Mahadevapura: The 300km Road Trip & 'Cooling Down' Nap in the Flowing Kaveri River | Chapter 142 (Mar 11, 2017)

Place: Mahadevapura

Distance: 150 x 2 = 300kms

Directions: Bangalore – Bidadi – Ramngar – Mandya – Mahadevapura

Participants: Deepak (Deefu) > Ashok (Momz) > Karthik (Sp)

Bikes: Enfield > Pulsar

Previous visit: Madakasira Fort Trek

IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:

This was a very good re-union of school friends to welcome the summer of 2017. Mahadevapura we had feared would be running dry and it was pretty much, but it had just enough of water for us to get comfortably down and have a peaceful nap in the flowing waters of Kaveri. It was a nice cooling down session to begin 2017’s summer!

INTRO & PLAN:

Past 6-8 months, Ashok was unavailable and we used to pester him every weekend from the dhaba. Finally since his exams were done, he himself asked if we could ride out and we decided a water spot would be ideal to get things back on track. Deefu quickly joined is too and the destination was mostly Mahadevapura. Yes, we had PLAN B as well because we weren’t sure whether water would be there at the place.

TIME: 22:00 (10/3/2017)

ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:

Yeah I was up at 05:00, did a few push ups & situps, had a cup of coffee and was all set to go. We had decided to meet at RR nagar arch by 7AM. As I proceeded towards RR nagar I was surprised to find the roads had narrowed down and the thus the traffic had increased dramatically. We used to always get out of Bangalore via Nagarbhavi picking up Madhu since a few months. So I proceeded and pulled over at Decathlon and asked the others to come to the same place. Once they arrived, we formally (for word’s sake) greeted each other and then departed Bangalore.

TIME: 07:30

RIDE 1: (Bangalore– Bidadi – Channpatna – Mandya - Mahadevapura)

This was 135kms ride on our hometown Mysore road. Keeping the blue blizzard at decent pace proved to be a herculean task haha.The dense traffic prevailed more or less 10-15kms post Bangalore. As we approached Bidadi it began to fade. We pulled over at our regular hotel for some tasty breakfast.

TIME: 08:45

After the breakfast we went out for some light tea. We discussed a lot of things. It had been months since we had met Ashok, so his stories (mostly funny ones) kept us entertained. As we proceeded we could really feel the air get hot a we cruised along Ramnagara and Channpatna. Waving Maddur a big hi, we pulled over after the town limits for some light tea again.

TIME: 10:30

  

After the tea, I told Deefu to stay back as the road after the high proceeds amidst fields and the twists and turns that exists to reach the place is nothing but a maze.  We rode at a decent pace and the grasslands were dry, the canals were dry. My hopes were going down every kilometre we travelled further. I told others about PLAN B and PLAN C (yeah had a third option as well!)

But then as we approached the Mahadevpura Bridge we could see a decent amount of water prevailed in the river. This lit up our mood completely. Even though less, it was fast flowing waters and I was sure it would be the perfect level for us to get into the waters. Proceeding further we reached the Anicut.

TIME: 11:30

MAHADEVAPURA:

The water levels were low ,but was pretty darn good enough. There was some construction work happening around the anicut hence water was left only through the gates. The canal was bone dry. So we decided venture alongside the river and find a good spot to crash into. After about 20mins of loafing around we did find an excellent spot but we had to get into a river for some distance and then get onto a boulder, leave our belongings there and then jump into the river. Once we got into the river it was little higher than knee but the force was like crazy. Goes to show how unsafe it is when the river is in full swing.

We got in and found a sweet spot near a boulder and just laid down and allowed the river to keep crashing into our backs. We went on speaking for an hour so about school days , recollecting some of the fondest of memories. We tried to venture downstream but it started becoming a little deeper, upto until neck level and the force was pretty darn strong. Hence we made our way back to the spot where water was just enough and we floated in time. After about an hour or so, we got out of the water and dried ourselves up. Just before we left, I had a little bit of juice in my bag we gulped it down and started our way back to the main road.

TIME: 14:30

RIDE 2: (Mahadevapura – Mandya – Ramnagara – Bangalore)

This was the 135-150kms ride back.  As we just left Mahadevapura, we challenged Ashok to take us back to the main road. Each deviation he took correctly was marked as a 1-pointer and a wrong one would loose him the same amount of points. To our surprise, he took 5/6 deviations right and missed out on the 3^rd one (the same one when Dilip and me had got wrong and ended up at PES mandya – Mahadevpura the Wrong turn) Reaching back the highway we pulled over at our regular dhaba for some drinks and lunch.

TIME: 15:00

After a good hour or so, we left the dhaba afloat. From here it was smooth sailing on Mysore road. As the sun had begun to set the darkness had come over and we pulled over at Ramnagara for some hot tea. After which we continued forward through Bidadi and pulled over just before kengeri at the NICE road deviation. Thanked both Deefu and Ashok for making it and we split our ways to reach our respective homes.

TIME: 19:00

Until next time Cia \m/

MAPS:

PICASA ALBUM:

⬅️ 141. Madakasira Fort Trek 143. Wayanad ➡️

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Madakasira Fort Trek: Conquering the 300km Vijayanagara 'Brown Fortress' Maze (Slippery & Scenic) | Chapter 141 (Jan 26, 2017)

Place: Madakasira Fort Trek

Distance: 150kms x 2 = 300kms

Directions: Bangalore > Dobbaspete > Madhugiri > Madakasira

Krew: Gowrish (Gori) > Karthik (Sp)

Bikes: Pulsar                                                                                  

Previous Visit: Ratnagiri Fort Trek.

Budget: Rs 500/head

IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:

An amazing fort trek to this ancient and pretty well heard of place amongst people of previous generation. Today’s trekkies hardly know this place. It was an unexpected fun filled exploring kinda trek. The fort is well preserved and belongs to the Vijayanagara dynasty. This fort is situated in Andhra Pradesh. This was the third trip for the month of January 2017 and all new places. Felt just great!

INTRO & PLAN:

It was 4 days since our wonderful visit to RatnagiriFort & Medigeshi. I knew January was the time we began conquering Andhra. So as 26^th of Jan was a holiday on account of republic day, I decided to get Madakasira in the bag as well. Gowrish was the only on the confirmed list.

TIME: 13:00 (25/1/2017)

ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:

Oh yeah woke up at 04:00, did a few push-ups & sit-ups, had a sip of coffee & was all set to go! Woke up Gorisha and asked him to leave a little early as we wanted to avoid the morning traffic. Gow reached my place at 6:30 on his new beast Desert Storm. But it would be advisable if we left his bike back at my place and went to Madakasira on my bike.  

TIME: 07:00

RIDE 1: (Bangalore – Dobbaspete – Madhugiri – Madakasira Fort)

This was 150kms ride on good road but with lot of speed breakers. As we departed Bangalore we could see a lot of geared up bikers (serial sets on body kind off ;P) all set to ride out as well. We cracked up within and continued at a good pace. The air was real cold and surprisingly none of the hillocks was visible due to the fog. We pulled over at our regular hotel for some tasty breakfast.

TIME: 07:30

  

After some yummy breakfast, we rode into Dobbaspete and took the road towards Madhugiri. The roads were freshly laid but the amount of speed breakers was little too much. But nevertheless we had enough topics to chat about, so chatting away our time enjoying the cool morning breeze we reached Koratgere in about 30mins. After which we proceeded further I could spot Channarayanadurga but Madhugiri was covered in a veil of mist and only her outline was visible. This made her look even more scary and dark. Once we were out of Madhugiri we pulled over for our first break with Madakasira just 35kms away.

We stretched out a little had some chocolates and carried on further. Once we spotted Medegishi we knew Madakasira was just around the corner. We crossed the Karnataka-AP border and as we proceeded towards Madakasira we spotted the hillock and it was bigger than I expected.  Asking the locals in Telugu we rode through narrow lanes in between houses and found the starting of the trial. We parked our bikes and requested an old lady to keep our helmets until we trek back down from the hill.

TIME: 10:30

MADAKASIRA FORT TREK:

It took us about an hour to ascend the fort. The weather was pleasant and light drizzle made it peaceful but scary as well in few situations. The whole could be divided into three stages

i)    Initial Climb

ii)  The Brown Fortress

iii) The Bell Stretch

So, try keeping up with me on this one. Here goes:

  

i)  Initial Climb:

The initial climb in on stairs and this took a pretty good toll on our knees (hate stairs). But the stairs alongside a fort wall and made us feel like the invading soldiers. There were lots of trees and shrubs which made the climb peaceful. As we ascended we found lots of gateways and the real beauty of the fort climb began to reveal. There were 2-3 gateways through which we had to walk and as we ascended the town below began to move farther away.  Finally after crossing the initial climb we had entered the curvy fort on top.

ii) The Brown Fortress:

This I must say is pretty much the core of the trek. For a fort on top of a hill it is pretty huge per se. And it is pretty well preserved. We enjoyed the exploration the fort offered us. There were so many misleading directions and alternate path ways.  There is a temple in the middle of the fort otherwise it was more or less like a maze designed to confuse the invading enemies. Trust me it did a pretty good number on us as well. We also got a view of the end point of the trek from the fort wall and it was at some distance.

iii) The Bell Stretch:

This was the last stretch of the climb up Madakasira. As we left he fort hill what stood before was another hillock pretty crude compared to the previous two stages. We knew it would be tricky to get to the top. We began to ascend the crude part of the climb. The steps had begun to fade and I felt better and more comfortable. But the dark clouds hovering the skies and told us clear that it would shower any moment. This stretch has two places where it gets pretty tricky and we found it joyful to use some of our rock climbing stuff finally hehe. After getting past the two nice spots we reached what seemed like a dark cave and as we made it past the cave we could see the final end of the trek.

TIME: 12:00

  

TOP:

We rang the bell loud thrice and sat in the Mantapa enjoying the cool drizzle flooded breeze. It was just an awe experience. And as we sat in calmness and stillness we realised that the light drizzle had converted into a shower wetting the rocks. We relaxed on top of the hill for a good 45mins munching on some chocolates and sipping on some water.

TIME: 12:45

TREK DOWN:

Well, the trek down took us only 30mins but it had few intense moments. As we left the showers had picked up pace and the surface felt slippery. Few kids were making their way uphill yelling at the top of their voices to drive their fellow friends. The first of the tricky spots we got down with ease the second one was pretty steep and I volunteered to go first. And as I began, I slipped down and slid down but could hold my feet firm and hands pushed against the rock. Then Gow followed the same fate but I was down to prevent him from falling off. After this we took a breather and continued down in full pace taking few pits stops now and then to relax. 

  

It was not long before we began to wonder if we could get back to the same lane where we had parked our bike hehe. (We also had plan of action in case we missed out. Gow covers every lane of the town from left to right and I would come from the opposite side hehe!) Anyway we straightaway found our bike and took back our helmets from the old lady thanking her for looking after it. It was finally time to say Sayanora to Madakasira.

TIME: 13:00

RIDE 2: (Madakasira – Kottu Stop – Madhugiri – Dobbaspete – Chandu Dhaba – Bangalore)

This was a 150kms ride back home. So, to start things off we cruised at a slow pace looking out for any juice shops on road side. We had spotted one on our way to Madakasira itself (pro-active approach always better than reactive approach :P) and we pulled over at that very same place and purchased the needed. After which we came across this beautiful lake and we decided it was a good place to chill out on the boulders beside the lake. We sat for about an hour drifting in the drizzle and enjoying the magnificent lake that stood before us.

TIME: 14:00

After a good 1 hour sitting we decided to have lunch at Chandu Dhaba. As we left the lake it was a pleasant ride till Madhugiri. After which the drizzle turned into showers and the roads turned wet. We enjoyed the rain ride and reminded us both of the Melukote trip in 2015. As we reached Doabbaspete we turned up the throttle and cruised into Chandu Dhaba at Nelamangala for some second round and yummy lunch.

TIME: 15:30

We spent about an hour belting some good lunch at the dhaba. Once we were done we had some pan and left the place. We took the NICE road from Tumkur road and cruised peacefully on the butter smooth link to reach back my home. Gow took out his Desert Storm and headed back towards his home.

TIME: 17:30

CONCLUSION:

“Amazing Amazing trek and to be frank we were a little overwhelmed as our expectations were little less. Getting Gow back on track and exploring this new fort hill felt f’n awesome!! It was a ruthless beginning to 2017. Three new places to start off., Hell F'n Yeah \m/”

Until next time, Cia \m/

MAPS:

ALL PHOTOS:

⬅️ 140. Ratnagiri Fort Trek 142. Mahadevapura ➡️

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