Place: Ratnagiri Fort Trek
Distance: 150kms x 2 = 300kms
Directions: Bangalore > Dobbaspete > Madhugiri > Ratnagiri Fort
Krew: Madhu > Karthik (Sp)
Bikes: Pulsar
Previous Visit: Bhairavadurga.
Budget: Rs 500/head
IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:
This was another simple trek to the mystery fort of Ratnagiri. The route and the gateways can be confusing, but fun nevertheless. First time, Madhu joined hence the idea was to keep it simple and stick to the process we knew.
INTRO & PLAN:
It was two weeks since our trek to Bhairavadurga, that was some rattling trek eh? So, the week after that nothing panned out, and ended up having some monk and golgappa in Bangalore itself. When Madhu came up and expressed his interest to join for the next one. I was more excited than him haha! With the destination unknown, but the plan clear, we decided to head out weekend.
TIME: 11:00 (22/5/2024)
ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:
Oh yeah, woke up by 3:30 am, did a few stretches, and gave a wake-up call to Madhu. He was up by 4 am as well. The plan was to meet at my place at 5:30 am. Surprisingly, Madhu arrived at my home at 5:15 am itself. Wow! This was a happy surprise, and we took off immediately without wasting any time as every minute before sunrise is precious.
TIME: 05:15
RIDE 1: (Bangalore – Dobbaspete – Madhugiri – Ratnagiri Fort)
The ride from Bangalore began smoothly, it was dark and slightly chill. We rode at a pretty good pace to exit Bangalore in a whiff. Afterwards, the roads opened and so did the sky. Just before the sun rose, the temperature took a sharp dip. Once we reached Dobbaspete, we pulled over for a tea stop as we had covered a good 50km and it was just 6:15 am.
After a sipping hot cup of tea, we felt fresh and alive. Then, we went on the hunt for the breakfast stop we had discovered last time. And it was a tough search eh. After a while, we found the old couple, and trust me this place is out of this world. They serve the best idly vada and pulao on the roadside. It was a super heavy breakfast and so worth it.
TIME: 07:00
After the awesome breakfast, we headed full steam ahead but made a conscious stop just before Madhugiri to stretch out. After which we continued for another 40km to spot Ratnagiri afar waiting to greet us. The ride through the town was superb, with high fort walls and whatnot. This gave us an impression of what people of the olden days must have felt like. Reaching the base of the hillock, we parked our bikes and with the goat’s spirit awake we were ready to capture the hillock.
TIME: 08:30
RATNAGIRI FORT TREK:
It took us about an hour to ascend the fort. The weather was cool and gloomy, but what was unique this time was the eery silence that hit us hard. With no one around the silence was dense around us and tended to cave us in. Ok, the three stages of the trek are as follows and let's see if you keep up with us, let's go!
i) Way to the Door.
ii) Amazing Mid-Riff.
iii) The Last Stairs.
i)Way to the Door:
The initial stretch, the point between the parking place and the fort entrance, is the most tricky and enjoyable. A simple way is to run your eyes all along the hillock and find a small door like in the wall. Then you figure out your way to the place. Every person might choose a different path, but the goal is the same.
TIME: 08:45
ii) Amazing Mid-Riff:
Once we made our way through the entry point of the fort, a strange silence hit us. . A clear stony path was visible, but the place was quite heavy. The fort walls shrouded with creepers and branches gave us the chills and felt super at the same time. We kept our senses on high alert and took each step cautiously. This stretch we relished every moment as it was eery and nice at the same time.
TIME: 09:00
iii) Last Stairs:
The last stairs could be spotted from a layout, which consisted of lot of granaries. We spent some time exploring the granaries, learnt from Madhu that they looked like where fruits were stored for the process of ripening. Once on the last stairs it was matter of simple climb to the top.
TIME: 09:15
TOP:
At the top, the wind speed picked up. We picked up the helicopter seed and started playing with it. The skies were calm and cool, and the weather was perfect. We ran around getting a 360-degree view of the place, we found a spot where the fort wall had crumbled and the wind was gushing at a super pace. Going ahead, we found the cave where we usually crash.
TIME: 09:30
TREK DOWN:
We spent about 45 minutes at the top. Since it was Madhu’s first time, we discussed various topics and then finally we decided to crash for a good 20 min. After which we decided to head back down.
The trek down was a smooth one with no stops for rest. We took about 30min to get back to our bikes. The trek back was fun, and we tried descending a few rock faces instead of taking the stairs, giving a glimpse of what was instore in the coming weeks. We reached back our bikes and took off from the beautiful Ratnagiri.
TIME: 10:45
RIDE 2: (Ratnagiri Fort – Medegeshi – Madhugiri - Dobbaspete – Bangalore)
The ride back was a smooth one, we had decided to pull over after every 50 km to stretch out. Hence as we began the ride back, the sun was blazing away in all its glory, making us feel dizzy. We reached Madhugiri in a matter of 30-45mins and pulled over for the first stop.
After which it was a non-stop ride to Dobbaspete, on our way to Dobbaspete we saw a brutal accident where a person had died on the spot. Keeping composure and trusting the process we just glided on in Whitty Dhaba for a super-duper lunch.
TIME: 12:30
After a nice lunch, we took the NICE road to crash back into my place. We had sipping hot cup of coffee after which Madhu departed to his home on his bike to another part of the city.
TIME: 16:00
Great and smooth trip, Until next time, Cia \m/