Saturday, December 10, 2016

Travel Chitradurga

Distance - 202 Kms from Bangalore 
Travel period - 1 day.
Time to reach - 3 Hrs
Type - Historical Fort
Best time to visit - Throughout the year
Famous for: 
Historical Fort


From Bangalore head towards Bangalore-Pune highway which is a very beautiful highway to drive. We can reach the destination by 3 hours.

Highway

We can find lot of windmills when we reach near Chitradurga.

Wind Mill
Before reaching the fort we can head towards a mini Zoo located few Kms near the town called as Adumalleshwara mini zoo. The place is cool and neatly maintained. We can come across many animals as well.

View inside the zoo

Next lets head towards the fort which is called as Chitradurga Fort. Chitradurga is one of the historical places in Karnataka.   Chitragurga Fort Also known as "Kallina kote" which is a very large and well maintained fort. 

View as soon as we enter the fort
We come across few temples inside the fort as well. We need a lot of energy to go to the top of the fort and to return. There are few canteens which provide us few snacks and ice creams, there are few restrooms as well. As we move ahead we can see the pond.

Pond
If we move ahead then we can see the way towards a famous hole (Obavvana kindi) from where the soldiers of Hyder Ali entered the fort (Where obavva used onake to stop them)

Way leading to the hole
On a whole it will be a good experience and we will come to know about the historical facts.

View of the fort from inside


Few Random images


 






Next lets head towards Chandravalli Caves is located around 3 kms from the fort which is also know as Ankali Math where the saints were meditating in this place. We can also come across a beautiful lake near the cave which adds a beauty to it.


Cave



Lake

Lets end our day with this. :)


Sunday, December 4, 2016

Travel Muzhappilangad (Drive in beach)

Travel Muzhappilangad (Drive in beach)


Distance - 320 Kms from Bangalore 
Travel period - Preferably 2 days.
Time to reach - 7 Hrs
Type - Beach
Best time to visit - October to February 
Famous for: Drive-in beach


Muzhappilangad Beach is the Asia's No.1 Longest drive-in beach which is located between Kannur and Thalassery. This is the only drive in which is located in Kerala and stretches upto 4 kms long and also one of the top 6 drive-in beaches in the world. The beach festival takes place in the month of April. The black rock formation takes the strength of the waves (Current).
Early Morning view of the Beach


Muzhappilangad Beach is very close to Mahe (Union Territory). The beach is well maintained and good for swimming. The beach is located very close and parallel to national highway (Approx 1 KM). There are few water sports available. Dharmadam Island is located close to the beach which can be reach by walk when the tides are low, do not forget to take the permission.




Beach View


Road next to beach where few home stays are located






There are few homestays and hotels are located right next to the beach however if you like to have some nice breakfast, lunch or dinner its better to go to the highway.

Beach View from homestay

The Sunset looks marvelous and its very beautiful place for photography. If you are a photography lover then you can have a nice time with birds during early mornings.

Sunset view from home stay


How to reach:
Nearest railway station: Kannur  (Around 16 km); Thalassery (Around 12 km)
Nearest airport: Calicut (Around 102 km), Kannur (Under construction - Around 25 Kms)

Beach View

Near By Places:
Thalassery Fort
Kannur Fort
Dharmadam Island
Mahe
Pazhassi Dam


Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Travel Nandi Hills

Distance - 60 Kms from Bangalore.
Travel period - 1 Day
Time to reach - 2 hours
Type - Hill
Best time to visit - Throughout the year
Travel type - Car/Bus/Bike/Taxi. Car is preferred

View from top of the hill

* The entry and exit time is 6AM - 6PM.
* Nandi hills is suitable for a day outing from Bangalore city
* Its situated in Chikkaballapur district and about 10 Kms from Chikkaballapur town.
* Its located at the height of 1455 metres above the sea level.
 
* The hill is called as Nandi hills because it resembles the shape of sleeping Nandi(Bull)
* There is one more reason for the hill being called as Nandi hills because there is an ancient Nandi temple situated on the hill


Way to Tipu Drop


* The place is also called as Nandidurga Fort because of the fort built by Tipu Sultan.
* The place is very beautiful to visit throughout the year.
* One of the main attraction is Tippu drop - This is the place from where Tippu used to made the prisioners fall.


View from Tipu Drop

* We can see the old temples Sri Bhoga Narasimha, Sri Ugra Narasimha, Gavi Veerbhadra Swamy and Sri Yoga Narasimha.
* There is a childrens play area surrounded a beautiful and calm park
* Apart from that there is a guest house used where Jawaharlal Nehru used to stay which is called as Nehru Nilaya. 

Guest House

* We can come across several view points on top of the hill and also on the way.

On Top of the Hill


View Point



Tree House
 

How to travel
    * This place is one the best places for bike rides. Most of the bikers visit this place and enjoy the beauty of the hill.
    * Even bus facilities are available to reach this place. The buses leave from Majestic, Chikkaballapur etc.
    * We can even travel in our cars as well.
    * As per my advice going in a car is much better, if we travel in our bus/bikes we have to park it near the entrance and walk for few mins to reach the place.
    * We can even book a taxi and visit the place
    * The road is a two way road, We have to go and return on the same road.
    * We have to travel towards Hebbal from the city center-> Towards Airport road -> Cross Airport flyover and travel for about 7 Kms-> We can see a sign board stating Nandi Hills -> Take a left turn and travel for some distance and we reach near a junction -> Take a right turn which leads to the hill.
    * Its better to leave the place before it gets dark.


Things to eat
    * We see few stalls/shops which sell eatables on top the hill which fills our tummy, however its better if we get some food along with us.
    * We have to be careful with eatables as monkeys will be roaming around and they can come behind us for food.
    * Also do not leave the windows of the cars open as monkeys can enter the car.




Can we stay on the hill?
    * Yes, we also have facilities to stay on top of the hill.



Friday, January 29, 2016

Travel Horsely hills

Distance - 145 Kms from Bangalore.
Travel period - 1 Day
Time to reach - 3-4 hours
Type - Hill
Best time to visit - Throughout the year

View from top of the Horsely Hill

View from top of the Horsely Hill


* Horsely hills is suitable for a day outing.
* The hill got the name due to the British collector WD Horsely who built his home here.
* It is situated in Madanapalli Taluk of Andra pradesh.
* From Bangalore travel towards Hosakote->Kaivara->Chintamani->Madanapalli.
* Cross Madanapalli, travel in Anantapur-Tirupathi Highway, reach Angallu.
* From Angallu take a deviation travel towards Kotavooru and take a left towards Horsely hills.
* We have to cross some hairpin bends before we reach the hill.
* We can see some view points on the way


On the way to the Horsely Hill


* Once we reach the hill we can get snacks to eat and soft drinks as well.
* The restaurants are very less on top of the hill.
* We can find a resort (Haritha resort) on top of the resort.
* If we are planning to stay on top of the hill then we can book the resort in advance.



* There is also a Zoo on top of the hill.
* Apart from that the view from the hill is so beautiful and so calm.
* We can enjoy the nature till evening and vacate the place.


* Its preferable to leave the place before it gets dark.

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Travel Srirangapatna

Distance - 125 Kms from Bangalore.
Travel period - 1 Day
Time to reach - 2 hours
Type - Historical City
Best time to visit - July-February

*Lets leave Bangalore and travel in the Mysore-Bangalore highway towards Mysore.
*Lets cross Bidadi, Ramnagar, Channapatna, Maddur, Mandya and reach Srirangapatna.
*Let us take a right turn near Srirangapatna bus stand towards Ranganathaswamy temple which is our 1st destination.
        -> This temple is built to worship Lord Vishnu.
        -> Tipu Sultan has made Srirangapatna as his capital .
        -> Tipu Sultan and his father has donated lot of wealth to Ranganathaswamy temple.
        -> We can see the temple built with Vijayanagara and Hoysala style.
        -> The temple is surrounded by a fort like walls.
        -> The main attraction is the beautifully curved gopura.  
Ranganathaswamy Temple
PC

*After visiting the temple lets come out and see the Dungeon which is our 2nd destination.      
-> The dungeon is well known as Col.Bailey Dungeon because he died in this Dungeon 
-> We can see the cannon in the Dungeon even today which rolled back and fell into the Dungeon during the seize of Srirangapatna.


Col> Bailey Dungeon
PC


*While returning back towards the main road we can see the death place of Tipu Sultan which is our 3rd destination.
        -> Tipu Sultan's body was found near the mosque. We can see this place on the way
-> Tipu Sultan died while fighting with Britishers during the siege of Srirangapatna.
Death place of Tipu Sultan
PC

*Next lets travel towards Jama Masjid on the way which is our 4th destination.
        -> This was constructed by Tipu Sultan.
-> This place was considered one of the favorite place of Tipu Sultan.
        -> This consists of a couple of towers and a dome at the center with some open space infront. 
Jama Masjid
PC

*Next let us cross the highway and travel towards our 5th destination Daria Daulat Bagh. When we are travelling from Bangalore to Mysore we have to take a left turn from the highway near the bus stand where we can see a huge sign board "Sangama, Ninishamba temple, Summer palace, Gumbaz etc.)        
-> Daria Daulat Bagh is also called as Summer Palace of Tipu Sultan.
        -> This palace is built inside the beautiful garden from where Tipu Sultan ruled for sometime.
        -> The Palace is constructed using wood and mostly teak wood.
        -> It is built in a rectangular design in a raised platform.
-> We can see the beautiful art work/designs through out the palace.(Canopies, walls, roofs, pillars etc.)
        -> Today we can see lot of paintings and many other things in the palace. 
Daria Daulat Bagh / Summer Palace
PC

*Now we shall move to our 6th destination Nimishamba temple which is situated at the banks of river Kaveri.
Nimishamba Temple
PC

*Once that is done lets move to our 7th destination called as Sangama where 3 holy rivers Kabini, Kaveri and Hemavathi meet. We can have a holy dip in the water and many movies have been shot here.
Sangama
PC

*Now let us head back towards the highway and visit our 8th destination called Gumbaz.      
-> This place was built by Tipu Sultan for holding the graves of his parents Hyder Ali and Fakr-Un-Nisa.
-> This place is surrounded by beautiful gardens with different species of plants and trees.
-> When Tipu died he was taken to Gumbaz and made himself buried next to his parents by Britishers.      
-> This place is surrounded by beautiful gardens with different species of plants and trees.

*Now lets head towards Gosai Ghat which is our 9th destination.
      -> Gosai Ghat is situated on the banks of river Kaveri.
      -> Kashi Vishweshwara Swamy temple is next to it.
      -> The place is very calm and its beautiful.
Gosai Ghat


*Next lets head to our 10th destination which is called as Ranganathittu which is a bird sanctuary.
      -> Now we have to get back to the highway and travel towards Mysore.
      -> When we travel for about a kilometer we will get a bridge and after the bridge we get a junction
      -> We have to take a right in the junction which is called as bypass Yelwala road.
      -> Travel for around 3 Kms and we get a sign board. 
      -> We have to take right from there and reach the destination.
      -> This place is the largest bird sanctuary in Karnataka.
      -> This is also known as Pakshi Kashi of Karnataka.
Ranganathittu bird sanctuary
PC

*Let us move to our 11th destination which is called as Balmuri falls which is around 10 Kms away from here.
-> This is a very beautiful picnic spot for youngsters to get into the water and enjoy.
-> We can also enjoy the boat ride as well.
-> If we find this place too crowded then we can move to a place called as Yedmuri / Edmuri.
-> Yedmuri is similar to Balmuri but with less crowd.
-> Yedmuri is at a walk-able distance from Balmuri. 


Balmuri Falls
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Yedmuri Falls
PC
*Once this is done then lets end our trip and return to our homes.


Saturday, January 16, 2016

Travel Kodaikanal

Distance - 475 Kms from Bangalore
Travel period - Preferably 3-4 days.
Time to reach - 9-10 Hrs
Type - Hill station
Best time to visit - October to February
Famous for: Mushroom

 Let's begin our journey

Preferable time to leave Bangalore via car is around 4 AM.

Day 1:
*Start our journey towards Hosur road and travel via Salem --> Dindigul (National highway which is very good for drive) --> Take a diversion towards Kodaikanal (Single road with a good quality). The journey will be through the ghat section with lot of curves and hairpin bends.
*On the way we can stop near the beautiful view point to watch the view given below.
View Point


*As soon as we reach Kodaikanal lets search for a good stay and relax for some time.
*Let's move out and visit
Bear Shola falls which is our first destination.



Bear Shola Falls
*Bear Shola falls is closer to the city and we have to trek for around 15 mins to reach to the falls. We can directly stand beneath the falls and enjoy the water falling over us and the water will be so cold and freezing.
*Lets get back to the city, have dinner (Do not miss to try teetar which is very tasty)  and lets get back to our hotels and start relaxing.


Day 2:

*Next lets move to the mind blowing 2nd destination Dolphin nose. We need to trek for sometime to reach dolphin nose to view the Kodaikanal valley which is elevated at 6600 feet. The trek duration will be around 3-4 hours.



Dolphin Nose
*After the trek lets have our lunch and visit Pine forest which is our 3rd destination.

*Then lets travel towards Moer Point which gives us a wonderful view which is our 4th destination.

*Now lets take the road next to Moer Point which leads to a beautiful lake called as Berijam lake which is the 5th destination. We have to take permission from the forest department to enter the gate which is right next to Moer point. We can pay the entry charges @ the gate as well.


Berijam Lake


*Next lets move to one more Pine tree forest which is the 6th destination.


Pine Forest

*Our 7th destination will be the Guna Cave. We have to walk for around 10-15 mins and we can see a very beautiful place. 


Guna Cave


*Our 8th destination will be Pillar rock where we can see a very beautiful view of the Pillar rocks, which is a very popular place.


Pillar Rock

*Lets move to our 9th destination which is called as a Suicide Point. To reach this place we have to walk inside the shopping market for around 5-10 mins and reach the destination. The destination is covered by the grill/mesh for safety purpose.

*We can visit the Golf Ground which is right infront of the Suicide Point which is our 10th destination.

*Lets end our day with this and get back to our hotels and relax with a nice dinner.


Day 3

*Lets start our day with a nice breakfast and visit a calm and nice Fairy Falls which is our 11th destination. We have to walk for about 5-10 mins to reach the falls. 


Fairy Falls


*Let us go to the view point of the lake where we can see the lake from the top and enjoy the nature which is our 12th destination.
View Point Of Kodaikanal Lake


*Let us go to the Lake, the famous activity which takes places at the lake is Cycling apart from that we can enjoy a boat ride. Do try Cycling.


Kodaikanal Lake
Cycling @ Kodaikanal Lake

*In case if we want to leave then we can leave on the same day, else we can relax and enjoy the nature for a day. Enjoy activities like camp fire, dancing, music etc.


Day 4


*Let us have a nice breakfast and get ready to leave.

*When we are travelling towards the Dindigul route we can visit our 13th destination that is Silver Cascade Falls which is right next to the highway.
Silver Cascade falls

*After spending sometime in the falls then we can head back to our homes.