Bhairava Durga Night Trek - Weekend get away

Who doesn't want to relish the Bangalore's night life. Err...!! Not that pub life or party mood on weekends but to get lost below the dark skies somewhere outside the Bangalore. The ecstasy of night trek cannot be described in words, rather experience it once in a life time. We have done many night treks around Bangalore and each one of them worth a visit and adventurous as well. This time we chose to conquer Bhairava Durga hill, Kudur taluk near Nelamangala. This hill is considered one among the nava Durgas (nine forts) aground Bangalore. Not many of them choose this hill, because of its precarious trail. Hiking during night is dangerous too, as the steep rocky terrain can cause serious injuries.

We the bunch of enthusiastic trek freaks decided to venture Bhairava Durga during weekend. Packed all necessary stuffs like food, water, torch, tents etc.. and headed towards Nelamangala. Kudur is 20km from Nelamangala first toll, which is the base of the hill. Once you reach Kudur, take left and look for govt boys hostel. There is an arch beside hostel. We entered the arch and parked our vehicle at the nearby home. We did face a strong oppose from the villagers initially, not to venture into the forest in the dark. Since we were pretty sure about our goal, did not listen to them and started walking towards the hill. They also warned about forest dogs and animals. But we did not give much importance to those words and kept walking towards the base. For safety purposes we took one of the villager number and told him that we would contact in case of any emergency. There was no clear path and we lost our way somewhere in between. Keeping our hopes alive we started searching for open space on the boulders to figure out the correct path to the peak. After the initial struggle we reached one point where it was difficult to ascend the boulders. The ascent was very steep and a small mistake would have led us to misery. We lingered around the place for quite few minutes and the villagers noticed our lights and thought that we were in trouble. They started calling us back and asked to proceed next morning. But we were reluctant about villagers words and did not want to loose our hopes of making it to the top.

It was almost an hr since we started our endeavor to the peak, but there were no chance of getting the right path to the top. Luckily couple of villagers approached us and asked us to take the other route in order to reach the peak. We were in a big relief after getting the direction. All pumped up again and regained the energy to conquer the hill. We repeatedly asked them to accompany us till we get the proper path, but our effort went in vain. Soon they left us and we proceeded towards the directions that they showed. Believe me or not, again we lost in the woods. It was such a perilous trail that anybody would easily get lost within short distance. We wandered the same place twice or thrice and still not clear about the path to take. Everybody lost their energy and confused about the path. Our hopes to reach the peak started dwindling. We all gathered at once place and kept all the luggages. Couple of us decided to go ahead and search the path. At the same time we got a call from one of the fellow villager and he agreed to take us to the top. We came back to the starting point of the trail to meet the villager. He took us in the same way which we had took first time. But this time we took slight turn to surpass the big boulder. At many places it was a risky affair to ascend the boulder. Somehow we managed to negotiate and reach the Bhairava Durga hill top.

At last...!!! It was 1 am when we conquered the hill and stood on the tip of the hill. It was a moment to cherish and applaud our adventurous effort to make it to the peak. Quickly we did setup our tents and prepared food for the night. It was 4 am in the morning when we slept in the tents. We did not feel much cold since we pitched the tents in between couple of big boulders. We woke up by 6:30 am in the morning to catch the glimpse of sunrise from the top. It was an adorable morning with fresh breeze. We were mesmerized by the beauty of sunrise and a Karnataka flag which was flying high on top. 

Morning Captures :

Camp site :

Bhairava Durga peak as seen from base : 

Captured the beauty of nature and it was time to bid adieu and move down. Within 45 min we reached the village. Had plenty of water from the nearby home where we had parked our vehicles. We paid 200 rs to the guide and he accepted that wholeheartedly. Had a tea near Kudur and bid adieu to our guide. It was just an hr journey back to home from Nelamangala. Overall it was not a just night trek, but a life lesson too. No matter what, don't loose hope and keep yourself determined towards the goal. 

Beat the Heat: Summer Weekend get away from Bangalore

        Being targeted by the ferocious Sun, I was in search of cool pleasant place to tackle the heat war of the Sun. Fortunately got some info in google about the place named GANALU which is nearly 90km from Bangalore. Ganalu is a hamlet where you can find couple of water falls created by river Kaveri amid Kaveri valley. There are no sign boards along the path which leads to falls. All you need to do is stop your vehicle and ask villagers for the directions.

         It was Sunday early morning 5 am, I decided to take my Royal En-field out and geared up for the swift ride. Path which I took is Bangalore-Mysore road-Bidadi-Ramanagara-Channapattana-Halagur-Ganalu. Till Halagur the road condition is very good and I was not in the mood to ride below 80 KMPH :) . Around 6 am I stopped my bike at Bidadi to have the breakfast. Bidadi Idly is very famous amongst the riders who frequently cruise between Mysore and Bangalore. Then I headed straight to Halagur via Channapattana. Took diversion at Halagur which leads to very famous Bheemeshwari fishing camp and Muthathi in the Kaveri vicinity. At some point I received wrong guidance by the villager and missed the diversion to Ganalu. He presumed that I was asking for Bheemeshwari camp and guided towards it. Due to which I took almost 10 km detour to reach exact location, Ganalu. So, be specific about your destination when seeking guidance :).

Early Morning view : 

           Last stretch of 3-4 km is full of mud and loose gravels. If your vehicle is not ready to take up the challenge, then better park it in the nearby village and trek all the way. I took my En-field till the entrance of the falls. Though the water level was not up to the expectation, beauty of the surrounding was fantastic. Kaveri River gushes on the black big boulder from the height of almost 100 meters and creates the falls. Beside the falls there are few hillocks, full of green meadows which can give your eyes a soothing effect that can be cherished and remembered for very long time. I enjoyed serene beauty of Mother Nature for almost an hour and it was time to return back.

            On my return journey I found a canal and who else in the world would miss an opportunity to jump into it and beat the heat? After taking a dip, I felt rejuvenated and completely energized. Water was very clean and cold. I was not in the mood to come out from the water. Finally I realized that, I have to attend the office next day at Chennai and need to catch the evening train for that to happen. With great pain I was forced to bid adieu for the place and return back to office on the very next day :(. 

Totally it was an enchanting journey which gave me a great pleasure and energy. If you want to get rid of city life at least for a day, take your vehicle out and explore such pristine beauty of nature. Keep travelling :).