WEEKEND GET WAY TO HORSLEY HILLS !!

It was normal weekend like other weekend. No fixed plan till Thursday. There are lots of weekend get way from Bangalore but of of them were already visited and we want bike trip so distance must be under 150 km  so that it can complete in one day and we should get one day for rest. After so many switch between places finally we decided to go Horsley Hills 160Km away from Bangalore It falls in Andhra Pradesh state close to Karnataka border. We were 8 friends who were ready for this trip. We decided to leave by 3 AM so that we can visit sunrise on the top of the hills.
It was 2 AM, I wake up on phone ring. It was call from friend wondering whether I will be ready by 3 AM. I hardly slept 1 hr.Than I started calling every one to wake up. Fortunately we were on time. We started our journey by 3 AM. We were 4 friends in 2 bikes and 4 friends in car. We took Hoskote - Chintamani-Madaneppale rout. After Hoskote road is one way but awesome. It was pitch dark roads with tingling red lights on the roads. Little bit cold and we were riding in approx 100Km/hr. After around 70 km we stopped for tea. We were all happy and enjoying the hot sip of tea besides the road.

After 15 min we again started our journey. After Chintamani road is not that good. You will find pot holes and broken roads. You will find around 30 Km like this.After that road is ok ok. We reached Madaneppale around 6 AM. It was cloudy weather, no sign of sunrise We were late to Horsley hills because of bad roads and night. We stopped here as it was last town to the hills and we all were hungry. You will find lots of fast food store mostly local food like idli vada dosa. If you are searching for good and hygiene restaurant then  it will be difficult as it is small town. You will find very cheap and good breakfast here. After crossing this town there is not much store. So if you are hungry then take breakfast here only. After breakfast we headed towards Horsley hills. It is only 30Km from Madaneppale. We again stopped besides the road near the Horsley hills board. From here we started our photography. The view was good.You will find hill ranges besides the road.

We reached the entrance of Horsley hills, Entry fee for bike is 10 INR and for car is 20 INR.
We entered the Horsley hills. The view was awesome. Classic road green hills besides it. The prefect picturesque place. We stopped here for photography. You can see some picture.

Finally we reached hill top. Hill road is only 10Km. There is not much turns. On the top there is APRTC run hotel and restaurant is there. But it is bit costly. We had coffee there. it charge us 30 INR each.
There is not much to see  on top but great for take a cup to tea and sit in between cool breezy mountain. Lush greenery and cool breeze will sooth all your tiredness. See some photo you will love it.

TRIP TO PUNE & AURANGABAD ..

It was a long weekend and we all friends were excited for get together and visit some place. After discussion we planned for 1 day river rafting in Kolad, situated 120 Km away from Pune and 2 days Aurangabad. We all friends from different places reached Pune just one night before our journey starts for Kolad. In next 3 days what happened I will explain you in detail.

Day - 1:

We were group of 10 friends. Most of were denying to go river rafting because of the news "a girl was washed away in Kolad river rafting 2 days back." For river rafting you need to reach the starting point before 8:30 AM. It was night 4 AM and still we are in confusion whether to go or not.  After lots of  fluctuating decision between Yes or No we finally decided to face the fear.
We informed every one to get ready for river rafting. Around 6 AM we started our journey to Kolad. On the way to Kolad you will witness the stunning views of green hills, falls and dam besides the road. We felt like as if we are in lap of nature. Cool breeze, Cloudy weather, beautiful waterfalls took all our fear. You also can imagine by seeing the picture how beautiful it was.

We reached starting point of river rafting around 8:30 AM. You have to book for river rafting from Internet before coming here. There is no off line booking facility. Parking charge is 100 INR per vehicle.Our Van dropped us and went to finish point where we will reach after river rafting. Remember at finish point you will not find any auto or taxi. You have to arrange according to that. We put all our belongings in Van and went to starting point.Before heading for rafting they gave one form each to fill the name and details. After filling forms they gave us life jacket, helmet and raft. You can see picture.

After this they gave 15 min training on rafting. How to do rafting and how to protect your team and yourself if situation comes. In one boat only 8 persons and one rescue person are allowed. So 2 of our friend had to come in other boat.We took position on boat as per weight. Now its time to start rafting. You don't believe it was such a wonderful experience. We enjoyed a lot by rafting the boat and moving ahead beating rapids.

It was 14 Km long rafting and took 2.5 hrs to finish it. Just before the end point there was a swimming section. There we all jumped into the water. Our rescue person told water dept is around 55ft. Most of us didn't know swimming but thanks to life jacket.

We reached finish point and had some snacks there. After Snacks we returned back to Pune.
We had lunch in Pune and took rest. Around 6 PM we started our journey from Pune. Music was on its loud and every body was very happy as we are meeting all together after log time. We also danced with the beats of music. In between we stopped near highway side restaurant for dinner. After that we continue our journey to Aurangabad. Around 2 AM we reached our hotel which we pre-booked before coming.
Aurangabad is a city in Maharastra State of India. It is named after King Auranzeb and known for famous world heritage site Ajanta and Ellora caves. These caves were constructed during 2nd century BCE.  In this period of time monastery were carved out of caves.  After reaching Ajanta Ellora cave you will witness the culture and living style of people at that time.

Day 2:

It was Sunday. As Ajanta caves is closed on Monday so we decided to go Ajanta caves first. (Remember Ajanta caves is closed on Monday and Ellora Caves is closed on Tuesday.)  It is around 100Km from Aurangabad and takes 2 hr to reach there. We stopped 4 Km away from Ajanta as our van was not allowed to go beyond that point. The place was surrounded by green hills and looks so stunning that it is difficult to express the beauty of nature here.We need to take dedicated tourist bus to Ajanta caves from there. There is entry fee of 10 INR per head to reach bus starting point. Than bus charged us 24 INR per head and entry fee for Ajanta caves is 20 INR per head. Good news for photographer there is no charge for still camera. They are only charging for video camera. The location was surrounded by hills and river flowing in between and lots of caves were carved in that hills. Some are small and some are big like a hall. You can see a picture of caves.

You will find a lots of paintings on wall which depicts their culture and beliefs at that time. They must be a great follower of Buddha. You will find lots of Carved Buddha on the cave walls.

You will also find Shanti Stupa in cave and also big pilers standing in front of the cave. By seeing all this things one thing will must come in mind how they were able to construct all this majestic things that too by cutting hills and without any machine. You can see picture of majestic pilers and Shanti Stupa

You can see the rooms also where ancient people used to live. Its like modern rooms like we have now. By this you can imagine how civilized they were.

Here not only caves and carves in which you will be lost. There is stunning view of green hills and small river flowing in between which will keep your travel enthusiasm on.

There is a view point on the top of one hill. From there you will find a stunning view of oval shaped caves and beautiful waterfall.

It took around 3 hr to complete Ajnata caves. Then we return back by tourist bus to starting point where our Van were parked. We returned back to Aurangabad. After reaching Aurangabad we took lunch and as it was almost evening we didn't go anywhere. We came back to hotel room and took rest. You will get lots of restaurants in Aurangabad from standard to quality restaurant. Mostly the food is cheap. You can fill your stomach in 100 - 150 INR.
We stayed in hotel Sparkling pearl which is near CIDCO bus station. It charged us around 1300 INR with one extra bed per night.

Day - 3:

We planned to visit first Ellora Fort and then Bibi ka Maqbara. So as per the plan after having breakfast we headed towards Ellora cave. It is 30 Km from Aurangabad and took 1 hr. Entry fee is 30 INR per head for foreigner it is around 500 INR per head. No charge for still camera. Ellora cave is the mixture of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. You will find fantastic architecture of rock cutting here. Entire hill is carved into temple.  You can see picture how beautifully they made it.

Your exploration will start from Cave no 16. There are around 29 small and big caves.  You will find ancient school, temples, rooms here. By this you can imagine how civilized they were. Here also you will find paintings and carves on wall.

Here construction is more and developed than Ajanta. You will find long pillar corridor and more developed constructions.

It will take around 3 hr to cover all the caves. If you are historic enthusiastic then you will never bore here. There are lots of things to explore, their culture, their living style, their beliefs and lots more things. Around 2 PM we left Ellora and headed towards Bibi ka Maqbara. On the way to Ellora there is also Daulatabad Fort. It is almost ruined. If you don't have time than you can skip it. We also skipped as we need to leave for Pune. We reached Bibi Ka Maqbara. It is like a Taj Mahal in Agra. As it was already 4:30 PM and we had to reach Pune by 9 PM and there was long queue in ticket counter,we returned back . Unfortunately I was only able to click the photo of gate.

 We returned back to Pune and had party all night. Here Our trip ended and we all returned back to respective place.

TRIP TO DWARKA .. ONE OF THE FOUR DHAM!!

Dwarka is a place where lord Krishna lived.Original Dwarka believed to be sunken in the sea. Bet Dwarka which is believed to be part of original is in small island 30km away from main dwarkadhish temple.  It is one of the most prominent religious site and considered as a one of the four dham in India. Dwarka is situated in western tip of India in Jamnagar district Gujrat. It is well connected by train and road from main cities like Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Jamnagar, Rajkot. We had planned for 4 day trip 1 day for Dwarka, 2 days for Ahmedabad and 1 day for Udaipur. In this blog I will explain  in detail what we did in Dwarka in our first day trip.
As there are lots of things to share about Dwarka so I will divide the day into two parts i.e First half of the day and second half of the day.

We booked bus well before from Ahmedabad. Buses were mostly deluxe coach. You will not found any multi axle bus. Fare was very cheap. For two seats, the fare was around 800 INR.  It was around 10 hr travel to Dwarka. Around 8 AM we reached Dwarka near Bhadrakali Chowk

First Half of the day:

 When I get down from bus and take a look the surrounding.It was look like abandoned city. All the constructions was old. Roads are covered with dust. There was so much dust that you cant see the wall paints. As the trip was only for one day we didn't book hotel. So we needed a room for freshen up. We hired a Tanga( Horse cart). He took us to a guest house near to the Main temple. He charged 20 INR for that. After that we book one room and it charge us 400 INR.  We entered the room and got freshen up.

We first decided to go Bet dwarka then we will do local sight seeing. As we missed the first bus, we changed our plan and did local sight seeing first. There was only two govt, dwarka darshan buses which are running  from Dwarka to Bet dwarka one is at 8 AM and another is at 2 PM which costs 80 INR. There is not much transportation facility to Bet Dwarka. We took the same Tanga wala (Horse cart) which we took earlier while searching for the guest house. He charged us 200 INR and did all local sight seeing. All sights are in 2 km radius. So it didn't took much time. Around 10 AM we started local sight seeing.
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First we visit Gita Mandir which is around 1.5 km away from Main temple near to the Arabian sea. It is a small temple of Krishna and Arjun Symbolizing the lessons which Arjun learn in Mahabharat.

After visiting Gita Mandir I tried learning how to ride tanga. It was so wonderful of riding tanga. You can see the pic.

Then we visit Bhadkeswar Mahadev Temple which is next to the Gita mandir and on the Arabian see. Concrete path is there to go to that temple. During high tide the sea water come above the concrete path hence the temple disconnected  from main land. The view there was awesome. Small temple surrounded by mass of blue water. You will feel like you are at western tip of India.

Besides the temple there is sunset point. You can sit and relax there. As we visited this place in morning we did spend much time there. After that we visit Gayatri Shaktipith. We spent few time there and came back . There is not much to see there. Then we visit Swamynarayan temple and  finally Dwarkadhish temple. It was a majesty temple standing in middle of the town. You can see the temple flag from quite a distance.Way to Dwarkadish was like narrow corridor Lots of small shops leading to Main temple.

 Tanga wala stopped at main road as it cannot go on narrow corridor. We get down at main road, paid him and started walking through narrow corridor. We reached main temple,as camera and mobile phone was not allowed inside the temple, we only could able to take photo from outside.

After depositing camera and mobile in counter we entered the temple. There was huge crowd inside.All are chanting "Dwarkadheeees ki jay". There were lots of God and Goddesses surrounding the main temple. If crowd is not there, it will take aroud 1 hr to visit the temple. We first visited the Krishna temple, the main temple. It was standing bal gopal with full of flowers on it. We visited all god goddesses one by one. After visiting we came outside.After that we purchased prashad from outside of temple. We took lunch in Dwarka peeth. They were charging 20 INR per head with unlimited food. Don't expect tasty and delicious food there with 20 INR. You can find lots of vegetarian restaurant near to the temple. There is no option for Non-veg and drinks. One thing to notice water here is salty. It is believed that Rukmini got cursed by Rushi Durvsa. Because of that Rukmini temple is away from Lord Krishan Temple and because of this curse Dwarka city water is salty. After taking lunch we planned to go Gomti ghat but at that time it was already 12:30 PM and we were very tired and we had to catch 2 PM bus for Bet dwarka. So we canceled the plan and came back to guest house for rest. 

Second half of the day:

We took the 2 PM bus for Bet dwarka darshan. You have to book bus ticket well in advance otherwise you will not get ticket and may have to wait for next day. We started our second half journey towards Bet Dwarka. On the way we stopped at Rukmini Temple outskirt of Dwarka town (reason I mentioned earlier). You will see a small temple besides the road. Outside the temple lots of Sadhus (saint) will be there and other side of road you will find people offering gunny pads to cows. 

We spend around 20 min there and then moved to next place Nageswar Temple. One of the twelve jyotirling in India. You will find a big Shiva statue outside the temple. 

After visiting the temple we moved to Gopi Talav( Gopi Pond). It is believed that the gopis could not bear their separation from Lord Krishna. They offered to sacrifice their lives to the land and merged with their beloved. It is said that they turned into yellow clay, known as Gopi chandan. Even today the soil of the Gopi talav is extremely smooth and yellow in color. 

There is not much shops there. You will find few stores selling traditional bags, cloths. Most of selling Gopika Chandan.

Finally we reached Bet Dwarka. Our guide told bus will stop here for 2 hr. In that 2 hrs we have to go to the island on a boat. Do darshan of Lord Krishna and come back. All people rushed to the boat. We wait near the Jetty stand for few minutes as no jetty was there. After few min one jetty came, we board to the jetty. Soon it became very crowded. Then Jetty started conductor collected 10 INR from each person. When Jetty was in middle of Sea to Bet Dwarka. The view was awesome. Lots of White birds came flying across in search of food. You  can see the picture how beautiful it was.

When you will reach Bet Dwarka you will see lots of traditional market selling sea shells and other traditional things. Temple is near to the Jetty stand and in walkable distance. So don't take auto. They will take you in different way to that temple and charge you 20 INR per head.We reached the temple, the temple was too old. It is believed that Lord Krishna's grandson made that temple in memory of his grandfather. Here also Camera and mobile phone was not allowed.So I couldn't able click photos. After depositing mobile and camera we entered the temple. In this temple, door is opening in every 15 min interval for 5 min. In that 5 min you have to take darshan, if failed than you have to wait for  15 min for next  open. There was nothing to see other than Lord Krishna temple and few traditional shops. There were few Pandits who were giving pravachan about Lord Krishna life inside the temple. But we had only 2 hr for all these things. So we came out quickly. Yo can see the picture of Main gate of the temple, inside the main gate and traditional shop.

We came out to catch boat. It was around 6 PM and time of sunset. The view was just awesome when sun is setting far in the sea. Orange colored scattered in the sky. 

We took snacks from road side stall and came to the jetty. We returned back and reached Dwarka town around 7 PM. As our bus to Ahemdabad was at 8:30 PM. We checked out from our guest house and took dinner in the market. Then we returned back to Ahmedabad. Now our next trip was Ahmedabad. I will post what we did in Ahmedabad in my next blog.