A Day trip - Graceful trip to Antargange

Hurray!!  I am so happy, not only me but our whole school was happy as we finished our final exam.

Thank God, finally all our exams were over. No more Exam pressure and reading!! Now our holidays have started.

We have two months of holidays from April till May and we can enjoy! I was so very excited for our next adventure in these holidays!

It was 31^st March and we had planned to visit a place called Antaragange( it is also known as Dhakshina Kashi).   We decided to start next early morning and luckily it was Sunday as my parents were free.

The next morning, we started our journey around 7 o’clock and it takes at least 2 hours to reach there. So, we were there at the entrance by 9 o’clock.

The entrance board was curved like a rainbow, there was a small statue of Lord Ganesha at the side and was welcoming us. We saw the steps starting from there and started climbing it. Slowly, slowly as we went up we saw many troop of monkeys.

After climbing a little while, in the left end side, there was a view point from where you can see the view of the valley. The view was good there and we took couple of pictures.

Many Ancestors will greet you on the way uphill,  be  kind to them :) or else.......

 If you are carrying a bag then be careful about it, As any time it could be snatched away!

We climbed almost 200 steps from the entrance and there was temple of lord Shiva, we removed our shoes and entered the temple to Pray.

Steps to the Temple 

Beside the temple there was a small water body ( Pushakarani)  and in the  middle of  it there  was a structure of the temple and it had a Ganesh in it.

Lord Ganesha in the middle of the pushkarani

In the side there was a small nandi (Bull God) where water flows from it’s within. I think this is the reason why it is called Antaragange (that means water within)

Water is coming from Bulls Statue 

Then we sat for a while observing things around us. We saw many tourists climbing a path on the other side of the puskharani, this was the path to go to caves !!

We started climbing and we saw that many school children were coming down the path.

Only for few minutes it was a path but later we were climbing huge boulders allover.

 Here there were no monkeys, in the middle of the journey we saw few steps carved on stones. It was uphill, we climbed for a while and sat down under the shade of a tree. We saw many butterflies.

We ate some snacks which my mother carried.

Again we started to climb up.. the sun was shining brightly making us sweat more!

Creative Akshara - Uphill climb

Soon we met a guide who was waiting to find a customer; he said that we cannot go in to the caves without any guide, we ignored him.

First we thought that we can manage it without any help, but later we met some people who were climbing down, also told us that we better take a guide to see the caves properly.

Then we were confused.!!

We continued, after a while we saw a shop who was selling cucumber and tender coconut. Again a teenager came and asked us about the guide, we ignored him again. Finally we reached the entrance, when I saw the entrance of the first cave I thought it was very scary !!  it was very small and there was no proper way to get in , we were confused again!

Entrance of the First Cave-Its scary!!

The teenager followed us and guided us through another route where we could enter the caves.  He said that he will show us the route through the cave.We agreed and started following the steps he used to climb down boulders at the entrance.

First my father went down.He helped me and my mother to get down in the narrow path.Then we went through a steep path following the guide. Actually this cave is formed by huge boulders and is not carved. The guide showed us how to get down and  creep.

Can you imagine we can get through this !?

Then we encountered a small passage with a huge boulder where it was very deep and scary to get in and as we had to go down. Guide was thin could pass it easily told us to follow him.

When my father started creeping in, to go down for a moment,  he felt claustrophobic, after few seconds he was ok!! He helped us to pass through a narrow space ! I could pass through easily! If I remember that moment it was awesome!!

There were huge rocks, stones and boulders. We were walking in between them and very narrow path.

First I thought I cannot do it , but later I got used to it and started moving quickly. As we were climbing up and down , a rock was so slant that to go on it , they had kept a wooden pole where we should balance ourselves and go.

After passing that, another rock was as slant as the first one. I decided to go first !

There were small stones down, so I was not that afraid ! I held guide's hand tightly and  started to cross it.

Ohh ! suddenly my leg slipped, and I was about to fall. I kept my leg on one of the stones, luckily I was not hurt !!

I thought that was the last boulder to cross to exit ! but the guide said that ‘ there is more … but not many people go there ! So my father decided to explore more and have fun.

This time I was in lead!

We climbed and climbed and climbed. Finally we saw brightness. Then we climbed the last big boulder to see our self at the top of the mountain.We could see at least two villages from there ! What a feeling!! awesome!

We sat down, spent some time on the top and had some snacks, took some pictures as well. 
We started climbing down again, we took many pictures in the cave and finally came out from the other side of the cave.

I was so thrilled!! it was indeed a very good experience and excited to explore the other one which has water in it.

So we headed off to the second cave!!

For the second cave, we have to climb down a bit (near the shop) and take left. There was no sign board,  you have to figure out just like that ..Guide took us there. 

We reached entrance, the entrance of the cave was very small and dark too.

I am following my papa

The guide entered the cave and asked us to follow him.It is very small, you will have to bend and enter.We switched on the torch and entered as it was so dark that no one could see a thing. I followed my father as there was a huge rock where it was a very tricky, scary and narrow place. For a moment I thought it was difficult,but after seeing my father going down I decided to follow him.

From here we could hear the sound of water flowing clearly.This time I took the lead and followed the guide.

It was  such a narrow cave that I went in by crawling.  I could see the water and touched it.The water was so clean and cold that I could see my reflection in it! I even drank some and filled some in my bottle.

In this hot summer on the top of the hill,  drinking this clean and cold water was so satisfying!  

 I was really wondering how beautiful are nature’s creations and how many  secrets are hidden in it.

It is truly amazing!!

  

I bet you that you cannot go to the second cave without any guide. However, after seeing both the caves we came back to the shop who was selling some cucumber and tender coconut. We had some cucumber and drank coconut water to rejuvenate ourselves.

After that the only thing left was to see the village.So, we started walking towards it.There is nothing much to see, it’s a place where many night trekkers come and do camping and drink there.We could see the sign of partying and empty bottles thrown around.

Ohh! we were so tired !!

It was around 12.30 pm and the Sun was straight above our heads.

We decided to sit under the shade of the tree, took some rest and started climbing down.

On the top village, Night trekking people camp here 

It took us around 30 minutes to climb down and reach our car parking.

There on we started back our journey. While returning  back, we had our lunch on the way in S.L.V (right side). The food was good.

 I convinced my father to visit our little sisters on the way.  After little negotiation, my father agreed for that too.. me and my mom were so happy! We visited them and I spent good time with my little sisters,  Inchara and Swara and we played around!

Finally we reached home at 7:30 pm evening safely!!

Thank God!,  we are all back in home.

Oh!! What a nice way to start my holidays!

 It was indeed a  great adventure ! I never thought I have so much courage to go inside the caves and navigate myself !  

Though it looked a little risky, but it was WORTH A TRY! 

Now I am more confident and courageous too!

Useful Information

Distance from Bangalore : 75*2=150 round trip (Google Map)
Road condition : Good till Kolar, 4 -5 km not good but manageable
Difficulty of  Hike: Moderate, (need to climb up at least 3 km)
View from top : Good
Specialty: 2 Cave, one with water source and one is bigger one.
Guide: is a must to explore, they will charge 150 to 250 its worth, else there is high chance you get lost and get scared.
Monkeys: There are enough as long as you are not carrying food visible they will not touch you.
Parking: Thank god no stealers in the name of Parking
Cost of the Trip: 2000Rs Approx


Things to remember

Enough water is needed to drink
Nothing much to eat, carry some stuff if you want .
Avoid tight dress or jeans
For ladies: don't wear leggings, it will be torn,
Good Shoes is a must.
No helmets and heavy bags
If you could leave early , it is a half day trip from Bangalore

Friends I am sure this will inspire all of you take an adventure trip to Anthargange or to other places in this holiday season!


See you again with another adventure story .. till then take care !(For More Images Please Check My Face Book Page CreativeAkshara)

bye!!!!