Place: Channarayanadurga trek.
Distance: 100 x 2 = 200kms.
Directions: Bangalore > Dobbaspete > Koratgere > Channarayanadurga
Krew: Dileep (Koof) > Karthik (Sippy).
Bikes: Pulsar.
Previous Visit: Rayakottai trek.
Budget: Rs 400/head
IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:
After the two treks (Kabbaladurga and Rayakottai) in 2024, things stabilized now and it was time to hit some classics. And it was time for Channarayandurga. The good old lost and ancient hillock. Have you guys watch “Bangarada Jinke”? It was shot at this place. The trek was smooth as butter. Missed all these last 2 years. Let’s go!
INTRO & PLAN:
Ok, the plan was crystal clear. My mind was locked on Channarayanadurga and no jitters. The plan was to leave early, Bangalore was seeing the worst of summers. It was like a freaking hot oven in March and April 2024. The previous day did the usual workout of 50 pull-ups, 100 push-ups, and 100 squats in 15 minutes. This workout is working like a charm and keeping me fit like crazy! Do try it out.
TIME: 21:00 (19/4/2024)
ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:
Oh yeah, woke up at 3:30 am, stretched out a little, and was ready. Started calling up Koof (yeah, I am a literal nightmare to my friends!!) Finally, Koof replied at 5:15 am and said he was ready. I left my home, rode to KR road, and was surprised to find Koof sitting outside ready to head out. And the Blue Wings boys headed out of town!
TIME: 05:30
RIDE 1: (Bangalore – Dobbaspete - Channarayandurga)
The ride to Channarayanadurga is 100kms pretty much butter-smooth stuff. The ride was dark and cold to begin with, as we neared Nelamangala we felt a cold shock, we knew the sun was about to rise. But surprisingly the skies were cloudy. The transition from from dark to light or vice versa is a beautiful zone to be in. We continued to ride on non-stop until Dobbaspete and then we pulled over for a tea. Post tea, as we continued we spotted an old couple selling breakfast, we pulled over to have one of the yummiest idly vadas.
TIME: 07:00
We had a light breakfast, as we had the trek ahead of us. Thanking the old couple for serving us a super breakfast we rode on. We had about 50km to cover yet and we covered it comfortably in about 45 minutes to reach the base of the hillock.
TIME: 07:45
ASCENSION:
Channarayanadurga is one of those hillocks where time should not be taken into consideration. There is so much to explore on this hillock, just getting lost in the beauty is something one must aim at. We took about 90 minutes to reach the top.
Anyway, I have divided the ascension into the following stages. So, keep up with here! :
i) Initial Stretch
ii) Lost Paradise
iii) Layouts
iv) Last Strech
We parked our bikes near the central tree (for flagging purposes) and requested bakery people to hold on to our helmets, with the astral goat's spirit wide awake, we were ready for the trek.
TIME: 07:45
i) Initial stretch:
The initial stretch unlike other hillocks is the toughest in this one. And it is the steepest. So told Koof to take his sweet own time. We took about 20-25mins to finish this part. We took sufficient breaks but just enough for breath to normalize. Upon reaching the first fort wall the initial stretch was completed.
TIME: 08:00
ii) Lost Paradise:
Once through the first fort wall, the real beauty of this fort hillock opened up. We found the beautiful lake in the first tier. The water level was lower but nevertheless looked beautiful. Taking a small breather and absorbing the view, we decided to move on from this tier
iii) Layouts:
The transition from 1st to 2nd tier could turn out to be trickier. We have goofed up once, oh wait, no twice actually. But making mistakes, especially costly ones helps us in remembering routes better. This time we took the right route to enter the 2nd tier, here one can find a lot of ruined granaries and other storage structures.
iii) Last Stretch:
Once we passed through the 2nd gateway, we entered the last stretch. This was hardly 5-minute run. We took a detour to get the best view of the place. So yes, we sat here and declared that as the top (even though the top was hardly 2 minutes away)
TIME: 09:00
TOP:
Sitting at the top seeing a very wide panoramic view with Madhugiri taking a central position, we could hear an amalgam of insect sounds. It was freaking trippy. And the place has vertical drops all around. So, yeah not for the faint-hearted eh!
Told koof, I would run up and make a touch top at the actual top of the hillock. As I reached the top, found a dog, which instantly smiled at me and followed me wherever I went. Realised the poor guy, was thirsty, so poured some water and helped him out. And an instant trust was developed. As I made my way back, found Koof sitting peacefully. Joined him and both of us tripped on the natural orchestra that was being played for us.After about 30 minutes at the top and then we decided to make our way down.
TIME: 09:30
TREK BACK:
It took us about 45 minutes to reach back to the base. And we also did it without a break. As we started the trek back down, we decided to head down directly. So Koof, I, and the friendly dog decided to join us. The trek back was straightforward. Knees are something to take care of during the descent. We went back to the bakery, thanked the people for looking after the helmets, bought some water bottles and juice, gulped it down, and left the town.
TIME: 10:15
RIDE 2: (Channarayandurga – Whitty Dhaba – Bangalore)
Okay, this was a breeze ride back. After the trek, feels so good to be on a bike. The feel you get is different from that of a car. The ride back was straightforward. We pulled over at Dobbaspete and decided we crash in at Whity’s for some food and drink. Very much deserved for the trek we pulled off. We reached Whity at about 11:45 only and the dhaba was yet just about to open.
So we chilled down with some beers, post which we had a decent lunch. Trust me the food of this place is mind blowing. Post which we rode back to Bangalore as we entered the city, we the clouds welcomed us with some drizzle. Dropping Koof back at his place, I rode and actually stood at a place just to enjoy the rain and headed back home happy!
TIME: 15:00
Until next time Ta-ta Cia \m/
