HAMPI, Capital of Vijayanagara Kingdom !!!

Time for me to share my experience about the most beautiful historical place in Karnataka, Hampi,,, machi !!!!
Many of my freinds visited this place and they used to share their experience with unusual words ohh its sooper, ahh its surprising with the architects around any many other sounds,, ohh lala !!!!
After seeing the images of Hampi & hearing the history behind was planning to go to Hampi & then I heard  abt the group called BASC which organizes diff type of trips at very reasonable packages.
We a group of 18 ppl sat into mini bus on 19/Nov started our journey from Bangalore , we stopped our vehicle at Kamat hotel for dinner. After 5 hrs we were in Hampi city. It was around 7-8hrs journey from Bangalore 360kms.
Every 1 were new to me except Ramya(my colleague), within very few hrs we all became 1 group & moved further, sharing our personal & official life Histories. Every1 had a story of their own ,
Below are the list of people,

1. Mohan(Me ),
2. Ramya( artistic photographer),
3. Abha Kumari ( food expert ),
4. Krutika ( looks like silent creature at first sight ),
5. Deepak ( Nikon expert ),
6. Rajesh ( I phone master/multi tasker ),
7. Jinu ( Trekking master ),
8. Karthik ( Seemed lil reserved at first then he was casual ),
9. Girish ( Exited photographer, funda GURU ),
10. Mitesh ( Sensitive darling, he wont speak until you start the conversation ),
11. Srinivas ramanna ( Busy bee, you cant find him in the group he will be busy alone ),
12. Pradeep ( My room mate, chocolate boy ) he had lot of chocos in his bag,
13. Priya alias Castle mountain ( Busy when group is free & free when group is busy ),
14. Gururaj ( New owner of Nikon ),
15. Vijayalakshmi ( She has comments for all photos, light is not gud ya ),
16. I forgot uncle’s name, he was very energetic n enthu,
17. 2 nd name which I forgot, silent guy who didn’t spk first whole day n he said gud mrng on 2^nd day & ashte nothing after that,
18. Last but not the least Mr. Yadunandana – Organiser for hampi trip, perfect gentleman managed group with his 5-10 mins time limit !!!

Short summary abt Hampi !!!
Hampi is a 700 year old city built by Hakka and Bukka in the year 1336 on the banks of river Tungabhadra. It’s the capital city of Vijayanagar empire. They built the city under the guidance of Saint from Sringeri mutt called Vidyaranya. The city Hampi was built during the days of Mohammedan attacks. The palace was very much apt at that time. It was at the banks of river Tungabhadra and it’s full of rocky Hills. It’s really difficult to any one to cross those rocks to conquerthe empire at that time.
Spread over an area more than 25 square kilometers (10 square miles), Hampi ruins is packed with giant temples, palaces, market streets, aquatic structures , fortifications and an abundance of other ancient monuments.
The Vijayanagar Empire was ruled by the likes of HakkaBukka I and II , Virupaksha Raya, Krishnadeva Raya, Achyuta Raya, etc. It was under Krishnadeva Raya that Vijaynagar empire found its most prosperous days.
Hampi has a number of festivals throughout the year – both cultural and religious. The most celebrated festival is the Vijaya Utsav, known as Hampi Festival, held for three days during November. This is a cultural carnival attracting many tourists, showcasing special puppetry shows, music and dance followed by fireworks and a procession culminating the end of the festival.

Travel within city
Travelling around Hampi can be fun, as the region is steeped in history and travelling around the place can be quite interesting. You can move around Hampi through bikes, motorcycles, cars or even boats. These are the various types of internal travel options present in the ancient capital of Hampi. There are no night fares for any mode of transport.

Taxi
Renting a car can be more costly and can cost you around Rs 800-1000. You can travel to the guesthouses that are located across the river through boats for prices ranging around Rs 10 to 15.

Auto Rickshaw
You can also opt for rickshaws, in case you want to beat the heat. Rickshaw rates are fixed and slightly negotiable, so make sure that you get the best out of the bargain. The charges are normally around Rs 400-500 per day. You can also hire a guide to accompany you long the trip and this may cost you extra.
Rented Bicycle You can rent a bicycle in Hampi in order to travel up and down the hill.

Rented Motorcycle
You can also rent out a motorcycle while on a trip in Hampi as this mode of travel can give you more freedom. You can rent out 100cc and 150cc vehicles for charges of around 200 INR to 250 INR per day. This may be slightly more expensive, but you can ride through the expanse of Hampi and take in the sheer magic of the place. 

Started from Virupaksha temple, 

Virupaksha Temple !!!

Virupaksha temple is the oldest and the principal temple in Hampi.This temple is located on the south bank of the river Tungabadra, It believed that this temple has been functioning uninterruptedly ever since its inception in the 7th century AD.That makes this one of the oldest functioning temples in India.

Balakrishna Temple !!

Balakrishna Temple !!

Inside Balakrishna Temple !!

Temple of Balakrishna temple !!

Krishnadevaraya built this temple in 1513 A.D. to commemorate his victory over Prataparudra Gajapati, the ruler of Orissa. During the battle he seized an image of child Krishna and brought it to Vijayanagara as war trophy. He then built this temple to consecrate the image. An inscription describing the conquest and the consecration of this temple on 16 February 1515 by Krishnadevaraya is found on a slab in front of this temple. Built in the centre of a courtyard, the temple possesses a sanctum, an antechamber, an ardha mantapa, a circumambulatory passage, a pillared hall with three entrances and an open pillared mantapa, in addition to a number of other shrines for the attendant deities. The sanctum is at present empty. The image of Balakrishna showing him as a child holding butter in the right hand is now resting in the Government Museum at Madras. 

Bazaar opp to Balakrishna Temple !! 

Bazaar opp to Balakrishna Temple !!

Lakshmi Narasimha Temple !!

Lakshmi Narasimha Temple !!

This is the largest statue in Hampi. Narasimha is sitting on the coil of a giant seven-headed snake called Sesha. The heads of the snake acts as the hood above his head. The god sits in a cross-legged Yoga position with a belt supporting the knees.The original statue contained the image of goddess Lakshmi, consort of the god, sitting on his lap. But this statue has been damaged seriously during the raid leading to the fall of Vijayanagara. Even the damaged portion of such a large statue of Lakshmi carved on his lap is missing. But the goddess’s hand is visible resting on his back in embracing posture. If you get a chance to go inside this enclosure, it is possible to see the hand of the goddess. Even the nails & the rings on her fingers are so perfectly executed. 

Badavi Linga !! 

Badavi Linga !!
 

This is the largest monolithic Linga in Hampi. Located next to the Narasimha statue the Linga is housed inside a chamber with an opening in the front. One legend has it that this idol was originally carried around by a poor woman and it accidentally fell into the canal. So when the distraught woman prayed to the lord Shiva, the idol grew to the height it is today.

Queens Bath !!! 

 Queens Bath !!!
 

In Hampi, the Queen’s Bath is part of the Royal Enclosure. This was constructed during the Vijaynagar Empire any time from 1336 to 1565. This is a enclosed space, consisting of a complex of changing rooms and a bath. At present only the bath is extant. 

Temple view from Queens bath complex !! 

View from Queens bath complex !!

Mahanavami Dhibba !!!

Mahanavami Dhibba !!!

The massive stone basement called Mahanavami Dibba, also called as Dasara Dibba played a prominent part during the celebrations of the nine-day Navaratri festival.The Dibba is about 12 metres high up to the floor of the topmost platform. On the west side are the steps. It was from this side that the king ascended the platform during the festivities connected with the Dasara. On the east side is a small chamber projecting from the platform. Access to the chamber is by means of two flights of steps on the north and south located on the floor of the platform itself. The walls of this chamber contain many friezes and panels including figures of animals and clowns.

Bahamani Mosque !!! 

Bahamani Mosque !!!

Under ground Shiva Temple !!

Temple inside Under ground Shiva temple !!!

Pillars inside Under ground Shiva temple !!

This temple dedicated for Lord Siva was built many meters below the ground level. For this reason, almost all the time the sanctum and the core parts of the temple are under water, restricting entry to the inner areas. A water cannel system too is visible around the main temple. But this canal is dry and you can walk down to a point from where it’s impossible to go further. There is a small temple for Siva’s consort too near the mail shrine. The Kalyanamantapa (ceremonial marriage hall) is great a structure. It has been believed that this is one of the oldest temples in Hampi.

Our first day ends here on Malyavanta Hill with beautiful sunset view !!! 

Malyavanta Hill !!
 

First of all it is one of the few hilltops in Hampi where you can reach by a vehicle. That’s welcome news for those of you find it difficult to hike, despite a desire, to a Hampi hilltop.

Sunset from Malyavanta Hill !!! 

Sunset View from Malyavanta Hill !! 

Ran to rooms, get re freshed was thinking of good, nice, calm place for dinner then thought about Mango tree restaurant, This is a very popular restaurant in Hampi, especially among the backpackers. The popularity is more so because of the settings. The dining area is essentially a terraced slop overlooking the river Thungabhadra. You need to sit on the matted floor cross-legged, in the typical Indian way, with the low table in front of you. The last row facing the river is often more popular.
Returned to rooms n slept off early as our Organizer Mr Yadu instructed to woke up early in the mrng to reach Mathanga parvatha to see Beautiful Sunrise !!! 

Sunrise, Mathanga Parvatha !!
 

We started our walk early in the morning at 5.40 am to watch beautiful sunrise. The climb can be little difficult as the path is slant & rocky, but is rewarding. The tallest hill in Hampi and has a 360 degree view. There is the charming river to north flowing amidst neatly arranged boulders, to the south is Virupaksha temple standing tall. 

Sunrise view !!
 

We came back to rooms,  had break fast & started our 2nd day from Achyutharaya Temple, 

Entrance point of Achyutharaya Temple !!
 

This temple is an example of Vijayanagara style temple architecture in its most advanced form than any other temples in Hampi, Resonating the imposing architectural style of Vijayanagara, Achyutraya Raya’s temple was built 500 years ago. Its foundation was laid by an officer in Achyuta Raya’s court. Hence the temple was named after him. It exemplifies the most advanced form of the temple built in Hampi. It was the last contribution of the Vijaynagara Empire before it declined. The temple is dedicated to the heavenly deity Tiruvengalanatha, a form of Lord Shiva.

Achyutharaya Temple view from Mathanga Parvatha !!! 

Achyutharaya Temple Aerial view from Mathanga Parvatha !!
 

Tunga River view from Yantrodharaka Temple !! 

Tunga River !!
 

Purandara Mantapa !! 

Purandaradasa Temple !!
 

This is a small open pillared pavilion with whitewashed top dedicated to the legendary poet Purandaradasa who lived in Hampi. The pavilion is located at the river shore near Vittala Temple. This is one of the areas at Hampi where people perform religious rituals. The pavilion is almost at the edge of the river that during monsoon the river water touches the platform or even submerges it.

Vittala Temple,
Vittala Temple is the most extravagant architectural showpiece of Hampi. The temple was originally built in the 15th century AD. The highlight of Vittala temple is its impressive pillared halls and the stone chariot. The halls are carved with an overwhelming array of sculptures on the giant granite pillars. The stone chariot located inside the campus is almost an iconic structure of Hampi.

Vittala Temple Entrance, 

Vittala temple entrance !!

Stone chariot inside Vittala complex !!

Stone Chariot !!! 

It was originally a shrine of Garuda, Lord Vishnu’s Vehicle. The stone chariot is not a monolith. It’s actually carved from many giant granite blocks. The joints are neatly hidden with help of the carvings giving it a monolithic feel. The chariot is built on a rectangular platform and though now the giant stone wheels seem to rest on the platform it’s believed that these wheels could rotate on its axis.
Temple inside Vittala complex !! 

Temple inside Vittala Complex !!!
 

There is a museum too which says the history of hampi, its called Kamalapur museum.
Next destination after museum was Lotus Mahal.

Lotus Mahal – This was a socializing area for the women folks in the royal family. 

Lotus Mahal !!

This is a two storied structure with an open base floor the sidewalls are having tall arched windows. The upper floors have balconies with arched windows. Hook like structures are made on to the wall close to the windows to hang curtain. The arches of the ground floor are recessed and ornate. The decorations and architecture is a curious mix of Hindu and Islamic styles. Lotus Mahal’s Islamic style arches and the Hindu style multiplayer roof and base structure are often quoted for the ingenuity of the Vijayanagara artisans.

Lotus Mahal !!

Elephant Stables !!

Elephant Stables !!

One among the few least destroyed structures in Hampi, Elephant stable is a major tourist attraction. This long building with a row of domed chambers was used to ‘park’ the royal elephants. There are 11 domed tall chambers; some of them are inter- connected. 

The center one is specially decorated and big.

The center Dome !!

Last but not the least, Jain temple for Sunset shoot !!

Jain temple at sunset time!!

one more sunset pic to finish my blog !!!

Sunset at Jain temple !!!

More details abt BASC - http://www.bangaloreascenders.org/
Details abt the places were reffered from these sites

1. http://hampi.in/,
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampi
3. http://hampi.in/distance-to-hampi - this link helps to reach Hampi from various towns and cities in India.

So finally we went back to rooms, packed our luggage, sat in bus reached back b’lore on 21/11/2012 at 3.45 Am .

Original Writeup by:  Mohan Rajendra
Visit our Group @ CLICK HERE
Writeup and embedded pictures by: Mohan Rajendra
Event organized by: Yadunandana
Image Gallery: Yadunandana , Jinu John , Girish Motwani , Deepak , Gururaj , Krutika , Mohan

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Mullyangiri to Kemmangundi – A walk through heaven

I’ve been wanting to do the Mullyangiri – Bababudangiri trek since I heard about this scenic route. I had initially planned to do this in mid-late November with some friends. However, as best laid plans go, this one kind of unravelled as the date drew near. However, when I learned that Bangalore Ascenders would be also attempting the trail (with the added incentive of trekking all the way to Kemmangundi), I quickly signed up for the trek. The weekend before the trek was spent in getting the necessary supplies (food, sleeping mats etc.) as I didn’t want to leave anything to the last minute.

                                                                                      The View from Mullyangiri

Day 0 – Leaving Bangalore

We had planned to leave on Friday night and reach Chikmaglur by early morning on Saturday. By Wednesday we had all received details on the pick-up points. As planned I reached my pickup spot at Domlur at about 10:15 in the night. I met up with one of the participants, Omendra there. We spent quite some time waiting there as the Tempo Traveler was delayed. At long last, the much awaited TT arrived and we got in. We started moving to the next pick up point near Majestic and picked up the tents along the way. Finally the rest of the team boarded at Majestic and we started on what would prove to be an adventure of epic proportions.

 

Day 1- Of Tall Mountains, Dark Caves, abandoned towers and scary winds

We awoke on Saturday to find ourselves at Chikmagalur. After freshening up at the bus stand, we then went on to have a sumptuous breakfast and pack some Pulav for lunch. After Breakfast we boarded the TT and went on to the start of the trail. Since the TT could go to the camping site, we just needed to take some snacks and water along. Once again the lightweight daypack that I bought turned out to be quite handy. Pretty soon we had all picked up our day packs and were ready. The TT left for the camp site and we were ready to start the trek.

First we had a quick round of introductions. There were 13 of us in all: Ranjan, Muthukumar, Kiran, me, Tanoy, Karan, Nagarjuna, Praveen, Ganesh, Deepak, Omendra, Bharath and Girish. I had previously trekked with Girish and Muthu on the Kudremukh trek and with Karan on the leech ridden Kumara Parvatha trek. Also Deepak was a colleague of mine from work. The rest of the people were new faces to me and overall it was a pretty diverse group. After introductions we began climbing up the trail. That’s when someone realized that for some reason Muthu’s daypack as well as the main backpack were out on the road. Eventually, Girish agreed to pick up the main bag and carry it along. Our first destination was Mullyangiri. Mullyangiri which is 1930m tall is the highest peak in Karnatka. The trail that we took up was one with a slightly steep ascent, where we needed to climb up for about 2 hours to reach the top. The journey up was quick and we didn’t take too many breaks on the way up. Along the way up we were treated to beautiful views of the valley below and the surrounding hills. We also spotted some raptors (falcons) and were treated to their aerial acrobatics as they hovered in mid-air before diving down to snare their prey.
After about 2 hours we were almost at the top. Just as we were reaching the top, Deepak had a minor stumble. While he was alright, we definitely didn’t waste time pulling his leg about the minor “earthquake” that we had just witnessed. Just before the Mullyangiri peak, there is small cave structure and a bunch of us ventured into the caves to explore. The cave exploration party returned with interesting tales to tell of the almost 1km long cave, including those of spotting bats in the caves.

In another 10 minutes or so we reached the top of the peak. At the top of the peak there is a small temple. We spent some time exploring the temple and seeing the views from the temple. After we were done with our exploration we began our onwards to journey towards Galikere which was to be our camping spot.

                                                                                      The trail

This trail was more of a ridge walk that involved climbing and descending a few hills. We initially lost the trail a bit, but some quick back tracking had us back on the path in no time. The next few hours were spent walking along a beautiful trail that weaved over some jaw-dropping landscapes.

                                                            Climbing up the Hill

                                                                Resting on the Trail

After some time we began descending towards a road that we needed to cross. Just before the road we found a film unit shooting some scenes from a movie. We spent some time at the shoot, with Girish taking pictures of the lead actress – “Neetu”. We then started on the trail again. Before ascending, we stopped at an abandoned house to have our lunch. The pulav tasted delicious after our long hike to this spot. Nagarjuna had also bought along some chappatis and pickle that he shared. After we had filled our stomachs we started back on the trail. The trail once again began ascending and after a somewhat precarious climb we finally reached the final ridge that we needed to climb onto. At the top of this mountain was an abandoned BSNL tower, which was one of the landmarks on our trail. After resting here for some time we finished the remaining of the trail and reached Manikyadhara Falls which marked the end of the day’s trekking.
All of us were famished by then and we attacked one of the local food stalls. In no time plates upon plates of bread-omelette and parathas were devoured followed by some tea and coffee. By this time our TT had also come and after finishing our snack (and soon to be dinner) we began our journey to our camp site. We had decided to camp at Galikere which was about 7km from Manikyadhara Falls. We reached there just as the sun was beginning to set. After somehow reversing the TT on the narrow precarious road we started unloading the camping gear to set up camp.

                                                                           Sunset at Galikere

Galikere is actually a small heart-ish shaped lake on top of a hill with some flat area near the lake where one can set up camp. Apparently Gali-kere means “Windy-Lake” in Kannada, and we soon found out how apt this description was. We had a few T-2 tents and a T-3 tents which would be enough to house all of us for the night. We quickly set up the tents. Since it was very calm, Girish was of the opinion that we wouldn’t need to weigh down the tents. So we just weighed down the larger tent and moved to the campfire spot where Bharath had gathered some twigs and branches to set up a small campfire. By now it was becoming dark and quite cold. Already the night sky was lit up with thousands of stars and one could clearly see the Milky Way. Of late I have been obsessed with shooting the night sky, and I thought I’d take this opportunity. I set up my tripod and began taking some test shots. After a little tinkering, I managed to get one halfway-decent shot. Pretty sure that I had nailed the technical aspects of the shot, I packed away the tripod thinking I’d finish shooting after dinner and joined the rest of the people round the campfire. A lively session of introductions was on, and we had a wonderful time pulling each other’s legs in a nice session of bonhomie and camaraderie around the camp fire. After the fire had died down, we started preparing soup on the small stove that we had bought along. One of the guys got some water from the lake and we started boiling it. I had decided I’d have a pack of ready to eat cup noodles for dinner and was waiting with for the water to boil. The water was taking too long to boil so we thought of putting it over the embers of the fire and adding some more fuel to it. We moved the utensil to the campfire. After a little while the water had boiled and I added some to my noodle cup. That’s when all hell broke loose.
Suddenly the wind picked up and started blowing like crazy. So we huddled round the fire to keep it burning. That’s when someone noticed that the tents had started to become balloons and fly in the wind. With that started a mad scramble to weigh down the tents and keep them attached to the ground. We first put in all the bags into the tents, and weighed down the tents with rocks. When even that didn’t help, we just got into the tents!!
I had hoped that the wind would stop blowing after some time, but it didn’t. Thanks to the wonderful weather, I had to scrap my plans of shooting the night sky. We spent the rest of the night listening to the wind howling outside the tent, wondering whether the tent will fly away or collapse on us.

Day 2 – The long trek to Kemmangundi

The next day we woke up to the howling wind outside. It still hadn’t stopped blowing. In fact the wind was so fierce that we had difficulty moving around freely. A small mis-step and the wind would blow you away with it. After struggling with the wind, we finally managed to freshen up and wrap up the camp. Taking the tents etc back to the TT we realized to our surprise that it was absolutely calm near the TT !!!
Once again, we just needed to carry some food and water for the remainder of our journey and left most of our luggage in the TT which then made it’s way to Kemmangundi. We then started on the trail to Kemmangundi. The trail to Kemmangundi from Galikere is about 16-17 km in length and it passes over several small hills before descending from Kemmangundi through a coffee estate and passing by Kallathi Falls. This trail is not frequented that often by trekkers and the trail sometimes vanishes. Thankfully, Girish had the entire trail mapped on his phone. Armed with this info we started on the trail.

                                                           Sambhar running on the hills

The trail as usual was extremely scenic, more so with views of the forests in the valley below. As we trekked we came across several groups of Sambhar running on the hills. We also found some porcupine quills and an antler of a deer. After some time we stopped in a small clearing in the forest and heated some water from a nearby stream to cook our breakfast of cup noodles. Having done with the breakfast, we started again on the trail. By now it was fast approaching mid-day and it seemed that we had not made much progress. Thankfully the sun was not that sharp and the cool mountain air and breeze made trekking very enjoyable.

                                                   Hills on the way to Kemmangundi

In our endeavour to finish the trail, we took quite a few shortcuts down some steep hills and thick forests. After much walking we finally spotted some signs of civilization. We passed some houses where we met some folks who told us to quickly finish the trail as this was a reserve forest and we were not supposed to be there. We crossed the houses and began our steep descent to the coffee plantation. After some time we had reached the bottom of the hill and began the descent into the coffee plantation. We crossed several small streams and waterfalls along the way before finally reaching Kallathi waterfalls and exiting out of the coffee estate. After having a quick dip at the waterfalls we started back for Bangalore. On the way we had an excellent dinner at a dhabha. We finally reached Bangalore at about 4 the next morning ending a wonderful adventure made memorable by some great company.

Event Name: Trek from Mullayanagiri to Kemmannugundi: M2K/1_Nov_19-20-2011

Original Writeup by: Elroy

Event organized by: Girish

Image Galleries: Tanoy, Girish, Nagarjun, Muthu, Karan

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Kudremukh Trek – Oct 22nd & 23rd

Kudremukh was a long awaited trek of mine and badly wanted to go  there. Bangalore ASCenders came up with a great itinerary and 13 of us left to Kalasa, the nearest town which is 11 kms away from Mullodi village, which is the starting point of the trek. I had read some blogs n Newspaper articles saying that the National park will be converted into a tiger reserve and trekking will not be allowed and stuff like that but its still possible if you go through locals/guides. Getting permission is also not easy so its better to contact the guides n go.

Kudremukh is at approx height of 1890mts [internet] and according to our guide its somewhere around 1700mts above MSL. There are as many as 13 routes to the peak [some say 18]. The name is derived from the shape of the peak which looks like Horse’s face. You can’t get to know it looks like that unless you go to another peak next to it. Some say it looks like that from Kemmangundi too. It comes under Chikmangalore Dist near the Udupi n Dakshina Kannada borders. It is very famous for its flora & fauna and the Shola forests.

Day 1 –

After a decent sleep, we were in search of a place where we could freshen up. A local suggested us to go to Ambu/AmbaTheertha [A river]. It was supposed to be half a km walk but we screwed up the route n after much roaming around we found another local who lead us to the place. It is an accident prone area. It is a very nice place where the water was at its full flow. We went a little away where the water was gentle n freshened up. It was a foggy morning and we went back to Kalasa in search of food. We got a pretty good breakfast and headed inside the Kudremukh National Park to Hanumanagundi Falls [Also called Suthanabbe]. Was passed through Samse village which looked like Munnar to most of us. There were beautiful tea gardens.  We also went to Lakya dam on the way which is not in use now so nothing to see. HanumanaGundi is a pretty small falls where the water plunges down from around 40ft. Nice place to take a dip and most of us were inside the chill water soon. The water is not flowing down but the drops with full flow were hitting you like pins. Nobody cared for it, Standing under a fall is an amazing feeling anyway! Couple of pics and we were going back. We went to a place called Ganga Moola, a place where Bhadra&Thunga rivers are supposed to originate. It’s a kms walk in the grasslands and into the forests. We didn’t find the place we wanted but found the leeches instead! I had already got four for the day with more expected the next day.

It was noon by then and we headed to Mullodi where Rajappa, our homestay guy was waiting. We got into a jeep and headed to his place. It’s a bumpy ride of 6kms on the jeep track. Just a km by, we saw a snake live& it was first time in life it happened but it just swiveled away as we stopped. We were really hungry by then so we had lunch in Rajappa’s place as soon as we reached. You can hear the sound of water from his place and we headed to the Somavathy falls, just 5mins walk away from where we stayed. Most of them got into the water but I planned to do it after the trek and also due to shortage of clothes :P
  We had to leave very early the next morning so we hit the bed pretty soon.

Day 2 –

It was early morning around 6.10 by the time we left. We had packed Breakfast & lunch and I felt this was the right time to leave to avoid the evening rains and the heat of the noon. You need to walk for half a km to see the peak and once you see, it looks a really long way. We were accompanied by our guide Arun who was friendly. The trek is 10kms one way and it takes 3-4 hours to reach the top according to your speed.

You go through varied vegetations in the first half. There are forests, tall bushes, little patches of plains and grasslands. All of them are really different from what you find in other treks. You cross a number of streams throughout the route so there is no problem for water. The currents will be very high in monsoon but it was pretty easy now. As your move further, you move into the bushes which are as high as you and then you start ascending small lush green hills which take you to the other side of the valley. It was around 7.30 by then and the sun was shining in all its glory and it was giving a beautiful touch of gold to the green hills. It was a really soothing view to your eyes and it looked the same all through the ascent. The farther gigantic mountains were still a little misty to give a really good view but you knew, it was big and you are heading there!

  You could see the TirumalaGuppi peak behind which too was covered by mist most of the time. A little further before the Onti Mara [Stand Alone tree], we stopped for breakfast and it was 8 by then. We had to make it really quickly for the leeches weren’t allowing us to take our time. A quick bite into some Rice Kadabu [local idlys] and we started again. The next patch of around two kms is through forests and bushes. The bushes were all over you and it is itchy. The next patch of forests was filled with bamboos and more so with wet leaves which are home for the leeches. I could see so many and most of them were huge. You need to be really quick to avoid them. I almost hit out 10-15 leeches form my legs. Once you get through this, you would be at the absolute base of the peak. You could go in the actual route which goes round the peak but some in our group wanted to cut through to the left where there is no route but it leads you to the main route very near to the peak. Its pretty steep but you can save a good 30mins if you go that way. We saw only a single deer far away but the guys who went the other way spotted a bunch of them. The last stretch is full of ascending but it gives breathtaking views of the valley and you can see the route you came along. The last 500mts is a kinda flat. You can see an abandoned Church built by the britishers just a little before the peak. It was starting to get misty by the time we reached the peak.

   It was 10 by the time we reached the top. You couldn’t actually get to know the horse’s face unless you are too imaginative. You can actually see it from the peak to the right of KM but since it was too misty, we didn’t go. At the top, looks were as if the clouds we kissing the peak often. A pretty sight! We spent good 40mins at the peak, clicking snaps & munching snacks and headed back to a small stream 100mts away, where we had kept out lunch [only if you can call it so] to eat some more and start descending.

After that quick meal we headed back. It is not easy to descend quickly as the path is steep and slippery. Guide told us it would take 3 hours usually but we did it much before that.

We spotted huge group of bisons but it was too far for us to get a good pic of it. As we were getting down, the background we getting engulfed by the mist. All the way while getting back it was completely misty behind us. It was as if the mist was trying to catch us but we were too quick ;) Though there was no hurry we literally ran back. We were back by two itself and we badly wanted a dip again after a sweaty day. Except for the late comers, everybody jumped in and it was much needed. We were really hungry and Rajappa was ready with hot lunch and everybody hogged on and we bid adieu to Rajappa and Arun who gave us good facilities. We visited the famous Hornadu temple and headed back to Bangalore!It was a wonderful trek. Kudremukh lived upto all my expectations. This is the right time to trek here like most other places.  The route is long and it might drain you if you’re not fit or a regular trekker. It was a much awaited trek and it was worth all the wait. Special mention of a young & enthusiastic Tanish, 7^thstd guy who came along with his dad & completed the trek. Usually I would be the youngest among the lot but felt really happy that a guy 5 years younger to me also had the passion to trek. The group too was great & thanx to Girish for organizing the event. Will surely do this peak again from a different route even if its after a long time. Kudremukha is really different & a must on a Trekker’s CV ;)

Event Name: Trek to Kudhremukha Peak: K/2_Oct-22-23-2011

Written by: Sharath

Event organized by: Girish

Image Galleries: Muthu, Prabhakar, Karthik, Suresh, Elroy part 1, part 2, Sharath, Girish, Naveen, Santhi

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Social Responsibility- Joy of Giving week

Let’s celebrate India’s giving festival together…Yes BASC celebrated the Joy of Giving Week i.e. from Oct 2 to Oct 8 with under privileged aged women from a Day care centre

Likely questions:
1. Is Joy of week a western trend ? Are we just following westerners?
Ans - No , We believe its a Indian initiative. Also how does it matter (Indian or Western) when the idea is to help someone.

2. Why old women & that too take them to malls , instead of wasting money we can contribute the same to their basic
    things? Are u crazy ?
Ans -  YES I’m. They are old, if they don't see Bangalore malls & multiplex now……THEN WHEN ???????????
We are also looking to contribute for the basic , but let us make them happy first.

3. Can we help children instead?
Ans - Yes we will. But lets help aged people now.

Thanks Jayshree for reminding about joy of giving week. Thanks Champa & Soumya for the leads. Thanks to all the contributors and supporters without whose support the event wld not have been successful. Hope to take forward this tradition in the coming years.

Here are the details of Day care center.
http://shankaricare.in/

What did the participants from BASC had to say….

Pradeep,
I had a wonderful time last Saturday, The energy and enthusiasm among the old(well not the right word in this context) left many of us spell-bound.

Sreedevi
If i’m to say..'njoyed the day out'...it would be an understatement for what I experienced this Saturday. Thanks to BASC for organizing this outing, a great gesture of love and affection for the aged. also to all who volunteered to come in support for this.

Tejaswini
I am glad that I joined you guys for the social responsibility activity on Oct 8th. I got to meet so many new people especially the dear Ajjis. :)  It was a wonderful and fulfilling experience. I hope we get to do more such activities on a regular basis. Thanks for organizing this amazing event.
 

Visit our Group @ CLICK HERE

Event organized by: Satish
Compiled by: Mudassar
Image Galleries:
Satish, Pradeep, Sreedevi

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Hercules City Challenge 2011 - Bengaluru

Four out of the top 10 finishers were from our club (30kms in less than 60 minutes with mountain bikes).

1) Nagaraj Cannondale Harsha (First MTB rider who reached the destination - 50 min)
2) Rajesh P Nayak3) Vivek Kubaji4) Mohammad Rafi

Some tips to the first timers

Day Before Race Day:- Make sure your bike maintenance is complete at this point and don’t leave anything untested.   Clean your chain and wipe your bike down with babywipes. A clean bike is a happy bike.
- One of the most frequent questions beginners ask  is "what are you supposed to eat the day before a race ?"  The answer is: Nothing different that you’d usually eat the day before a ride.  Don’t go and eat a mountain of pasta the night before if you’re not used to it.   That’s the biggest wives tale in sports. If you’re going to carb load, do it right.
- Make sure you have all your water bottles filled, your energy foods organized and your equipment laid out, etc.  Get absolutely everything ready the night before so that you’re not stressing about it on race day.
- What do you eat and drink while racing you ask?  Well, if it’s a 1hr crit, I wouldn’t recommend having anything more than a bottle of energy drink and maybe a gel.  If you’re doing a long event, you might want to read this post .  Anything more than 70-90km for your first race is highly unlikely. Basically, try to eat and drink about 500 calories per hour after the first hour.  For example, a bottle of energy drink has ~200 calories, a gel has ~90 calories, and a powerbar has ~250-300 calories.  Mix and match based on preference and the length of the race.
- Don’t take a full rest day on the day directly before a race.  Do a race preparation ride to get the body used to recruiting those specific muscles that you’ll be using tomorrow.- Hydrate!- Get all the start times, directions and maps for the race printed out.  Know where the start line is and be there 100% ready to race 1/2hr before you need to.
- The preparation is the best part of the race.  All of the stuff above may seem overwhelming, but in my opinion it’s the most fun part of the process. Savor it!Race Day:- Since this is your first race, it’ll probably begin very early in the morning (most of the lower categories do).  Have a good breakfast about 3hrs before the race start if possible.     Eat either some toast, oatmeal or muesli along with some fruit, and juice and coffee.  Also have a small amount of protein (maybe an egg, yogurt,  or some peanut butter on your toast).  The protein will slow down the absorption of sugars into your bloodstream.  Nothing too massive or out of your ordinary routine.- Before the race make sure you have your race license.  Double and triple check this!  You won’t be able to race without it.- Check the forecast and make sure you’ve prepared the proper clothing.  Take a look at some of the A-grade or Cat1/2 riders and look at what they’re wearing.  Wear what most of them are wearing.- Once you get to the race, get signed in, and have your number pinned on your jersey, go and check out the stretch before the finish line.  If it’s a road race, check out the final kilometer.   See if there are any turns or round-abouts in the road, and get familiar with this stretch of the road. This is when things will really pick up and you need to be prepared for that.  You don’t want to be near the back of the bunch in the last km or lap.- Positioning plays a massive part of road racing.  Being at different places in the pack will require different amounts of energy to stay there.  Its not a good idea to be at the back of the bunch nor directly at the front (unless it’s 100m from the finish).   If you’re not a strong climber, make sure you’re one of the first people to start the climb so that you can slowly drift back and still be in the bunch by the time you’ve hit the top.  If you’re not good at accelerating, don’t be at the back of the bunch in a criterium.   There’s no better way to get the hang of this than experience. I could write for days on positioning.- try to drink one bottle of fluids every hour. If the race is a crit, eat your gel in the last 20 minutes of the race.  It’ll perk you up and give you some more energy for the finish.  It’s amazing what a little bit of sugar can do.
- The goal for your first race should not be to win.   I would not recommend trying to take part in the final sprint at this stage of your career.  These can be extremely dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing.  You are also likely to be a danger to everyone else out there if you’re too eager.  Watch and learn.  The goal should be to gain the experience you need to eventually win.

Reference:http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2009/02/your-first-bike-race/

Race FAQ’s:Check here
Complied by: MudassarEvent coordinated by: RafiImage Galleries: Anand and Rafi

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