This trip happened because of one of the most unfortunate and unlucky start to the day which was already planned for something else. This was supposed to be a long ride at 4 am in the morning to savandurga hills which is a trekking spot around Bangalore but things kind of fell out of everywhere and broke down to pieces. And then this happened.
For the past 3-4 days, Me and my friends were planning to go to Savandurga hills for an early morning trek on a weekend with an idea of watching sunrise and return by noon. But as with most of the plans with friends this one also started with a lot of excitement eventually ending with disappointment. After talking for an hour or so and thinking of something big, Two of my friends cancelled altogether when a friend was feeling sick and feverish.
So, At around 11 pm on a Friday night two of them were out. We two who lived in the same room thought we will continue with the trekking plan and woke up at 4 am and got ready. Then we went on to rent scooty i e., Vogo and then things started to go crazy. We tried starting 3 of them and nothing started. It was cold and foggy so the engines were frozen and nothing seemed to start. There was a worker who was sleeping in the shed nearby. We went on to enquire with him but our difficulties seemed silly to him and he said to take if they work or leave in his early morning sleepy voice. We stood there thinking what to do. With every scooty not working, we were getting billed 20 rupees without driving them and to give out more than 60 rupees seemed crazy. Then after around 20 minutes another gang came to the spot, booked the scooty, started and went back into the darkness with a red light glimmering on our faces which suited the situation perfectly. And there we stood staring at each other clueless of what just happened and laughing at ourselves for the misfortune and the early morning fate we had after sacrificing the most precious 4 am sleep which we never traded for anything else.
It was not that much of a setback and being near to our room was the good part of this craziness. We could at least go back and sleep with cosy blankets. But I being a person who had good knowledge of the near by places to where I stayed had a back up plan. We had bounce scooty which we could rent but we couldn't go out of Bangalore and mainly used for local transportation. So we decided to go a near by forest place which had a small trekking spot. So without any idea if it was open at that time or even open for public we went ahead without much thought about it.
And even this plan soon turned out to be crazy. We went there and the main gates were closed and a board nearby said entry is illegal without permission and there was no one around to ask for permission or talk. We were not giving up this easy after wasting time and our sleep. We went around the place looking for another entry from the back. Everything around 5:30 in the morning. It was kind of forest area. The silence, the empty streets and forest sounds made it look spooky. We thought we were lost and decided to go back. Then came the first luck of the day when the same guys who booked vogo scooty earlier came to same spot with few other friends. They had 3 scooters in total and 6 persons.
They looked around and found a small entry where there was no stop sign or obstacles to get into the forest. They were off and soon disappeared into crowded trees and high rocks. We walked the same path and tried following their plan. The forest was in the city itself but once you are in you won't feel like you are in a city like Bangalore. Big trees, muddy path and huge rocks made it seem an interesting place and having to keep an eye out if there was someone who could catch us for trespassing or something coming out of woods which could harm us was made it a thrilling and scary for being in there.
As we kept on walking trying to keep up the pace with our uninvited guests crossing rocks and trying to climb big boulders. We came to a spot from where we could spot the orangish sun rising in between the trees. The view wasn't from a great elevation but the scene was pretty good with the greenery blending in nicely with the colour of the sun. The rays were shining in through the thick forest and started to glow into the forest. We climbed few more rocks and walked through the forest and at a point the view of rising sun from behind the buildings was spectacular. We reached the top of a hill and followed onto the other one. It didn't seem much bigger from outside but the forest was huge with trees and hills all around. After crossing through couple of hills and looking at the views from the top and taking some photographs we sat down on a hill and took a break. We decided to go back and made our way back trying not to get lost in the familiar places in the forest and we eventually got lost. We came back to the place we got diverted and followed the path we came in and got out without any trouble. We booked the same scooty we had come there and went back to room after a small yet refreshing trek in turahalli forest. We had our breakfast and slept well till afternoon. That's how this trip happened to be a small yet most unplanned event of the year 2019.
Notes :
Please make early planning and get permission before entering the forest.
Don't wear shorts and slippers as the forest is filled with thorns and slippery rocks which can get you in trouble if not prepared for.
Carry some snacks and water bottle so that you can take a break at the top and enjoy the view with some food.
Please don't litter and throw waste in the forest. Get back whatever plastic/ waste you take into the forest and dump in the dustbin.
Don't make loud sounds and play songs. Enjoy the nature views around and be in sync with nature which is what you are there for.