[mpksuhas]

A very happy new year to you all!

What better way to welcome the new year than going for a drive along with a trek and visit to a wildlife reserve.

03 - Jan -14

As always we have an early start. By 04.30 AM we start from Marathahalli, Bangalore. Taking ORR - KR Puram - Hebbal we take NH 7 towards Chikkaballapura. Roads are mostly empty apart from the airport cabs driven by sleepy drivers and we reach toll booth near Devanahalli by 05: 15 AM.

From Chikkaballapura, we take the left and hit NH 234 towards Gauribidanur; this is a two laned highway with good road condition. However traffic is very thin and road passes through empty country side which was a bit unnerving.

Gauribidanur is a larger town which was just coming out of sleep around 06.00 AM. There is road widening work ongoing at this place. Since it was early in morning, we did not face any issue due to the same. However on our return journey, we had to take a deviation due to road blockage due to this.

Road is a beauty on crossing Gauribidanur and mostly devoid of any traffic.



However our happiness was short-lived, there is a big section of road which is in bad shape due to widening. This ordeal continues till few KM's before Madhugiri.




Madhugiri

View of the hill from parking area


We reach Madhugiri around 07.30 AM, there is ample parking space near court complex located inside the fort complex. Since we wanted to beat the sun we start our climb immediately.
Initial climb is easy with proper steps -



View is already breathtaking -




However soon steps disappear and you have to climb with help of railings and footholds cut out in the rock.

For an off beat place like Madhugiri, should appreciate the way administration has done a good job in making the climb more tourist friendly. Though the climb is bit difficult, I guess it is the best that could have been done.



The fort is multi-layered and due to each layer located on top of one another in smaller concentric circles, it is not possible to view the inner layers from down. We walk climb towards each fort gate, to discover another fort inside the same.



There is a particular section of the climb, which was bit steep. The steps are bit spaced apart and also the angle is very steep. The dangerous thing about this part is that if you slip and loose the holding, you can fall through the space between railing and roll down all the way down the hill.





Once you cross this fort gate, you reach the final circle, which has to be reached by taking another steep climb. There are no railings or steps here, however the rock surface is less steeper than earlier.



View from top



The final fort gate is however located on edge of a cliff. We reach till the gate, however we were not sure how easy or tough it will be to climb down from the same. Hence we decided not to try the same.

Entry to the top level of fort



After a small rest, we start our climb down. It is around 10.20 AM by the time we reach back to parking, 3 hours after we started.

We have the packed breakfast we got from Bangalore and then start towards Jayamangali sanctuary.

[mpksuhas]

Jayamangali Blackbuck sanctuary

Spread over 800 acres and around 20 KMS from Madhugiri, this is Tumkur districts only wildlife sanctuary.

From Madhugiri town we proceed on NH 234 for about 2 KMS till we reach this junction.



This location is marked as Palyadahalli in Google maps, from here we exit highway by taking left.
There is a signboard by forest department at this junction.



The road from here is patchy but manageable, we continue on this road for around 10 KM's to reach Puruvara village.



At Puruvara village again we take left. This place is also marked by a signboard.



We continue on this road for some 5 KM's to reach Girigodanahalli



Roads become narrow and driving in harvest season adds to the woes.



On crossing Girigodanahalli roads improve, however Jayamangali turn comes soon.



We take the right turn and proceed on mud road.



Though this is not the sanctuary area, we start spotting blackbucks here.





Soon we reach gates of the sanctuary. Unlike any wildlife sanctuary we visited before, there is no checkpoints or entry fees here.

Infact we did not find any one inside the sanctuary apart from few villages who were collecting firewood.





There are multiple watch towers inside the sanctuary, we stop at the biggest one and take a look around.



We spot many blackbucks near by. However they are very shy compared to spotted deer and sprint off when we try getting closer.







The place has lots of bird species too, however sun is beating on us very bad. Hence we decide to start back without spending anymore time.



For return we proceed to Puruvara village and take the straight road from junction which heads to NH 234 near Chikkahosahalli.

This helps us in avoiding half of the bad section on NH 234. As we do not find any good hotels nearby, we head over to Chikabellapur Kamat located along BP COCO on NH 7 for a late lunch.

Lunch done around 04.00 PM we start from Kamat towards Bangalore, thanks to evening traffic it is 05.45 PM when we reach Marathahalli.

[mpksuhas]

Route details

Bangalore - Madhugiri route -

Route



Madhugiri - Jayamangali route-

Route




Jayamangali - Chikkabellapura-

Route




Epilouge

• Total KM's - 334
• Fuel consumed - 26 liters.
• There are no descent restaurants around Madhugiri, carry your own food
• Carry sufficient drinking water, climbing the hill in sun will dehydrate you in no time.
• We spotted a snake during our climb, be careful during climb especially near shrubs.
• Due to the isolated location, it is not suggested for climbing the hill alone or as a couple. A frequent climber we met during our climb too mentioned this point.
• Only smaller fuel bunks available once you leave NH 7.
• Toilets are available at both KSRTC stand (closed for rennovation) and private bus stand located just before and after fort entry. We used the pay and use toilets in private bus stand and found them clean.
• Madhugiri & Jayamangali route discussion thread.
• The shorter and preferred route to Madhugiri was via NH 4 and then right at either Dabasapet or Tumkur. However road condition is bad once you leave NH 4 due to widening. Hence best avoided till work done.
• Time and energy permitting you can combine either Lepakshi or Devaryanadurga along with these two location.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!

[addyhemmige]

Nice trip you had Suhas. Madhugiri, as you mentioned is treacherous to climb at certain places. But the views from the hill are superb. It can be tiring to climb on a hot day. You should have reached the top. It has ruins of a few buildings and a beautiful view from the back of the hill. We had a T-Bhp meet a couple of years back here.

Btw, how come you did not try the Yelahanka-Doddaballapura-Gauribidanur route to Madhugiri? This route is in good condition and shorter than the Chikkaballapura route.

Me and a friend had planned to go to Jayamangali last Sunday but could not do so.

[NPV]

Nice Travelogue there suhas, excellent pictures, thanks for sharing
You're keeping up to the "Wanderlust Traveler" tag

One can head out early, catch sunrise at Devarayana durga and then go to Madhugiri, right ? Remember seeing signages for Madhugiri on the way to Devarayana durga.

[hothatchaway]

Nice and crisp TL, your XUV is munching miles, time for an epic roadtrip I guess!

Dont they have a professional rock climbing outfit offering climbs here? It looks really steep to be done without some expert supervision

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by addyhemmige

We had a T-Bhp meet a couple of years back here.
Btw, how come you did not try the Yelahanka-Doddaballapura-Gauribidanur route to Madhugiri? This route is in good condition and shorter than the Chikkaballapura route.

Thanks.
Yes, had gone though the TBHP meet travelogue before traveling.
The Doddaballapura route was taken by TBHPian Procrj few months back and he had updated that road conditions are good. I thought of taking the Chikkaballapura route hoping it would be faster since it has longer trip through NH 7 and also passes through lesser towns.

The bad / work in progress section is however after Gauribidanur towards Madhugiri. Hence no matter you take Doddaballapura or Chikkaballapura route you will end up on that.

Originally Posted by NPV

You're keeping up to the "Wanderlust Traveler" tag

One can head out early, catch sunrise at Devarayana durga and then go to Madhugiri, right ? Remember seeing signages for Madhugiri on the way to Devarayana durga.

Thanks NPV. The very first trip I did after shifting back to Bangalore was to Valparai after getting your route guidance.


Yes. Devarayanadurga can be combined with Madhugiri. Infact I too came to know about Madhugiri after seeing KA tourism signboards mentioning the same on NH 4.

However, as per many blogs this road is under repair and best avoided as of now.

Originally Posted by hothatchaway

Nice and crisp TL, your XUV is munching miles, time for an epic roadtrip I guess!

Dont they have a professional rock climbing outfit offering climbs here? It looks really steep to be done without some expert supervision

Thanks Hothatchaway. Yes, as I had mentioned in your travelogue the itch of a long trip is very much there. However many other commitments not allowing for the same.

No, there are no professional help available. Be it for rock climbing or regarding tourist guidance or security.
Yes certain areas of the climb are bit steep, also the steep steps I have mentioned is a one-way area since the steps are small and it is not possible for two people to pass by getting foot hold. Since it was not crowded when we visited it was not much an issue.