Night Trek To Makalidurga - A Road Less Travelled... |
Night Trek To Makalidurga - A Road Less Travelled... |
Bhavita |
Apr 18 2010, 07:54 PM
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#1
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Dedicated Member Group: Members Posts: 1697 Joined: 8-March 09 From: Bangalore - India Member No.: 103114 |
Makalidurga, a small granite hillock with an ancient dilapidated fort atop a hill. A dry barren land, a hill full of boulders, rocks and stones.. Definitely not a holiday resort... And yet a place that very many adventurers love visiting.
A colleague found this place a few years ago and since then has been going on trekking expeditions very often. Having heard so much of this place, 20 of us decided to one day see for ourselves what this place is all about. Most adventure camps chose this spot for rock climbing, rapelling during the day time We decided to do the rock climbing bit - in the night. So we set out, last week. Some 60 KMS from the main Bangalore city, via the international airport, we left at around 9.30 PM. After dinner enroute, we reached the base of the hill at around 11 PM. Pitch dark, except for a dim light at the entrance of the small temple at the base, and dead silent, except for the barking dogs - having awakened them from their slumber... Well... we started. In the dead of the dark night - all ready with torches, mosquito repellants, water bottles and a few sleeping bags. I had no idea of what was in store during the trek. I had expected a simple muddy path . How mistaken I was. A steep hill with only rocks, boulders and few burnt trees (due to small forest fires that occur here often). But then what fun would it be if everything went smooth as expected and no surprises?! Climbing up - got steeper as we went higher... gripping on to stones and rocks, taking help from the ones who had been there ealier. And yet, in the dark we lost our way once. Had to climb down till a point and then start the climb again. We reached atop at 1 PM. What a sight. The city lights in the distance, a starry sky above us. Slowly as the night went by it got chilly and cold..it was time to light the campfire for warmth. Some of us got our sleeping kits out and snuggled in...gazing at the starlit sky and the "Saptarishis", and the winds singing lullabys Here are some of the pics of this place This post has been edited by Bhavita: Apr 18 2010, 10:11 PM Joy, sorrow, tears, lamentation, laughter — to all these music gives voice, but in such a way that we are transported from the world of unrest to a world of peace, and see reality in a new way, as if we were sitting by a mountain lake and contemplating hills and woods and clouds in the tranquil and fathomless water. - Albert Schweitzer Without music life would be a mistake - Friedrich Nietzsche Where words fail, music speaks - Hans Christian Anderson Music is spiritual. The music business is not - Van Morrison |
Bhavita |
Apr 18 2010, 08:14 PM
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#2
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Dedicated Member Group: Members Posts: 1697 Joined: 8-March 09 From: Bangalore - India Member No.: 103114 |
The climb up...
The city lights in the distance Campfire... 5.30 AM - waiting for the sun rise the train in the distance This post has been edited by Bhavita: Apr 22 2010, 09:57 PM Joy, sorrow, tears, lamentation, laughter — to all these music gives voice, but in such a way that we are transported from the world of unrest to a world of peace, and see reality in a new way, as if we were sitting by a mountain lake and contemplating hills and woods and clouds in the tranquil and fathomless water. - Albert Schweitzer Without music life would be a mistake - Friedrich Nietzsche Where words fail, music speaks - Hans Christian Anderson Music is spiritual. The music business is not - Van Morrison |
Bhavita |
Apr 18 2010, 08:33 PM
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#3
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Dedicated Member Group: Members Posts: 1697 Joined: 8-March 09 From: Bangalore - India Member No.: 103114 |
The Fort We all decided to jump down 1350 metres instead of climbing down ;-) This post has been edited by Bhavita: Apr 22 2010, 10:00 PM Joy, sorrow, tears, lamentation, laughter — to all these music gives voice, but in such a way that we are transported from the world of unrest to a world of peace, and see reality in a new way, as if we were sitting by a mountain lake and contemplating hills and woods and clouds in the tranquil and fathomless water. - Albert Schweitzer Without music life would be a mistake - Friedrich Nietzsche Where words fail, music speaks - Hans Christian Anderson Music is spiritual. The music business is not - Van Morrison |
Bhavita |
Apr 22 2010, 10:04 PM
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#4
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Dedicated Member Group: Members Posts: 1697 Joined: 8-March 09 From: Bangalore - India Member No.: 103114 |
The descent back to civilization... I wonder if I would have climbed up the hill had it been daylight? This post has been edited by Bhavita: Apr 22 2010, 10:05 PM Joy, sorrow, tears, lamentation, laughter — to all these music gives voice, but in such a way that we are transported from the world of unrest to a world of peace, and see reality in a new way, as if we were sitting by a mountain lake and contemplating hills and woods and clouds in the tranquil and fathomless water. - Albert Schweitzer Without music life would be a mistake - Friedrich Nietzsche Where words fail, music speaks - Hans Christian Anderson Music is spiritual. The music business is not - Van Morrison |
simplefable |
Apr 23 2010, 05:44 PM
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#5
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Dedicated Member Group: Members Posts: 8613 Joined: 3-August 07 From: ANDHRA PRADESH Member No.: 20340 |
Bhavita..Nice pictures. The buoyant spirit of the group is very much evident.
The views from the top are just amazing, especially the morning raagas !! Hope you had a great time. After silence that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.
Aldous Huxley "Waqt ne kiya...Kya haseen sitm...Tum rahe na tum..Hum rahe na hum.." geetadutt noorjehan shamshadbegum Anmol Fankaar |
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