Srisailam–Hampi Trip–Part 2–Hampi

Part [0] [1] [2]

The Innova dropped me at some fruit market in Markapur town. Pretty much crowed place that was, may be due to the evening time, whatever it was but like any other desi town, crowded, polluted, noisy everywhere. Crossed the road and took a shared auto for railway station, which was 3 kms. away from there.

Unexpectedly, there was a long queue at the counter. After standing about 30 minutes in that queue got general boggy ticket to Hospet for 105 Rs. Train 17225 was schedule to come at 22:20, wait of an hour.

Its never easy to travel in general boggy, packed already. Exhausted, previous night was tough in the bus, then whole day of standing in queue for darshan, scaling Srisailam up n down, and now in general boggy standing! Pretty much horrible, standing by the door side, eyes were closing blink by blink, air was blowing like hell. Finally closed the door, sat down by it and within minutes I was flat sleeping on the floor like anything. Nice experience!!

Reached well in time, morning shower of rain welcomed in Hospet. Damn tired, searched for return train, no luck. Boarded a shared auto to bus stand, missed the only bus to Hyderabad by a minute, bad luck again.

Having no option left, had morning breakfast of idli and rice. There are plenty buses for Hampi, 13 kms. away. Situated on the banks of the Tungabhadra river, the ruins of Vijayanagara (capital of the Vijayanagara Empire) are spread across for about 25 kms. It takes good 2-3 full days exploration to see the legacy. The ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed as the Group of Monuments at Hampi. The history goes like this –

It was around the year 1296, when Alla-Udin-Khilji invaded southern India. People started to unite themselves to protect their religion and culture. The kingdom of Vijayanagara was founded and was ruled by four dynasties. The first one was Sangama dynasty founded by Harihara the first. It is said the sangama came from Warangal and some says they were Kannadigas. Sangama has five sons, Harihara, Bukka, Kempanna, Marappa and Muddappa. The first two played a vital role establishing the Vijayanagara Kingdom. Sangama dynasty ruled till 1447, when Narasimharaya established Saluwa dynasty. The next was Tulu dynasty, then came the great, Krishnadevaraya, who not only expanded the kingdom also did welfare of his pupil. He was a genius in many respect, composed so many literature, he himself was ‘’Kannada Rajya Rama Ramana’’

There are so many nice views, stayed there for 4-5 hrs. only. Seeing the Tungabhadra river, lying down on huge stone was an unique experience. Slept there for an hour before heading to the return journey.

Again no bus for Hyderabad, the only train leaves at 17:00 hrs. No energy left now, reaching Hyderabad was the only mission for the day. The bus conductor said Sindhanur is the place for you, there are 3-4 buses to Hyderabad from there. It was some 90 kms. west. It was really a bad day, missed the last bus. Conductor said Raichur is the place for you now, again some 90 kms.

Travelling with local was fun. I was clueless about the local language, Kannada, and they had upper edge due to little Hindi knowledge. A little girl, sitting besides me, wearing flowers (gajra) was cute and very talkative.

From Raichur, got the direct bus to Hyderabad with destination time of 10 pm. And local bus no. 147K dropped me outside my hotel at 12 mid-night.



The first view of Hampi, bus stand and small market place ..



View from the sunset point, two towers; right one is Bistappaya Tower, the VirupakSha Temple and the left one is Raya Tower. The Tungabhadra flows just beside these towers.



VirupakSha Temple… This is the entrance point as well, near bus stand.



A group of temples….



This covers entire Hampi …….



So much greenery, loved the view.



Another one..



Stone steps to sunset point – Hemakuta Hill.



The Sunset point – Hemakuta Hill. Nice view from here, Slept almost an hour at this point praising & admiring the view.



At last one signature pose!!.

Kharcha – Pani

Travel – 1345/-

Food – 370/-

Miscellaneous – 300/-

Total – Rs. 2015/-

Srisailam–Hampi Trip: Part 1 - Srisailam

Part [0] [1] [2]

God’s abode, Srisailam is full of fresh air, piece and greenery. The Jyotirlinga makes it special, chanting, prayer everywhere.

Early morning 5 o’clock when I woke up, my back & neck was paining like hell. The bus seat was not confortable to sleep. We were waiting in a jungle to open the gate of reserved forest area near Srisailam. Mornings’ view can’t be better than this, pure bliss! zig-zag road, dense forest, then a beautiful dam (Srisailam dam) and finally the destination.

The first thing I heard was the Bhajan, priests were singing, loudspeakers everywhere. I turned my face and there it was, the Bhramaramba Mallikarjunaswamy Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple built in unique style, the small town itself is unique, at every stop there was a idol with flowers and bel patri.

No hotel, no stay is my motto, so after relieving myself in open went straight to the temple area. Camera and mobile phones are not allowed there, but good thing is, they have lockers for such items for 10 bucks per bag.

At 11 o’clock I was witnessing the pooja inside the temple. No one is allowed to go inside the room where Linga is, I could see some female priests worshipping Linga with bel-patri and milk. The bull, Nandi was sitting there still n straight. Legends says that when Nandi will leave his place this world will come to an end. The non-stop chanting of priests was really full of energy and josh.

Anyways, darshan was done now it was my time to explore. Once exited from temple’s upper gate, there are some counters for prasad for some 5 or 10 rupees. Also on left side there is a free lungar (food) is available. There was a long queue though.

Collected my shoes and bag, bought a booklet in which local site-seeing places were mentioned. Maratha king Chhatrapathi Shivaji’s bronze statue was nearby, some 200 meters. His entire life is narrated through poster and pics.

Then I started climbing uphill to see Hemareddy Mallamma Temple. During the climb met with a sadhu and a guy. Sadhu asked if he can keep the booklet. Some talks and we were in our way again. The town from the top looked beautiful and air was blowing nicely.

After an hour, descending down, I was near the dam for boating. I wanted to go in a dongle but was alone and he was charging good amount of money so went by a shared boat for Rs. 40/-. The Freedom Ride pain was still there so decided to climb via rope way, he charged 40/- Rs. for that ride.

So much up and down, no food except the prasad and water, exhausted. Ate some rice and saw some taxis were going towards Markapur. I was planning to stay there but Markapur scene changed my plan. There were no bus service except to Hyderabad. Taxi stand is near the bus stand and taxi wala was charging 150 Rs. for Markapur. Then one private Innova car came and boarded that for Markapur Road railway station. My new destination got fixed – Hampi.



The town welcomes you like this, chowk at the starting of the town.



I need someone to translate this for me.



First view of the Temple.



Close-up and perfect weather to explore.



From the top. Loved the greenery, so much!



Hemmareddy Mallamma Temple.



Bronze statue of King Chhatrapathi Shivaji.



Srisailam Dam on Krishna river.



Take care..



Rope way….



The beautiful dam and surrounding. The Akka Mahadevi caves are also there, the boat was going towards that area for some 500 Rs. Wanted to see but no one seems to take that tour.

Continued......

Srisailam–Hampi Trip

Part [0] [1] [2]

Earlier this year when I was jolting down the Hindu pilgrimage sites, Jyotirlinga’s (12 of them) were one of the places on my to-do list. Sri Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga Temple is number two of total 12 Jyotirlingas, situated in Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh (Now Telangana).

It was a sudden trip to Srisailam, I was just back from Jog Falls trip and was fully energized. Came Thursday, again eagerness to go wild came in mind. I heard a lot about Srisailam, greenery all around, a dam built across River Krishna, Bhramaramba Mallikarjunaswamy Temple (dedicated to Lord Mallikarjuna Swamy, a form of Shiva) and Devi Bhramaramba (a form of Parvati).

I stay away from hotels, off course the budget thing, so had to plan my journey in such a way. So itinerary became like this-

Date – 17-08-2013 to 19-08-2013.

Hyderabad to Srisailam – seat# 30 APSRTC Bus, Departure 23:45, Arrival 08:30.

Srisailam to Markapur Road – Via Bus/Taxi. Unreserved, Departure 18:30, Arrival 21:30.

Markapur Road to Hospet – Unreserved. Train# 17225, Departure 22:20, Arrival 06:30.

Hospet to Hampi n Back – Via Bus. Unreserved.

Hospet to Hyderabad – Unreserved. Train# 17004, Departure 19:20, Arrival 06:30. But later on it became a bus journey; rather a long bus journey, Hospet – Sindhanur – Raichur - Hyderabad.

Went totally unreserved, except the starting journey, this time, coz of last moment plan.



Srisailam, heaven – 2nd Jyotirlinga is here. Shiva's sacred bull Nandi is said to have performed penance at the temple till Shiva and Parvati appeared before him as Mallikarjuna and Brahmaramba. Legends says this Kalyuga will come to an end when Nandi will leave this place. Adi Shankaracharya visited this place and composed Shivananda Lahari, one hundred stanzas Sanskrit poetry. Maratha king Chhatrapathi Shivaji came here and seeing the beauty, he decided to stay here leaving everything behind. Legends says that Bhramaramba devi gave him a sword and said you need to finish what you have started, go on. And Shivaji obeyed Her, won so many battles for a better kingdom ship.



Hampi; the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire, situated on the banks of the Tungabhadra river. The ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed as the Group of Monuments at Hampi. The ruins are spread across 25 kms. area. Peace all around, a perfect destination for backpackers like me.

Continued….

The Freedom Ride 15th Aug 2013

This was one of the biggest corporate event organised by The Atlanta Foundation, on 15th August to celebrate the independence day. I was in PRIDE ride category, riding 66th mark of independence, riding 66 kms. on beautiful road of Hyderabad. It was a fun riding, fairly organised and big crowd too.

I set the finish time of 3 hrs. but completed the circle in 05.30 hrs. I would have completed it within my set time, since it was a group ride, I had to stick with the group. They were riding local brands and are not regular riders, result, slow pace n a lot of snacks break. I must salute both my fellow riders for their stamina and endurance.

XCheck got a good response from the crowd. And overall a different celebration day.

Happy Independence Day India!!



My group… Anil and Abhilash



Our host…



First snacks stop at Hi-tech city railway station.



My beast shining on the road.



It was 4th snacks point near Gandipet, Osman Sagar…



One of the steep climb…. had to walk all the way up.



The Microsoft wala climb was a challenge…. conquered it fairly.



Victory pose… with Abhilash.



Anil too reached after much struggle. He rear tire got burst. TAF helped him by replacing the bike.



A close-up at the finish.

Jai Hind..

Trip to Jog Falls

First thing first – Welcome to the travelogue.



Welcome board near Jog Falls, which is about 30 min walk from here.

As discussed in my previous post, my itinerary was same except the reservation from Birur to Talguppa. I reserved a seat just before starting the trip, later which was beneficial because at 02:00 o’clock night no counter was open at Birur junction.

Train journey was as usual the same. A lot of sleeping and waiting at platforms. Journey from Birur to Talguppa was special, greenery all around, amazing.

Talguppa express reached its destination well in time (07:15) and outside the platform, a long queue of cars, auto shouting Jog, waterfall. Inquired about the fare and without doubt they were charging different-different (huge) amount. Bus stand is close by but no bus was there so took a shared van, fare was 50 bucks for 13 kms journey.

The entry fee for view point is 5 bucks. There are god number of eating joints inside the park/view point. Parking is also available for god-knows-what-charges and PWD rest house is also there.

Idli has become my favorite food by now, during the whole journey I ate idli at almost every station, funny though. So here also had a plate of idli and vada. Finished my breakfast and so weather became foggy, started raining. Seeing the fog, got little bit disappointed but that gave me the strength to walk towards the entry point of the falls, which is about 3 kms from view point.

Another disappointed came when I pressed the ON button of my camera, fuck! battery was dead! Now cell phone camera was the only option.

Morning rain made the weather pleasant, the air around smelled fresh n energetic. Sitting there, watching and listing the water fall was heaven.

Spent four hours there taking snaps, exploring here n there, sitting laying down on green grass, watching girls skidding n then crying, touching water, seeing waterfall & more waterfall and thinking why this name Jog, seeing waterfall & waterfall.

Then I was there in open road waiting for return ride, saw a roadside canteen and ordered fried rice. Got bus, fare 25 bucks. Boarded the train at Talguppa. Two n half of train journey dropped me at Shimoga (or Shivamogga – Gods own town, as one hoarding says there). KSRTC bus left in time and Monday 08:00 o’clock I was inside my bed.



The first view of the fall..



The last train station.. TalGuppa. It used to be a railbus journey but now its the usual meter gauge route.



Listening the sweet relaxing nature;s music..



One close view..!



Fog going away, more brightness..



Another view, walking the other end of the fall.



As usual, signature pose!!!.



Entry point…



One more..!



beautiful surrounding, nature;s bliss….



Entire end train journey is full of greenery, rice fields all around. The land is really Gods own Land.. And I agree what with it.

Beautiful journey ended with a lot of fresh thoughts and new approach towards everything!

Kharcha-Pani-

Fare – Rs. 1830/-

Food – Rs. 500/-

Total = Rs. 2330/-

Monsoon Magic–Jog Falls Planning.

Itinerary for the weekend trip to Jog Falls.

Date – 09-08-2013 to 12-08-2013.

Hyderabad to Hubli – S2, 22. Train# 17003, Departure 23:10, Arrival 13:35.

Hubli to Birur – S1, 12. Train# 17314, Departure 20:25, Arrival 00:04.

Birur to Talguppa – Unreserved. Train# 07301 or 16227, Departure 03:25, Arrival 07:15.

Talguppa to Jog Falls n Back – Via Bus. Unreserved.

Talguppa to Shimoga Town – D1, 60. Train# 16205, Departure 14:20, Arrival 16:35.

Shimoga to Hyderabad – Via Bus. 40, Departure 18:11, Arrival 07:00.

Jai Bhole!!

EDIT - Trip concluded. report & pics here.

A quick spin to Durgam Cheruvu

It was a quick morning ride to TBA, damaged 4,000 bucks there on some accessories. While returning I thought of a new route to home, another Hyderabad exploration!!!. Past flyover crossed Inorbit mall and thelake Durgam Cheruvu sounded a good stop point. The lake is behind the mall but when you go straight in front of the mall, a road leads you to some good picnic spot.

I could feel the knee pain. Its a result of Bidar trip, I guess.

Some snaps here n there and headed back to the guest house.



I could see some birds there. Water looked not so good.





The area around lake really a good picnic spot. Big boulders, trees n lake view… nice one.



Here I am sitting on one of such boulders, enjoying the view and knee pain too..



My ride… few more accessories added today. Must be feeling heavy.