Ratnagiri Fort Trek: Simple Climb, Hollow Steps Milestone | Chapter 175 (Jul 19, 2019)

Place: Ratnagiri Fort Trek

Distance: 150kms x 2 = 300kms

Directions: Bangalore > Dobbaspete > Madhugiri > Ratnagiri Fort

Krew: Chinmay (Big Show) > Ashok (Momz) > Deepak (Deefu) > Karthik (Sp)

Bikes: Classic 350 > Thunderbird > Pulsar                                    

Previous Visit: Badami, Aihole & Hampi.

Budget: Rs 485/head

IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:

This was the second trip for the month for the month of July 2019. The previous being the classic Badami, Aihole, Pattadakkal and Hampi tour. This trek was quite simple and straightforward. And by the way it was our 175^th trip, like always we didn’t go overboard and plan something very big, we just stuck to what we do best, explore unknown or less heard of places.

INTRO & PLAN:

It was about two weeks since we returned back from the Heritage tour, mind and body feeling totally refreshed. With Deefu shifting to Vizag shortly we planned the 175^th trip to be a fort hill trek. Chinmay and Momz also were on the confirmed list.

TIME: 20:00 (18/7/2019)

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! Once I confirmed all were awake, decided the meeting point to be at the Kamadhenu hotel. I wanted to just ride alone for the first 50kms, so I cruised along at a decent pace and pulled over at Kamadhenu hotel and was playing chess as I waited for others to arrive. Once the other three arrived, we had a yummy breakfast.

    

Moms went on to explain his experiences in yoga classes, once as he was asked to count his breath he slept off and how others left the class and he was lying for an extra whole hour :P

Moms is always Momz.

TIME: 08:00

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

After some yummy breakfast, we rode into Dobbaspete and took the road towards Madhugiri. The ride was smooth and all the three bikes were aligned to perfection, as we glided along the snake way in smooth manner the clouds were covering up the sky giving hint that it might rain. Once we reached Kortagere bypass, Chinmay told us he knew a kick-ass tea guy, so we pulled over for some awesome tea.

TIME: 10:30

We knew Ratnagiri lies somewhere after Madhugiri and before Medigeshi. So once we reached Madhugiri, we slowed down and began asking locals for directions. Once we found the right deviation and proceeded further, we could spot the hillock kilometres away waving big hi to us. We zoomed ahead into her arms, parking the bike near the foothill, keeping our helmets and belongings in a house nearby and requesting them to take care of it, we were set for the trek ahead.

TIME: 10:30

RATNAGIRI FORT TREK:

It took us about an hour to ascend the fort. The weather was pleasant and we were pumped, keeping in mind we had the whole day ahead of us, we took the trek slow and had a good time at the hills. I have divided it into 3 segments:

i) Way to the Door.

ii) Amazing Mid-Riff.

iii) Last Stairs.

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

i)  Way to the Door:

The stretch between place of parking the fort’s door entrance is a tricky one. Best advise would be to run your eyes around until you spot an unmistakable huge fort door. Sounds simple right. Trust me, first time it was confusing and crazy. It would take about 15mins to reach the fort door.

TIME: 10:45

ii) Amazing Mid-Riff:

This is main segment of the trek and consists of narrow stony path running through various gateways. It gives you good time lapse and makes sure you are alert. As you began to climb up the fort, the view of begins to uplift and you really begin appreciate the construction of fort. The climb as such is non-tiring and a clear pathway exists. This stretch would take anywhere between 15min t0 30min. But I would suggest you to take it slow during this segment and enjoy the place.

TIME: 11:15

iii) Last Stairs:

This was the last stretch of this awesome trek. And once you began climbing up, knock the stairs, yes, kick the rock and you will be shocked that the mega strong stone is actually hollow. Once the stairs is ascended it opens up the top of the fort where a few granaries lay in ruin. The view from the top is breath takin and we usually ended up the small cave for some rest.

TIME: 11:30

TOP:

Sitting at the top, we were enjoying the evergreen stories (real life events) of Momz. In fact we might start a TV show on this :P I took out some toffee and water, and as we re-energised back we spoke about college days and shit. We also recollected a lot Bali Pass trek events which filled the air with added laughter. After resting for a while we decided to head back down.

TIME: 12:30

    

TREK DOWN:

The trek back down was a smooth one. It took us just 30mins to descend. Making our way cautiously through the final ascent, we enjoyed our way through the mid-riff. We fooled around climbing trees and fort walls.  Once we ended up near the door, few locals had come to farm, they plucked out few fruits and handed it over to us an wished us a happy journey back. It was so heart-warming. We felt happy and smiled back, gulping down the fruits we made it back to the bikes.

TIME: 13:00

RIDE 2: (Ratnagiri Fort – Medegeshi – Madhugiri - Dobbaspete – Bangalore)

Riding back, we decided to have lunch at the Madhugiri hotel where we had belted “Mudhe Oota”. As we reached Madhugiri, unfortunately the hotel was closed. Hence we pulled over at another hotel nearby and had decent meal.

The ride back after then was smooth, we cruised at a decent pace. But one funny thing about the ride back was that every element was trying to stop me. First a dog came all of  a sudden in front of my bike, then few people jumped across, then a car on the highway stopped middle of the road, finally then came pouring down the merciless rain, guess what ignoring the signs I just smiled and rode ahead and reached back home to feed my pigeons.

TIME: 17:00

Until next time, Cia \m/

MAPS:

ALL PHOTOS:

⬅️ 174. Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal and Hampi 176. Shivagange trek ➡️

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Shivagange Trek: Slippery Ascent Into the Clouds & Fog | Chapter 176 (Aug 7, 2019)

Place: Shivagange (Shivaganga) Trek

Distance: 60 x 2 = 120km

Directions: Bangalore > Nelamangala > Shivagange

Krew: Chinmay (Big Show) > Datta (Daattu) > Ashok (Moms > Karthik (Sp)

Bikes: Pulsar > Enfield                                                                   

Previous Visit: Ratnagiri Fort Trek

Budget: Rs 337/head

IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:

This had to be one of the craziest rain treks done. We had almost turned down the plan and were about to return back, but then decided to begin the climb and pulled this one off. With foggy winds all around and drizzle throughout, it made climbing up and down, quite risky and challenging. But treating every step with importance we pulled this one off. A great chapter to be cherished for some years to come!

HISTORY:

Shanthala was a brilliant dancer and her dear friend was Lakshmi. When she performed at Hoyasala king Vishnuvardhana’s palace, the king expressed his desire to marry her. But she insisted she would only on one condition and that was if the king would marry both Lakshmi and herself. King agreed and they got married, Shanthala became the primary queen and Laksmi the secondary. But once Shanthala was not able to conceive a baby and it was custom that only the primary queen’s son can become the heir, she insisted that the king make Lakshmi the primary queen, but the king refused as he truly loved Shanthala. Going into depression Shanthala jumped off the Shivagange and committed suicide. One can find the the statue of the dancing queen at Belur temple near Hassan,

INTRO & PLAN:

The last visit to this place was very significant with Deefu. So decided to climb this hillock during monsoon. Dattu was in China and we were awaiting his return. Once he returned asked him, once he confirmed, Momz and Chinamy as well did. So with a crew of 4 people, we were set. Plan was simple, Go > Climb up > Come down > Come back.

TIME: 22:00 (6/8/2019)

ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:

Yeah I was up at 04:30 sharp, had begun running for 4km everyday and was in good shape. As the meet up was scheduled at kamdhenu hotel, I left my home picked up Dattu and begun our ride towards Kamadhenu.

TIME: 07:00

RIDE 1: (Bangalore- Nelamangala – Dobbaspete - Shivagange)

This was a 60kms ride, on the smooth highway of Tumkur road. But this time it was quite different, it began to rain in the morning itself, it was something new. The rains were not so heavy but we had to slow down. After reaching the hotel, Chinmay and Momz joined in a few minutes and we started a light tasty breakfast.

TIME: 07:45

After the breakfast, we rode back a few meters and took a right deviation and the rain really intensified here. We could see peacocks dancing and flying around in the rain, it was a beautiful sight. But the rains were quite worrying. Shivagange has steps throughout, but it is on a rock face and rains and rock faces don’t go very well. We entered the town and parked our bikes near a bakery near the base of hillock and the rains really intensified.

    

The Dilemma & 2 hours wait:

Okay, as the rain intensified, the bakery people warned us not to attempt the summit that day as it would be very dangerous. Also they told the monkeys turned rogue and snatched away 10,000rupees from a tourist the day before. I asked if all were okay to cancel the plan and return back some other day or take our chance, wait for few hours and go ahead and climb. When all said lets push it and finish it, we waited for about 2 hours and once the rain had turned into drizzle, with somewhat shaky thoughts we began our trek.

TIME: 10:00

SHIVAGANGE TREK:

As far as the trek goes, this has to be one of the craziest treks done till date. The fog, the strong winds, the rains made the trek quite challenging and different. We really enjoyed the change we experienced during the trek. And guess what, it took 1hour to climb to the top inspite of all the resistances. I guess we were not slow after all, but that is not the point, we took our time and enjoyed the trek. Like always, I have divided the trek into the following sections:

i) Initial stretch

ii) Battle Monkey Stretch

iii) Final Stretch

So, what do you think. Try to keep up with me, here all!

i) Initial Stretch:

So the trek begun and as be began to gain altitude, a cloud came cruising in and made the view of the base land disappear. And the hillock as such was shrouded in misty clouds as well. So we were basically entering into a cloud and it was quite an experience. The terrain was easy to start off, there is steps throughout. None of the shops were opened owing to the weather. As we reached the Shiva & Parvathi statue the initial stretch came to an end.

ii) Battle Monkey Stretch:

Okay, this stretch was totally covered with mist and we could hardly see 5-7 steps ahead of us. And this was the place we had got attacked by the monkeys. So told everybody to pick up and stick and no matter what, not to freak out and try to run incase the monkeys start an attack. But fortunately for us on that day all monkeys were fast asleep in the cold and misty weather. But nevertheless we kept our guard up and ascended the steep steps with caution.

iii) Final stretch:

In the final stretch, the steps get real tricky and narrow. You have to climb cross-foot and its quite fun. The weather had not faded and the mist of intensifying with every step we took. Once we spotted the Nandi, I was actually surprised we had made it to the top.

TIME: 11:00

TOP:

The Nandi statue looked so mystifying this time, covered with a blanket of mist he sat peacefully. As we reached the top, the wind speed hit the roof and we were being dragged around. It was too intense, but step by step taking cover amidst the boulders we visited the Shanthala drop and sat near a boulder just admiring the beautiful weather. Never had we experienced such a trek off-late. Then moving near the stupa (pillar) proved to be real challenge amidst the harsh winds. Just the act of standing was a challenge trust me. After spending about 30mins at the top, we decided to venture down.

TIME: 11:30

   

TREK DOWN:

The climb down was actually smooth, but one wrong footing would have ensured a bad day. The steps were slippery and we had to doubly cautious while descending. As we began our descent, the gang of monkeys were all set to attack us. But then remembering Deefu’s trick, we went on hitting the railings and rocks with a stick and none of them dared to attack us. Momz amazed by the trick said “Deefu has told you WHAT to do, now I shall explain WHY it works?”  All ears were on momz as he took some while before the next statement came out of his mouth. Momz continued “once you start hitting the stick to the railings and rocks, the monkeys think you are blind person trying to climb the hillock and forgive you :P” All of us burst into laughter, and the monkeys kept staring at us wondering what happened. Slowly but steadily we descended, as the rain began to intensify. We made to the bakery and had some light tea, thanked the bakery people for holding onto our helmets and we took off.

We pulled over at a field near by for some stuff stop. We sat in circle amidst the grass fields, floating away in our heads, we admired the mighty Shivagange covered in mist. Simply beautiful she looked. As we felt at ease and slightly afloat, the hunger began to kick in and it was time for some dhaba lunch.

TIME: 14:00

RIDE 2: (Shivagange – Nelamangala – Bangalore)

As far as the ride back goes, it was smooth ride. As we reached Nelamangala, we were surprised that Chandu Dhaba was demolished. But we spotted another Dhaba – Whitty Dhaba next to it. And boy was it a good find!

TIME: 14:30

After spending about an hour at the dhaba afloat and lot of laughter we had traditional rasam to settle down. And we rode back smooth, Chinmay and Moms headed back towards BEL. I dropped Dattu off at this home and reached my home safe to open my pigeon canteen :)

TIME: 16:00

Guys do remember, water is an option but a stick in your hand is a must. And never let your guard down and remove your wallet, camera without looking around!

Until next time, Cheers \m/

MAPS:

ALL PHOTOS:

⬅️ 175. Ratnagiri fort 177. Ganalu falls, Shivanasamudra ➡️

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