RoadTrip To Gandikota

Tripoto
17th Feb 2020
Photo of RoadTrip To Gandikota by aamina thasnim

We left Bangalore on a monday morning in our favourite two wheeler Yamaha R15v3.0,

Day 1

Lepakshi is situated around 100 km from Bangalore, famous for its architecture and historical importance.

(i) Veerabhadra Swamy Temple

(a) This temple has quite number of sculptures of god and godessess and famous for its mural paintings all over the wall depicting the stories of Ramayana and Mahabharatha.

At the center of the temple, there is Natya Mandapa which has around 70 pillars among which one is a hanging one.

As the myth says, British rulers tried to move the pillar to uncover the secret of its support, which resulted in moving the pillars around it, as the pillar was acting as the center of gravity.

(b) Nagalinga : Seven hooded snakes guarding the Linga, it is made out of a single stone.

(c) The Unfinished Kalyana Mantapa : The designs and carvings here are somewhat similar to the designs printed on Indian sarees. This place was supposed to be the wedding venue for the Shiva and Parvathi. Due to the death of the sculptor, this was left unfinished.

(b) and (c) are the only sculptures without any roofs.

While returning from Lepakshi, around 500 mts from there you will find Big Monolithic structure, The Lepakshi Nandhi which is made out of single granite, and is the second largest after Gomateshwara.

From 500 mts from there, you will find Lepakshi Jatayu which is the third beauty in Lepakshi.

After covering all these we headed towards Gandikota, which is around 200km from Lepakshi. On the way we stopped for lunch at a local restaurant. We reached Gandikota around 5pm, we had already contacted the camp guy for camping and dinner for the night as there are no much shops or restaurant near by .

That evening we explored some parts of forts covered Madharavaya Temple, Jamia masjid etc.

We were tired from all the riding and wanted to just rest, contacted the camping guy, he set up camp for us and bought us dinner which included rice, chicken, curd, roti. We ate stomach full, relaxing right outside the camp, watching the stars from the Gorge point. There were few people around who went for night trek down the Gorge point, we were so tired for that, but we did catch up on it in the morning.

This was our first camping, indeed as expected it was the best experience.

Day 2

Next morning it was all about the sunrise, we literally peeped out of the camp to check the sun every 5min. Finally it was all worth it.

Few metres from there are restrooms for freshening up, so we didnt have to really worry about. We really never thought about that until we arrived there. After freshening up we went for the trek.

We spent few more hours wandering the forts, jail, temples and as you exit the fort there is small restaurant where we had our breakfast. People are really friendly and food is very tasty.

After Breakfast, we headed towards Belum Caves, which is 60 km from Gandikota, on the way we stopped at Mylavara Dam, enjoyed the view, clicked some pictures.

As we entered the Belum Caves, we found a Huge Buddha statue, painted in plain white color, we clicked some pictures there as we went further ahead we found the ticket counter, they charged Rs.50 per person., we left our bag and heavy items outside the caves. As we entered the caves, the place turned out like a gem, it was mesmerizing, as we walked inside, it got darker, hotter and scarier, but there were colorful lights attached here and there which created the horrific look. Once we reached the end point we found some water, more or less like a small pond, we found a ShivaLinga inside the waters.

We finished our lunch and headed towards Yaganthi Temple, which is 45 kms from there, according to the legends Lord Venkateshwara is present inside the cave. We have never seen something like this before.

We took shower there, at Pushkara the holy water, visited the temples had some snacks there, relaxed for a while, and left to Gooty Fort which is at a distance of 70km.

We reached Gooty at around 8 pm, tried to find some hotels to stay. After searching for a while we found one and headed to restaurant for dinner, here most of the restaurants closes round 9 pm, we were on time, few minutes here and there we would have missed our dinner. We slept through the night after all the tiresome ride.

Day 3

Woke up in the morning and left to visit the Gooty Fort, unfortunately no unmarried couples are allowed here, as some bitterful incidents were happened. We started convincing the care taker, after so much of talking and explaining he finally agreed.

This was the last place in out itinerary. We started climbing the fort, as we began we found a beautiful and colorful dargah. The Gooty fort is comprised of 15 small forts, from far it looks like an ant hill.

After capturing some moments here, we headed back home, ending our beautiful journey.

So, coming to the cost:

1. Petrol-2000

2.Camping which included dinner and breakfast - 1500

3.One night stay at Gooty- 800

4.Food - 700

Total of 5000 bucks, check out our Instagram for more budget travel itineraries.