These days, weekends seem entirely lazier due to the pleasant and tranquil weather. Come what may, I had decided to make it adventurous. I came across the @offbeatcompass, one of the travel start-ups, which explores the beaches, mountains and many more. Upon the checks,a trek at Rachakonda was structured on a pleasant Sunday i.e., 4th July 2021.
Going on a trek with unacquainted people is an amazing moment, as one would get to know people around.
As soon as I got to know about this amazing event, I got my name registered. Early hours at 4, myself along with a team of some unaccustomed youngsters headed our journey towards the Rachakonda Fort, which is 60 km away from the city wherein it’d take around 2 hours to reach. We gathered at the pre-decided meeting point 1, Punjagutta and further headed towards our next meeting point 2, Uppal. We took a halt to have our breakfast at Red Bawarchi and then headed towards the fort.
The route (ORR - Ibrahimpatnam - Manchal - Rachakonda Fort) was pretty straight and simple. The view of the fort was quite tempting and the entrance seemed as though it welcomed us with its beautiful arch and greenery. The journey in itself was extremely enjoyable. None would be left without being mesmerized by the beauty of the Deccan.
Before I re-count the experience, let me take you through its history in brief, solely collected from the internet. The fort of Rachakonda was constructed by Recherla Anapotanayaka, son of Recherla Singamanayaka, who was a commander of the Kakatiya King Prataparudra. The fort was constructed around 1360 AD. This territory of Rachakonda was once ruled by the great Kakatiya Dynasty. Later, this Rachakonda Fort was constructed in the 14th Century by Recherla Singama Nayak, the founder of a new clan of kings (previously served the Kakatiya dynasty rulers as military commanders). Oooooh ! Enough of historical backdrop. Now let’s progress towards knowing about this adventurous expedition.
The real adventure began at the entrance of the Fort ! To our surprise, we found that there was no definite route to the Fort. One has to slog up through the rocky hill and boulders to the top. The route wasn’t strenuous, but was rather very exciting. One just needs to be very cautious with every pace as it was a steep rocky mount. The higher we climbed, the thrilling we felt. My happiness had no bounds as every next step created a new page of my experience and sensed a new essence of beauty.
The masonry wall of the fort depicted its glory and also its story. It was quite astonishing when I got to know that the fort has been constructed without the use the materials like cement and it is devoid of any mortar and in fact I observed the same. The most remarkable part was though years passed by but yet the construction stood still to recreate memory with history.
On reaching the top of the trek, we witnessed the magnificence of nature. Though there were several stopovers in between, it didn’t seem much tiring. At the peak, we came across a Mandapam, which left me clueless till the end.
We down hilled by noon and had our lunch under the cool shade of a banyan tree, reliving the retro days for a couple of minutes.
Post lunch, we scaled another hill which was easy to climb as compared to the previous one as it had steps to climb. I couldn’t take my eyes off the striking view from the top of the hill.
More ponds were found on both the hills which resembled the glorious victory of the king. Adding to it, we rested for a couple of hours on the hill to make ourselves comfortable. We refreshed enjoying the jam sessions and some self-indulgent games. The event got over by around 4 pm and it was time for us to depart enriched with massive memories.
From my personal experience, I wish to suggest a few points which could be helpful for your hassle free trek.
1. The fort is 60 km away from Hyderabad and you’d mostly not find proper internet connection, hence prefer to download the necessary maps prior and ensure to carry a power bank.
2. No facility of drinking water or food around. Either have early lunch and start the journey or pack sufficient food and water.
3. One has to trek uphill. It is advisable to wear sneakers or any comfort shoes as per your choice. Avoid heels.
4. Don’t develop expectation from the Fort in itself. It’s all about the journey and the experience. Explore history in the lap of nature.
5. The place is pretty secluded. It’s better and safer to travel in groups. After the sunset, the area is pitch dark except the headlights of your vehicles.
