On Bullets - Devarayanadurga

chethan.ram · 3rd September 2010, 05:27

A long wait of 5 months finally came to an end. Since I was very particular in buying a typical Royal Enfield with the CI engine and the gear system on the right hand side, it took a few months for me to find the right one. The option I had was either a STD 350 or an Electra 4S. I tried all possible places in Bangalore and finally settled for an Electra 4S. It was little confusing initially as I did not have a prior experience of riding a Bullet, but it did not take long for me to get used to it.

I was all set to hit the highway. But to start with, I thought of doing a short trip and discussed the same with my fellow Bulleteers Srivathsa, Srihari and Najeesh. The discussion went on for few minutes and finally we decided the place as Devarayanadurga.

Devarayanadurga is a hill station near Tumkur in the state of Karnataka in India. The rocky hills are surrounded by forest and the hilltops are dotted with several temples including the Yoganarasimha and the Bhoganarasimha temples and an altitude of 3940 feet. It is also famous for Namada Chilume, a natural spring considered sacred and is also considered the origin of the Jayamangali river.

Date : July 3rd 2009.

We all worked in the night shift. Since we had this plan for the next morning, we were all excited and none of us were in the mood to work. At around 4:00 in the morning, we left the office premises and went straight to the chai shop near Domlur. Srivathsa on his Electra 4S, Najeesh on his Machismo 350A with Srihari riding pillion and I, on my Electra 4S. We had a small briefing and discussed about the route that we need to take to reach Tumkur road as we sipped the hot tea. We took few snaps and left the place, but we had to stop again to withdraw cash from the ATM.The plan was to go past Nelamangala as early as possible so that we could avoid the Tumkur road traffic. But we were not spared even though it was so early in the morning. Due to some construction work the roads had become very dusty and it took almost an hour for us to get past the dusty roads and heavy trucks and finally reached Tumkur road toll gate at 5:30am. As we crossed the toll gate and there was a sudden change in the the atmosphere. It was little misty and the cool breeze was blowing as our Bullets started to clock the speed of 75-80 kmph. There was a sense of of excitement and the feeling was entirely different. We felt as if we were entering a different world which is far away from pollution and traffic. Slowly the cool breeze and the mist faded away and gave way to a beautiful sunrise as we approached Tumkur. We stopped for breakfast in one of the hotels in the outskirts of Tumkur and discussed about the ride so far as we satisfied our taste buds with hot Idly and Vada.

Finally, after asking a few people for the route to our destination, we were set to leave. I was more excited as I was doing this for the first time. We enjoyed the ride as we went past few hairpin bends. Srihari who was riding pillion with Srivathsa kept on video taping our ride to the top of the hill. We were able to go only till a certain point and we had to park our bikes and the remaining distance had to be covered on foot. We relaxed for few minutes took few snaps in the meantime as we got ready to climb the hill. There is a temple half way through the hill and they have laid out proper steps till the temple. From there it was all thick bushes which take you to the top of the hill. However with a little difficulty we managed to get there. It was already 8:30am and it was totally covered by clouds. The wind was blowing so heavily that it became so difficult for us to walk and it kept pushing us. We finally sat at a point from where we could see the the surrounding villages. The view from top of the hill is nothing short of a breath taking experience. We took lot of pictures and finally climbed down, also visited the temple and also spent few minutes in a pond which was next to the temple.

We left the place with the blessings of the local deity. Our next stop was for a photo session on the way back to Tumkur. We stopped there to take couple of snaps as we found that place perfect for taking photographs and ended up spending close to an hour there. We clicked photos from all possible angles. Our next stop was to have have tender coconuts as all of us were really tired after climbing the hill. Once we were done with tender coconuts, within no time we reached the Tumkur - Bangalore highway. The traffic was less at that time and all we could hear was the roar of our mighty bulls as we started clocking 75-80 kmph. We reached Nelamangala and stopped there for a while and said goodbye to each other as we approached the never ending Bangalore traffic. I took a deviation towards NICE road and they all went straight towards Yeshwanthpur. Finally we all reached home safely. Though it was a short trip, It was full of fun and excitement and would consider this as the most memorable one as this was my first Bullet trip.

Googleman · 3rd September 2010, 11:10

Is this DD hills you are talking about?

And when can we see pictures?

ampere · 3rd September 2010, 11:20

Nice place it is! You should go in winter. Its all the more fun. From the top did you notice Shiva Ganga monolith? (I think thats the one)
Do you have snaps to post? I have quite a few!

sami316 · 3rd September 2010, 12:55

Hi Chethan,
Congrats on your 1st Travelogue. Waiting for some pics.

chethan.ram · 3rd September 2010, 15:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by sami316

Hi Chethan,
Congrats on your 1st Travelogue. Waiting for some pics.

Thanks Sami, I have posted the few pics.

UNITED FOREVER!!!

chethan.ram · 3rd September 2010, 16:00

@ Googleman : This is Devarayanadurga near Tumkur, am not sure if it is called DD hills.

@ampere : We missed the Shivaganga Monolith.

I have posted the few pics, and since am new i guess it needs moderator approval.

dwaraka · 3rd September 2010, 17:56

Chethan,

Devarayanadurga, seems you had nice ride. How are the roads all along till the tip?

ampere · 3rd September 2010, 18:42

If you are OK, I can upload some of my snaps as well.

chethan.ram · 3rd September 2010, 19:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwaraka

Chethan,

Devarayanadurga, seems you had nice ride. How are the roads all along till the tip?

The roads are pretty good, till Tumkur its a 4 lane highway, and then its not bad at all. Vehicles can go only till certain point and then you will have to go on foot.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ampere

If you are OK, I can upload some of my snaps as well.

Please do it. Especially if you have more pics of the place that would be better.

abhinav.s · 3rd September 2010, 21:43

Good one day ride you would have had there.. Or probably a half day ride

Nice to know that the roads after Tumkur are also good. Its evident in the stretches where you have taken the snaps.

chethan.ram · 3rd September 2010, 21:50

@Abhinav : When we went, we did not know much about the place and the sorrounding places. If you guys are planning, don't just plan for Devarayanadurga. There are also other places like, Shivagana, Namada Chilume, etc. that you can cover in one day. Do some research and plan accordingly.

ampere · 3rd September 2010, 22:08

First of thanks to Chethan to allow me to write this.

Some back ground on the adventure:

Was on a bachelor mode for a weekend, when me and my friend decided to make it a good one. The targets in mind:

- Devarayandurga
- Channarayana Durga
- Madhugiri
- Siddara Betta

Ultimately accept for Channarayana Durga we could complete the rest of the three. It had become very hot by the time we went past Channarayana Durga.

However will focus only on Devarayanadurga in this thread, which was the first destination of the four.

At about 4 in the morning we started from Indiranagar (in an i20). Passing through city we hit NH4. Even at 4:30 in the morning we realized it was a real discomfort going through the Tumkur road. We had done some R&D on the forum to find the correct diversions. The key point for the route was to take a diversion at Dobbaspet. I also found that it is the same diversion on the opposite side for Shivaganga.

It should be noted that since beyond Nelamangala the GQ-4L is functional, all the diversions need to be taken from an exit. If you miss the exit, you need to revert back and that is a real pain. However we were also helped by the Karntaka tourism sign-board (KTS) (One State Many Worlds sign-gauges). Just before Dobbaspet we saw a NH signboard for Devanahalli showing a reverse direction and also a KTS for Shivaganga and Devarayanaduraga. That clearly indicated we needed to get off NH4. Since it was early morning, we could have easily sped ahead. I also found that Dobbaspet is the place where NH207 starts.

We got off NH4 and were immediately thrust into a beautiful state highway, with chill in the air, mountainous terrains with a serpentine road. A small village passed by and suddenly we noticed tea being made.
We immediately stopped and had two glasses of tea each with mercury dipping to 19C. The tea tasted like "amruth" both in taste (sweet) and as a true god send for morning break-out!

We then passed through this beautiful water body.

On Bullets - Devarayanadurga-lake_foot1.jpg

On Bullets - Devarayanadurga-lake_foot4.jpg

We spent some time at the water body and then moved on to see a diversion towards Devarayanadurga. The arch was under construction and we had to go around it. Some random shots on the way up:

On Bullets - Devarayanadurga-on_the_way_up1.jpg

On Bullets - Devarayanadurga-road_to_top1.jpg

Once we reached the top, the morning calm was waiting to be explored.

We then reached the first temple premises.

On Bullets - Devarayanadurga-temple_premise1.jpg

On Bullets - Devarayanadurga-temple_premise2.jpg

On Bullets - Devarayanadurga-temple_premise3.jpg

We then drove up to the top and were at once greeted with a real silent and serene ambience and nature at its best.

On Bullets - Devarayanadurga-silent_valley1.jpg

My eyes fell on the opposite side of the temple and at once was aware of a faint aberration rising above the cloud line. I think that was Shivaganga, though I am not sure. see for yourselves and judge.

On Bullets - Devarayanadurga-spot_sg1.jpg

On Bullets - Devarayanadurga-spot_sg2.jpg

On Bullets - Devarayanadurga-spot_sg3_lt.jpg

The sun then lit up the skies.

On Bullets - Devarayanadurga-sunrise1.jpg

On Bullets - Devarayanadurga-sunrise2.jpg

We then walked around the place to the PWD (I think it was PWD) quarter at the top. The temple in long frame looked beautiful against the clear skies.

On Bullets - Devarayanadurga-temple_long1.jpg

On Bullets - Devarayanadurga-temple_long2.jpg

On Bullets - Devarayanadurga-temple_long3.jpg

On Bullets - Devarayanadurga-temple_long4.jpg

On the way to the top the azure sky made me still!

The trees were humming the morning tune.

Beyond the PWD, we climbed this rock and it was quite some fun.

We realzed that temple opens only by 9 or 10. There was no point staying there as it was only 7AM. Have sunk ourselves to the beauty of the place we started to the next place with Devarayanadurga etched in our hearts for ever!

Here I rest my pen.

chethan.ram · 3rd September 2010, 23:44

@ampere : Thank you so much for contributing so many pics. We didn't come across this water place. And more over we could have explored more places around had we planned it properly. We are planning on another trip shortly so that we can cover all teh surrounding places. Thanks again for sharing your trip experience.

vinayvtec · 4th September 2010, 02:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by chethan.ram

@ampere : Thank you so much for contributing so many pics. We didn't come across this water place. And more over we could have explored more places around had we planned it properly. We are planning on another trip shortly so that we can cover all teh surrounding places. Thanks again for sharing your trip experience.

Next trip I am in, please do update me also. So finally you made your way to Bhp family ha

ampere · 4th September 2010, 08:18

The last two snaps of the lake which shows up in the thumb nails are of a different water body, which we found beyond Koratagere.
There are quite a few places to be explored in this area. We did almost 300Km that day covering all the distances, only to return to
Bangalore only by 6:30 in the evening!

During these jaunts I also found that there exist many by-pass routes to Bangalore between NH4 and NH7.

By the way that Bullet shot of three of you in parallel with lights on is amazing!

3rd September 2010, 05:27	#1
chethan.ram BHPian Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 295 Thanked: 328 Times	On Bullets - Devarayanadurga A long wait of 5 months finally came to an end. Since I was very particular in buying a typical Royal Enfield with the CI engine and the gear system on the right hand side, it took a few months for me to find the right one. The option I had was either a STD 350 or an Electra 4S. I tried all possible places in Bangalore and finally settled for an Electra 4S. It was little confusing initially as I did not have a prior experience of riding a Bullet, but it did not take long for me to get used to it. I was all set to hit the highway. But to start with, I thought of doing a short trip and discussed the same with my fellow Bulleteers Srivathsa, Srihari and Najeesh. The discussion went on for few minutes and finally we decided the place as Devarayanadurga. Devarayanadurga is a hill station near Tumkur in the state of Karnataka in India. The rocky hills are surrounded by forest and the hilltops are dotted with several temples including the Yoganarasimha and the Bhoganarasimha temples and an altitude of 3940 feet. It is also famous for Namada Chilume, a natural spring considered sacred and is also considered the origin of the Jayamangali river. Date : July 3rd 2009. We all worked in the night shift. Since we had this plan for the next morning, we were all excited and none of us were in the mood to work. At around 4:00 in the morning, we left the office premises and went straight to the chai shop near Domlur. Srivathsa on his Electra 4S, Najeesh on his Machismo 350A with Srihari riding pillion and I, on my Electra 4S. We had a small briefing and discussed about the route that we need to take to reach Tumkur road as we sipped the hot tea. We took few snaps and left the place, but we had to stop again to withdraw cash from the ATM.The plan was to go past Nelamangala as early as possible so that we could avoid the Tumkur road traffic. But we were not spared even though it was so early in the morning. Due to some construction work the roads had become very dusty and it took almost an hour for us to get past the dusty roads and heavy trucks and finally reached Tumkur road toll gate at 5:30am. As we crossed the toll gate and there was a sudden change in the the atmosphere. It was little misty and the cool breeze was blowing as our Bullets started to clock the speed of 75-80 kmph. There was a sense of of excitement and the feeling was entirely different. We felt as if we were entering a different world which is far away from pollution and traffic. Slowly the cool breeze and the mist faded away and gave way to a beautiful sunrise as we approached Tumkur. We stopped for breakfast in one of the hotels in the outskirts of Tumkur and discussed about the ride so far as we satisfied our taste buds with hot Idly and Vada. Finally, after asking a few people for the route to our destination, we were set to leave. I was more excited as I was doing this for the first time. We enjoyed the ride as we went past few hairpin bends. Srihari who was riding pillion with Srivathsa kept on video taping our ride to the top of the hill. We were able to go only till a certain point and we had to park our bikes and the remaining distance had to be covered on foot. We relaxed for few minutes took few snaps in the meantime as we got ready to climb the hill. There is a temple half way through the hill and they have laid out proper steps till the temple. From there it was all thick bushes which take you to the top of the hill. However with a little difficulty we managed to get there. It was already 8:30am and it was totally covered by clouds. The wind was blowing so heavily that it became so difficult for us to walk and it kept pushing us. We finally sat at a point from where we could see the the surrounding villages. The view from top of the hill is nothing short of a breath taking experience. We took lot of pictures and finally climbed down, also visited the temple and also spent few minutes in a pond which was next to the temple. We left the place with the blessings of the local deity. Our next stop was for a photo session on the way back to Tumkur. We stopped there to take couple of snaps as we found that place perfect for taking photographs and ended up spending close to an hour there. We clicked photos from all possible angles. Our next stop was to have have tender coconuts as all of us were really tired after climbing the hill. Once we were done with tender coconuts, within no time we reached the Tumkur - Bangalore highway. The traffic was less at that time and all we could hear was the roar of our mighty bulls as we started clocking 75-80 kmph. We reached Nelamangala and stopped there for a while and said goodbye to each other as we approached the never ending Bangalore traffic. I took a deviation towards NICE road and they all went straight towards Yeshwanthpur. Finally we all reached home safely. Though it was a short trip, It was full of fun and excitement and would consider this as the most memorable one as this was my first Bullet trip.
	() Thanks

3rd September 2010, 11:10	#2
Googleman BHPian Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 255 Thanked: 77 Times	Is this DD hills you are talking about? And when can we see pictures?
	() Thanks

3rd September 2010, 11:20	#3
ampere Team-BHP Support Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 17,949 Thanked: 12,935 Times View My Garage	Nice place it is! You should go in winter. Its all the more fun. From the top did you notice Shiva Ganga monolith? (I think thats the one) Do you have snaps to post? I have quite a few!
	() Thanks

3rd September 2010, 12:55	#4
sami316 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 484 Thanked: 45 Times View My Garage	Hi Chethan, Congrats on your 1st Travelogue. Waiting for some pics.
	() Thanks

3rd September 2010, 16:00	#6
chethan.ram BHPian Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 295 Thanked: 328 Times	@ Googleman : This is Devarayanadurga near Tumkur, am not sure if it is called DD hills. @ampere : We missed the Shivaganga Monolith. I have posted the few pics, and since am new i guess it needs moderator approval.
	() Thanks

3rd September 2010, 17:56	#7
dwaraka Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,240 Thanked: 229 Times	Chethan, Devarayanadurga, seems you had nice ride. How are the roads all along till the tip?
	() Thanks

3rd September 2010, 18:42	#8
ampere Team-BHP Support Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 17,949 Thanked: 12,935 Times View My Garage	If you are OK, I can upload some of my snaps as well.
	() Thanks

3rd September 2010, 21:43	#10
abhinav.s Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,774 Thanked: 1,272 Times	Good one day ride you would have had there.. Or probably a half day ride Nice to know that the roads after Tumkur are also good. Its evident in the stretches where you have taken the snaps.
	() Thanks

3rd September 2010, 21:50	#11
chethan.ram BHPian Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 295 Thanked: 328 Times	@Abhinav : When we went, we did not know much about the place and the sorrounding places. If you guys are planning, don't just plan for Devarayanadurga. There are also other places like, Shivagana, Namada Chilume, etc. that you can cover in one day. Do some research and plan accordingly.
	() Thanks

3rd September 2010, 22:08	#12
ampere Team-BHP Support Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 17,949 Thanked: 12,935 Times View My Garage	First of thanks to Chethan to allow me to write this. Some back ground on the adventure: Was on a bachelor mode for a weekend, when me and my friend decided to make it a good one. The targets in mind: - Devarayandurga - Channarayana Durga - Madhugiri - Siddara Betta Ultimately accept for Channarayana Durga we could complete the rest of the three. It had become very hot by the time we went past Channarayana Durga. However will focus only on Devarayanadurga in this thread, which was the first destination of the four. At about 4 in the morning we started from Indiranagar (in an i20). Passing through city we hit NH4. Even at 4:30 in the morning we realized it was a real discomfort going through the Tumkur road. We had done some R&D on the forum to find the correct diversions. The key point for the route was to take a diversion at Dobbaspet. I also found that it is the same diversion on the opposite side for Shivaganga. It should be noted that since beyond Nelamangala the GQ-4L is functional, all the diversions need to be taken from an exit. If you miss the exit, you need to revert back and that is a real pain. However we were also helped by the Karntaka tourism sign-board (KTS) (One State Many Worlds sign-gauges). Just before Dobbaspet we saw a NH signboard for Devanahalli showing a reverse direction and also a KTS for Shivaganga and Devarayanaduraga. That clearly indicated we needed to get off NH4. Since it was early morning, we could have easily sped ahead. I also found that Dobbaspet is the place where NH207 starts. We got off NH4 and were immediately thrust into a beautiful state highway, with chill in the air, mountainous terrains with a serpentine road. A small village passed by and suddenly we noticed tea being made. We immediately stopped and had two glasses of tea each with mercury dipping to 19C. The tea tasted like "amruth" both in taste (sweet) and as a true god send for morning break-out! We then passed through this beautiful water body. We spent some time at the water body and then moved on to see a diversion towards Devarayanadurga. The arch was under construction and we had to go around it. Some random shots on the way up: Once we reached the top, the morning calm was waiting to be explored. We then reached the first temple premises. We then drove up to the top and were at once greeted with a real silent and serene ambience and nature at its best. My eyes fell on the opposite side of the temple and at once was aware of a faint aberration rising above the cloud line. I think that was Shivaganga, though I am not sure. see for yourselves and judge. The sun then lit up the skies. We then walked around the place to the PWD (I think it was PWD) quarter at the top. The temple in long frame looked beautiful against the clear skies. On the way to the top the azure sky made me still! The trees were humming the morning tune. Beyond the PWD, we climbed this rock and it was quite some fun. We realzed that temple opens only by 9 or 10. There was no point staying there as it was only 7AM. Have sunk ourselves to the beauty of the place we started to the next place with Devarayanadurga etched in our hearts for ever! Here I rest my pen. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by ampere : 3rd September 2010 at 22:10.
	(1) Thanks

3rd September 2010, 23:44	#13
chethan.ram BHPian Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 295 Thanked: 328 Times	@ampere : Thank you so much for contributing so many pics. We didn't come across this water place. And more over we could have explored more places around had we planned it properly. We are planning on another trip shortly so that we can cover all teh surrounding places. Thanks again for sharing your trip experience.
	() Thanks

4th September 2010, 08:18	#15
ampere Team-BHP Support Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 17,949 Thanked: 12,935 Times View My Garage	The last two snaps of the lake which shows up in the thumb nails are of a different water body, which we found beyond Koratagere. There are quite a few places to be explored in this area. We did almost 300Km that day covering all the distances, only to return to Bangalore only by 6:30 in the evening! During these jaunts I also found that there exist many by-pass routes to Bangalore between NH4 and NH7. By the way that Bullet shot of three of you in parallel with lights on is amazing! Last edited by ampere : 4th September 2010 at 08:21.
	() Thanks