Drive + Trek - Devarayanadurga (DD hills)

DD hills is a hillock situated in Tumkur district of Karnataka. It is around 80 kilometers from Bangalore. It is a green rocky hill with not much elevation at 1200 meters. The 'Bhoganarasimha Temple' , which it is famous for, is situated at this altitude. I must say it is one of the most alluring and picturesque hillocks close to Bangalore. If you lean much more towards photography, than trekking, then this is the place for you.

The photographer in you is sure to go nuts, as there are pictures to be clicked in every direction you look. If you are into both landscape, and macro photography, then this place is definitely going to keep you occupied for a very long time. I highly recommend keeping an entire day for it if you are going there to hone your photography skills.

But first, let's begin with the drive.

I shall say that 70% of the drive is on the NH75, and the rest is on SH 3. There must be a ton of ways to get onto the NH75. I used the following route:

Tin factory - ORR - Hebbal - BEL circle - Tumkur main road - Nelamangala Toll gate - NH48/75. Continue on the NH75 for about 40-50kms

Off the NH and onto the SH

From here, you'll have to take the exit at the left just before the flyover at Ratnam Hotel (circled), get off the main NH, take a right under the flyover (circled), and get onto State Highway 3. From here, the drive gets picturesque, and interesting as you are surrounded by villages, Areca and coconut plantations, hillocks, and long winding roads that have smooth inclines and declines. It is quite exciting to drive on this road with sweeping views all around, but do remember to maintain your speed as you pass by villages intermittently.

The condition of the road is pretty good overall, and very good at some places. There aren't many deviations or turns that you'll need to take to get to this place unlike Skandagiri or other hillocks near Bangalore. The one below is the last turn you'll take, which takes you onto the Devarayanadurga hills road. From here its pretty straightforward until you reach another junction. I was told you can either go straight or take a right for the hills (as the signboards say), but I haven't checked out the route that goes straight.

Take this left and you'll be on DD hills road

You'll reach this place on taking the left turn

Please drive/ride very slowly and carefully on this road as you will  notice plenty of morning walkers, joggers and cyclists. So please be cautious and considerate for pedestrians, no matter how tempting the road might be. I spotted quite a number of bikers, including the HOG's along with some cars as well. After barely driving for another 5 minutes or so, you'll hit an eye-catching water body to your left, just adjacent to the road. It was a pretty small water body, so I'm not sure if it even exists during summers.

By the time I reached this place, I had done 80kms on the trip meter:

Most tourists park their vehicles here to go check out this wetland marsh:

Now let's get onto the trek.

After this lake, you'll notice that the climb up the hill, or shall I say, Trek begins. Because that's exactly what I did. I got out of my car, changed into sports wear, and trekked from this point. There are a myriad number of parking points on this route. Some people park their vehicles right here and begin the trek, some park it at the bridge, some park it at the Jackfruit point, some park it at the gate, and some go right till the top where the road ends, and hike up the remaining small footstep laden section towards the temple.

So you can choose from either of the following options:

1. Park it right at the water body point and hike all the way up. (This is most recommended for trekkers and photography enthusiasts, as you are bound to miss most of the natural scenery if you drive up this section)

I started my GPS late, but the trek from the water point to the temple and back gave the following stats:

2. Park it at the bridge and start hiking. (you'll come across a wide bridge in a kilometer or so, which I presume is pretty new looking at the construction):

View from a drain hole on the bridge

You'll find streams of water flowing on both sides of the road as you approach this bridge but they are highly seasonal, I suspect.

You'll come across some pretty amazing sights on the way, like tangled roots, very old trees with massive trunks, huge boulders, trees growing off of those huge boulders, beehives, all of which are breathtakingly gorgeous, as you trek up the hill, after which you'll arrive at Jackfruit point.

A massive tree trunk

Tangled roots everywhere

Trees growing directly off the rock

Roots

whats root and whats tree?

Heart Creeper

Got a glimpse of some pretty big boulders on the way up

A beehive

An Anthill

More tangled roots

More trees growing directly off the rock

3. The third option is to park it at the Jackfruit point:

Take this right to continue. Jackfruit point is on the left.

Jackfruit point

At this point you can hydrate yourself with Tender Coconuts or Sugarcane juice, or munch on some Jackfruit, to fuel you up for the rest of the trek. You'll also get Corn on the cob, Mangoes, and other local fare to munch on, if you're still driving up. I ordered some Jackfruit-which the vendor gladly packed-only to discover that I'd left my wallet in my car. So after all that cutting and packing, I regretfully told him that I didn't want it. For just 6 Jackfruit pieces, it shouldn't be much of an inconvenience, and someone else is sure to come pick em up.

4. The fourth option is to park it on either side of the road, after you take the right turn at Jackfruit point:

Most people parked on the left

There are some quite massive trees on the way

5. The fifth option is to park here at the gate. There is a junction here. Going straight takes you to the hilltop, and going left takes you to the village.

'Karnataka Tourism' signboard at the gate

Direction boards at the gate

After crossing the gate you'll enter a forested area again

Left of the junction: Road to the village on the top

From here, as you continue with the trek, you'll again be presented with a myriad options on how to proceed. A road goes in a zig-zag fashion around the hill. If you've come here for the peace and quiet, avoid the road and take the stairs. The stairs are intermittent. They are just a crossover from one hairpin bend to another. From there, again you'll have to use the road for a few metres before getting onto stairs again.

Deity carving on stone

6. The last and final option is to park right at the temple itself and take the stairs up:

Here, there is a tank where I drank water from (not pictured). There is no other water point that I know of, unless you'd like to buy it in plastic from vendors on the way. From here onward, you must beware of aggressive monkeys, especially if you have a backpack on you shoulder, or are carrying one in your hands.

Final stair section from parking spot. Notice the monkeys?

View of surrounding hillocks from the top

I reached the peak, rested and took in the scenery for a while, which included some beautiful broad winged birds, hovering up in the air:

After 15 minutes, I started my descent back to where I parked my car. The weather was really good, and it didn't allow me to break a sweat even while ascending. So descending was much easier. Going from the stats on my watch, it must be around 3.5 kms from water catchment area to peak. I got back to the car, changed into tee shirt and jeans again, and left for home. It was around 1.30 when I got home, where I had lunch, and called it a weekend.

I had done 170kms, which is pretty decent for a half day drive including a trek. Not bad at all.

Bike Ride and Trek - Horsley hills and Kailasagiri cave Temple

It was a drab of a week as nothing was moving at work, and I was getting jittery and restless. It quickly dawned upon me that I haven't been outdoors for more than 2 weeks and the urge to do so was starting to build up. Luckily, Gandhi Jayanthi holiday was approaching. I knew that I definitely had to get out of the crazy city traffic and take in the blissful surroundings of the village countryside, forests and hillocks, before I could return to all the madness. So I got back from work Tuesday night, contemplating what to do the next day, while scrolling Whatsapp status updates.

and Bang !! I hit the jackpot. One of my friends was organizing a bike ride to Kailasagiri Temple and Horsley Hills to celebrate Gandhi Jayanthi. It was called the 'Peace Ride' and we were all asked to come dressed in white. The ride would take the entirety of the day and would consist of a mix of state highways and village roads. What more could one have asked for !

Horsley Hills

Horsley Hills is a hillock and tourist attraction in Andhra Pradesh named after British Collector W.D Horsley. It is located 160 kms from Bangalore, and easily makes for a weekend getaway or day picnic for Bangaloreans. After many dropouts due to early morning rains and flooded streets from the previous night, 6 of us started for our destination at around 5.30 from the Hoskote toll gate, which was our meeting point.

We passed a highway marker announcing our arrival into the state of Andhra Pradesh an hour into the ride. We passed by serene grassland interspersed with mini towns and villages, with hillocks providing the background score all throughout the ride. The sun definitely managed to drench all of this in its glorious vitality, like it has been doing for a million years, as well as vitalize and energize our bodies for the trek that was to come ahead.



Breakfast

We reached a village that was heavily crowded and dusty, just in time for breakfast. It was at around 830. It was crowded not in terms of traffic, but in terms of people. There were scores of people waiting for buses on both sides of the narrow dusty road. The road was relatively quiet and had mostly two-wheelers plying through it, with the occasional town bus passing by every now and then.

There was barely any space for pedestrians to move, and they had to share space with automobiles on these dusty lanes giving rise to a lot of noise and commotion. Since it was quite early in the day, the commotion was low, and so was the noise. We got into a small chic eatery that barely had 5-6 tables in it, as is the custom in villages, and placed our order of Idlis, Vadas, Dosas among other items.

Back on the road

We were back on the road within half an hour. The traffic on the road was comparatively less from here onward. After riding for another hour or so, we were at our destination. The hairpin bends on the hills were a pleasure to cruise for the bikers, and a treat to the senses for pillion riders. We could just feel the wind in our hair, while taking in the ecstasy of feeling the movement of the bike, the hillocks with lush greenery all around us.

We were drenched in the vitality of the sun all the time

Single-lane tree lined village roads

 The hilltop

We arrived at one of the picturesque viewpoints of the hill at around 12 in the afternoon. We were treated to mesmerizing and stunning views of the plains below consisting of agricultural fields, shrub forest and village. There were a couple of more viewpoints to see, along with a crocodile zoo, Bird cage, and Deer zoo. One can easily spend around close to an hour over here, with plenty of time to spare for photos and fun.

View from the first viewpoint

View from the second viewpoint

View from yet another point on the hill

After we were done getting around the various points of interest on the hill, we settled down to some ice cream and cool drinks at a stall by the side of the road. By this time the sun was out, but we still did not feel the heat, due to the abundance of greenery around us. It was post noon by now, and so we bid adieu to the place after clicking a few more pictures during the downhill ride.

A small pond on the way up

We stopped at the same dusty town for lunch on the way back, albeit at a different eatery. Needless to say, the food was lip-smacking good and went straight down the hatch, despite the heat.

The ultra delicious village meal - lentils, rice and veggies

We then begun the second part of the journey, to go check out Kailasagiri cave temple and Kaivara. Kailasagiri Cave Temple is situated atop a small hillock, and is a monolith rock in itself. Hence the name, "Kailasagiri cave temple".

Posing on the road during the descent

There was barely any traffic, hence such shots

We were running behind schedule for the day, owing to a few extended breaks, and managed to reach the cave temple, with just an hour to go for sunset. We enjoyed biking on the quaint village roads one has to go through to reach the temple as there was barely any traffic. Once we reached the top we saw two buses with a batch-load of devotees, who were raring to visit the temple just as it was closing. Being trekkers, we could have done it in a jiffy if we wanted to, but we slowed down to help an elderly person climb up, and make it in time for the visit.

Stunning vistas from the entrance of the temple

The monolith rock with a cave, and a temple inside it

The rock texture is clearly visible here

At the entrance

It was sunset by the time we were done clicking pictures and taking in the magnificent scenery of the vast open space right in front of the cave. It somehow brought back memories of Lion King and Pride Rock, and made me imagine all wild animals roaming in the fields below, which were actually populated with shrub forest and agricultural fields, along with villages interspersed in between.

We got packing when it was completely dark, and were amongst some of the last people to move from the spot. The parking area was eerie, and wore a deserted look, with just a few dull lamp posts illuminating the ground. It was exceptionally quiet, with only the sound of the crickets and insects for company.

We started off right away, and once we were on the main highway, what started as just an incipient drizzle, soon turned into full blown rain; with visibility drastically reducing to just a few meters ahead. To add to our plight, and list of miseries, this stretch of state highway was neither lit, nor had dividers, and was single-lane. So it literally was a slippery slope for the riders to maintain safety while not going too slow as well, as that would make us terribly late. We reached home at around 930 to dark houses and flooded streets, along with heavily clogged main roads. I ended up at the house of the rider I had been riding pillion with all along.

We made some hot Maggi to warm up our shivering bodies. I then left from there after a while, and got home by 11. With that, I wrapped up this marathon day trip that included an early morning start, visiting multiple hillocks, lip-smacking village fare for lunch and dinner, Stunning vistas (that reminded me of pride rock from Lion King) from the top of Kailasagiri cave temple, being inside a cave temple, riding back in the pouring rain in blacked out single lane highways, reaching Bangalore only to be met by water logging at each and every toll gate on the way, massive traffic jams due to the rain, and partial blackouts. It was one hell of a ride. I can't even wait to explore my surroundings in this fashion again.

Bengaluru to Tada - Drive and trek to Tada falls

Tada forest - A contiguous forest that is part of the Nagalapuram reserved forest range, lies to the east of Nagalapuram town. It is well known for two waterfalls namely, Tada waterfall and Ubbalamadugu waterfall.

The two waterfalls lie adjacent to each other. 'Ubbalamadugu water fall' is a canyon shaped pool, that captivates and stuns travellers and trekkers alike, as it is inside a gorge canyon which curves toward the left, giving the illusion that it is a feeder or side stream leading to a large body of water. It leads to a waterfall, that gushes at a high rate of speed onto a pile of rocks. One can get a nice hydrotherapy session here for free.

It can be accessed by those who can swim well, or non swimmers with the requisite safety gear. The pool is around 10 feet deep, and yes, you can see the bottom of this gorgeous, emerald green, pool from the surface as you listlessly float on the surface drowning out all your worries and problems.


Getting There

Nagalapuram is 250 Kms from Bengaluru. One can take the Bangalore-Tirupati highway (NH69) to get there. The roads are decent, has less number of toll gates, and the traffic clears up once you pass pullur cross. The drive would take approximately 6 to 7 hours, if you start late in the evening like we did. We started at around 6 in the evening. The road till Pullur cross is heavy with Tirupati bound traffic and cargo, but after this point, it is a dream come true for long drive lovers. You would most likely at this part of the journey by around midnight (if you've stopped for dinner and other refreshments on the way) and then immediately cross Chittoor town. From this spot onwards, there is absolutely

Be wary though, as there are lots of marked, and unmarked speed breakers on this stretch. Some of them are unscientific while the others have cautions. However, I found 90% of them to be marked by reflective barricades on either side of the road, so keep an eye out for that. If you notice that you are approaching some barricades, then it is safe to assume that there would be speed breakers 50 meters ahead of them. Some speed breakers are placed right where the barricades are, giving you very little time to hit the brakes.

Also, the chance of fueling or grabbing some small bites on this stretch is extremely negligible, not only because of the untimely hour, but also because the stretch is filled with nothing but mango fields, forests, some factories, along with small settlements wedged in between that don't have the kind of facilities that bigger towns and villages do. There were 2-3 petrol bunks on this stretch that were open even in the wee hours of the night. Chittoor town would be your last bet to grab some food, if you didn't already.



Break points, good food, coffee on the way...

This being the same road connecting Bangalore to Kolar, is flush with ample number of eateries, cafes and petrol bunks, and leaves you totally spoiled for choice. One of the most prominent of these is Highway Star Kolar and Nandi Upachar restaurant.

Nandi Upachar
This is the most frequented restaurant on the highway and sees a massive crowd on weekends as it is quite close to the tollgate after Hoskote. We use this restaurant mainly during our cycle rides to Kolar CCD. We did stop here for coffee and snacks this time.

Highway Star Kolar is a big commercial complex which sits on a sizeable chunk of land, and houses quite a few amenities like Food Court, Coffee Shop, Ice Cream Parlour, a pizza joint, a fine dine restaurant, an open seating area with petting zoo, children's play area, restrooms and showers, a chocolate shop, mini-mart, along with well manicured lawns and fountains that lend a very soothing aura to the place. The walkway is wide enough to accommodate the massive crowd that the place sees on weekends and holidays. Outside the facility, but within the premises, a petrol bunk and car wash facility lie next to each other. There is ample amount of parking for cars and bikes alike. You could even cycle here and find plenty of safe space to keep your cycle as it is a gated establishment. We finished our dinner here at 'Maiyas', fueled up, and left for Nagalapuram.



Nagalapuram

It was around 1AM when we finally reached Nagalapuram town (Update: you reach much earlier now as road-widening work at Palamaner is complete), owing to all the road widening and  upgradation work that was happening at the Palamaner-Chittoor section of the highway. We checked into our lodge, and hit the sack immediately, as we had to be up 7 the next morning.

Day1

The first day of the trek is here. Wake up lazy bones!

We woke up to piping hot idlis and the ear-drum shattering noise of air horns from local buses that ply between AP, Chennai and Tirupati. After paying our host, we packed some yummy murrukus and mixture from the bakery opposite to the lodge, and then left for Tada. The road to Tada is single lane with vehicles plying in both directions albeit with moderate amount of traffic. Paddy and sugarcane fields alternate between villages, forests and barren land as we zipped by. To our left, we were flanked by the majestic and towering peaks of Nagalapuram reserved forest and the ridge lines makes one want to just stop and admire them. The moment you get on this road you are engulfed by the fragrant aroma of the forest and its plants. The very same herbal smell that you get when you visit a park in the city.

Birds chirping, sun shining, plenty of moisture in the air with dollops of light breeze, were more than enough to make us turn off the AC and roll down our windows. Even though the breeze was warm, the smells and sounds were too irresistible, to be shutting oneself inside a tin can. At this point, we were seriously wishing we had come here by bikes, rather than by car, as any ardent biker would fall head over heels with this road, and its picturesque surroundings.

S.S Puram highway - The entire range can be seen as you drive through. However it was quite cloudy that morning.

view from the terrace of the lodge

Tada is 50 kilometers from Nagalapuram, and the winding, twisty, road to it is an absolute delight to drive on. We got to Tada within an hour and a half, and it was 10.30 by the time we were done with ticketing formalities and car parking.

Ticket and parking fees collection point

check-dam pool

route after the check dam pool

The weather was a mix of warm and humid. We felt hot only on sections of the trail that were exposed to the sun. With most part of the trek coming under the canopy of the shady stream, we never got a chance to feel the sun on our heads. Bangalore weather lovers, take note.


Ubbalamadugu falls

Depending on one's speed and stamina, it takes around one hour to get to Ubbalamadugu falls, the one with the gorge pool. The route to this pool is 50% trail and 50% stream bouldering baring a few tricky sections where one has to get up on all fours.

Ubbalamadugu falls (only pool pictured)

Tada falls

There waterfall was pretty non-existent as we had gone in summer, and the flow of the water from the top of the falls was miniscule. The flow was reduced to just a tricle on the rock face owing to peak summer season and the scorching heat that Andhra Pradesh sees at this time of the year. We were mightily satisfied on reaching this point though as no one else had made it here, and it was just the two of us. After checking a few blogs on the net, I noticed that we had climbed up the main fall to get to the fall zone. I wonder what route trekkers must be taking to get here post monsoon. The route was exceptionally risky and difficult to negotiate, as the texture of the rock was very smooth with moss covering the entire surface at some points. We had no other option but to take off our shoes and continue the ascent as it was getting dangerously risky. However, once we got to the top, the effort and risk was totally worth it and we were feeling on top of the world on having made it this far. It was eerily quiet and solitudinous, as we had left all the picnickers at the last waterfall behind during our ascent.

The treacherous route to the falls - it flows here in monsoon

Right side of the waterfall

This is right where it falls from in the monsoon

Left side of the waterfall

After spending quite a bit of time here, admiring the massive rock face, and absorbing the silence, we decided to start our return trek back to the parking lot. You follow the same route back that brought you here.

We reached the parking lot well before closing time at around 4, and decided to head for Nagala East to Camp. Since Nagala East is not very far, we were there well before nightfall and were busy setting up our campsite (basically nothing but a tarpaulin sheet and sleeping bag). We parked the car at the last settlement, spread out our tarp and sleeping bags and slept under the stars.

Car parking + camping area for the night

In the distance, you can see the elephant shaped hill that one has to cross while entering the forest after crossing the dam.

Day 2

In the morning we woke up at 6, finished our ablutions, and opted to skip breakfast and have it at the first pool in order to allot maximum time for enjoyment. We asked the cook at the village where we had had dinner last night, not to make breakfast for us, and that we would require only lunch. We then began our hike to the dam.

We got to 'Magic pool', a pool named for its location and size, and the fact that it just pops out of nowhere. It is a small pool that is in the shape of a circle. We spent 2 hours here, basking in the sun, getting fish pedicures, swimming , diving and jumping off various points from the rock column.

Return journey

After we were done frolicking around in the water and trekking back to the village, it was around 12.30 and the Andhra sun was beating down hard on us. We had a delicious lunch of tomato rice at the home hotel. In complete contrast to the climate inside the forest, it was an oven baker outside on the tractor trail, and even more hotter in the town. We bid farewell to Nagala and started for Bangalore by one in the afternoon. The jagged rock mountains were gleaning in the afternoon sun on the way back, and it was difficult to not stop the car to get out and take a few snaps.

captivating peaks getting baked in the sun

Parched fields and sun baked peaks

On the road

We reached Bangalore comfortably at around 9 in the night, after stopping for dinner at Highway Star Kolar again.