Chandigarh Srinagar Leh Manali on Bike: For all crazy dreamers

FIVE BIKERS, FIVE BIKES, 2800 KILOMETERS, 10-25 AUG 2018

A must ride path before it becomes absolutely impossible. There is no age bar for riding this route. We're amazed to see a 50+ enthusiast doing a solo trip for 62 days which includes trek, ride, bus, etc. So, if you think it's difficult with family, go for four-wheeler.

First of all, a BIG THANKS to Dheeraj K. He works for IBM and I happened to see a blog on internal IBM portal on his Leh biking experience. After a while I called him and that one call gave us a lot of information, after which we never looked back from planning.

Sanketh, Abhishek (Abhi), myself (Kumar), Vishu and Venky are the crazy, light-minded bikers who made to final list. Unfortunately Subash and Mithun had to drop out due to personal reasons. BTW, Sanketh is the one who seeded the idea around Q3 2017.

This initial post concentrates on all the necessary information that would help for end to end planning.

Routes

1. One of the route is to start from Manali towards Leh and then to Srinagar, etc.
2. We started from Chandigarh -> Amristar -> Jammu -> Srinagar -> Kargil -> Leh -> Nubra Valley -> Pangong Tso -> Leh -> Sarchu -> Manali -> Chandigarh. A total of 2,800 kilometers.
• This route is preferred since you'll gradually travel towards higher altitude, which helps in acclimatization.
• Google maps link https://drive.google.com/open?id=1_fsvP9uVsq-vXJRQ-d_d9mrrENk5BTV7&usp=sharing
 

Itinerary (Aug 10 to 25th, 2018)

Day 0: Reach Chandigarh, Collect bikes, Fill petrol
Day 1: Chandigarh to Amritsar (230km 6hrs). Visit Wagah Border and Golden Temple
Day 2: Amritsar -> Jammu (220 6hrs)
Day 3: Jammu -> Srinagar (280 8hrs). If possible, visit Pahalgam on the way
Day 4: Srinagar local sightseeing, basic bike servicing, shopping
Day 5: Srinagar to Kargil (200 6hrs). Don't miss Kargil War Memorial after Drass
Day 6:  Kargil to Leh (220 6hrs)
Day 7: Leh local sightseeing, get permissions, fill pertrol, carry extra pertrol cans
Day 8:  Leh to Nubra Valley via Khardungla (140 6hrs). Fill petrol at Diskit. Night stay at Hunder.
Day 9: Hunder to Pangang Tso via Shyok (150 6hrs). Start early to reach by 4PM. Crossing few streams could be challenging.
Day 10:  Watch the rising sun from the shores of Pangong Tso. Start back to Leh (150 6hrs). Basic bike servicing and fill petrol
Day 11: Fill petrol + can at the last petrol station, Karu. Leh -> Sarchu (250 7-8hrs)
Day 12: Sarchu -> Manali (230 7hrs). Crossing pagal nala will be challenging in the evening.
Day 13: Manali local sightseeing
Day 14: Manali -> Chandigarh (310 8hrs). Return or transport bikes.
Day 15: Catch flight from Chandigarh to Bengaluru

Rider stuffs to carry

Firstly, get your personal bike serviced properly couple of weeks before starting the trip. The following are very important to be checked for own or rented bikes

• Change tyres and tubes if necessary
• Carry spare tubes
• Change Oil
• Change brake shoe, pads
• Wheel alignment
• Check spark plug
• Carry spare
• Check wheel bearing
• Check chain sprocket
• Check break and clutch leaver
• Carry spare
• Carry one chain link lock
• Get spare accelerator and clutch cables fixed to the bike... like plug and play

Bike(r) gears

• Good jacket
• Elbow and Knee guards
• Riding gloves
• Waterproof shoes
• Thin woolen gloves
• Face mask
• Head mask
• Face cover helmet
• Thermal top and pant
• Rain top and pant
• Sun glasses (UV)
• Night riding glasses
• Duplicate bike key

Others

• Toolkits
• Spanners
• Screwdriver set
• Electric pump
• Petrol can and pipe
• Chain lubricant
• Puncture rubbers

Luggage on bike

 Avoid saddle bag if possible. They can be pain in the ass to pack and move it everyday. Instead go for a 60 liter backpack and even a saddle box (fit to bike, locked, waterproof). If you've a ladakhi carries, then just one big and small backpack is enough.

• Tarpaulin is a must to cover your luggage against dust and rain
• 5 bungee ropes per bike
• Once the big backpack is tied to the bike, no matter it rains or whatever, no need to remove until you reach the destination
• Small backpack to keep removable stuffs during the journey
 

Other stuffs to carry

1. Medicines
• Diamox
• For fever
• Stomach upset
• Cold
• Stomach ache, head ache
• Vomitting
• body pain
2. First aid kit
3. Personal medicines
4. Hand Sanitizer
5. Cold cream
6. Sun screen
7. Lip guard
8. Volini
9. Toiletries
10. Dress
• 3 pairs of jeans
• 2 shots
• 8 T-Shirt/Shirts
• 6+ pairs of socks
• Towel, undergarments, etc
11. Torch
12. Power banks
13. Swiss knife
14. Ear phone, bluetooth speaker

Transfer and packing bikes

1. By train: We avoided as it didn't have good reviews
2. On Road
• Gati transport (reliable)

We transferred bikes through GATI courier from Bangalore to Chandigarh. They charged 4000/- per bike for the transportation and 500/- for packing. The do good packing of the bike, but better to get it done in front of you. By the time you reach GATI on the day of transportation, make sure you have just 1-2 litres of pertol as they have to empty the tank for transportation. You could still leave 0.5-1 litre in the bike itself so that you could ride it till the nearest petrol bunk later. Additionally, pack helmet and any other heavy items along with the bike so that you don't have to carry them on flight flight like jacket, saddle bag, shoes, etc.

Rent bikes

Wherever you rent bikes, make sure you test ride it. Go for a current year - 2 model instead of a very old bike. The bike has to be serviced freshly, filled with engine oil, etc. They should provide the following with complementary or with include price

• Off road tyres
• Ladakhi carrier
• 2 Helmet 
• Knee and elbow guards
• Spare tubes
• Toolkits
• Additional clutch and accelerator cables
• chain link lock
• Break and clutch lever
• spark plug(s)
• Electric pump
• Petrol can
• duplicate bike key

Documents to Carry

• Original ID and address proof (Aadhar, Driving License, Passport)
• Driving License
• Bike RC
• Bike Insurance
• Bike emission
• Permit letters

Carry 4-5 photocopy of each of the above.

Permissions

If you are starting from Manali towards Leh, you need to take permission in Manali.

In Leh, you need to take permission to visit places like Nubra Valley, Pangong Tso, Tsomoriri Lake. Find more details at https://blog.bykorides.com/inner-line-permit/.

Places to see

1. Chandigarh
• Rock Garden
2. Amritsar
• Golden Temple
• Wagah Border
3. Jammu
• Sahasralinga
4. Srinagar
• Avantipora
• Pahalgam
• Gulmarg
• Dal Lake
•  Sonmarg on the way to Kargil
5. Kargil
• Lunar landscape
• Magnetic hills
6. Leh
• Local: Shanti stupa, palace, etc. Shop Leh flags
• Nubra Valley via Khardung la. Visit Hunder sand dunes
• Pangang Tso
7. Manali
• Hadimba Temple
• Manali club house
8. Chandigarh
• The great bear kitchen and microbrewery

 

Hotel bookings

Since you're riding everyday, there are quite a few uncertainties. Hence, do not book hotels in advance since there are chances you might not make to the destination due to a land slide or bike issue or health upset or road blockage. Instead, note down 2-3 hotels at each destination along with phone number and address. To be frank, we didn't look at this hotel list, instead reached the destination and searched for the hotel as there are plenty available at each of these destinations at cheaper rate. At some places, we booked through MMT or OYO on the same day morning or in the afternoon. At most of the places we found rooms at less than 1,000/- (for double or triple occupancy).

Passes we passed :)

1. Zozilla
2. Fotu la
3. Namik la
4. Khardung la
5. Chang la
6. Tangangla
7. Barlachala
8. xxx
9. Rohtang

 

Places we missed

• Zanskar valley: The roads are worse.
• Tsomoriri Lake: Supposed to be untouched and better than Pangong Tso
• Spiti: Again the roads are bad, but a beautiful place
• Rock Garden, Chandigarh

Tips:

• Prepaid sims doesn't work in Jammu and Kashmir
• Follow basic road discipline
• Avoid GPS... talk to people
• Avoid driving in the dark. Have couple hours of buffer everyday for reaching the destination
• Don't split into groups upon any incidents. Stick together
• Carry bike puncture videos

 

Complete exciting/boring/crazy/mesmerizing journey... coming soon

Chapter I: Planning
Chapter II: Chandigarh and Amritsar
Chapter III: Udampur and Chenani truck experience
Chapter IV: Night at Pahalgam Army+Yatri camp
Chapter V: Independence day at Srinagar and Kargil
Chapter VI: Live snow at Khardungla and desert at Nubra valley :P
Chapter VII: Way to Pangong lake via Shyok streams
Chapter VIII: In search of Sarchu
Chapter IX: Rohtang Pass and Manali
Chapter X: Reaching and windup at Chandigarh

Jog Falls, Kodachadri, Kollur

It was a 2 day, 3 night trip, starts on 9th July 2010 night and back on 12th morning.

9-July-2010: Friday
Seven (Kolt, Bala, Pras, Som, Haem, Ganes and me) of us started to Shimoga. We started from our place to railway station around 9:30PM to catch SHIMOGA EXPRESS train, which starts at 11:20PM. Luckily or unluckily, our Karnataka CM B.S.Yeddyurappa was also on the same train to Shimoga. Lucky because, we got to see him. Unlucky because, we had a delay of around 1 hr reaching Shimoga.

10-July-2010: Saturday
After having atleast 3-4 hrs good night sleep, we reached Shimoga at 7:30AM. A bus to Sagar was waiting right outside the railway station. It's 76 kms to Sagar with the bus fare of Rs45/-. We reached Sagar at 8:45AM and got into a small hotel room around 750m from Sagar to get freshen up. Once everyone got ready, we headed to the most important task of the morning, Sukh Sagar for the breakfast. We stuffed ourselves with heavy brunch since we were unsure of our next food stop.

We then caught a non-stop bus to Jog falls, which is around 30 km from Sagar, at 10:30 and the bus fare is Rs 19/-. We witnessed the absolutely amazing jog, highest waterfall in India at 11:15AM.
Its height is 253m and width is 472m. Its formed by the Sharavati river when it splits in to four parts and jumps from the Deccan plateau to the plains. The four parts are called Raja, Rocket, Roarer and Rani. Associated with the falls is the Lingamakki dam and hydroelectric power station visioned by Sri M Vishveshwarayya. During summers the waterfall will reduce to small narrow streams while during monsoon and winters it will be roaring with water.

We hired a Maruti Omni for Rs300/- to take us to Raja, Rani falls and to power generation point. We really had fun watching the downstream water from Raja Rani falls from a great height. It’s a bit scary place and one has to be really careful while being at few spots including Mungaru Male spot. After spending around 1 – 1.5hrs at the falls, we hired the same cab to take us to Kodachadri. After bargaining, he accepted for Rs1100/- to take us. The taxi guy was very friendly and gave us pit stops wherever we wanted. We had lunch at 4PM at a very small home cum hotel on the way. We finally reached the much awaiting destination, Kodachadri.


We started from the base of Kodachadri at 5:30 in the evening. It’s pretty late to start since it takes a minimum of 3 hrs to trek 10+ kms to reach the temple situated at the top of Kodachadri. We took the jeep route since it was late and less chances of getting lost. The other option was to take a shortcut through the forest, which is the actual trekking.

We were feeling very tired during the trekking since all of very carrying backpack with around 5kg each. As most of you know, it’s always better to carry as less as possible for any trekking. We were taking breaks in-between while trekking. We reached Mugilpete at 7:15PM and you don’t believe that it wasn’t dark yet. The light was so good that we could actually play cricket at that moment.

We took a break of 15 mins, took lots of photographs, actually few funny snaps, and then headed towards our destination and it was completely dark by then. We kept on trekking for one km in the dark and found no clue of humans or light or houses. Few of our trekkers really got scared seeing animals on the ways, which turned to be a buffalo, and hearing few creatures/insects sound was scary too. We got another life seeing a troop of 5 people heading back. They scared us by informing that they went for around 5km ahead and found nothing. They actually had taken a wrong route ahead. We continued our way towards the top and the other troop followed us. At 8:30PM, fortunately, a torch light was pointed towards us by the people at the temple. According to some, the scary part of spending the entire night in the jungle came to an end. The spot was the temple at Kodachadri. There were already lots of tourists have dinner at bhattara mane. Pras and Ganes directly sat on the dinner table as they were really starving and tired too. One other guy Kolt, headed toward the dinner table. Som, Bala, Haem and I had different plans, so planned to pack our food to have it later. Very soon Bala realized that he was a victim of a leech and it was really scary to look at his calf, completely blood. First time in the trip we took leeches seriously.
The day ended for us at around 1AM when we finally got back to bhattara mane for sleep. Do not expect bed sheets, pillows at this place.

11-July-2010: Sunday
We had a plan to get up at 4 in the morning and to reach sunrise spot. None of us could actually make it and even if we had made it, the clouds would not have allowed us to watch the rising sun. Pras and Ganes got up early at 5, finished their morning duties and then woke us up at 6. We got up with half opened eyes, took our towels, tooth brush, etc to trek to Shankaracharya mat. Just after 10 mins of trek, we found a sunrise spot towards our left. We went to top of it and the clouds were along with us. One other troop were already enjoying the beauty of Kodachadri at the sunrise point. It was an amazing view from the top. We could see the dense forest between the clouds, greenery all around, chilling breeze, and one could not ask for more. At that moment, I felt that it’s the best part of the entire trip.

After spending around 20mins, we came back and headed towards Shankaracharya mat. Ganes decided to stay back as he was totally drained because of previous trek. Six of us headed forward. We found a Ganesha temple on the right.

Spending 5 mins there, we headed forward and way were not so good, rocks way, slippery due to drizzle. We reached Shankaracharya mat at 9 in the morning.

It normally takes around 1 hr to reach from the temple at Kodachari. Since, we were totally drained out, Bala, Som and I just relaxed lying down in front of the mat for 10-15 mins. Pras, Kolt and Haem were busy taking pics all around.

After that we headed back to the temple at Kodachadri, brushed on the way, freshened up quickly and were ready for breakfast. Ganes, who did not accompany us to Mat, had already batted his part of breakfast. All of us had heavy breakfast as we knew that our lunch would be at snacks time ;). We paid the food and stay bill to the bhat sir, which was Rs50/- per head for accommodation, 40 for lunch and 30 for breakfast. As per our plan, the next destination was towards Arishina Gundi. After hearing about Hidlamane falls, even though not as good as Arishina Gundi that is tough to reach, we headed towards it with a guide agreeing to pay Rs200/- for the guide to take us to the falls and then to Nittur bus stop.

The guide took some salt in a covered cloth for protection against the deadly looking leeches. We applied salt water to legs, shoes so that leeches won’t get to it. After the last salute to the temple at Kodachadri, we headed towards Hidlamane falls, which is around 4km form the temple. It was a jolly ride for initial hour with beautiful scenarios, climbing uphill and then downhill, murdering few leeches that attacked us.

As we were nearing the falls, the population of leeches started increasing. Ganes became the second victim. The way to reach to the falls became tougher and it’s almost impossible for few of those who never have any physical activities. After spotting the falls, all our thirst and fatigue came to an end. It was around 12:30PM, and we unclothed ourselves quickly and got into the chilling water.

Spending around 40 mins in water took out all our tiredness and we were actually fresh and energetic enough to start any new trek ;) The way back from there was worse, actually deadly. We headed for 10-15 mins and had to come back as there was no way ahead, like a totally slippery, dangerous way.

We came back to the falls and walked through the water and after 20 mins, we found a walkable way and everyone had a sigh of relief. We had to walk for 4-5km before reaching the Nittur main road.

We saw a KSRTC bus going to Kollur and stopped it in the middle. Everyone got into the bus at 5PM, I paid guide Rs30/- extra for his cool, energetic and un-cunning nature that had helped us to enjoy the trek better. Reaching hidlemane falls without a guide would be a nightmare.

We reached Kollur and booked Durgamba to Bangalore for 8PM. After snacks and then visiting Kollur Mookambika temple, we got into the bus and reached back Bangalore at 6:30AM on Monday morning. Everyone with the sigh of relief, feeling proud to have achieved something and at the same time understanding the fact that the couple of days trip had come to an end and back to the routine life :(

Things to carry
Torch, Match box
Sweaters/jackets
Shoes with cotton socks
Sandal
Umbrella
Glucose or some quick energy stuffs like chocolates, etc.
Petrol / Kerosene incase if you plan for campfire

Chitradurga Fort (Kallina Kote)

One of the best trip experiences we had till now was a trip to Chitradurga. Four of us started for a couple of day’s trip on couple of our Pulsars at 5:30AM on 23-May-2008 from BTM Layout, Bangalore. We filled up petrol for our bikes and started towards NICE road at Kanakapura Road. We warmed up ourselves by having coffee/tea at one of the toll posts of Tumkur road. We had a plan of not crossing 80km/hr at any cost and we did manage our planned speed till Tumkur. And the roads were so tempting that we couldn’t resist accelerating a few more degrees that made us cross 115km/hr a few times. Just before reaching Tumkur, we took a deviation towards right following Bellary road. It was around 10AM, we had crossed Hiriyur, found lots of small/huge wind mills and around 10-20 kms to Chitradurga, we found a Reliance A1 plaza where we had a pretty fair breakfast (the prices are no lesser than Bangalore, might be bit more).

We reached Chitradurga at 11AM, struggled to find a Hotel to stay since it was the same day the election results were supposed to be out and Chitradurga is also a district. We finally found a decent Upadhya Lodge (Rs.300/- per room), dumped our baggage and without wasting any more time biked towards Chitradurga fort. The fort is around 2-3 kms from the city and they charged Rs.5/- as an entry fees to the fort. It gives a great pleasure and experience once you enter the fort, especially if you have seen and/or heard about Onake Obavva, the lady who saved the fort single handedly from the Hyder Ali’s soldiers.

We climbed to the top of the hill to get a beautiful view of the fort and the nature. I have to mention you this. There is couple of ways to reach the top of the hill. One is the tough way without stairs, 45 degrees slant rock and the second is the hard stairs way after akka tangi Honda. On the way, you do find the place where great Kannada movie Nagara Haavu was shot.

Places to watch at chitradurga fort:

Maddu beesuva kallu
Akka tangi honda
Onake Obavva Kindi

Kaashi Vishwanatha temple
Small lake (you can get into water if you wish to)
Prison

We spent around 5-6 hrs at the fort till 6PM and realized that the museum nearby would close quickly.

So, we quickly moved to the museum, which is around 100m from the fort and spent around 20mins there. You find few old equipments used in the battle fields. Once we were out of the museum, one of our biker realized that the fuel tank is completely dried up and pushed his vehicle for around a KM to find a petrol bunk. After all the hard work for the day, we had a heavy dinner to end our first day.

Next day, Sunday, 24th May, we checked-out from hotel at 9AM, had our breakfast and moved towards Chandralvalli tota. It’s around 3 kms from town and we initially found it to be like an artificial park with a lake around until we entered the Shiva cave. We entered the cave without a guide (did not find one), with full of josh, through the dark. Found few shiva lingas, graveyard and waked down for around 70-80metres and literally got scared and decided to back-out from the cave and found it hard to find return route. Somehow we managed to get out of the cave safely.








Luckily we had a match box, which was like a life saver inside the dark cave. Once out of the cave, we walked down toward for around a kilometer where we found a peacock around the bushes. Tried to click a snap, but the peacock was fast enough to get out of our digicam’s sight but with some view of it. From there, we started towards Halu Rameshwara, around 40 kms from the cave, a miracle place with wishing well. People here believe that if one wishes good with good heart, the wish would come true. We did not try any of our wish as there were lots of people trying their luck ;)

After spending around half an hour at halu rameshwar, we started towards one of the beautiful, very well engineered dam, Vani vilasa sagar (Mari kanive) dam. Please do visit this dam if you get a chance. It is around 40kms from Chitradurga and if moving towards Chitradurga from Bangalore, take a right turn after Hiriyur. The dam is very well engineered and is built across river Vedavati.

We planned to get into water once we reached the dam around 3PM. There were huge bunch of people celebrating the victory of an independent candidate of Hosadurga of 2008 elections. They offered us chicken biriyani and since were tired too, we accepted their offer and had our lunch there. After that we got into water, had a coracle ride (chagred Rs10/- head for a 6 mins ride). We got out of water at 4:30PM and decided to leave to Bangalore as the clouds were getting dark and dense. We reached Nelamangala toll post and it started raining heaving. It was a heavy rain with huge wind that I had never seen in the lifetime. All the vehicles respected the rain, and none of the vehicles moved until the rain and the wind breeze calmed down. It was around 10PM and we started again from Nelamangala to BTM Bangalore through NICE road and the rain stuck heavily again and we had to halt at one of the NICE toll post. We somehow managed to reach home at 11:30PM after a perfect, successful 2 day trip.

Places visited :)

Kudremukh Trek
(Nov 2014)
Brief info
Distance from Bangalore  : 332 Kms
Trek starting point      : Mullodi  6 kms uphill from Balegal(Balegallu), on Kalasa to Kuduremukh Road
Trek difficulty Level    : Moderate
Kudremukh trek distance  : 9 Kms (One side)
Kudremukh peak height    : 1892 mts
Time to trek             : 4-5hours (one side)
Camping site             : Not allowed
Best time to trek        : Oct to Feb (Nov Dec is even better)
Permission               : Required, should be taken forest office - get permission from forest office in Balegal itself.
Trekking Permission fees : Rs 275 per person
Carry tent / sleeping bags: not required, as we could stay at Mullodi at Satish's place if we book in advance.Carry mat: probably yes

How to reach:
KSRTC bus: Take HORANADU bus and get down at Kalasa. Book tickets from Bangalore to Balegal
Reach Mullodi: Hire private jeep from Balegal bus stop which cost you Rs 500-700 for 8 people - 20 mins - 6 km

Draft plan
Friday:
   Start from Majestic around 10PM
Saturday:
   Start trek around 9AM
   Get down to base before 6PM
   Stay at
      Satish and Rajjappa at Mullodi village, the base camp of trek
      Satish ( 08263-249595 / 9481074530 / 8722847688 )
      Food and night stay costs Rs.600 per person, guide Rs 500 per group,
      Jeep Rs. 600 per group
Sunday
   Visit some local palces
      Start towards Hanumangandi Falls and Gangamoola.
   Go to Mullayanagiri?

Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTjgtrgGZiE

Helpful links
http://www.kotresh.com/index.php/kudremukh-trek
http://niskum.wordpress.com/2013/11/09/trek-to-kudremukh-green-paradise/
 
Trek to Kumara Parvatha
Nov end 2013


Bike trip: Tungabhadra dam, Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal & Bellary
July 2013

Trek from Castle Rock to DudhSagar
2012 & July 2014

http://www.sandeephegde.me/2012/07/15/a-trek-from-castlerock-to-dudhsagar-falls/
http://www.mytraveltalk.com/2012/08/dudhsagar-falls-railway-track-trekking.html
http://mytravelandliving.blogspot.in/2012/07/dudhsagar-waterfalls-rail-trek.html

Dudhsagar railway trek (with overnight stay)

This is to reach Dudhsagar by walk, along the railway track.

Getting there
To start things off, you have to reach Castlerock. Arrive at Londa and from here there are trains to castlerock. There are two trains one at 8.40am and the other at 10.30am.

From Castlerock, one can walk. Just follow the track all the way to Dudhsagar. The total distance is around 12km. You will go through a number of tunnels (12 tunnels I think). If you are lucky you can hitch a ride on the goods train just for fun. Talk to the driver / guy at the tail end of the train and you can hitch a ride. There are no timings as such for goods trains (as far as I know) so you have to rely on luck. If it stops during the train signalling, you can hop on.

Staying there
There are a couple of abandoned buildings in that place. Both of them some kind of houses, which are mostly open. You can setup tents over there. You may be able to sleep within the rooms with only a sleeping bag, but I won't recommend this because : it's dirty, there are monkeys around. But then again, the locals there slept in the room, so it's definitely possible. I went there with tents.

Getting back
There is one train in the morning at 9.00am - 9.15am from Dudhsagar towards Castlerock / Londa. The next train is at 5.00pm in the evening and after that nothing but goods train, so make sure you don't miss it. The other option is to head towards Kulem/Vasco (14km along railway track) and from there take trains if you have the time. The train to Kulem is at 10.30am. I believe there is another train which goes to Kolhapur, but I forgot its timimgs.

Some other info
- If you are staying overnight there, make sure you have a good group. It is quite a remote place so take care.
- There are no stalls, no shops over there. Just abandoned buildings and water. Make sure to get food.
- There's a viewpoint about 2km from the Dudhsagar point further along the railways. It might be worth it if you have the time. You can also see this if you take the train to Kulem.
- There were not too many leeches, but there was one attached to me and one more on my friend. So, bring what is needed like salt, etc
- Londa and Kulem seem to be the main connecting stations in this trek. Major destinations such as Bangalore, Hubli, Pune, Kolhapur, Vasco can be reached from one of these stations either directly or through connecting trains.

All in all, really worth it. Especially as a monsoon trek.

Thadiyandomol Trek & Chelavara Falls
Feb 2013


Lepakshi, Vidurashwatha

Madikeri bike trip
Dec 2012
http://goo.gl/maps/0H6OT

Yana, Gokarna, Murudeshwara, Maravanthe, Udupi, Agumbe, Sringeri, Horanadu, Dharmasthala
Oct 2012

http://goo.gl/maps/6Ngfd


Gopalaswamy Betta Bike Trip
600kms in a day


Tonnur Kere, Mandya

Calicut, Kannur, Wayanad
Feb 2012


Kumara Parvatha Trek (Unaccomplished)
Had to return back after 3/4th way due to bad weather :(
Next attempt sooner


Nagarahole and Iruppu Falls
Dec 2011


Manali, Leh, Srinagar
Aug 2011


Madurai, Kanniyakumari, Rameswaram, Thanjavur

Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur

 

Jog Falls, Kodachadri, Kollur

Places nearby: Sigandara, Honnemarudu, etc..

Distance and Route: Around 400 km to Jog falls from Bangalore.
Bangalore - Tumkur - Tiptur - Kadur - Arsikere - Tarikere - Shimoga - Sagara - Jog Falls
Sagara - Hosa Nagara - Nittur - Kodachadri
Buses and trains are available to Shimoga. From there....

more...

Chitradurga Fort (Kallina Kote)
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Quick info:

Places nearby: Chandravalli, Marikanive (Vani vilasa) dam (near Hiriyur), Jogimatti,

Distance and Route: Around 200 km from Bangalore. NH-4 (Bangalore to Pune/ Bangalore-Tumkur-Hiriyur-Chitradurga). Buses and trains (less than 5hrs) are available to Chitradurga.

more...

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Mekedatu & Sanagama & Chunchi falls
Skandagiri

Skandagiri is located 75 km from Bangalore near Chikkalballapur. You can start trekking from the Papagni temple in Kalwara village and reach the top within 3 hours. Moonlight treks here are a hit. The best time to visit is during November and January. The entry fee to get inside is Rs 15/-.

Bheemeshwari river rafting

Nandi hills

Muthyala Maduvu (Pearl Valley)

Muttatti

Ramanagar

Savanadurga

Shivanasamudra & Talakadu

Devarayana Durga & Siddarabetta & Namada Chilume

Mysore
Srirangapatna, Palace, Zoo, Chamundi hills, Nanjana goodu, KRS, Edmuri & balmuri

Kemmanagundi & Kalhathgiri

Bandipur

Shivagange

Madikeri

Hogenekkal falls

Hampi

Wayanad
Meenmuthi falls, Edkal gudda,


Mangalore
St Mary's island, Udupi, Kundapura,


Belur & Halebeedu


Shravanabelogola


Bannerghatta National Park

Travel plan list

My travel plan list. Planning to cover atleast two in a year :)


Gokak Falls, Belgaum white water river rafting, etc

Dabbe falls & Kanoor Kote

Mullayanagiri

Suthanabbe Falls or Hanumanagundi Falls

Brahmagiri

Aramane gudda

Jenkal betta

Ombattu betta

Ettina bhuja

Konki Kote

Bandaje Falls trek

Ghatikallu

Biligiri Ranganathaswamy Hills
The hills that give the range its name are situated 90 km from Mysore and 180 km from Bangalore (Bengaluru). BR Hills may be reached either from Yelandur or via Chamarajanagar.

Melkote & Thondanur lake
It is around 150Km from Bangalore. Take the road towards Mysore and just after the town of Mandya, take the right turn towards Melkote. Once you take the turn just follow the directions on the boards. Effectively it is just a straight road with a single turn to be made when the Pandavapura road crosses the road to Melkote.
To reach Thondanur lake, take the Pandavapura Road on your way back. Just around 10Kms into the Pandavapura road you will reach “Chatra” (Am not too sure of the spelling). At this place you need to take a right to go to the lake. It is better to ask for directions than to search for place names while reaching the lake from this point. From Melkote the lake is around 28Kms.

Kaivara
Located 80 km from Bangalore on NH7, Kaivara is the place where Bheema is believed to have killed demon Bakasura. This place has an interesting history attached to it. And trekking around here will help you discover all of it.

Huliyur Durga, Hemagiri Betta, Kumbhi Betta
Huliyur has an enormous rock-strewn overhang amidst deep woods on which a fortress was built during Kempegowda's time and hence its name - Huliyur Durga. At 3800 feet above sea level, Hemagiri betta is one of the uppermost hills. Kumbhi Betta is a petite mount on which stands the fortress of Kempegowda's times. This place is situated 80 km from Bangalore at the Kunigal taluk.

Ranganatha Swamy Betta
This place is near Konavaradoddi village. It is 45 km from Bangalore. It gets the name from the temple situated here which is dedicated to Lord Ranganathaswamy. It is 4 km trek to the mountain peak. When you reach the top you can relish the beautiful views of the surrounding villages and forest. The temple remains open for visits on Saturdays only.
Useful Figures(Approximate):
Distance (from Bangalore): about 45kms
Elevation (above ground): 1500fts
Elevation (above sea level): 4200 – 4800fts
Distance from base to hilltop: 3 – 4kms

Honnemaradu
This is a day trek where the trek is to Honnemaradu from Talaguppa. Honnemaradu is a town by the Liganamakki dam. It is in the Shimoga District in north-west Karnataka about 25 km from Sagar town en route Jog Falls. It is the control center for Western Ghats Restoration Project.

Anatargange
Anthargange is in Kolar, 60 km away from Bengalaguru. Anthargange is an ultimate site for not so strenuous treks, some rock climbing and fun-filled camping. The forty-five minutes hill climbing is taxing but it opens up for an extensive and beautiful green plateau on the top.

Madhugiri Fort
Madhugiri Fort is approximately 115km from Bangalore. You can drive out to Tumkur on NH4, turn right and drive for another 45+ kilometers to reach Madhugiri . Alternatively you can turn right at Dobbspet, about 20km after the toll gate at Nelamangala and take the road to Madhugiri. I prefer this.

It takes up to 2 hours to get to the top and an hour to get back. Sections of the climb are steep and can be difficult. Carry food and water, as there is nothing available on the way.

Narasimha Parvata
coming soon...

Melukote Fort
coming soon...

Yercaud & Kolli hills
coming soon...

Hassanpur
coming soon...

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coming soon...