(the first view... the spot on the top is the temple and the tree)
Directions: At the
Ramanagara town signal take the right turn, a little ahead take the left at the
Y junction. 20kms from here and you will reach Jalamangala village.
As you near the
village, take the broad road toward the left and proceed for a km or so and
park your vehicle at the base of the big tamarind tree. A clear trail leads you
all the way to the top as we realized later. This is the easiest and best way
to reach the top.
Else, at the fork,
turn right and reach the village. You can park at any of the houses here and
ask for directions to the cliff. This path is tricky and you may have to find
out ways yourself and it takes a longer time too.
I and guru rode on
my bullet first to Ramanagara to have a peek at the vultures. After some
scouting, finally we saw a lone individual at a far distance away, noticeable
was the absence of any activity on the cliff. Boards indicating ‘Vulture
Sanctuary’ have been put up near the tar road (Latest update: the area is
declared as a protected area for conservation of the very few Long billed
Vultures left). After a good one hour we moved towards Jalamangala. As I had
read, it hardly takes less than an hour for the ascent, so we took it easy and
moved without any hurry.
As we approached
the village, we could see the cliff far away and made the mistake of going to
the village instead of taking a left turn to the base. The villagers suggested
I leave the bike near their house (it would be safe from mischief makers) and
walk from behind the village to ascend the cliff. I nodded as I thought it to
be a good idea and there would be no worry about my bike but we realized the
hard part very soon. The villager guided us saying – “As you traverse behind
the village, you see a lake and a small temple, take the path next to it and
keep climbing to reach the top”. All seemed well till we reached the lake and
took the path next to it going upwards. We soon reached a hill top only to
realize there was a bigger one to our right with dense growth in between. We
somehow made our way to the top of that hillock to find nothing there and we
could see another bigger hillock now behind us and with not suitable path
direction seen. The sun was now all bright and fury and was pretty harsh and we
had exhausted our water supply too. It was becoming increasingly difficult and
the hear getting unbearable. After pondering what to do and resting for some
time, we finally made up our minds to figure out the way to the top however
long it may take!
Taking a narrow
path and crawling amidst the dense growth we joined a fairly used track going
uphill only to realize that was the actual well marked path to the top from the
other side of the hill closer to the main road (as I have indicated above).
Relieved, we started climbing again now following the arrow marks (thanks to
the person who has taken the effort to paint the arrow marks everywhere)
leading to the top, Traversing to the top on the fairly notified path in pretty
much easy and you get to pass through the edge of the cliff at one point
(lucking iron rails are there for support) and steps carved out in the rocks.
Finally we reached the top to see the similar sight of a temple and a tree that
was the lone identifier of this place I had seen about. There were a few people
inside the temple complex drunk and playing cards, in all probability they had
camped overnight, prepared a non veg meal, drunk and were gambling. Felt very
bad seeing the sight but a lone Egyptian Vulture soaring nearby lifted my
spirits as we sat and rested for some time. The sun was right on top now and we
had run out of water and were feeling the heat now. We could see lot of small
dry ponds around and remains of fort walls (not sure though). The tree on the
top was excellent providing good shade to relax under. The view from the top was good and you could see as far as you want being a sunny dry day.
We then descended
following the marked route and traced back the route to the village. Back
there, I literally gulped some 4-5 bowls of water but still was feeling very
thirsty and hot. Hot weather, hungry stomachs and tired bodies are not a good
combination on any day J We asked a
villager about the activities on top of the hill and he replied – “Yes, they do
go as it’s a cool place, its quite common”. I felt like bulldozing him right
there but kept quite not to create a ruckus there. The journey back home was
uneventful and was a good ride on the bullet.
Tips: Carry food
and water, do not litter the place.
Use your instincts
if you can’t find the way, simple rule being you need to climb and so figure
out how!
Ride safe! Be safe!
