The 350km Archeo Ride: Exploring Hoysala Art at Somanathapura & Tippu Sultan's Srirangapatna Fort | Chapter 51 (Mar 20, 2012)

Place: Somanthapura & Sri Rangapatna.

Distance: 350kms in total.

Directions: Bengaluru – Maddur – Somanthpura – Srirangapatna – Maddur – Bengaluru..

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

Bikes: Avenger > Pulsar.

Previous visit: PanchapalliDam.

IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:

This was another excellent run to cover these places of archaeological importance. Most of the riding was done below the hot sun, so it was a little tiring but the excellent roads made it up for it.

INTRO & PLAN:

It had been 2 weeks since our last ride to PP reservoir in Tamil Nadu. Initially we planned to cover only Somnathpur and then it changed to Somnathpur & Talakad. And yeah Zehu was the only one on the confirmed list.

 

ASSEMBLE:

Yeah I was up at around 04:00hrs, had some coffee, did a few push-ups & was all set to ride. We met up at Rajarajeswari nagar Arch, as scheduled and left Bengaluru.

TIME: 06:00 hrs

RIDE 1: (Bengaluru - Maddur Tiffany’s)

This was an 80kms stretch of pure cruising. 4-lane state highway made riding easy. With only one tea break on the way we reached Maddur Tiffany’s for breakfast. We had a light breakfast and left MT.

TIME: 08:15 hrs

 

RIDE2: (Maddur Tiffany’s - Somnathpura)

This was a 60kms stretch which had a mixture of good & bad roads. As we left Maddur, we took a left deviation towards Mallavalli. This stretch is in seriously in a very bad state, but one thing to cheer about is the slush green fields on either side of the roads. After reaching Mallavali we took a right deviation to continue towards Somnathpura, this stretch initially had great roads, after which there were no roads at all. So.., after riding on the muddy roads for quite sometime we reached Somnathpura.

TIME: 10:00 hrs

 

SOMNATHAPURA:

The Chennakeshava temple at this place is constructed in Hoysala style of architecture. Lots of carvings of Gods, Goddesses, animals, musicians etc., can be clearly seen. This temple has perfect symmetry and was constructed during the reign of Narasimha III (Yeah I've done my homework alright :P)

 

So… as the sun was up, we sat in the shade outside the temple taking rest. We scrapped the plan of going to Talakadu and decided to head back home via SH-17(Mysore road) again.

TIME: 11:00 hrs

RIDE 3: (Somnathpura – Srirangapatna)

This was about a 40kms stretch through peaceful green fields. As we passed the town of Bannur, the thought of covering Srirangapatna occurred to us, we headed towards SH-17 & then towards Srirangapatna.

TIME: 12:00 hrs

 

SRI RANGAPATNA:

Alright listen I’ll be giving a brief overview of the places to visit at his wonderful town. We spent 2hours at this place pulling off 2 complete laps of the entire town on our bikes. So… here’s the list of places:

1. Dariya Daulat Bagh: It was Tippu’s summer palace built in 1784. It is completely a teak structure with beautiful rich paintings. Guns, Swords, Daggers, Medals, Coins which were used during Tippu’s reign are displayed here.

2. Gumbaz: Burial chamber of Tippu, his father (Hyder Ali) & mother (Fatima). Interior walls of this place are covered with tiger stripes as they were Tippu’s favourite.

3. Ghosai ghat & Sangama: About 1 km from the Gumbaz, this is a famous picnic spot. The river from here flows into the Mettur dam in Tamil Nadu.

 

4. Jama Masijid: This was Tippu’s favourite mosque. It has an unusually small dome.

5. The Obelisk: Place where Tippu breathed his last, trying to stop the invasion on British. His body was lying dead here for two days before the locals discovered it.

 

6. Captain Bailey’s Dungeon: Tippu’s prisoners of war were imprisoned here. Prison hooks onto which the prisoners were chained still remain in the dungeon. Once a cannon ball had rolled back & pierced the ceiling of the dungeon, this is another thing that has to be observed at this place.

7. Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple: It is the main temple, opened throughout the year. Lots of gift shops are present outside the temple. Bought a lots gifts for friends & family back home :)

8. Lal Mahal: This is the main Srirangapatna fort. This fort was constructed in Indo-Islamic style. It was unfortunately closed during our visit.

9. Thomas Innman’s dungeon: Okay this is a less famous place, but trust me the best among others. Similar to Bailey’s dungeon, prisoners were held captive here. But at his place the entire dungeon is surrounded by a water-pit and river water could be released by opening gates into this pathway. This would lead the dungeon surrounded with water. (Like the “He-man” castle haha :P)

 

So those are the important places that have to be covered in case you visit. After the rounds we left this wonderful place unwillingly.

TIME: 14:00 hrs

 

RIDE 4: (Srirangapatna – Maddur Tiffany’s(Old) – Bengaluru)

This was about a 130kms stretch with one lunch stop in between. As we left Srirangapatna we cruised along SH-17 at a fairly decent pace to reach Mandya for some re-fuelling. Then proceeded further towards Maddur to reach the original Maddur Tiffany’s.

TIME: 15:30 hrs

 

After having heavy lunch, we left MT. We covered the next 80kms easily, all we had to do was stay awake haha… the heavy lunch and the hot sun made us feel dizzy.

So with some no nonsense riding we reached the JnanaBharati split stop thanked each other for participating in the run & headed back to our respective homes.

TIME: 18:00 hrs

Until next time Cia \m/

MAPS:



ALL PHOTOS:

⬅️ 50. Panchapalli dam 52. Kanva reservoir ➡️

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The 200km Milestone Ride: Discovering the Peaceful, Isolated Panchapalli Dam in Tamil Nadu | Chapter 50 (Mar 6, 2012)

Place: Panchapalli Dam.

Distance: 100 x 2 = 200kms.

Directions: Bengaluru – Hosur – Denkankottai – Panchapalli Dam.

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

Bikes: Avenger > Pulsar.

Previous visit: Yercaud.

IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:

This was another excellent run to this unheard off, but a wonderful reservoir in Tamil Nadu. The hot sun drained our energies & made it a very tiring ride, but we pulled it off. This run also meant the successful completion of our 50^th chapter!!:)

INTRO & PLAN:

As far as the planning goes, we had heard of this place a few months back. Very few people have visited this place, so it was an extra joy to get out & search for this place. Zethu was the only one on the confirmed list.

TIME: 23:00 hrs (5/3/2012)

ASSEMBLE:

I was up at 05:00, had a sip of coffee, did a few push-ups & was all set to go out & complete the 50^th run. Zethu arrived at my place at my place & we left Bengaluru.

TIME: 06:30 hrs

 

RIDE 1: (Benguluru-Hosur-Saints bunk stop)

This was a 40-50kms stretch.  We started off early hoping to get out of the city when the traffic was lean. But unfortunately the traffic was a little heavy, drifting past the busses & cars we managed to get out of the city and enter NH-7.

After reaching NH-7 it was pure cruising mode. We cruised along the 6-lane butter-smooth highway to reach Karnataka – TN border. We rode further to reach Hosur outskirts & stopped at our regular bunk.

TIME: 08:00 hrs

 

RIDE 2: (Hosur-Dennikotte-Panchapalli Dam)

After filling up petrol, we stopped for tea & we started speaking about any noteworthy incidents that had occurred since our last ride. We entered Sh-17a and it was pure bliss to ride on this baby, we cruised along at a decent pace for the next 30kms to reach Dennaikotte.

At Dennaikotte we asked the locals for directions, and took a left deviation (at an Arch on the left side) in the town & continued further towards Panchapalli Dam.

 

This last stretch was for about 20kms, and it was a totally isolated ride. We stopped at many places as the sun was draining out our energies; one of the important stops was Bettarayaswamy temple. After covering about 15kms, we got the first glimpse of the wonderful reservoir. Next 5kms we descended along the reservoir and finally arrived at PP dam.

TIME: 09:30 hrs

PANCHAPALLI DAM:

Alright… to be honest I was expecting a small water body, but this one turned out be freaking huge. But yeah the atmosphere was calm & damn peaceful.

‘Tranquillity’ was the word at the place, & we both were the only ones at the place at it was a weekday plus not many know about this place. The water levels were totally down.

When asked about getting into water it was a “no-no” so we walked & fooled around the bund to reach the other end. We took out biscuits and started munching away.

 

We sat for about 30+mins discussing about the best of 50 chapters, and as we left we spotted the canal to this reservoir. We went near the canal, the water was a little dirty but a great place for water games. But we decided to skip it and head back.

TIME: 10:45 hrs

 

RIDE 3: (Panchapalli Dam-Dennaikotte-Hosur-Bengaluru)

This was a tiring stretch under the scorching sun. The first 20kms was the stretch back to Dennaikotte, & by the time we had completed this we were totally thirsty and stopped for some coconuts in the town.

TIME: 11:15 hrs

From Dennaikotte, Hosur is about 30kms we rode at a decent pace on the wonderful SH-17a which offered a little shade to reach Hosur.

After reaching Hosur we continued further to reached back Karnataka, and as we did we pulled over at a hotel for some heavy lunch :D

TIME: 12:15 hrs

 

Once we were done with lunch, we left the hotel and back onNH-7. We cruised along the smooth highway to reach Silkboard junction. As it was noon, the traffic was lean we eased through the city to reach back our respective homes.

TIME: 14:00 hrs

CONCLUSION:

I’d like to conclude this article by saying the following “though this was just a 200kms run, it drained out more energy when compared to our much bigger runs. It was real nice to dig out a new place and this being the 50^th chapter meant something special to all of us:)”

PARTICIPANT VIEW:

ZETHU: Perfect rider with whom I maintain sync with on NH-7, his office stories kept us well entertained.

SP: Happy that the 50^th chapter is completed \t/

Before ending this article, here are some of our best (Or what we think are the best) chapters:

[1] Maddur – The Origin.

[3] Mekedatu – Destination danger.

[4] Nandi Hills – Quick Return Mechanism.

[17] Skandagiri night trek – Misty death trek.

[18] Kanva Resevoir – Mechanix ride.

[21] Pearl Valley – Jungle walk.

[22] Talakadu – Come one, come all. (11bikes, 21 participants)

[26] BR hills – Foggy forest cruise. (Coldest ride since 117 years)

[27]Chamundi Hills & Balmuri falls – Classic Flawless ride.

[28] Kabbaladurga Trek – Hello death!! (NDE – Near death experience)

[29] Himvadgopalswamy Betta – Hot oven ride.

[37] Chitradurga fort & Vani Vilas Dam – Time travel into ancient heaven.

[38] MM hills, BR hills, Gaganchukki,Barachukki – Twin hills and falls ride.( 600kms one day)

[40] Markonahalli dam, Melukote, TonnurKere – Old School fun ride.

[44] Mahadevpura – Explore that sanctuary.

[45] Hogenekkal – Blood filled memories on road. (Must read)

[47] Mekedatu & Sangama – Adventure on!! (15kms forest walk)

[48] Coorg(Madikeri) – Big finish to ‘11.

[49] Yercaud – back on the streets. (580kms 1-day ride)

[50] Panchapalli dam – 50^th chapter complete :)

Until next time Cia \m/

MAPS:



ALL PHOTOS:

⬅️ 49. Yercaud 51. Somnathpura, Srirangapatna ➡️

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