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Ballalarayana Durga and Bandaje Falls

(Shallow Grasslands. Mi A3. 1/3200 sec. ISO 94)
 Sometimes things can go wrong in so many ways yet the end result could turn out to be wonderful. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it is an amazing feeling. The first mistake was going on a bike with bad front brakes. More on that later.

(Mountains of Western Ghats. Mi A3. 1/1513 sec. ISO 90)
 Ballalarayana Durga is a fort built during the 12th century. All it remains are the ruins of the fort. The fee for the whole trek is Rs. 250. You can either just go to the fort or continue the trek to the Bandaje Falls. Going to the fort is easy. It takes only around 40 minutes. But to really enjoy the trek you need to go to the waterfalls. It takes around 2 hours from the fort. You get to enjoy the views of shallow grasslands. But there is no shade for resting. Most of the path is open grasslands. So, it might be difficult to trek during summer. We went in November, and still, it was very hot and sunny.

We left Hassan at 6.30 and by the time we reached the trek starting point, it was 10.30. But, we didn't know that we had to pay fees, and there was no office on the way or any board/sign indicating so. We parked the bike and started our trek. But, after walking for some 20 minutes, a couple of people from the forest department came and asked for the fees receipt. And we told them what happened and they were co-operative. We paid the fees there, then they sent the receipt on WhatsApp. So, there wasn't much problem there, thankfully.

They then asked us if we had enough food and water. And that's when it hit us. We had forgotten to take anything to eat. I mean, literally nothing. We had a bottle of water and that's it. Nothing to eat. But we told them that we had packed food items. So, our trek officially started.

(Bandaje trekking trail. Canon 1500D. 1/320 sec. ISO 200)
 We didn't actually go to the fort. We skipped it and continued on the path to the waterfalls. It was noon, and nowhere to take cover. We walked slowly. My friend was making this joke that someone would share their lunch with us. We somehow reached the waterfalls at around 1 pm. We were hungry, but there was nothing we could do except drinking water. We filled the bottle and drank as much water as possible. But just as we were about to leave, another group of 5 people came to us and offered lunch. They said that one of them doesn't like that food and there's just excess, but I think they were just being generous and lying so that we will take the food. We couldn't thank them enough, and still can't thank them enough. Thank you, guys!

(Bandaje Falls. Canon 1500D. 1/250 sec. ISO 400)

(Water flowing. Canon 1500D. 1/10 sec. ISO 100)
 You might ask how can someone be so stupid and forget to pack any kind of food, especially after going on so many trips. Here's what happened. We had breakfast in Mudigere. Not many shops were open then. We didn't want to take any parcels from a restaurant. So, we thought we will take biscuits and stuff from shops in Kottigehara. We stopped to draw money at an ATM there but forget to buy anything to eat.

Well, anyway, we ate and started our journey back to the base. It was even sunnier and we were already very tired. Somehow we made it to the starting point. It was around 6 by then. We really wanted to watch the sunset, but we couldn't. We had to reach home as early as we could. So, naturally, the sunset was even more amazing that day. We got a glimpse of it as we were getting down the mountains.

(Path near parking spot. Mi A3. 1/251 sec. ISO 88)

(Sunset. Mi A3. 1/140 sec. ISO 100)
 And another thing about the bike was that the lights were too dim. So, we rode on a highway on a bike with no front brakes and a headlight that was too dim. What could go wrong, right? Well, this time, nothing did. I didn't accelerate above 50 kmph. We got home safe by 9 pm.

But, even with some things going wrong, we really enjoyed the trip. The views were amazing. It had just stopped raining a week ago, so the fields were totally green. Everything was good, in a way. But, as I am writing this, it's raining without a break here in Hassan. It's just drizzling non-stop. A downpour would be enjoyable, but not this.

This is where I end this blog. Thank you all for reading! And do share it with your friends if you like it. See you soon.

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