SBenegaL

Tag: #daytrip

  • Skandagiri


    Skandhagiri Trek
    Treks are generally thought to be planned events, but I don’t agree with the view. Treks are greater fun when you learn to accept the uncertainty that comes along with the new location. It is this uncertainty and the associated feeling that keeps me looking for more in every trek.
    I had just returned from a long travel to Maharashtra, and was planning to rest when Rajat called me asking if I was game to a trek to Skandagiri. I had heard a lot about this from visitors to the place and the pictures that people had clicked. I was game but wanted some more people to join so that we had a larger company.
    Rajat got along with him Vishwanath; I could get in Naveen, Umesh and Uncle Manjunath. It was a nice team of 6 people. Changing our initial plant to go by bikes we switched to car for ease of travel. With the team in place, we decided to leave Bangalore at 1:30 am.
    I woke up at 1:00 am with Uncle along, and picked up Vishwa, Rajath and Naveen from Domlur. We got Umesh on board from Vidyranayapura. We fueled ourselves and finally left Bangalore at 2:45 am.
    The night drive along the Bellary highway was a great experience, we reached past the Airport deviation, went further. Our idea was to reach Chickballapur as early as possible and begin trek. On the way, we saw a car with a drunken driver, whom we couldn’t predict what the next move of his was.
    We reached Chickballapur and 3:30 am. We were scouting for direction late night, thanks God! We found a rickshaw driver and asked for direction. Vishwa tried getting some inputs from the commuters in Telugu.
    One you are in Chickballapur main road, go ahead till the Police Station, just before that there is turn take it. From there you have to continue till you find a Banyan tree (or rather move over 5 humps). Take a left there and you will find yourself navigating through the narrow lanes of some village.
    At the dead end you could expect a Constable and the Inspector waiting in the jeep. You would need to pay an entry fee and get the approval. Missing or skipping this means you would find some more constables further through the way.
    The next phase was through beside the lake (which is on the left) then through a village. The village road has a dead end, and just prior to that you would need to take a left turn. Keep driving and on the right hand side, you see torch light flashing.
    Pretty soon you would find being interrupted by self proclaimed guides. The rates of their guidance depend on your vulnerability. They try dissuading you from venturing out on your won saying you would get lost. If you have trekked earlier, finding the path isn’t really difficulty. The guide charges vary from Rs 200/- to Rs 3000/-. Ensure you bargain well – else you would be taken for ride. The only challenge in the complete process is the starting point of the trek. If you are able to spot the starting point, getting to the peak is very easy.
    Moving ahead without the guide, we had taken a chance here. We were new to the place, there was darkness all around. We weren’t familiar with the terrain to. Just beside the foot of the mountain, there is a small plantation of acacia trees, beside that there is a small stream – watch out for any water in this.
    One you cross the stream, you are at the foot of the mountain. There is only one way which is pretty clear, and if you have crossed over earlier than the actual one – you might need to do some scouting just the way we did. Be ready for it – this is where the fun is; the usual route is not a great fun.
    Ensure at each step you are looking out for the right route! Tough we began on the right route, we missed a small section of easy route and returned to the harder and then came back to the easier one at the fork. So, keep your senses open and watch out, even if you don’t, you will only be delayed to the summit, not denied of it.
    The total time to the peak is around 1hr 15 min to 1 hr 30 minutes. Our detour cost us another 15 minutes. We started off following a small group of torches; we thought they knew the way, and it was only after some time that we realized that they too were looking out for the right way. After grappling in the dark for around 10 min, we spotted the right route. We continue along this route, and were able to spot the exact path. At one of the points we took a left turn instead of a right. This is where many people who were climbing too had mistaken and we were no exception.
    This detour takes us to a steep rock phase where our confidence on our footing is tested. Most of the team members easily came up, but Vishwa, who hadn’t been on too many treks earlier, had some issues. He was looking his confidence, but made it up at this point after a struggle of 10 minutes.
    The next phase we joined the other route, which joins here. At this point, the route is
    a bit slippery given the early morning mist. There are some step marks on the stone surface and we could use this to climb.
    As we began climbing the trek, at the base we couldn’t see the peak, but as we continued the ascent the surface slowly unraveled itself and this was another challenge that our team had. Vishwa wasn’t expecting such a long trek to the peak given that this was his second trek.
    We realized that in order to make it to the peak as a group, we needed to move ahead quickly. I decided to accompany Vishwa and boost his confidence. This seemed to have worked the trick and we picked up the pace. In less than 20 minutes we navigated some dangerous curves and reached the top. We reached the peak at 5:50 am.
    Now was the time for the anxious wait – the wait to spot the Sun and the clouds if any that is so talked about of this place? We waited for nearly an hour and at around 6:45 Am we spotted the sun. All the while we had twilight, and the anticipation kept everything away from the mind. For many in the group, this was an early raise and probably the very few occasions when we had seen the sun come out from the horizon.
    At a distance, one can spot two hills and I guess these would be Mulabagilu (not sure) which is where the first sun-rise is seen in the State of Karnataka. I think I would get down there sometime and have a look at the sun rise. Once the sun shown itself, it begun raising rapidly and just 5 minutes since the sun-rise the whole of the surrounding was brightly lit.
    We spent the next hour clicking pictures and snaps of the surrounding. There are a couple of mantapas at the peak. One of these is the temple and the other probably was the guest house of the guard who would look out for enemy entering the vicinity. There is a fort which borders a very steep edge of the hill.
    People have littered the peak and hence we find dogs and monkey a plenty there. There are a lot of stores that give u a tea and some quick breakfast like sandwiches, omelets’, bread jam etc. We had carried our own food – thanks to Vishwa for the wonderful palav he had prepared and got along.

    We rested for a while and began our descent back to the base at 8 am. We had sufficient light and so the torches were all in the bag now. We moved slowly now that the whole day was there to make it to the base. With rests in between, we were having our tummy filled too.
    We finally reached the base of the hill, a few meters away from where we began. We looked back and recollected what we had done over the past 4 to 5 hours. The memory of the night would stay in our mind for ever. The excitement and fun clouded with the experience is here to stay with us.

    This was one awesome trip, as I drove back to Bangalore; we visited our role model – Sir M V’s home town – Mokshagundam. There are three monuments that are put up at this place. The house of his birth has been renovated. There is also the house that he used while he was the Diwan – part of this has been converted as a museum and the remaining houses the SBM – which he was instrumental in forming. His samadhi is just beside these houses and has a beautiful lawn surrounding it.
    We paid our tributes to the great engineer who inspires us and would inspire more engineers for the years to come. We prayed for his blessings and returned to Bangalore.

    We reached home by noon and had the remaining of the day to rest!

  • Shivagange

    Parinathi Group goes on its treks for brain storming and group building every quarter. This trek is the fall out of this resolution of the group.

    Shivagange – a place known as a pilgrimage center by many is also an interesting trekking spot. Unlike the other treks where one has to put a lot of strain on the complete body, this trek is more of a step climbing pursuit.

    Situated around 60 – 65 km from Bangalore, we chose this place for our brainstorming as most of the group members couldn’t spare two days for the trek. Our initial count for the trek was expected to be having around 10 members but turned out that only 4 could make it.

    We moved out of Bangalore around 8:30 am (a delay of around 30 minutes) from Domlur where all of us had decided to meet up. The journey thorough the city was pretty not eventful. We reached Yeshwantpur and refueled ourself before continuing the journey. Once we reached the elevated road there was no stopping us, the group was in the discussion while I was busy driving the car.

    It was a pleasant drive over the elevated track, and we were near the tollgate withing 5 minutes. The road was pretty clear and the speed limit prescribed was 80 kmph so that made it all the more easy. We bought the toll pass for the day (priced at Rs 25/-) and moved a head on the NH. The road was very good and we reached Nelamangala where we took the deviation towards the Bangalore-Mangalore Highway.

    We reached gudemarana halli, from where we took a right to Shivagange. Shivagange is around 15 km from this point. The road is not the best nor is it the worst. It is pretty good ride down to the town.


    We begin spotting the mountain from a distance, in some angles it resembles the holy Ox (Nandi) of Lord Shiva. We reach the entrance of the temple where we parked our car and had a small energizing tiffin before we began the trek.

    We began the climb the first temple that you get on the left is the “Harake Ganapathi” You then climb up to the split. Take the right if you want to visit the temple and the left if you want to begin the trek immediately.


    As you move towards the temple, you get a small passage, this passage take you to the Veerabhadra swami and the Patala gange. Besides the passage is a small temple entrance – that of Swarna gowri (aka Honnadevi).

    Back on the track you get to the temple route, you enter into the temple which of lord Gangadhareshwara. In front of him stands the bronze idol of the founder of Bangalore – Kempe Gowda. There is supposed to be a tunnel that connects the temple with Bangalore, but people are forbidden from attempting to get through these.

    All these temples are inside caves and give a very special feeling since we are away from the disturbance of the outer world. The feeling is so peaceful and gives happiness.

    The shiva temple is also very special since we see an irreversible reaction (that of converting ghee into butter) take place right in front of your eyes. The priest applies Ghee that the devotees get on the shiva linga and it turns in some time to butter, which is then served as prasadam.

    The temple is pretty old and I guess it dates back to the time of the Cholas, some of the Nandi carvings look to resemble them. The gopura etc resemble the Vijayanagara times.

    Once you have visited the temple, you can begin the trek from the path adjacent to the temple. On the sides you see an old fort wall and numerous pillars all telling the story of apathy of he present and the glory of the past. One would easily get moved seeing these scenes. Something needs to be done quickly with these so that we preserve these for the future. With all these thoughts running in the mind, our next target was the famous Olakallu teertha.

    Moving out of the fort premise, we being the ascent towards the peak. There is a door (dwara) to begin the journey. All along the path we find vendors offering one thing or the other to ear/drink. The consumers eat these and drop all waste around the path. This has lead to a big monkey menace; and the reactions of the people who climb have only made these monkeys more aggressive. There are warnings stating that monkeys could be aggressive, but this should definitely be controlled if we don’t mindlessly litter the environment.



    There are steps all along the trek so there is no way any one could miss the route. There are many students and groups that were on their yearly trips and we found at least ten different such sets
    . The students were bubbling with a lot of enthusiasm as the begun, but later on, as the ascent got steep there was absolutely little of their voice that was heard. Many returned from Olakal teertha.

    There is a common belief that only the fortunate ones get water when (s)he attempts to catch water from the underground spring. Many test their fortune and get back!

    We continues our journey further on the path and reached the place where larger than life size idols of Lord Shiv and Parvathi have been constructed. The path further from here have been infested by Monkeys.


    The climb through the next phase is pretty steep. At some points you note the old step marks or the railing that have been replaced. Take sheer care of your luggage, the aggressive monkeys take away your belongings even if you have them along in your hand.

    The climb through this exciting phase you reach the Nandi which is carved out of the rock there. And once down the Nandi, you get to climb to see two temples at the peak of the hillock.

    There is one store at the peak which again showcases the power of monopoly there. There are two pillars there which seem to be dating back more than a millenia (that is my guess, given the architecture and carvings there)

    The view of the surrounding is really mesmerizer. I couldn’t spot the Savandurga around from here thanks to the clouds and the sun which blocked my view.

    We went to a bit off the general public and had our food there, surprisingly, we had no monkeys to bother us here. This is what got me to the realization that the monkeys thrive on the filth we throw away on the path to the peak. I guess if we have the discipline to handle these carefully they wouldnt bother us much.

    We had rested at the peak for around 45 minutes before getting on to the return path. The journey to the base was rather non-eventful and we returned at our own pace.
    The sun which was scorching in the afternoon had become more familiar as the day progressed and now looked very friendly.

    The total journey from the base to the peak and then back to the base was around 3.5 hrs. We had gone barefoot to the peak and it felt really different all along the trek. We probably hadn’t got the blood circulation so effective for days.

    This was a rater memorable trek for the reason that was done on bare foot, but what saddened the whole thing was the filth people put all along the way. I guess it is time we grew more responsible to the environment.

    We drove back to Bangalore and reached Mantri Mall by 4:30 and had fun watching Upendra’s moview – Super.

    It was complete fun filled day that was worth remembering.

  • Savan Durga Trek

    It would have been just another Sunday morning if it was not for this trek. This was my first trek around Bangalore. Yes! being a Bangalorean and a trek enthusiast, it is a bit sad that I hadnt done any trek around Bangalore.
    Savanadurga, is the largest monolith in Asia. It is around 60 kms from Bangalore towards Magadi. Drive towards Magadi is around 50 km. Once yo reach Magadi take the Left turn on to the Ramanagara road and drive for 8 km before you get an arch welcoming you to the Savandurga road.
    Another 2 km drive along the almost non-existant road you reach an old temple of VeeraBhadra(Some believe an incarnation of Shiva, while others believe him to be one of his close associates). The Gopura of the temple has a “Nandi” (the vehicle of Lord Shiva). Just beside this temple is a small park where one could spot various birds and animals. This place is called Savanandi.
    Further down this road, we reach the famous Lakshmi Narasimha Swami Temple at Savandurga. Large number of devotees throng the temple to seep the blessings of the Lord. There is also a medical herb plantation situated close to the temple. This is the starting point of the trek.
     

    The Savandurga monolith is visible from the road much before Magadi, but one needs to almost circumvent the rock before being able to begin the ascent to the peak. At 4050 ft, this towers over most of the surrounding hillocks, or any man made structure – Normal human beings around 6 ft is negligible.
     
    The best time to begin the trek is early morning when you could see the sunrise on the east and enjoy the serene beauty that could be associated with it. The whole feeling of the effort to make it to the peak, completely exhausted and then savor the divine feeling of the sunrise is definitely an occasion in the person’s life.
     
    We began pretty late from Bangalore after our breakfast. We traveled by car to the base from were we decided to trek to the peak. It was almost 11 am when we reached the base.

    After a quick sip of the tender coconut, we were ready to begin the trek to the peak. A quick walk through the shrubs along an established trail, we immediately reached the base of the monolith. The recent showers had left some watery trail along the sides of the monolith were the natural process of breaking stones into soil was in progress.

     
    It is really amazing the patience nature has in breaking the large rocks into smaller one, then continuing to break them further. The hot sun heats the surface, the rain water then tries to cool it in one go, leading to formation of cracks, and then seeps in. The wind then continues to cool it further over time Widening the cracks further and then repeating the process. One can easily see these at Savandurga. The work of nature over millions of years is very visible. I could see some rock broken probably a few years or decades back.
     
    The rock side close to the temple is very smooth and poses some good challenges initially. The trek begins on a pretty steep note. One needs to maintain the stamina and push consistently to get to the first level of the fort.
     
    Many people tire up at this level and return. There are some vendors who sell fruit juice along the way adding to the pollution (inappropriate and inadequate disposal has the tetra packs hanging on the side of the monolith).
     
    Continuing along the slope of the hillock, we find many stones and slippery patches. One needs to navigate these carefully to avoid any damage. If there is no cloud cover, this phase might get really hard.
     
    There are numerous routes from here to get to the next level of the fort, where the watch tower is constructed. The climb is pretty manageable till one reaches the steep uphill just before the tower. This is the second challenge and many people give up at this point to return without visiting the peak. It is not really difficult, as there are number of small steps/grips that people have made to make it easy for their followers.
     
    At this juncture it is a real test of character for many, do the embrace the uncertainty and move ahead by stretching themselves to realize a new self or do they just accept the complexity and stay with the status quo! The question is of the mind set and the toughness!
     
    Once a person crosses the fort besides the watch tower, there is whole different world that one gets to see. The confidence of having tackled an almost seemingly tough task is a great booster. One could rest here for some time, watch the surrounding areas from the Watch Tower and then resume the trek. From this point onwards, the bubbling city of Bangalore can be seen – some high rise buildings also could be spotted.
     
    The next part of the trek is pretty much at the top of the peak. A small climb uphill and we come to a Mantapa. The Mantapa was probably the resting place of the watchman of the fort. The watchman could see all the sides in the surrounding given the peak and inform the King who could then take appropriate action to handle the situation. There is also a small tank that is created here, this might have been used by the watchmen for their daily purpose.

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    The final peak which has a Nandi Mantapa is pretty is separated by a small cave-like formation. There is some thick vegetation here which provides a good shade from the scorching heat.
     
    The final phase of the trek is a steep climb along the side of a rock and then an easy walk to the Nandi mantapa. We reached the peak around 1:30 pm. The clouds had moved in and gave a good cover from the sun’s hear. After spending around 20 minutes at the peak, we decided to get back to the base and on the way have some of the snacks that we had gotten along.
    We rested near the Watchman’s pond and had our food, and then continues on the descent.
    We could spot the another majestic hill the Shivagange at a distance, I could feel my hear call for another trek to that hill, I would be going there soon.

    Continuing on the descent with some exciting and adventurous moments we reached the base around 3 pm. With another dose of tender coconut, we were ready to get back in our car and reach Home.

     
    This trek was a memorable one for me given that it was my first trek around Bangalore. I began to appreciate the difference in trekking in the western ghats and the rocky mountains around Bangalore.
     
    The trek wouldn’t be complete without a mention to the few typical characters I met along the way.
     
     
    NCC Cadets:

    The NCC cadets were on a trekking expedition with one of their group leaders. The enthusiastic people were in a hurry to climb leaving their not so able compatriots who were lacking the confidence. I guess they should have spent some time in encouraging the morale of those people who were on their own mental wars along the trek.

    Another instance I saw was the rigidity in the mindset of some of the cadets to innovate and explore. There were alternate routes to a common path don’t be blinded by a single choice.

    The fruit juice Vendor at the Nandi Mantapa:
    This guy taught me a lot about economics (- monopoly and the like), Strategy (first mover advantage)
     
    The Director’s son:
    The talkitive boy got me to realize the power of dream; when one is young and how one pursues it in all (s)he does.