Jun 19, 2007 10:23 AM
28270 Views
(Updated Jun 19, 2007 05:47 PM)
Plan: Unlike my previous trip this had no ‘planning’ [ read postponing ]. My partner in crime I mean trekking is a classmate who also happens to be a jungly like me. Now I am jungly not only bcos I hail from places known for its greenery, mountainry & junglery, but also bcos I have an yahoo id !!! (remember ‘Yahoo ..chahe koyi muje jungly kahe !!
This Place is full of huge granite monoliths & million big boulders. Savanadurga is a area with two huge mountains (besides others) & a vast valley around. About 60kms from Bangalore. There are a couple of temples at its base & a small park. This is best for a one day outing either with family or with friends for adventure. The steep hills are any trekkers delight, though there is a less difficult way to the utmost top. On top at the edge of cliff is a small Nandi. At most places the slope is 70-80 degree, which makes it a challenging trek.
Travel: First route, Bangalore > Magadi road > just before Magadi take left towards Ramanagaram >11kms> a welcome arch > 3kms inside > you are at the base. The longer route is reaching Ramanagaram on mysore road > right towards Magadi > reach the arch & then ditto. We took Mysore Road > ‘Big Banyan Tree’ > back to Mysore Road > Ramanagaram > Savanadurga > & returned via Magadi Route.
Big Banyan Tree is a 400 year old tree. It spreads around an area of 4 acres. Its primary stem is no more. The aerial roots of the banyan tree are nourished & they in turn grow as stems & this is how the tree has spread.
Ride to Savanadurga: As if the rocky mountains & boulders dotting either side of Mysore road till Ramanagaram were not enough, we get more of them on the deserted clean road leading to Magadi. We stop at many places to take pics. After many such mountains comes in the horizon 2 real huge mountains. We recognize them as our destination!!
The climb: in Saavan ka Mahina the rock may be slippery, but otherwise it has a rough surface. Even with slopes of 70-80 degree its climbable until you turn back & see. Thighs & ankles soon begin paining. We tried at a vertical climb for a while & then resorted to much tested & tried path of meandering our way on to the top. By this way, the path is marked & slopes being milder even kids & ladies can reach the top. At a relaxed pace we are at peak within 2 hours. We were surprised to see sheep near the top, relaxing at the edge of cliff. They think ‘grass is green on the upper side’ !! I wondered at how fearlessly they were sitting at the edge of the cliff. its bcos of our minds that we fear … they don’t have minds, so don’t mind sitting at the edge – I thought !! we reached top & had our lunch there. There is a guy who carries Ice Candies all the way to the top, in thermacool ice box & sells it there @ 5 Rs each. Compare this with our PVR who charge exorbitant for pepsi?? ;-) The Descent took 1 hour.
2 Kinds of Mazaa: I got a lot of Mazaa on this trip. Little Mazaas include the ride, the scenic country side road, clicking mountains along, wondering at the size of the twin mountains etc. But 2 Mazaas are worth a separate mention ;-) First is the joy of climbing the rock & reaching heights & turning back to see how much we covered & looking ahead to how much is left. By this time all your muscles ( esp thigh, calf, ankle) will be stretched & paining .. but then some ad claimed ‘Dard Mein bhi Mazaa hain’ ;-) .. by the time you reach the top, muscles no longer pain bcos they are stretched beyond feeling the pain. That’s the good news. Bad news is now the pain is in the joints, bones ..and bone marrows !!! while descending you can feel the muscles coming back to life, by way of their trembling, as you get down.
The second type of Mazaa comes later ;-) as late as next day!! Somehow you climb & descend, travel back & sleep well!! But it wont be a ‘Sleep well for a great day’ as Kurl On Ad says. Even if you sleep well, next day itna ‘Mazaa’ aayega ki you will ‘enjoy’ even climbing stairs!!! This will be the case with most sedentary beings, who don’t have regular physical activity. So as a precaution choose Saturday to climb, so you get Sunday to recuperate.
King in Sight: As we were riding back from the hill @6pm the empty road ahead of me shows a movement about 60ft ahead of me. Thanks to National Geo & Animal Planet I reckon it as a Leopard. The leopard also hears the engine sound. After a microsecond of pause it, within which it looks at us & then runs across the road to the green cover & disappears. My friend even tried shouting ‘Hey’ at it, but the Leopard wasn’t convent educated, so didn’t respond. If only we had called him in kannada ;-) Since the region doesn’t have any lions, I think it’s the ‘leopard king’ who rules here. ;-) .. Remember how Daya took video EVEN with camera off ? we did better!! We took video/pics of the king EVEN with the camera in our bag!! .. the images got stored in our own memory!!
Suggestions: Go preferably with friends. Carry your own food. Most men & some young women complete the climb. If you have come in a group its preferable to leave the unwilling women below at the temple etc & they can sit there praying for you. If you take them along, chances are that midway they start asking to return. I saw at least 3-4 cases like this. In one case a IT team with 2 girls were climbing when we were getting down. The girl asked me ‘how much more up we have to go’. I broke the girls heart saying ‘what you have climbed is only 1/3’. As I moved down, I heard the girls say ‘You ppl make it to the top & come back, we will be right here’ !!! ..so moral of the story is don’t force women all the way to the top, unless you have plans of standing at the edge of the cliff & Profess your love saying ‘in your love I can even jump from here’. [hope she doesn’t say ‘go ahead’ !!] ;-) ..and if you plan to climb both peaks on a single day, be there early & be warned .. the Mazaa gets fourfold !
Links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savandurga
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodda_Alada_Mara
https://trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/India/photo209072.htm
that’s it from my side, do try this one day outing if you are in or around Bangalore. Thanks for reading. comments welcome ;-)
