Once you see it, it actually feels like one. Though, I\u2019ve never been to the real Grand Canyon yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cGandi\u201d in Telugu means \u201ca gorge,\u201d and \u201ckota\u201d means \u201ca fort.\u201d So, Gandikota literally translates to \u201ca fort around a gorge<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been planning to ride to this place since a terribly long time. It\u2019s not that far away from Bengaluru;\u00a0just around 300km away<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The ride-and-camp plan was etched a month in advance, and off we 4 departed on the morning of 12th March 2016<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Route:<\/strong> Bengaluru \u2013 Gorantla \u2013 Kadari \u2013 Pulivendula \u2013 Muddanur \u2013 Jammalamadugu \u2013 Gandikota<\/p>\n Distance Covered:<\/strong> ~300 km<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Google Maps:\u00a0https:\/\/goo.gl\/dgHJpU<\/a><\/p>\n We started a bit late than usual, which turned out to be a pretty bad idea. More on that later as you unravel the adventure.<\/p>\n I reached my friend\u2019s place in Wilson garden at 7:30 AM to pick up my riding jacket, fueled up at Shell, and headed towards Kodigehalli gate.<\/p>\n My bike\u2019s accelerator cable was acting up. The throttle wasn\u2019t turning beyond a certain point, thereby limiting my speed to 60kmph.<\/p>\n I was thinking of places where I can get it fixed, when suddenly it freed itself without any notice. That’s Royal Enfield for you in a nutshell.<\/p>\n It was fun to ride with all the power returned. I roared towards the International Airport Road. I halted in front of Coringa and called my friend. It was 8:13 AM. He asked me to wait at the toll gate just before entering the Airport.<\/p>\n I reached there in a few minutes and waited till 8:50 AM. After a quick chat, we moved towards breakfast.<\/p>\n Nandi Upachar, the recently opened restaurant near Nandi Hills, is where we decided to have our breakfast. It was a light affair. The time was almost 9:45 AM by the time we\u2019re finished.<\/p>\n It was mildly hot now. The sun was up, but it was still far away from showing off its full glory. We\u2019d experience that soon.<\/p>\n We reached Gorantla at 10:48 AM, took the deviation towards Kadiri, and stopped for a drinks break. Coconut water is a lifesaver on highways, especially in this blazing hot weather.<\/p>\n One-third of the ride was already complete. It looked like we\u2019d reach Gandikota sooner than we\u2019d planned.<\/p>\n The road from Gorantla to Kadiri was in an atrocious shape. It was single-lane road (or a 1.5-lane road at max). The surroundings were drier than anything I\u2019d seen in a long time. The temperature was rising to unexpected levels along with the sun.<\/p>\n It was 40\u2070 Celsius. We were getting parched in the hot sun out here. It took us more than an hour to ride just 30km.<\/p>\n My body was dehydrating out here real quick. We stopped for a small break at around noon. Did I mention it was unbelievably hot?<\/p>\n We were feeling damn thirsty. The drinks break (and smoke break for the rest) was much needed. We stopped at a roadside stall in Kadiri. It was around 1:00 PM now.<\/p>\n The first sip of the masala soda felt so good. I gulped the entire glass in a second and was ready for a second one.<\/p>\n I noticed that the shopkeeper also had Nannari syrup. So, we ordered a round of Nannari sherbet (also with soda). We drank two of these (or three, not sure). It felt great to rehydrate myself. Nannari is also claimed to be a coolant. So, that helped too, I guess.<\/p>\n The time was around 1:15 PM now. After almost 190km of riding, this half-hour break was worth it. The weather was still unbearable. There was almost 100km more of riding before us.<\/p>\n We came across a scenic bridge a few km later. It was surrounded by glorious rock formations, which gave it a captivating allure. Under the hanging rock formation, on the right, was a temple perched in between the ground the rock.<\/p>\n It looked kind of abandoned and out of place.<\/p>\n On the way towards Gandikota. #Highway #Travel #India<\/a><\/p>\n A photo posted by Salman Ravoof (@salmanravoof) on Mar 13, 2016 at 6:11pm PDT<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n A few pics later, we were on our way again towards Gandikota. We stopped for a short drinks break, again. Yes, we were getting dehydrated in minutes.<\/p>\n I think we\u2019d already drank more than 3 liters of fluids each.<\/p>\n I could literally feel the heat emanating from the road while riding. It felt like I was placed in a big oven, and I was riding inside it. The heat waves splashed over me as I cut through the dry air.<\/p>\n It was around 3:00 PM now. I checked the temperature in the area on my mobile. It was still 40\u2070 Celsius. I guess that\u2019s pretty normal here.<\/p>\n Looking at the way things are going, I concur Bengaluru would join the league soon.<\/p>\n A few minutes of ride later, we entered a small ghat section (with a warning board at its beginning), but before we could enjoy its curves, it was over. That was funny.<\/p>\n It took half an hour of constant riding to reach the last stretch towards Gandikota. There was still around 40km of distance left between us and our destination.<\/p>\n The road was still under construction, with lots of loose gravel and dry mud. It was quite hectic to ride here, especially under the hot sun.<\/p>\n The last 10km of the ride was great though. It was a single lane road with decent twists, turns, slopes, and downs.<\/p>\n We reached Gandikota A.P. Tourism Hotel at 4:28 PM, after almost 300km of riding.<\/p>\n The first thing we did after we reached the hotel was ask for lunch. The staff told us that the hotel was closed until night and there was nothing left to serve.<\/p>\n Oops! We\u2019d decided to have lunch here, and now we\u2019re left with nothing around us except this place.<\/p>\n Funnily, we could hear the cooker whistling. Such cruelty. All our stomachs were grumbling.<\/p>\n We settled for a bottle of Maaza each, and some water.<\/p>\n After some rest, I and my friend Bhargav decided to go to the gorge and check out where we can pitch our tent.<\/p>\n The front of the granary looked like a decent place for a tent. A few people were already planning to pitch their tent on the rocky hill.<\/p>\n We returned to the hotel. The sun had almost set. After catching a glimpse of the beautiful sunset, all of us went back to the gorge to check it out.<\/p>\n You need to trek a bit to reach the edge of the hill, but the view is worth it.<\/p>\n Though it was a bit dark, it was exciting to take a look at Pennar River flowing between the massive walls of rocks. I\u2019d seen it countless times in pictures and videos, but it\u2019s something else to see it with your own eyes, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n We stayed here until the sun had set completely. It was almost 7:00 PM now.<\/p>\n All of us went back to the hotel, hoping that the kitchen will finally be open.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t. We had to wait until 8:00 PM to order our dinner, which unfortunately was also our lunch.<\/p>\n Chicken, paneer, vegetables, roti, rice. We ordered almost everything listed on their menu. The food was decent, but I can’t really say the truth because I was damn hungry. Almost anything would’ve tasted great then.<\/p>\n After whiling away our time in the playground, we went back to the granary to pitch our tent. We switched on our motorbike headlights for light.<\/p>\n It was a messy affair. None of us knew how to pitch this large 4-person tent. It took almost 2 hours to figure it out. In the end, it was a colossal achievement.<\/p>\n Though it was extremely hot, we took the help of the guide there to light a fire. And then we talked, and talked, and just dozed off in front of the fire. We shifted into the tent a while later.<\/p>\n I woke up at 5:30 AM and roamed around the tent, just checking out the surroundings. The sun wasn\u2019t visible yet.<\/p>\n I took my camera and headed towards the cliff, took a few pics, and just sat there waiting for the sunrise. The sun wasn\u2019t visible directly because of the clouds.<\/p>\n Awesome view of river Penna from Gandikota – the Grand Canyon of India. #Travel #India #Landscape #River #Canyon<\/a><\/p>\n A photo posted by Salman Ravoof (@salmanravoof) on Mar 14, 2016 at 5:17am PDT<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n I’ve taken so many great pics at this place. It’s just so picturesque. #Gandikota #India #Travel #River #Canyon #Landscape<\/a><\/p>\n A photo posted by Salman Ravoof (@salmanravoof) on Mar 16, 2016 at 10:18am PDT<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Bala and Bhargav joined me a bit later. Pramod took his own time. It was almost 7:30 AM now.<\/p>\n We relaxed for a few minutes at the cliff, enjoying the scenery and the atmosphere. And then we trekked down to the edge of Pennar River. It was a fantastic trek, charting through loose stones and barbed branches (tip: follow the steel pipe<\/em>).<\/p>\n Gandikota looked even beautiful from down here. It was worth all our not-so-significant<\/em> efforts.<\/p>\n The uphill trek was tougher and even more challenging. Naturally, we were all exhausted by the time we reached the top again.<\/p>\n Wrapping up the massive tent was as laborious as pitching it. Finally, by hook and crook, we did pack it up. Not perfectly, but who really cares?<\/p>\n![\"Bangalore-Gandikota-Route\"](\"http:\/\/salmaniac.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Bangalore-Gandikota-Route_eutmul.png\")
<\/a><\/h3>\nBengaluru to Gandikota: A Late Start<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a>Breakfast at Nandi<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>Horrible Road and Hot Weather<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>A Refreshing Break<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>\n
<\/a><\/a>Nearing\u00a0Gandikota<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>Where’s the Lunch?<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>A Quite Lunchy Dinner<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a>Pitching the Tent Hopelessly in Darkness<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>\n
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A\u00a0Trek Down to Pennar River<\/h3>\n
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