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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Gummanayaka Fort: The 270km Trek Where Getting Lost is Fun & The Wind is 'Off the Charts' | Chapter 147 (May 27, 2017)

Place: Gummanayaka Fort Trek

Distance: 135kms x 2 = 270kms

Directions: Bangalore > Devanahalli > Chikballapura >Bagepalli > Gummanayaka Fort

Krew: Deepak (Deefu) > Madhu (Messi) > Karthik (Sp)

Bikes: Enfield > Pulsar                                                                   

Previous Visit: Tadiandamol Trek

Budget: Rs 400/head (+Rs 300/-)

IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:

Another amazing trek to this unknown hillock towards Chikbalapur. This hillock is situated almost at the border of Andhra and Karnataka just like Bhasmangi. Had a great time exploring this ruined fort. The hillock is just 200-300feet high and getting lost sometimes is needed.

INTRO & PLAN:

As far as the planning goes, 2017 had been going great. And May had started off with the big Tadiandmol trek. Had eased off on the krew and we’ve been chilling out on weekends. But as the end of the month approached I wanted to get this hillock under the belt. A week back we had a night out and had met with a fatal accident (car almost toppling into a 20feet ditch – off the record stories!) So on this trip it was just Deefu and Madhu who gave a go ahead!

TIME: 22:30 (26/5/2017)

ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:

Oh yeah woke up at 04:30, it had rained pretty heavily last night. Had a sip of coffee, did a few push ups and sit ups and was all set to go. The meet up was initially scheduled at 08:00 as I knew the place wouldn’t be crowded. I picked up Madhu from his place and met Deefu on the Outer Ring road and we took off from Bangalore.

TIME: 08:30

RIDE 1: (Bangalore – Devanahalli – Chikkbalapura – Bagepalli – GN palya)

This was a solid 135kms ride mostly on the highway and then on the interior roads. The first 100kms to Bagepalli was smooth and we didn’t face any difficulty. We had one stop in between for breakfast at the same hotel we always pull over on this road – Hotel Pranav.

TIME: 10:00

After a yummy breakfast, we decided to hit non-stop to Bagepali. Once we reached Bagepalli we asked the locals for directions and proceeded to find ourselves slowly drifting off from civilization. Vast open lands with lot of boulders gave that typical Andhra feel.

We could spot the hillock few kilometres away, but we pulled over at a ruined old Kalyani and took a look around. We fooled around this place as it was pretty strange and spooky. Asking another local for the directions to the hillock we made it to the base of the hill.

TIME: 12:15

  

GUMMANAYAKA FORT:

As said earlier, this hillock ain’t that big. Hardly 300feet and if one takes the right route the top could be reached in a matter of 20-30mins. But as usual we messed up and got lost and trust me, I felt happy that we did (like always!). This fort dates back to 1300’s and legend has it people found this young kid lying in the sun and the hood of the cobra provided him shade. People thought he would be special and rule the region. The kids name was Vasantha Nayaka and Gummanayaka was his descendant.

  

Alright, coming back to the fort. The fort looked totally crumbly to be frank. It looked as though it could collapse at any point of time. But this gave a strange and beautiful aura. The initial stretch consisted of a lot of ruined buildings and easy walk way. As we continued we found the path split into a Y junction (take right). We saw a beautiful tree straight up ahead and continued towards it to find a lot of hoodoo rituals performed at the place.

TIME: 12:30

From here on, we were pretty much lost. We crawled this narrow opening in the boulder to reach a steep face on top of which was the final fort wall. We cautiously made our way to top praising Gummu for his incredible deceitfulness in the pathways. But as we reached we hit dead end and could not find a way to get past the fort wall.

And trust me it was unusually windy. I had a hard time just standing up. We were confused and taken aback. Then Deefu went ahead a little further and told we would have to go back and re-traverse our path and I went ahead and decided to explore this route.

This turned out to be a little tricky but lead us to a place where the fort wall had been breached. Climbing up on what seemed to be crumbly boulders we made it to the top.

TIME: 13:00

TOP:

The wind speeds were off the charts. It was very unusual for a hillock this size to have speeds like that. We explored the fort and found the actual entrance to the top a few meters ahead. Few buildings laid in ruins on the top of the hillock. Finally we crashed under the shade of the tree. Oh yes, we had forgot to get water bottle haha! Resting for about 30mins on top we decided to leave as we were parched.

TIME: 13:30

  

TREK BACK:

The trek down was smooth and kind of boring as neat steps lead us straight down and to the deviation point where we had goofed up a turn. But this route took us to a temple, pretty much in ruins as well. We paid respects to the place and danced our way down to the base, where another shocker awaited us!

TIME: 14:00

RIDE 2: (GN Palya – Bagepalli – Chikbalapur – Devenahalli – Bangalore)

As we approached our bikes, we found my bike’s tyre punctured. Damn! I thought, had replaced the tube recently and BAM this happens! Then I looked at Madhu and he looked at me and we started fighting (as usual) I was blaming his weight to be the only reason :P

Then I sat on the petrol tank and rode for about 4kms trying to smile at every villager who thought I was crazy or didn’t know how to ride a bike. Then finding a compressor, we filled in the required pressure and continued for another 3-4kms to find a puncture shop. Getting the tyre fixed we felt revitalized.  Then on we ride non-stop to Chikbalapur to the same hotel for some light lunch (as we had other plans!).

TIME:  16:00

After munching down on some light lunch (exception Madhu who belted a full meal!) we called momz, Dattu to White horse. And the ride back was a decent one the traffic was thin until the Hebbal junction. After which it became dense and horrible. I asked Madhu if he really wanted to crash at WH as I didn’t want to get caught in rain and he said (confidently!) it wouldn’t rain. So taking the interior route we ended up at WH for some light drinks.

TIME: 17:30

  

After about 1.5h of nice talks we left WH when a big droplet of rain fell right on my head. No I didn’t look down, nope I didn’t look up, (hoped it was not bird shit for a moment though:P) looked straight at Madhu’s face. Madhu "hey common am i a rain god? or what?". I thought damn, this would be one interesting ride back and sat back on the bike. As we left Malleswaram, down came the rains pretty mercilessly. The roads were flooded about 65 trees fell for the day. It was dangerous ride back, but we didn’t want to get caught up in the after rain ride, when people ride like maniacs. I felt it was better to ride in the rain slowly, its much safer. Dropped Madhu to his home and reached mine dripping wet.

TIME: 21:00

CONCLUSION:

“An awesome new find, 2017 well… 9 chapters and 8 new places pretty much tells you how my year is going. Pretty solid and sweet! It was nice to mix the school and college spheres with common motto to have fun ”

Until next time, Cia \m/

MAPS:

ALL PHOTOS:

⬅️ 146. Tadiandmol trek, Chiklihole Dam, Dolmen Circle 148. Kabbaladurga trek ➡️

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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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