59) Madhugiri trek & Nandi hills: (20/7/2012)

Place: Madhugiri Fort & Nandi hills.

Distance: 350kms.

Directions: Bengaluru – Dobbaspete – Madhugiri – Guribidnur – Nandi hills - Bengaluru.

Particiapants: Deepak (Deepu) > Karthik (Sp).

Bikes: Pulsar.

Previous visit: MakalidurgaRailway trek.

Budget: Rs300/h.

IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:

This was one terrific trek till date. Madhugiri (3930ft) being the second largest monolith in Asia offered a good challenge to climb. And yeah visit to Nandi is something we planned sitting on top of Madhugiri. Nandi hills shall & will be at the bottom of the ‘to-visit’ places.

INTRO & PLAN:

Madhugiri (3930ft) is the the second largest monolith in Asia after the mighty Savandurga (4022ft). People have referred Madhugiri as the vertical limit, daring trek etc. There are about 10 gates that we have to ascend. The height of each of the fort wall is such that it blocks the view of the next climb. So everytime you ascend a stretch you will feel it is the last one, only to find another hillock waiting just for you. This is something we observed while climbing; our ancestors surely kicked some mighty A. Deepu being a trek freak was the only one on the confirmed list.

 

ASSEMBLE:

Yeah I was up at 05:00 hrs, did a few push-ups, had some coffee and left home. We did carry a water bottle this time, as we didn’t wanted to end up dehydrated like the Makalidurga trek. Left my house at about 06:15hrs & cruised on the Outer ring road (ORR) at a very slow pace & reached Malleswaram. Picked up Deepu and departed Bengaluru.

TIME: 07:15 hrs

RIDE 1: (Bengaluru – Dobbaspete – Madhugiri)

This was a good 110-120kms stretch, with sufficient breaks taken. First we got out of the city & cruised on Tumkur road (NH-4) at a decent pace. After about 45mins of riding we pulled over for a light breakfast, after which we rode till Dobbaspet. At Dobbaspet we took a right deviation & from then on it was smooth sailing 60kms ride to reach Madhugiri.

TIME: 10:00 hrs

 

MADHUGIRI FORT TREK:

Well, we had got the first glimpse of this huge monolith kilometres away. And to be frank, we got a little scared. We reached the town, parked our bike & with the mountain goat’s spirits wide awake within us we were ready to conquer this fort.

Ascension:

We took about 1.5 hours to ascend with a lot of breaks & exploration. And thankfully we both were the only ones trekking as it was a weekday. As said earlier, there are about 10 gateways to pass. And at each of these, the height of the fort wall is such that it blocks the view of the next stretch. So I have divided the climb into 5 stretches namely; “initial, mid, danger, pre-last & final”.

 

Initial stretch:

The trek started off with a pretty easy stretch, with lot of steps. As we proceeded we realised climbing steps takes more energy out of your knees than climbing a plain rock.The initial stretch consists of a lot of doors of Mugal architecture. 

 

After passing through a few doors we reached a huge tank, which was a used as storage of rain-water in ancient days. Also we spotted an outpost on which we climbed up and took our first break. As we sat on the out-post, we stared at the huge hillock that stood before us wondering how long it would take us to reach the top.

TIME: 10:20 hrs

Mid stretch:

After some rest, we proceeded to spot a lot of temples near the out-post. And oh yeah he famous “whale shaped” rock as well. The second stretch was quite tiring as it had steep steps. The doors which were present here, laid mostly in ruins.

TIME: 10:45 hrs

 

Danger stretch:

Yes this is the most talked about stretch of Madhugiri and something we both were waiting since the start. We had to walk horizontally across a steeply inclined rock. But the railings made our job very easy and we crossed it without much difficulty to pass the 5^th(/6^th)gate.

Once we passed the gate we were shocked to see what stood before us. It was a another stretch of the hillock which seemed to reach the sky, making us feel that we had just started the trek all over again.

Pre-last stretch:

This stretch is very similar to Savandurga, but much steeper. With Deepu’s experience leading the way we ascended to find a lot of boulders & cactus plants. After few minutes we spotted another gate, after crossing which we were left with another hilly stretch in front of us. Ha-ha now I wasn’t sure myself as to how many gates there were.

TIME: 11:00 hrs

 

Final stretch:

We started walking up the not so steep terrain which I must say offered pretty good grip. After about 15-20mins, with a few breaks we were at the top :)

TIME: 11:20 hrs

MADHUGIRI FORT TOP:

As we reached the top, first thing we did is looked around wondering whether there was another hillock hiding from us ha-ha!! Yep after we confirmed only the sky was above us we put down our energy levels down and began exploring.

At the top, we spotted two dome shaped oil/ghee storage & a lot of other sit-out places. After crossing these places, we passed through a passage where we could feel the wind speeds pick up in a instant. After coming out of the passage we found a open area with lots of small buildings. The wind speeds were so high, standing up straight was a challenge.

  

As we entered the buildings we were kinda scared, trust we it was a haunted, lonely feeling inside. With darkness everywhere & bright powerful beam of light hitting the floor sent chills down our spines. After a few mins of exploration we climbed upon the buildings & took about 20mins rest, drinking some water. Then the plan of visiting Nandi hills came up. After the rest we got up & were all set to descend as we had another hill to cover.

TIME: 12:00 hrs

DESCENT:

The descent was a quick one, we took about 40mins to climb down the hill thanks to the shortcut. We finished off the final & pre-final stretch in a matter of minutes. After reaching the “danger stretch”, Deepu looked at me said instead of walking horizontal across the plane, we better go down the plane :P

 

I was taken aback at first, but then was game for some crazy shit all the time. So the “dangerous stretch” didn’t look that dangerous as we began descending the steep plane discussing various methods of treeking. We took sufficient breaks and skiiping all the gates down we directly reached the foothills :)

TIME: 12:40 hrs

RIDE 2: (Madhugiri – Gauribidnur –Chikbalapur – Devanhalli – Nandi hills)

This was a 40+30+20+20 kms stretch. As we left Madhugiri, the roads to Chikbalapur was still under construction, so we had to ride at a slow pace. After covering 40kms we reached Gauribidnur. We had an excellent & proper Oota(lunch) & left. 

As we continued towards Chikballapur, the roads turned curvy & the surroundings became simply brilliant. We were enjoying the surroundings so much that we forgot to take a deviation at chikballapur and went off till Devanahalli :P. From there we continued another 20kms to reach the foot of Nandi hills.

TIME: 15:30hrs

 

NANDI HILLS:

Nandi hills is definitely not one of our favourite places, due to the visitors & modernization. But fortunately it was a weekday & odd-time the crowd was less. The ride up the hills was a smooth one.

 

Once we reached the top, we visited the Arkavati river origin, Tippu drop & the Nandi temple. It was really sad to see the tree houses & other structures being constructed spoiling the natural look of the place. So we searched for a good view point and sat down sipping water & having some snacks. It was not long before we made new friends, a couple of dogs kept us good company. We shared our snacks & sat with them for some more time before we departed.

TIME: 17:00 hrs

 

RIDE 3: (Nandi hills – Bengaluru)

This was good 60-70kms stretch. The descension of the entire hill was done with the engine switched off. Once we reached the foot of the hills, we cruised at a decent pace to reach Malleswaram for some egg-rice.

After having egg-rice, loafed around Mallewswaram for sometime, dropped Deepu to his place and rode back to reach home.

TIME: 20:30 hrs

Until next time Cia \m/

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53) Pondicherry & Gingee fort: (8’9’/4/2012)

Place: Pondicherry & Gingee Fort.

Distance: 800kms in total.

Directions: Bengaluru – Krishnagiri - Thiruvanamallai - Pondy.

Participants: Chethan(Zethu) > Karthik (Sp).

Bikes: Avenger > Pulsar.

Previous visit: Kanva Reservoir.
Budget: Rs1200.

IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:

This was one excellent run to the nearest shore from Bangalore. This run was for about 800kms, it was a hot & tiring ride. Food was eaten only once during the entire trip.

INTRO & PLAN: (trust me this is the must read part)

We had planned this trip 4-5 times earlier & every time we planned it turned out to fail until one day we just took our bikes and hit the road. After several flopped attempts we decided to allow time take its course of action. April of 2012 was the month we pulled this run of successfully.

ASSEMBLE: (8^th of April 2012)

Zethu arrived at my place at about 01:00hrs, we crashed at my place and decided to leave early in the morning. We were up at about 04:00, packed & bid adieu to Namma Bengaluru.

TIME: 05:30 hrs.

RIDE 1.1: (Bengaluru – Hosur – Krishnagiri)

This stretch was for about 100kms. We got out of the city in a short time as the traffic was lean during the early hours. After reaching the highway it was pure non-stop cruising until Krishnagiri for some hot tea.

TIME: 07:15 hrs.

 

RIDE 1.2: (Krishnagiri – Pambar dam – Sathnur Dam – Thiruvanamallai)

This stretch extended for about 130kms. But trust me this was one horrible stretch of road. Things to look out for while riding:

i) Huge deep patches covering more than half the road.

ii) If you find a good stretch, it won’t last for more than 500meters.

iii) Do not try to exceed 70kmphr.

So after about an hour of riding we reached Pambar dam.

 

PAMBAR DAM:

Well, this is a neat little reservoir. Very well maintained & less people made our visit to this place a memorable one. We spent a few minutes at this wonderful reservoir had a couple of biscuits and left.

Continuing further on the bad stretch for another hour or so we reached Sathnur Dam.

SATHNUR:

Actually there are many places to visit at this place. We visited the dam premises, Crocodile Park & the deer park. Oh yeah, we were strictly instructed not take any photographs at the Croc park, that made us even more determined & managed to capture a few. The crocodile park is pretty huge, with atleast 100-150 crocodiles of various sizes.

After finishing Sathnur we continued further to reach Thiruvanamallai.

TIME: 11:45 hrs.

 

RIDE 1.3: (Thiruvanamallai – Villupuram – Pondy)

This was a 100kms stretch, but thankfully on smooth roads. We asked directions at thiruvanamallai and managed to get out of the town. After getting out we cruised in comfort via the new route skipping Gingee fort to reach Pondy :)

TIME: 14:00 hrs.

 

PONDICHERRY:

As soon as we entered Pondy, we cruised along the East Coast Road(ECR). With the cool ocean breeze hitting our faces we started searching for a place to crash. But unfortunately places close to the main beach were damn expensive so we moved towards Repo beach.

SAND ATTACK:

Alright we tried taking our bikes into this small alley, where only one bike could fit. The terrain turned sandy & we found ourselves stuck in it. After a long tiring attempt we managed to get our bikes out & we also found our stay for that night.

Stay: Rs 300 for 4 guests. TV & a fan... ah yeah felt like heaven. And the best part, it was hardly a minute’s walk from the beach :)

TIME: 15:30 hrs.

 

PLACES TO VISIT:

After taking a 20mins nap, we decided to finish off all the places. As we were getting ready Zethu received a call asking him to return by 10^th morning as he had presentation :P, so we cut short a few places.

1. Auroville/Repo Beach: as it was the nearest we finished this beach first. We went and slept flat on the beach for about an hour enjoying the waves.

2. Le Café: next stop was Le café; it is a tourist information centre, which also provides food & café.

3. Children’s Park: Ha-ha yeah, this is on the ECR, thoughts of fooling around the place did occur but we continued.

4. The Main Beach: The Bay of Bengal, one of the most beautiful beaches at Pondy. But yeah getting into water is not possible at this place. We just sat on the rocks enjoying the sea breeze.

 

5. Church of the Sacred of Jesus: This is the most famous church of Pondy. Built in 1700, the church still looks brilliant.

6. Paradise Beach: 8kms from Pondy towards Cuddlore, another beautiful beach which can be accessed only by boat,

7. Cunnambar backwaters: Situated on the Cuddlore main road, 8kms from Pondy. Different boat rides available at this place.

8. Pichavaram: I strongly suggest visiting this place. It is about 70kms from Pondy towards south. But trust me worth the travel; it is the 2^nd biggest mangrove after the Sunderbans.

So please make yourself free and do visit this place, I’m pretty sure we’ll hit back to Pondy some day :P

 

So… those were just a few important places at Pondy. A detailed list of places is given at the end. After covering the places, we returned to Pondy at about 19:00. We roamed around the streets of Pondy, grabbed some something to drink & yeah some food too. After doing this we headed back to our home stay. We switched on the TV & started eating our dinner, with the beach a few meters away.

(Trust me I would do anything to re-live that moment )

After a nice meal, which was the first for the day and last for this trip we crashed.

TIME: 23:00 hrs.

SUN IS SHINING: (9^th of April 2012)

I was up at 04:00 to find Zethu already watching TV. We went to the beach at 05:00 & waited for the sunrise. After about an hour or so we witnessed one of the best sunrises till date. We spent another hour walking on the beach & finally left to pack our things.

 

Once the packing was done, we tied up our bags to our bikes and left Pondy. And yes Gingee was a place we had decided to visit on the second day.

TIME: 07:30 hrs.

RIDE 2.1: (Pondy – Gingee Fort)

Well this was about an 80kms stretch & yeah we exited Pondy through the actual/official entrance ha-ha. We cruised along the huge 4-lane highway comfortably & reached Gingee Fort.

TIME: 09:15 hrs.

GINGEE FORT:

It is of the best forts of Tamil Nadu. This fort was called the “Troy of the east” by the British. It includes 3 hillocks which are Rajagiri, Krishnagiri, Chakkilidurg in a triangular formation. Old granaries for storing oil & ghee, temples, mosques, barracks and other buildings can be seen on top of these hillocks.

 

So about our visit, we took about an hour to climb. With the sun directly on top & with bags to carry, the climb was no easy one. We had run out of water bottles which made matters worse. But we continued with sufficient breaks to reach the top. We covered all the buildings and sat flat on the top totally de-hydrated. The descent was fairly a quick one, as we reached the foot of the hills we rushed to a small shop grabbed something to drink and sat at the shop and took rest. Trust me I had never felt this level of dehydration till then. Once the fluids had been restored we hit back the road again.

TIME: 11:00 hrs.

RIDE 2.2: (Gingee – Thiruvanamallai – Krishangiri)

This was a good 150kms stretch. We cruised along at decent pace, taking sufficient breaks without over-straining our bodies to reach Thiruvanamallai. After reaching the town we took some small narrow roads through the market and made our way out of the crowded town.

The next was the horrible 130kms stretch which we named “ass-buster stretch”. We rode slowly but steadily taking breaks very often to cover this long gruelling stretch to reach Krishnagiri.

TIME: 15:30 hrs.

 

RIDE 2.3: (Krishnagiri – Hosur – Bengaluru)

This was a smooth 100km stretch. So it was a huge relief to reach Krishnagiri before the descent of the darkness. Getting stuck on the previous stretch in the dark is like digging our own grave. We had some wonderful tea and switched back to cruising mode on the 6 lane NH-7. We took sufficient breaks on the highway to reach back Bengaluru. We pulled over, sat on the footpath wondering if we had actually covered Pondy in 2 days. Then we thanked each other participating, & left to reach our respective homes.

TIME: 19:00 hrs.

 

CONCLUSION:

“Eyes drained out with solid red nerves, face covered with a thin film of black soot, haha felt so good. 800kms of non-stop riding for 2 days is what we both enjoyed thoroughly. Finishing the jinxed trip which had flopped for 5-6 times gave us that extra satisfaction.”

Zethu: couldn’t have thought of a better person to pull this trip off. Ever cool and his jokes kept us both going.

Sp: Had nice bath and went on a 10kms walk the next day :D

Until next Cia \m/

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