Ride to BR Hills & Gopalswamy Betta

Travelogue has taken a hibernation mode for past couple of months. As usual caught up with the blogger laziness syndrome. So with the usual excuse of will-blog-frequently, updating the travel report on 500 Km ride to B.R Hills & GopalswamyBetta.

The Plan -

7 people, 4 bikes , 500 Km's , 2 days. 

Himavad Gopalswamy Betta Hilllock Temple

Day 1 - 

• Started from Bangalore at 7 AM.
• Had Breakfast at Shoppers stop at 7.30 AM
• Reach Kanakapura by 10 AM. Headed to Shivasamudram via Malavalli and reached there by 12.30 noon. Had lunch there itself & started by 2.30 PM to B.R Hills via Kollegal & Yelandur route. Reached the Jungle Lodges around 5 PM. 
• Dropped our luggage's at VGKK school & after relaxing for an hour, headed to Biligiri rangana temple located on the top of BR.Hills. Reached there around 6.30 PM.
• Returned back & had dinner at hotel around 8 PM( There is only one in the locality & they serve only meals for dinner ) situated en-route to BR Temple.
• Night stay at VGKK hostel.

Misunderstanding ?? 

Day 2 -

• Started from VGKK Hostel at 7.30 AM.
• Hot Tea & breakfast ( Idly, chutney ) at Jungle lodge junction.
• Drove thru the ghat section of B.R Hills & reached the jungle lodges at 10.15 PM.
• Reached ChamrajNagar around 11.30 & stopped at Gundulpet for lunch around 1.30 PM.
• Reached GopalswamyBetta by 2.15 PM & spent around an hour @ the temple & returned back to Gundulpet by 4.30 PM.
• Headed to Mysore and reached around 6.30 PM.
• Stopped at Maddur by 8.30 PM for dinner & resumed @ 9.30 PM for the last stretch to Bangalore.
• Reached home by 12.30 AM.

Lined Up for the Ride

The Stay -

One of the worth remembering memory of this trip is the stay at VGKK school. This looks more like a hospital from the front, but they do have guest houses in the rear. The charges were quiet cheap & their definition of basic - independent house with 3 decent sized cots. This school provides free education to the local tribes residing in the area & works in the upliftment of local people & the amount from us would be utilized for their studies. Mr. Arun Kumar (09902319473) is the caretaker of this institution & he shared his experiences & the way school is managed. We had a good time, sitting in the middle of the school ground with temperature hitting low & eventually we experienced fogs coming out from our mouth while speaking. Morning was very refreshing as we had the view of sunrise, slowly penetrating its golden lights through the mist. Along with our charges we donated some amount for the trust & collected brochures from Arun. All together it was a great experience. I would strongly recommend this place. 

Golden lights. Those were the huts we stayed.

The Route - 

Bangalore -> Kanakpura -> Malavalli -> Shivanasamudra -> Kollegal -> Yelandur -> BR Hills -> Nagavalli -> Chamaraj nagara -> Terakanambi -> Gundlupet -> Gopalswamybetta -> Gundlupet -> Mysore -> Maddur -> Bangalore

The Route : A- Bangalore , B- B.R Hills , C - GopalswamyBetta , D- Mysore

The Good Experiences  -

• Stay at VGKK school.
• Ghat section ride thru BR Hills.
• Dinner at Maddur resturant was superb. This place is famous for Vada.
• First time 500 Km's in my bike.

Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra [ VGKK ]

The Bad Choices - 

• Bad season to visit Shivanasamudra. Very hot place & the water level in the falls was very minimal.
• Ghat section ride within BR Hills is not as greenish as expected. Idle time should be around August- September.
• Perfect time to visit GopalswamyBetta is early morning. The trekking has been banned now. The maximum time that you can spend is 45 mins, a pass given at the entrance of Gopalswamy Betta temple. Riding at noon, all you end up with is, scorching sun above your head as contrast to the misty fogs you see when you google for GopalswamyBetta.

Biligiri Rangana Swamy temple

Tea shop on the BR Hills Junction

Morning Dews @ 6.30 A.M

Clouds & light playing hide & seek during up hill drive to Gopal swamy Betta.

Himavad Gopalswamy Betta Hilllock Temple

Cheers,
Prem.