almost 4-5h. We took the Madanpalle route, even though the roads were better but the ride was quite tiring. The roads were patchy and through kormangala forest. Once we reached Kaivara the roads turned awesome and the view of the might hillock kicked started the fire within. We pulled over at H cross for a small tea break. After which we rode to Devenhalli non stop, at Hebbal we thanked each other for making it and split to reach our respective homes.

TIME: 15:00

CONCLUSION:

“I would say this was more of a superb re-union of high school friends.  Horsely hills I would say is a perfect 2 day trip to relax and have a great time with you friends/family. This trip I believe re-kindled the fire for more trips to follow! Cheers! “

Until next time, Cia \m/

PICASA ALBUM:

MAPS:

⬅️ 152. Jenukallu Gudda and Deepadkallu Gudda trek 154. Ethina Bhuja trek ➡️

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Pavagada Fort Trek: The Gruelling 350km Climb to a 600-Year-Old Fort with 7 Levels | Chapter 144 (Mar 29, 2017)

Place: Pavagada Fort trek

Distance: 175 x 2 = 350kms.

Directions: Bangalore > Dobbaspete > Koratgere > Madhugiri > Madakasira > Pavagada

Krew: Pavan > Datta (Dattu) > Deepak (Deefu) > Karthik (Sippy)

Bikes: Enfield > FZ                                                                         

Previous Visit: Wayanad - Tranquil retreat.

Budget: Rs 750/head

IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:

This was unexpectedly super trek. Yes, I had under-estimated this fort hills thinking it was a famous commercial town and had assumed it would be dirty with litter etc., but to by surprise it was actually better than most of the other fort hills we had visited. Nicely preserved buildings and a lot of them too! It was a hot gruelling trek no doubt but a worthwhile one. Pavagada fort is 600 years old and has 7 levels of fortification.

INTRO & PLAN:

As far as the planning goes, summer was in full swing and the temperatures were soaring high. Had been to Wayanad 2 weeks back and was still recovering in terms of money. Then Sunday when all the school friends assembled at Dhaba, the thought of riding out on the Ugadi (festival) was born. And Deefu, Dattu and Pavan were the ones on the confirmed list.

TIME: 20:00 (28/3/2017)

  

ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:

Alright I was up by 04:30, my usual time of awakening (ok wait before that 11PM, 1AM, 3AM too!) had a sip of coffee, did a few push ups and sit ups and was all set go.  I called up Dattu and he confirmed he was up. When I called up Deefu, which I had done the previous night too an aunty had picked up and I soon used to cut the call. But on this morning I called him at 5AM, 5:15AM and 5:45AM to realise I was dialling the wrong number. The aunty was infuriated as I woke her early on a holiday:P. Anyways, we gathered at Dattu’s place and left Bangalore on two bikes.

TIME:06:30

RIDE 1: (Bangalore – Dobbaspete – Madhugiri - Pavagada)

This was plain 150-175kms ride on good roads, but yeah after Dabbaspete a lot of speed breakers. As we took off from Bangalore, with Deefu & Pavan riding it was cruising at high speeds drifting through the traffic with style. We got out of Bangalore in a matter of minutes and cruised our way through the next 50kms to reach our regular hotel for some tasty breakfast.

TIME: 07:00

After munching down we had some light coffee and took off towards Dobabspete. On reaching the town, we took a right deviation and proceeded towards Madhugiri. This road is good no doubt, but has a lot of speed breakers. With Deefu’s Enfield this offered no resistance. However we did witness a fatal accident just happened then, a person was lying on the road with blood flowing out of ears, nose, and all over face. He was dead and trust me it was a disturbing scene. On our way to Madhugiri, we did say hi to other hillocks such as Mandharagiri, Siddarabetta & Channarayandurga. On reaching Madhugiri, we proceeded towards Pavagada. Thankfully this route had few speed breakers but the very fact of getting closer to Andhra could be felt. Barren but beautiful landscape the dry hot winds blowing onto our faces were clearly evident.

  

Waving a big hi to Medegishi & Madakasira we got the first glimpse of the mighty Pavagada Fort. It was bigger than I expected and with the heat I knew it would not be easy. We asked the locals for directions and parked our bikes near a home, requested them to take care of our helmets and with the mountain goat’s spirit wide awake we were ready to conquer the hillock.

TIME: 10:00

PAVAGADA FORT TREK:

This was pretty straightforward trek. It took us about an hour or so to reach the top owing to the soaring temperatures. But since there is a clear pathway and on a cool day should be possible within an hour without much hassles.  

The trek is very similar to that of Madakasira. There are about 7 levels of fortifications to reach the top. As we began the trek, we could find a lot of temples initially and then the twisty turns began. These turns ran through some thick thorny bushes. To better understand the fort we usually put ourselves in the invading soldier’s shoes. This way you know when your ass gets kicked around haha! But trust me this works huh.

  

With Dattu around the jokes was something we were never short of.  This fort offers a good mix between ascension and exploration. Let of alternate paths exists (to confuse the invaders). Since the sun was soaring at his best, we were being drained of water pretty fast. We took sufficient breaks just to catch our breaths. Summer trek in Andhra, well, not the best but what has to be done, has to be done.

Anyway once we began reaching the top, wind speeds began picking up and it began to turn pleasant.  On top we could find a lot of outposts overlooking various directions. But a small granary or what seemed like a dungeon was our favorite spot.

TIME: 11:30

After resting on the top for a while, we were surprised to find another tier of the fort which was unexplored. So, we found our way to the various buildings and to my surprise they were pretty well preserved.  After loafing around here and there, exploring various section of this tier we began the descent.

TIME: 12:15

The descent was a quick one and took us about 30mins. Feeling totally de-hydrated, we let our legs take us down and all along the way we cracked jokes and imitated people back from school and college days. Once we reached back the town, we grabbed our helmets and went straight and had 2-3 glasses of buttermilk to re-hydrate.

TIME: 13:00

   

RIDE-2: (Pavagada – Lake – Madhugiri – Koratagere – Bangalore)

This was a 175kms ride back to Bangalore, with one chill out, no wait, actually two long pit stops. As we left Pavagada and we needed more hydrants, so we rode back non-stop until Medigeshi where we pulled over to buy some juice and I told others I knew a lake near-by where we could just sit and relax amidst the grazing animals and birds.

We reached the lake parked our bikes and sat on the lake shore amidst the buffalos, cows, goats and cranes and drifted away. After a nice session for about 1-1.5hour we left afloat and it felt good considering the soaring heat. We rode though Madhugiri asking directions if we could find good “Mudhe Oota” (Ragi balls). But as it was already past lunch time it we could not. We rode to Koratgere to have some good lunch.

TIME: 16:15

After Kortagere we pulled over again at a nice lake to find a mother cow and its baby tied to a pole in garden. We spend next 10-15mins trying to earn its trust. Then we sat beside the lake for a few more minutes and decided to head back as we wanted to get out of SH-3 before darkness.

The ride back to Dobbaspete was a smooth one. Once we reached Dobbaspete we rode back to the same breakfast hotel for some watermelon juice (totally de-hydrated!) After which it took us less than an hour to reach Dattu’s home. Again after having a jug of cold water, we thanked each other for their presence for the trek and split out to reach our respective homes.

TIME: 19:00

  

CONCLUSION:

“Yeah, it was summer and it was frikkin hot and not an ideal day for a trek. But hey, we pulled one off and more importantly we got back Dattu on track after his knee surgery. Expedition of Forts going well I see :D ”

Until next time, Cia \m/

MAPS:

PICASA ALBUM:

⬅️ 143. Wayanad 145. Hosaholalu temple ➡️

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Penukonda Fort: The 350km Epic Off-Road Ascent to the Ruined Fort & Kumbhakarna Statue | Chapter 139 (Jan 15, 2017)

Place: Penukonda Fort Ride

Distance: 175kms x 2 = 350kms

Directions: Bangalore > Devanahalli > Chikballapura >Bagepalli > Penukonda

Krew: Arun (Aaku bhai) > Karthik (Sp)

Bikes: KTM Duke > Pulsar                                                             

Previous Visit: Nijagal betta trek.

Budget: Rs 600/head

IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:

This was an amazing opening for the fresh year of 2017. Penukonda is pretty famous among the one up generation but not among today’s tourers. The ruined fort on top of the hill and the off-roading ascension of the hillock took us by surprise and made us feel awestruck about the place.

INTRO & PLAN:

It had been over a month since our last chapter to NijagalBetta trek. I was in Haryana for about 20 days. So, as soon as I returned back, made a few phone calls and asked everybody to assemble the BDA Laxmi :P (which off late had become our regular adda). The whole of Saturday noon (14^th Jan) and evening we spent catching up on each other’s stories. Finally it was decided that only Arun & me were to head out.

TIME: 22:30 (14/1/2017)

ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:

Oh yeah woke up at 04:00 Sunday, did a few push-ups & sit-ups, had a sip of coffee & was all set to go! Head still gui gui, woke Arun up and we decided to meet at the NICE bridge near PES. Once I met Arun we discussed one last time about the place and finally narrowing in on Penukonda we left Bangalore.

TIME: 07:00

   

RIDE 1: (Bangalore – Devanahalli – Chikkbalapura – Bagepalli - Penukonda)

This was a 160-175km ride on Airport Road. First things first, we cruised at a very smooth pace on the ORR and made our way to Hebbal without any worries. Once on the Airport road, we encountered a lot of traffic. We knew it would thin down once we crossed the airport deviation. Continuing further it virtually became nil once we crossed the Nandi hills deviation. We looked at each other and thought – “Babies day out” :P.   We pulled over for some yummy breakfast at the same hotel we had pulled over on the Gandikota trip.

TIME: 08:30

After some good breakfast, we took off. The roads widened out still and the sun was all set high and up in the sky. The lands on both the left and the right began to lose greenery and turn desertish – a sign of approaching Andhra. The scenery became a little uplifting and both of us were comfortably cruising at a decent pace.

As we passed by Lepakshi we gave thumbs up remembering out trip a few years back. After riding for about an hour after breakfast we asked the locals for direction and rode into the fort town of Penukonda.

TIME: 10:30

PENUKONDA FORT RIDE:

To be honest we were totally lost in the town hehe. We had no clue how to ascend the hillock and trust me it wasn’t a small one. We asked few locals for directions to the fort and we got a replying saying the whole of the town was the fort. Looked at Arun and decided to explore the place. Finally we visited the palace which was closed unfortunately and then a few temples here and there.

Just when my hopes were dwindling down, a person told us the one could ride up the hillock to the ruined fort. This kinda left me in mixed feelings, okay there was a path but ride, I wanted to freaking trek, I thought to myself.

  

We rode another 5-6kms on small country roads to reach the starting point of the ascension. What stood before us is something that pleased us both and took Arun to the next level of happiness. It was a pure muddy path with lot of twists and turns that ran uphill. Reminded us, of the old Kemmangundi route in Chikmagalur. And in this terrain we were sure KTM would have a lot of fun.

The ride began cautiously without any risks being taken. As we ascended the view of the surroundings began to lift us up and the hairpin curves on the muddy terrain began. This was tricky and fun at the same time. We did stop at many places as we knew this part would be the best section of the entire day. We fooled around, sat on rocks, explored the place and finally ascended the hillock.

TIME: 11:30

THE RUINED FORT ON TOP:

We parked our bikes on top and were taken back by the ruins that lay before us. It had this ancient tinge in the right amount to amaze us just enough. We jumped around the fort walls and began to explore.

There was a small kalyani (pond) on top and the temple was pretty old huh! We sat in the sit out of the temple and started having some water and biscuits. Then we cracked about a few dance moves (and even performed some haha!). After having a fun filled session on top, we decided it was time to head back down. We were really excited about the ride back down too as we knew it was the only part we would remembering in years to come.

   

The ride down was again fun-filled and we stopped at many places to click some photographs. Riding down we met a family who were walking up the hill. We were amazed and Arun showed them some photographs of the top temple for them to decide if it is worth pursuing the strenuous task. We reached back the town of Penukonda and were all set to meet Madho :P.

TIME: 13:00

KUMBHAKARNA STATUE:

Riding another 5-6kms away from Penukonda we spotted the might statue of Kumbhakarana asleep. It was actually very well constructed but all we could think off was our friend Madho who happened to look and act in the same way as the mighty demon.  After having spent a good 15-30mins we decided to ride back to Bangalore.

TIME: 13:30

   

RIDE 2: (Penukonda – Bagepalli – Chikbalapur – Devenahalli – Bangalore)

This was a simple ride back, but had to keep in mind the events on the same road on Sunday of the Dandiganahalli Dam trip :P.  Riding at a good pace, one behind the other we cruised along at a decent pace. Before we entered back Karnataka we decided to belt some good lunch in an Andhra restaurant itself.

TIME: 14:30

After a pretty heavy lunch we started riding back at about 15:00. But the traffic was at ease and we could cruise along decently to reach Devenahalli. From here too we started looking out for cops (Not the Dandiganahalli dam incident again :P) and cruised along just under the slowed speed limit to reach back the ORR. Then we switched to turtle’s pace as we knew and had been caught previously for over speeding. But guess what? No police that day hehe! So, thanked each other for making it for the day and departed to our respective homes.

TIME: 17:00

CONCLUSION:

“Great way to kick start things off for the year 2017. A new place, A new ride, and the pure energy still flowing.Grrrr….!! ”

Until next time, Cia \m/

MAPS:

ALL PHOTOS:

⬅️ 138. Nijagal Betta Trek 140. Ratnagiri Fort Trek ➡️

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