Chitradurga a.k.a 'Kallina Kote', was my second trip of the year, which also happened to be my second one with BASC [ Bangalore Ascendars ]. The registration mail read “Photography Trek to Chitradurga” and I signed up instantly. It was a 2 day trip and we left Bangalore by 11.30 PM in Hospet passenger and reached Chitradurga around 6. 

The core of man's spirit comes from new experiences

After a brief intro and group photo at the station, we headed towards KSTDC, Mayura hotel. Our stay was in the dormitory accommodating 8 people. Though maintained by government, the quality of rooms and service are way above govt standards. Budget hotel and located at walkable distance from railway station and fort makes it an ideal place for stay.

The Nandhi statue, Chitradurga

We got freshened up and started the exploration by 9 AM. The entire fort was built of stones and we took the first pit stop at a open space which seemed like a prison top. It offered a view of entire city scape and the majestic windmills surrounding the city. Sticking to the theme of photo trek, we moved around clicking pictures that looked interesting and exciting, not bothered about its historic significance.

The Sculptures of Chitradurga

As the temperature was getting hot and humid, we decided to climb the peak before noon. The rocks were slippery, climb was harder at slopes but we made our way to the top. One more session of photos taken and we headed back to the temples where we had an awesome curd rice + pickle + buttermilk combo for lunch. The plan for second half of the day was to visit the OBAVVANA KINDI, followed by climbing to the fortress top which offered the best view for sunset photography.

The Dwarapalikas a.k.a gate keepers, Chitradurga

Glorious sunset, golden lights and Windmills of Chitradurga against the backdrop filled up the frames as we had our third session of photoshoot. The descend down was adventurous and memorable as we got delayed and ended up doing 2-3 hours of night trek with torches in a route less travelled by. We dined and hit the bed early as we had to start at 4.30 AM next morning to catch the sunrise at JOGIMATTI peak. Turned out the journey was longer than expected and we missed the sunrise. Nevertheless it was a good and exhausting trek to the peak which reminded me to work on my fitness levels.

The Song shoot - Namo Namo madesha for the movie Kothi Raja

The timing of the trip was perfect that we happened to see the shooting of the song sequence for the Kannada movie 'KothiRaja'. Meaning 'Monkey King', this is based on the real life story of Jyothi Raj, who hails from this place and is famous for climbing Chitradurga fort without any safety harnesses.

Windmills of Chitradurga

Post lunch, we checked out the hotel, had an awesome full meals. The exit plan was to make our way to Adumalleshwara caves via fort. Climbing the fort with luggages on was the toughest part of the trek. The terrains were harder and the sun was no kinder. As we passed through the caves, the descent started and finally led us to the plain lands down the hills.

The glorious sunlight

The last part of the trek was Chandravalli caves. We hired a guide this time so that we don’t miss out on the details. This turned out to be a worthy idea as the place has so much interesting history associated with it. The cave is 80 feet underground and the guide beautifully explained how sages here used to meditate, secret escape passages for prince and how messages are carried in and out at times of war. We had ice candies and took some photos as the sun descended. The trip ended with last minute tension filled sprint to catch the train.

The Team

Just 2 days, but we bonded well and had great fun. We shared jokes, made friends, played pranks, envied full frame gears, discussed movies, shared food, photographed moments, tested our fitness levels.

All this came at a price of 750/-. 

Over the years of stay in Bangalore, traveling somewhere during new year sort of became a habit.  To keep up with the tradition, this year we decided to drove to SHIVAGANGE. The choice of place came from "Nomads", an android app that has a good collection of weekend getaway places around Bangalore.

Witnessing the proceedings

As usual, started late and reached the place by noon. Generally places with minimal human presence has always been our choice of preference. Turns out that it was "Shiva Rathiri" and the place was flooded with devotees. With sun scorching straight above our heads, we started to climb. The initial climb with carved out foot steps was easy, but got steeper and narrower as we proceeded ahead. We took few pit stops under the shades of the rocks, witnessing the aerial view of the beautiful landscape. Thanks to the buttermilk shops en route, helping us quench our thirst.

The view from the top

As the path got too narrow, over crowding led to congestion as people descending and ascending wanted to move forward without giving way for each other eventually leading to jam. After some delay we finally managed to reach the temple top. There were huge idols of Shiva and Parvathi standing tall facing the city.

The Entrance

It was a sad scene to witness the place fully littered with plastics and garbage. Further up the hill was the famous Nandhi statue, the main attraction of Shivagange. Seeing the congestion on the top and people taking the alternate routes alongside monkeys, I decided to skip and head down for lunch.

Too Crowded

Had an awesome Tomato rice at one of the shops near the temple. The owner suggested a temple ( the name which I don't remember now ) on the other side of the hill. Riding through the village roads in search of the temple amidst the lush green agricultural lands on the either sides during sunset is quiet serene. Undoubtedly the best part of the trip.

Witnessing the sunset

Shivagange would be an ideal weekend getaway place, if only visited during non peak hours.