The 500km Epic: 14 Hours to HimvadGopalaswamy Hills, Battling the Fog, and Surviving a Charging Cobra | Chapter 29 (Feb 5, 2011)

29) HimvadGopalaswamy hills : (5/2/2011)

Place: Himvadgopalaswamy Hills.

Distance: 250x2 = 500 kms.

Bikes: GS > Pulsar.

Participants: Manu > Arun > Sp.

Directions:

Banglore > Mysore > Nanjungud > Gundelpet > Himvadgopalswamy Hills.

Previous Visit : Kabbladurga trek

INTRO:

Well this was the first biggest trip out of the trips we had covered so far, about 14 hrs of riding. First time encountering a cobra in the wild. It is the tallest peak of Bandipur Forest, famous for its Elephant sightings. Its about 70-80 kms from mysore.

PLAN:

Okay the initial plan was Yercaud the famous hill station in Tamil Nadu , then it was a fix between Himvad & Yercaud. Only Manu , Arun & myself were ready this time. So we decided to meet up at my place 04:00hrs and then decide the destination.

TIME: 23:00 hrs (4/2/2011)

RIDE I : ( Bangalore – Ramnagara )

03:00hrs I was up… washed my face , got ready and did a few push ups and went outside at around 4am, Surprisingly Arun showed up at exact 4:15am , and parked his bike in my garage , 10mins latter manu also showed up , we decided to go to Himvad as manu could meet his younger brother in Mysore. We left my house at around 4:30am.

Sh-17 is a brilliant road no doubt... but it was dark & it was very cold... we kept a decent pace of 60’s … one scary incident took place on Sh17.. An Indica which was going at good speed all of a sudden stopped n the middle of the road and we were right behind, somehow managed to evade it.

It started becoming really cold and hands began to shiver , so we stopped in front of Ramnagar jail & the first thing we did was keep our hands on the exhausts of our bikes ha-ha !! Had some biscuits & buns.

TIME: 05:00 hrs

RIDE II: (Ramnagar – Maddur – Srirangapatna)

After having snacks , maddur was decided as the next destination . We followed a truck and kept a safe distance from it. We reached Maddur Tiffany’s & opened the shutter of the hotel and asked if there was anything available Ha-ha !!

TIME:06:00hrs

As the shooed us away we got back on our bikes and rode slowly in search of a hotel for tea/coffee . We kept riding and we reached Srirangapatna to witness on of the best sunrises till date.

TIME: 07:00hrs

RIDE III : (Srirangapatna – Mysore for Breakfast)

After spending about 30 mins on the highway wandering around we left for mysore. Mysore is about 20 kms from Srirangapatna.. we reached Mysore in about half an hour and found a decent hotel just before entering the Mysore – Nanjungud Road. had nice Idly Vada & Coffee And left towards nanjungud.

TIME:08:30hrs

RIDE IV: (Mysore – Gundelpet – Himvadgopalswamy hills)

Nanjungud is about 25 kms from mysore , the road is kind of okay with a few patches here and there. After we reached nanjungud.. the roads became very good again… and we reached Gundelpet which is about 60kms from mysore in a very short amount of time. A 10km right deviation from lead us to the foot of the himvadgopalaswamy hills, where we encountered a checkpost.

TIME:10:30hrs

RIDE V: ( Ghats Of Himvadgopalaswamy hills)

Well the entry prices had gone up nearly 10 times….

Cars: Rs50 to Rs500

Buses & Trucks : Rs200 to Rs2000

Bikes: Rs25 to Rs100

When enquired the police guard also said ... we couldn’t take no plastics to the top and there was more bummers

1) Could spend only one hour at the top.

2) Going beyond temple premises was banned.

3) Two boys went missing into the forest a few weeks back.

So we were put in a dilemma whether to go or no…Manu said Bandipur , I exclaimed Waynad… but yeah after coming so far.. it wouldn’t fair of us to skip this place , so decided to go up.

The ride after the checkpost is through the forest ghats , and believe me the road is very bad. The ghat was steep and over that patches in between… it was fun riding in this stretch. We kept going checking out the beautiful valley below us and getting some fresh oxygen at higher altitude ha-ha!! Finally after 20-30 mins we reached he top.

TIME:11:00hrs

TEMPLE:

At the top it was like a whole different world , it was so cool & breezy. We were a little disappointed that it wasn’t green , and no elephants could be sighted grazing around the temple. It’s usually very foggy and greenery prevails… truly a marvelous place.

We got the pooja done, and we could see the fog condensing as water on the walls … and we went outside and sat enjoying the tranquility and cool breezy wind. Then finally we left the temple after praying again for one last time.

TIME: 11:45hrs

RIDE VI : ( Temple – Check post ; Cobra encounter)

Okay we rode back as slow as possible down the ghats , negotiating the curves with caution. Then I spotted something move amidst the dried leaves… once I realized it was a huge snake I stopped my bike in excitement and switched off the engine and told Arun to help me catch the snake ( I’m not exaggerating this is exactly how it happened ha-ha!!)

Arun thought I had gone crazy caught my jacket and pulled me back … but I got down. Manu who had stopped ahead of us thought it was a small rat snake and came back to see , once he spotted it .. the change of expression in his face was amazing… he yelled tat it was charging at us.. I turned back to see it coming Arun pulled me back on the bike and we were off ( well he just saved my life :D).. reached the Check post and collected our things from the guards .

TIME:12:15hrs

RIDE VII: (Himvad – Mysore)

Once we got back down the hills , the temperature went up & the heat was unbearable. We thought of having lunch at mysore which was still an hour away so rode at a decent pace till najungud thanks to the good roads, and finally we stopped at beautiful lake nearMysoreoutskirts. Took a few mins break did a few stretches and were ready to ride.

TIME: 13:15hrs

As we entered Mysore the traffic was bad , and finding a hotel was difficult , finally we got a decent hotel sat down and had proper meals :D

TIME: 14:30 hrs

RIDE VIII: ( Mysore-Srirangapatna)

After the lunch we washed our faces and sat on the footpath, hanging around till manu’s brother phoned us. We went and picked him up from his hostel and headed towards Srirangapatna. SH 17 in the noon , so very less traffic it was easy riding we reached Srirangapatna in a very short span of time.

TIME:15:15hrs

SRIRANGAPATNA:

There are many places to visit at srirangapatna including tippu grave , sangama etc etc… but we went directly to the river sangama. We got our shoes off and kept our feet in the cold river water … whew that was a relief , we washed our faces & thought of having tea/coffee near by.. then we decided we would stop at maddur tifany’s to have something to eat . So we sat on the banks and relaxed for a good 30-40mins. Then we got our shoes back on and headed towards Maddur.

TIME:16:15hrs

RIDE IX : (Srirangapatna – Maddur)

Maddur is about 40 -50 kms from Srirangapatna , we requested Manu’s brother to join us till banglore , but he insisted that he had to get back to the hostel in mysore on the same day. So we dropped him off at the bus stop and we carried on to reach MT .

TIME:17:30hrs

MADDUR TIFFANY’s:

We had nice Masala dosa & Coffee and sat on the swing for 15mins and left MT .

TIME: 18:00hrs

RIDE X: (Maddur-Banglore)

The last 80 kilometers was just formality , good 4-lane road . The sun went down pretty fast , traffic got heavier , we could see train lights far away .. ha-ha !! those were all signs of a good finish to this wonderful trip… as we entered banglore TRAFFIC…. Got stuck for about 30-40 mins and finally we reached home and got some well deserved sleep :D

TIME:20:15hrs

Participants Check:

1) Manohar - Led the the way through the worse road and made us meet his younger brother .

2) Arun - Had come on time :P tats the greatest thing he could give.. ha-ha !! was sitting behind me all throughout the trip.

Ciao until next time \m/

MAPS:



ALL PHOTOS:

⬅️ 28. Kabbaladurga Trek 31. Muthathi forest ➡️

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The 200km Solo Trek: Facing Death on Kabbaladurga's 80deg Rocks, Carrying a 2L Load, and Finding Relief at Kanva | Chapter 28 (Jan 26, 2011)

Place: Kabbalu Hill & Kanva.

Distance: (90+10) x 2 = 200 kms

Directions:

1) Bangalore > Ramnagar > Chenpatna > Left Turn > Kabbalu.

2) Banglaore > Kanakpura > Sathanur > Right Turn > Kabbalu.

Participants: Manu > Sp.

Bikes: GS > Pulsar.

Previous Visit: Chamundi Hills & Balmuri Falls.
Budget: Rs250/h.
My second visit to this place: 62-Kabbaladurga trek.

PLAN:

Before I start writing this article, this was the trip which almost took me away and left me with great memories to look back. Solo-trek at this insane place under the hot sun without water or anything else, rained the guts out of me.

Okay a few days before 26^th I came to know that Kabbalu was not only a dam but a hill which could be trekked. So the plan was trek the hill, then cool down in the waters. After a lot of discussion it was only Manohar & me who were ready to hit the road next day. So Crashed early without having the slightest clue what was instored for the next 15 hours.

TIME: 22:00 hrs

RIDE I : ( Bangalore to Kabbalu)

Morning 04:00hrs I was up & ready, just before leaving my house Alexi ( my pet ) was pulling me back into the house, all these signs made sense after 6-7 hours ha-ha!!! 6:30 am Manu arrived at my place and we left towards Chenpatna via Mysore road(SH-17) . We Chose SH-17 over Kanakpura road because it was still dark and there was a lot of Fog we didn’t want to experience a death ride again like that of Ride to BR hills .

SH-17 a good 4-lane road offered no problems for us .Though it was still foggy we witnessed a great sunrise, we cruised through Bidadi & Ramnagar to reach Chenpatna. A left deviation through this town would lead to the town of kabbalu.

RIDE II: (Chenpatna – Kabbalu)

From Chenpatna Kabbalu is about 20-25kms, it comes before Sathanur. And the roads were pretty good, both the sides thick trees, forest kind of roads. It was a real nice riding through this stretch. Finally after a good 15-20 mins ride we got the glimpse of the hill “Kabbalu”. On top we could see a small white dot – tat was top of the hill, which also marked the end point of the trek.

Kabblau ispretty high when altitude comes into the picture, 3300 feet (1000m). But much steeper faces compared to other hillocks so so much more better for a good trek. 

We entered the town of kabbalu parked our bikes near the temple (for safety)& walked about 1.5- 2kms then about 500 meters to reach the foot of the hill.

TIME : 08:00hrs.

TREK I: (Going gets tough with additional Load on my back)

We started to trek up the hill, we didn’t know the proper route so started climbing where ever we could find a path. We met two aged people who were trying to climb as well. They requested me to carry their 2-litre bottle and pooja items for them to the top as I was carrying a bag. This made the trek even more challenging a 2 litre bottle & other items added a lot of weight on my shoulder and I was carrying my helmet too.

The terrain changed to something similar to that of Savandurga , pure rocky terrain , it started to become difficult but fun. The steepness was maddening & the load on my back resulted in me losing lot of energy... And every time I lifted me hand my bag was pulling me back. It was only the beginning of what was in stored for me that day .

TIME: 08:30hrs

MANU STAYS BACK:

About 20-30 minutes of the trek, Manu felt uneasy & said he was giving up this trek. I thought a good 15-20 mins break would set him back on track, but he was pretty serious. And he’s that kind of person who is always ready for challenges. So I was put in a dilemma:

1) Whether to continue & deliver the goods to the top or

2) stay back and take him to safety.

The first option was associated with a lot of risks anything could happen and there was only person to blame “myself”. And also I wasn’t sure where I was heading... but it would also mean breaking a promise to the aged persons who had trusted me..So I asked Manu about the decision to make… he gave me a “thumbs up” … so I took a promise tat he would find shade or go back to the town and find food and shade.

So I continued further in search of the temple on top, along with other old ruined buildings hoping that the terrain would become less steeper.

TIME: 09:00hrs

TREK II: (Test of WILL v/s Facing Death)

After manu’s exit on the trek, it became that much harder for me to climb. The terrain became worse 70-80 degree inclined rock, not to forget the scorching heat of the sun on my head.

The rays of the sun falling directly over my head made me feel Dizzy at times, but one slip would END it all ha-ha!!! (Damn those moments). Every 10-15 steps I took uphill I sat down thinking the madness I had got myself into. Looking back down at the insanely steep terrain made me a little worried about climbing back down.

As it was an odd season to visit, the place was totally burnt out, which didn’t help to keep my spirits up. It looked like a burnt fort awaiting my arrival ha-ha!!! (Yeah I was hallucinating)

TREK III: (Last Test off will)

The temperature kept rising, was feeling dizzy somewhere on top of the mountain with no people around, crazy situation it was. Well the white spot which marked the end of the trek was totally out of my mind, I just wanted to stand on flat ground. And the most annoying part was I had a full 2litre heavy bottle but couldn’t open it as I thought it was kept for some sacred ritual on top.

Thought the steepness would reduce as I went further up , but unfortunately the steepness became insane , at certain places it was one shot one go , else slip to death kind of situations. Scary moments but worth living those. This stretch is something I’ll remember for a long time. Check out snaps of the inclination and the surroundings Ha-ha!! They showed no mercy.

Finally after a lot of balancing, I found myself at the bottom of a few uneven half broken rock foot steps which I thought would lead to the temple on top. And finally something went correct for me that day ha-ha!!!

There’s lot much to say about this stretch , the thoughts that ran into my mind… but it was all part of the experience , It’s very hard to express the fear I felt of not returning home , people i would miss etc . So anyway I was on the top of the world after reaching the top: D

TIME: 10:00hrs

TOP FINALLY:

Once I reached the top I was shocked to see the entire top burnt , but the cool breeze was blowing on my face , Whew that was a relief !! I wasn’t sure whether I took the right route but can assure u I took the hard one ha-ha!!

At the top I explored a little, found old abandoned buildings, and then spotted the first of the temples. Here the Nandi originates from the rock itself. But the main destination was still not to be found. The breeze was so strong standing became a tough task.

I put the pooja items inside the temple and found my bag had tore...Well that was a bummer, added to that my shoe lace also gave up… had to tie knots and manage. It was one of those days where everything went wrong and being on top of some cliff hanging on by a thread made things worse. I found a brick and wrote my name on top of some stone knew it wouldn’t remain forever but yea I was proud of myself ha-ha!! I had this scary feeling only once before during the Epic Skandagiri Trip.

Finally after 30minutes found the Gopura, which was seen as a small dot from the road which was far far away like a small streak. Sat in front of the temple looking at the town of kabbalu with heavy thoughts running through my mind. It was so windy I was scared to go the edge of the cliff. After 15-20 minutes at the main destination I wore back my shoes with modifications to my lace tying and decided to head back.

TIME: 11:15hrs

TREK IV: (Climb Down)

As I started to climb down I met a few more people who were just about to reach the top and believe me they were begging for water, so gave off the bottle of water to them and continued.

The climb down was a scary one, as every step required more balance and grip and yea I’m scared of heights too ha-ha!!! Then I sat down and climbing down cautiously keeping my hand on the burning hot rock surface. Bruises started showing up but had to continue as I didn’t have much of a choice. Ankles & knees were literally shivering .crying out in pain.

After 60 minutes of trekking and yea running down the hill reached the place where me and Manu had split off earlier, but as I couldn’t find him realized that he would be in the town. Finally found a better route and ran down even though knees & ankles were shattered, completed the last 10% of the hill in no time and reached the road which would lead to the town. Then I took one final look at the maddening & Scary trek I had been for the past 4-5 hours.

TIME: 12:45pm

THE WAIT:

As I reached of kabbalu people were staring at me as if they has seen a ghost. The shock on my face still prevailed. I was totally in sweat limping across the town with bruises on my hands. I reached the place where we had parked our bikes but Manu was no where to be seen and the wait began…

The sun was up & directly above my head but leaving that place meant that manu wouldn’t spot me so bought two coconuts and sat on my bike keeping the heat down. After 80-90 minutes off dizzy wait manu showed up whew it was about time. When enquired about his health he said he was okay and was ready to head back.

TIME:13:30hrs.

RIDE III: (Kabbalu – Dhaba – Kanva)

The ride back was a steady one… again riding through the forest kind off road was fun. We stopped for a few moments and we decided to go to Kanva .But before that our tummy’s were crying for food… it was only the previous day we had eaten so headed further to reach SH-17.

20kms form the chenpatna we reached the kanva Dhaba and had a good meal and headed towards kanva.

TIME: 14:15hrs

KANVA:

Seeing the waters of this magnificent place was a huge relief. Parked our bikes and took a dip into the water. Knees ankles wrists hands everything cooled down.. Felt great. After 30 minutes in the chilly waters of kanva we came out of the water and had a good nap on the banks. After that we decided to head back to Bangalore.

TIME:15:30 hrs

RIDE IV: (Kanva-Bangalore)

Well the last 60kms were left and it was just formality completing this stretch. The lunch & the dip in Kanva was really refreshing and we did this stretch in about an hour to reach Bangalore and we headed home.

TIME:16:30 hrs

CONCLUSION:

I would like to end this article by saying the following

“this was one of my hardest treks till date, considering the season & the risks I took. I might have not taken the right route but defiantly took the tougher one and came out alive ,one slip would have finished it all & I wasn't sure I would be returning back home that day but yeah \m/ here I am alive and kicking ha-ha!! “

PS: And yeah don't be scared to visit the place after reading this , the trek is pretty simple if u take the right route.

Until next time Ciao \m/ (Scroll up and see the snaps of this maddening route i took)

MAPS:



ALL PHOTOS:

⬅️ 27. Chamundi Hills & Balmuri falls 29. Himvadgopalswamy Betta ➡️

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