Weekend escapade to Gandikota!

Crew Members: Intel Mallus (9 members).

Duration: 1 day.

Date: 27th September 2014.

Terrain: Rocky.

Expense: 1800 Rs per head.

Vehicle: Tempo Traveller.

Abstract: Exploration in hot sun!

Mallus group of Intel used to plan a trip every once in a while. But lately the group had been slogging when it come to trips. Last trip that we executed was cave exploration at Sidharabetta during Jan 1st! It has been a year almost!! 

Fortunately, we had a good number of people available for the weekend and we started a trip discussion with Shivanasamudram falls in mind on Friday. Arun suggested Gandikota. I was a bit reluctant initially considering the distance and the time window we would get to spend there. As the group had girls as well, we never had an option to extend the trip beyond a day. Gandikota is ~300 Kms one side journey from Bangalore and since everyone was okay with it, we decided we'll accept the challenge.

Since the strength of the group was 9, we decided to take up a Tempo Traveller and tried contacting our office shuttle vendor. They proposed a package with 13 Rs per Km for non-AC vehicle and 300 Rs bata for the driver if we are to return before 10PM or else bata would rise to 600. We were okay with it. When they learned the destination is in AP, they said none of their vehicles have permit in AP and we'll have to take one from AP border RTO office and that will cost us additional 3500 Rs. We thought of trying to get some other vendors who have All India permit vehicles. We failed in finding alternate options. We had to take a fast decision as it was already Friday evening. When we all met, everyone started throwing their opinions and few were not very interested in doing such a strenuous journey, which made Arun pissed and he decided to stay off the trip. None of us could convince him and thus we decided to go ahead with the plan to Gandikota. We asked one of our drivers to reach Bellandur and make the first pick at 5 AM on Saturday and then come towards Old Airport Road where remaining 8 of us would board.

Unlike normal trips, this time, all 9 of us were ready by 5 AM and guess who came late! By the time driver reached Bellandur, it was 5:55 AM and I was pissed. I rose my voice at him when he reached our pick up point. He said some lame reasons and thus he costed us one hour!

We soon started our trip and I asked to him to drive straight to Chikaballapur. He didn't know the route beyond Chikkaballapur and Google was all we could bank on. We reached Chikkaballapur by 8 AM and there is this hotel Sandarshini which is our regular place during treks around Chikaballapur. I just love the Kesari Bath they make there. We didn't waste much time there as we still had 220 Kms to cover. I checked for the route to Kadiri with the cashier and we soon got the the engine running.

We had a fun filled journey from there with long sessions of Dumb charades and Anthakashari. In between, by 10:15 AM, we saw a direction board pointing right deviation to Kadiri from highway. But the driver said, RTO office is in the highway still ahead from where we'll have to take the permit and then come back. He added AP RTO checking is extremely strict and thus skipping permit payment would be a great risk. 

In another 45 mins, we reached RTO office. I collected 3500 Rs from the group and I asked driver to go with me. He said 'You need not come sir. The RTO is a very short tempered person and he might shout at you'! I replied 'Why would anyone shout at the public just like that'! We started walking towards the office and the driver repeated again, 'RTO would shout at you sir and you may opt to skip that' and I said, 'If that is the case, I'll better opt to hear what he has to say' and we reached RTO. I could sense what really was happening there and got it confirmed when the RTO said the permit fee! It was 2850 Rs! Remaining 650 Rs would have went to driver's pocket if I had believed his words! While walking back to the vehicle, he said this extra money is generally taken by the drivers and that's a common way of earning money followed across the vehicle renting agencies. I told him, 'If you had told me that the bata was 500 instead of 300 and told the truth that permit fee is 2850, we would have given you the amount. But you are not going to get anything out of this as you opted to lie about it'.

Our route was supposed to be Chikaballapur -> Kadiri -> Pulivendula -> Jammalamadugu -> Gandikota. We checked Google maps and saw an alternate route via Anantapur. This route through Anantapur would help us avoid the drive back till the deviation to Kadiri and thus decided to take that up. Antakshari sessions continued. I am not a big fan of Antakashari, because of which I was sitting in front, monitoring the maps and directing our driver. 

By 12:30 PM, when we were very close to the destination, we missed a turn and travelled ~20Kms ahead and we had to take a U-turn and come back. The deviation that Google showed us was a muddy road and we checked with the locals around. They said our deviation would take us to the reservoir project there and not to fort! They suggested to drive to Muddanur and from there to take the road to Jammalamadugu and take a left deviation that comes just before the bridge over Pennar river! And that was like another 60Kms! Another hour of drive in that heat was unbearable! We had no option left! By 1:30 PM, we reached the bridge and just before the bridge started we could see a board asking tourists to take left deviation to Gandikota. The road was narrow and either sides were vast and barren. 18 Kms of that stretch finally, took us to the Haritha APTDC motel which marked the end of our one side journey! None of us cared about the destination for a moment as our stomachs were rumbling with hunger! They offered us fried rice, chapathi, fulka, dal and onion-tomato masala! We had enough of drinks as well. Note, the hotel is a vegetarian one. 

By 3 PM, 3 hours off from our plan, we started walking towards the fort! A 500m of would from the motel would take one to the fort. Sun was at its peak and we all had a layer of sun screen applied hoping it would help us retain our fair complexion! :D

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Fort entrance had couple of tuck shops run by villagers that had drinks and biscuits and stuff. We entered the fort through the massive rusted gates.

Sky was very clear and I love clicking pics of architectures in such a background.

Apart from monuments, the fort premises host huts for lot of villagers. There were lot of goats grazing in the fort. We walked and could see a small school where the kids of the village go. There was a tomb kind of structure as soon as we entered and it was named Charminar.

We walked ahead along the lanes between the huts. A board saying "Madhavaraya Temple" was placed on the lane pointing to the left deviation. We walked towards the temple. The gopura of the temple was massive and was mostly ruined! But the color contrast it showcased was awesome!

There was a shrine inside well maintained in the middle of a lawn. We moved around clicking more pics. We had to cover as much as possible in the short time that we had left.

While leaving the temple, another board saying 'Great Bath' was pointing towards right. We had to walk some 15 mins and found high fort walls and lot of structures around. There were villagers cultivating plantains directing us. We walked around and we could see the walls ending at a point which appeared like a cliff. We thought that could be the Grand Canyon look alike view point. The only easy way to reach till there was to climb the stairs to the fort walls and walk over it. We managed to cover some distance over the wall and noticed a bunch of Lion Tailed Macaques seated at a distant point and the girls were reluctant to go forward. So, myself, Jerry, Melroy and Renju decided to go ahead and explore the place leaving the girls and couple of boys behind. We walked till the cliff jumping couple of walls blocking the passage and found the cliff is not actually the cliff that we were after. But still the place looked beautiful.

We walked back and joined the group. We decided to walk back to the Charminar point and ask some one the route to the Canyon view point. By the time we reached Charminar point, we were very tired and our throats were craving for water. We hydrated ourselves from there and we were told the view point is straight down the lane from where we took the deviation towards the temple. We went past a mosque and granary. After the granary, there are a couple of stairs on the ride side which will take you to the Gorge! It was 4:30 PM already and we walked as fast as we could to reach the point! The view there was breathtaking! We had enough photo sessions there and decided to sit there enjoying the silence and wind till 5:30 PM. One could trek down to the Pennar River along the pipe way. We didn't want to try it out though.

By 5:30 PM, we started our walk back to the fort gates and sun was on the way to disappear. Charminar looked awesome with sunset.

We walked towards the motel dragging ourselves! Sunset view along the hills with windmills was mind blowing and I couldn't resist myself from clicking a pic!

We reached the motel soon and ordered cool drinks and tea. By mistake, we ordered Onion Pakodas and that costed us almost 45 mins there. It tasted good and we left the plates clean wiping it out! :D

We started our journey back to Bangalore by 7 PM and we decided to take the route that we were actually supposed to take. All were tired and dozed off. Verdict on the case with TN CM Jayalalitha's came out on this day and we were getting news from our friends about the riots and happenings in Bangalore. We were a bit worried and finally discovered our routes are unaffected. We reached Kadiri by 9 PM and decided to have dinner from there. I had no clue how we reached back in Banglore from there as I was sound asleep! Melroy and Renju were the ones who were guiding the driver and guess what by the time we reached Bangalore it was 2 AM!! 

It was a wonderful and very tiring journey!

Things to remember:

1. Try not to get fooled by the driver if you are planning to rent a vehicle.

2. APTDC Motel have AC/Non-AC rooms and Dormitory facility.

3. There are no other food options around but this APTDC motel.

4. There is no entry fee and the fort is open 24x7!

5. Plan and execute in such a way that you'll have at least 3-4 hours to spend there. I would recommend to stay at the motel for a day and explore the place in the evening and early in the morning.

Dos:

1. Take Bangalore -> Chikkaballapur -> Kadiri -> Pulivendula -> Muddanur -> Gandikota route.

2. Have enough water if you are planning for a single day trip. No matter how early you start, by the time you reach there, sun will be ready to suck every bit of fluid out of you!

3. Carry sun screen lotions, caps, goggles.

Don't:

1. Place is very well maintained with little plastic garbage around! So, carry your wastage to the nearest bin.

Ride to the pinnacle of South India - Mullayanagiri!

Crew members: Dilip, Shyam and myself!

Duration: 2.5 days.

Expense: ~3000 per head.

Date: 15th, 16th and 17th of August 2014.

Round Trip: 640 Kms.

Bikes: RE Electra 350 and RE Classic 350.

Abstract: Trip to the highest and oldest of Karnataka!

This road trip again got initiated as one of our MS batch mate invited us for her marriage at Tumkur. My mind was set to go for Valparai ride as the destination. But the wedding being in Tumkur and the function being on the Friday of a long weekend, it was a perfect combo for an escape to Chikamaglur which is just ~180 kms from Tumkur.

I got immediate response from Dilip as he himself was desperate to go for a ride! We didn't plan to include any pillion riders and neither did we ask around in our usual group as we were to start from Tumkur post the function. Tour preparations began a month before the dates! I got my bike serviced and Dilip changed his Goldie silencer to Wild Boar! I also bought a two sided water resistant saddle bag from Sandhya Motors, JC Road!

Finally, the day, Aug 14th came up and we both were on our toes! We decided to have Dabaspet as our rendezvous point as Dilip is coming from Doddaballapur. Shyam had called me up on 13th and asked me for a ride till Tumkur for the marriage. Myself and Shyam started from Domlur at 5 PM with all the luggage loaded! By the time we crossed Yeshwantpur railway station and entered Tumkur road, it was 6:15 PM and we called up Dilip to make him start from his house! The ride till Dabaspet was awesome! Sky was all cloudy and at a distance on our left hand side we could clearly make out clouds pouring! Shivaganga hill was almost invisible in rains! Cold wind was blowing because of the rain hardly a kilometer away on our left side. I was a little worried of getting drenched even before the ride actually started. Luckilly, we had to confront only a little drizzle and that added to the pleasure! I maintained a consistent 80 kmph to reach Dabaspet by 7 PM. Dilip had already reached our catch up point - CCD. Had one mango shot each from the CCD and headed to Tumkur. Checked-in to our lodge, attended the function and late night chats went long and it was 2:30 AM by time myself and Dilip slept!

Day 1:

I woke up at 6 AM when one of our friends banged on our door. I got freshened up first and headed to the marriage hall early. Dilip and Shyam got up a bit late and I got a call by around 8 AM saying they hit flat tire on the way to marriage hall and finding a puncture guy at that time on Independence day was a pain. Some how they managed to find one guy who claimed his shop remains open 24 hours a day. Since bike was ridden till there, tube was torn and we had buy a new one. We bought an extra one for just in case. We went to the marriage hall, had breakfast and decided to leave as it was already an hour late of our planned departure time. We had to put little effort to force Shyam in to the trip. Shyam was made Dilip's pillion and I tied Dilip's bag behind my bike, filled our tanks and the ride started by 10:45 AM.

Our first pit stop was decided to be Tiptur. We were riding on an average of 80 kmph and some where near Nittur Dilip's bike fell behind and I thought they'll catch up didn't bother to slow down! Few minutes later, I get this call from Shyam asking me ride back as they have issues with the bike. Bike's chain sprocket area was smoking and we thought we got busted. Dilip also complained he wasn't able to go above 70 kmph! So we decided to go to the nearest mechanic which was 3 kms away. He could debug the issue in no time and the issue was with rear brake! The puncture guy did some goof up while fixing the tire back!

Road was smooth and we decided to take up this road as we were least interested in 2 lane highway where the riding gets boring. The route which we decided to take up was Tumkur > Tiptur > Arsikere > Lingadahalli > Kemmengundi. We had to stop couple of times before hitting Arsikere as pillion riding for such long distance isn't an easy task! We didn't have anything since breakfast and it was 2 PM the time we crossed Arsikere and reached Kadur. We stopped by a bakery and had some 4 slices of Dilpasand and couple of masala bread and hydrated ourselves. The shopkeeper gave us clear directions to goto Lingadahalli and then to Kallathigiri and to Kemmengundi. Kallathigiri was in our schedule anyway. Since it is enroute Kemmengundi, we decided to visit the Kallathigiri temple and then ride to destination for the day. We left Kadur and we were supposed to take a left deviation from Lingadahalli. But Dilip who was riding ahead missed the left turn and drove straight ahead to Tarikere route and I had no option left but to follow and catch up with them. There is a route from Tarikere to Kallathigiri whose scenic beauty was praised in some blogs. So we didn't bother to ride back. Just as blogs said, the route was amazing! It was drizzling slightly and we continued riding. I almost wished that stretch of road never ended! Lush greenery vegetation and trees on either sides of the road and slight drizzle. It was heavenly! Closer we went to Kemmengundi, colder it got! Shyam and Dilip switched in between and we rode till Kallathigiri and by 3:20 PM we entered Kallathigiri premises. We had to pay 10 Rs per bike as entry fee there and by then drizzling had stopped! We dropped our luggage with the foot wear stall and I got my camera out. Kallathigiri was one of a kind falls where there are shrines in the middle of the falls! Place was crowded and it was difficult to get some good shots.

One could climb up the falls to a point where there is a taller water falls. The climb was extremely slippery and swampy! But the beauty of the falls is worthy enough to get through the tough slippery patch!

We didn't waste much time there and got ourselves packed and started our uphill ride to Kemmengundi! Ride was good except for 1 or 2 kilometers where the roads where extremely bad. It was very cold and rich green. View of the valley was extremely beautiful!

We had detailed photo sessions enroute as we were gonna crash at Kemmengundi for the day and we had ample time left!

We reached the Kemmemngundi peak and to our surprise, there were no stay options there! The peak consisted of only the view point named Raj Bhavan and we were dumbstruck! We asked around with the tourists, who all said its better to ride back to Kallathigiri and find a lodge there! The understanding we had about the place was totally out of place. Kemmengundi is just a peak and there are couple of stay options with the Horticulture department which for our misfortune were under renovation! It was already past 5 and was getting dark. So we decided to ride back to Kallathigiri! On the way we were all thinking of alternatives and we came up with this brilliant plan of directly heading to Chikamaglur instead of staying at Kallathigiri as our plan for next day was morning ride to Mullayanagairi. We didn't bother to think further. Kemmengundi waved a colorful good bye to us!

We didn't have to go back to Lingadahalli to goto Chikamaglur as we could find an alternate route near Kallathigiri which was one of the best roads I drove. It was curvy, uphill and downhill stretch of 43 kms and I just loved driving and was playing around all the curves to make as sharp bends as possible! Sunset was magnificent with all hills and thick clouds and green plain lands!

Soon it got dark and we stopped by a tuck shop to have some snacks. We were almost shivering closer we got to Mullayanagiri. We had some nice big Nipattu and Kodebale! Kaimara circle, where the Mullayangiri ride starts was 21 kms from the tuck shop and Chikamaglur is another 6 kms from Kaimara. We could reach Chikamaglur by 7:30 PM. We started inquiring rooms and by 8:30 PM we must have check with at least 7 lodges and learned almost all the lodges in Chikamaglur are occupied! Some receptionists even told us there is no point in wandering for rooms as there are no rooms available across the town and tourists were walking in search of rooms since evening! Luckily, we met two girls who were also wandering for rooms! There were couple of guys as well with them - Aarushi, Seema, Mohit and Himanshu! So, now we were a group of seven with four bikes! Finally we went to a lodge named Benaka Residency and they agreed to give their staff's hall to four of them for the night as there were girls among them. They asked us to join them in the hall and that was luxury for us! We had to bargain a little and settled the tariff at 250 Rs per head and by 9 PM, we had a roof to sleep below! I checked the distance covered in day 1 and it was 280 kms! The whole lodge finding thing was nightmare and learned a lesson there - If the trip destination is Chikamaglur and it is a long weekend, room reservations should be made at least a week in prior!

Hall had just a toilet and no bathroom! Chikamaglur town sleeps at 11 PM and no shops would be open beyond that point of time! At 10 PM, we had to roam a lot to find a hotel! We had our dinner and got back and by then the lodge staff had arranged the beds for us in the two corners of the room! We slept off as soon as we crashed in the beds!

Day 2:

We woke up at 8 when our friend Manish called from Thailand! We checked with our lodge uncle and he agreed to give us two rooms with hot water to get fresh! We thus had time till 10 AM to take a hot shower and vacate! We were ready by 9:30 AM and we said good bye to the Mohit and Himanshu. Lodge uncle let us leave our luggage at the reception and we agreed to take it back once we are done with Mullayanagiri!

We had some hot idlis, dosa and pulav and started ride to our prime destination! We hit Kaimara circle in 10 mins and we payed 5 Rs per bike to the check post as entry fee. Awesome hairpin curves waited us since there! We swifted through driving past almost all the vehicles we confronted. 

We could drive on an average of 60 kmph and we reached the view point Sitaliyangiri. Place was sick crowded and it was a lush green climb beside road all covered with fog! Uphill road to Mullayanagiri peak from Sitaliyangiri was narrower and was covered with fog!

Soon the visibility reduced and was limited to hardly 4-5 feet! Vehicles had their headlights on and it was a bit dangerous stretch with no barricade to stop vehicles from getting off the edge! It seemed like we were the only RE riders there at the point and everyone were staring at us! We parked our bikes at the highest point where the vehicles can go. There was a small tuck shop from where we thought of having some hot beverage. Soon couple of guys and girls around rushed to our bikes and wanted to take pics with the RE! Wanna explain how an RE owner feels seeing that? :D

We checked with the security and he directed us to the climbing point to go to the pinnacle of South India. Without his directions, it would have been practically impossible to find the climbing point which was all covered with fog!

It was 400 stairs and I was totally on my adrenalin! We reached the peak by 11:30 AM and realized we were above 6300 ft above sea level! I was ecstatic and felt proud of myself! ;)

We clicked pics around and visited the Shiva temple. People were waiting for the shrine to open and the priest said he'll open the temple in 10 mins. We waited and payed our offerings to highest located SHiva temple I've ever been to. Soon we decided to go back as we had a tight schedule for the day. It was 12 PM and the place looked like as if it was 6 AM. We soon got back to our bulls and started our downhill ride. Buses and tempo vans plying on this narrow road created bad traffic blocks and 15-20 mins got wasted waiting for the traffic to get cleared. Bikers were allowed to go through the gaps in between and I couldn't imagine how long the cars would have taken to get out of that long queue!

We reached our lodge by 1:15 PM. Dilip's rear brake started giving a weird sound and we decide to get it rectified before leaving the town. We made Shyam to sit and order the lunch and we went in search of a RE mechanic! After 20-30 mins of struggle, we could find a guy who knows RE work around. It was again some rear wheel nut loose issue and he fixed it instantaneously! By 2:30 PM, we tied our luggage and bided adieu to Chikamaglur! Our plan was to visit Belur and Halebidu and find a place of stay at one of these places or to head to Shravanabelagola. Belur was 30 kms away from Chikamaglur and we could nail that in 30 mins.

Since we didn't want to take the pain of removing the luggage and tying it back, Shyam was made to take the first watch and myself and Dilip went in. From the pics of Belur and Halebidu I saw in internet, I was expecting some thing that is similar to Somnathpura temple near Mysore. Even the architecture of the main shrine was quite similar, but the beauty of Belur temple is beyond what words can explain! The sculptures were so damn detailed and rich! One could spend a whole day there going through the sculptures!

Inside the main shrine beside the Garbhagriha, there is a glass box which carried a pair of huge leather slippers. Myself and Dilip were wondering what it was and an old woman explained to us. Apparently, that is a pair of slippers that God is believed to wear when he steps out of temple during night time! The slipper gets torn 7 times a year and cobblers fix them it seems. And this happens every year she said!

Dilip stepped out and replaced Shyam to take over the watch. I was roaming around and was waiting for people to clear out of the frame to get some shots.

After a very detailed photo session and roam around, we stepped out of the temple. Dilip was sitting with a bronze statue vendor and was buying some tiny bronze statues which he quoted 120 Rs and we bargained it down to 100 Rs. Dilip bought two dancing Shiva statues. I bought one dancing Ganesha and a dancing Shiva. Shyam bought 2 as well! To our surprise, the vendor suddenly gets a call and he talks in Urdu! When we enquired with him, he said he is a Muslim! We were shocked at his business and that he knew every single God's name! India is obviously full of surprises.

We learned from him that Halebidu temple closes by 6:30 PM and he have an hour left to reach there! We drove as fast as we could. The road connecting Belur and Halebidu is not a very good one. But there is an alternate route that take one to Halebidu which goes through a place named Agara. But that is 15 kms longer than the direct route. We decided to take up the direct route and in 45 mins we could reach Halebidu! There again were this Bronze statue vendors who came to us quoting 80 Rs per piece! We realized our mistake and successfully bargained it down to 50 Rs per piece! I bought out Nataraja pendant and Shyam bought couple more pieces! Myself and Dilip again went in first and captured some shots around. Halebidu temple isn't as big as the Belur one. More over Halebidu had just one main shrine where as Belure had multiple shrines spread across a wider area. Covering Halebidu temple did not cost us much time.

We returned and Shyam went in for his exploration. We sat outside and had some chat with the local vendors. During the Mughal ruling period, when Mughals came to attack Halebidu and were destroying the statues, locals some how managed to get this news to Belur and on getting this advance notice, people in Belur covered the entire temple with sand and protected the temple it seems! Halebidu temple is famous for its exterior beauty and thus it closes by 6:30 PM. Where as, Belur temple is famous for it interior magnificence and hence it remains open till 7:30 PM with all the lighting setup inside!

Shyam wanted to get back to Bangalore by 17th afternoon for some family emergency. Because of which we dropped our Shravanabelagola plan and decided to crash at Hassan for the day! Hassan was 45 Kms away from Halebidu and it was a proper high way where we could clock consistent 80 kmph! We reached Hassan town in 30 mins and roamed around for a reasonable lodge with parking facility! We ended up finding Vaishnavi Lodge near Sahayadri Theatre! He charged us 370 Rs for a double room and 80 Rs for extra bed! Lodge was decent enough and had ample parking space! Decided to end our 140 Kms ride of the day there! Parked our bikes, dropped all our luggage in the room and stepped out for some eatables and time pass! We bought some snacks and had chats!

We got back to room, switched on TV and were discussing about the day's ride! Day 1 was a bit disappointing and Day 2 was amazing! We came across Lagan movie in TV and decided to watch! That should be 7th or 8th time I'm watching it! :D

At around 9:30PM Dilip got a call from Aarushi of previous night and they were checking with us on our plans. Apparently they went to Mudigere from Mullayanagiri and got lost there. They wanted to get info about some close by place to crash! We had no idea about the place and we asked them to come off to Hassan if they can. Hassam was ~73 kms ride for them and they said they'll call us if they are to reach Hassan. In another hour we got call from them asking our lodge details, we directed them and they reached our lodge by 11 PM. They appeared shocked hearing the cheap room tariff and were given rooms adjacent to us. I was glad we could return them a favor! We informed them about our plan on leaving Hassan as early as possible the next day!

We got back to our room and Shyam slept off immediately! Pillion rider was more tired than the riders apparently! :D

Myself and Dilip were chatting and watching Pirate of Caribbean  Part - I. I dozed off some where in between!

Day 3:

Myself and Dilip woke up when Shyam pulled each of ours spreadsheets away! It was 7 AM and we took hot shower and had breakfast from adjacent hotel! We had to wake Mohit up to ask them to pay for their rooms. Check out formalities didn't require much time and we were on our way by 8:30 AM. We could hit highway in another 20 mins and the drive was smooth. 15 kms from Hassan, we came up to an accident spot where a bike was bashed up by a car and the local people were in a tight quarrel with the car driver! They broke the car's wind shield. We went to bike rider and he was in deep agony and was crying out loud! He was bleeding all over and there were deep wound in his face and legs. We gave away our water bottle, the least we could do. Ambulances came in another 10 mins and we left soon. That was a kind of reminder for us to drive safe! We clocked consistent 80-90 kmph and by 10:30 AM, we reached Kunigal. I wanted to go via Tumkur to get the famous Ragi buscuits and so we did. We reached Tumkur by 11:30 AM and bought half a kilo of Ragi biscuits from Nanjundeshwara Bakery! Believe me, it is delicious! Then we headed to Pyara Punjabi Dhaba at Dabaspet! Had a pitcher lassi costing 100 Rs and rottis and Dal makhani! I decided to make this place my regular place for food every time I ride form Tumkur to Bangalore. Dilip was to take Doddaballapur road from Dabaspet and we untied his luggage from my bike and went to in two ways!

Myself and Shyam rode to Bangalore and could reach Yeshwantpur railway station in 30 mins. I dropped him near to his house in Malleshwaram and I went on with my last stretch to Domlur! Third day ride was 230 Kms long!

Do's:

1. One can either take up Tumkur > Hassan > Chikamaglur route or Tumkur > Tiptur > Kadur > Lingadahalli > Chikamaglur route. I would personally recommend the second one for the scenic beauty.

2. If it is RE rides, keep a spare tube and a clutch wire in hand!

3. Make reservations at lodges before hand or better carry a tent! :D

Don'ts:

1. Kemmengundi and Mullayangiri are maintained clean! Mind your garbages!

Things to remember:

1. Belur temple closes by 7:30 PM and Halebidu by 6:30 PM.

2. If you are planning to buy anything around these places, try your best bargaining skills!

Our group pic: