Our plan was to go Kaivara. We headed towards Kolar. Stopped for breakfast at Kamat Upachar. A watchman there told us that we had to go to Chintamani first and then take the road to Kaivara. We had overshot 25 kilometers ...we should've turned left at Hoskote itself. We changed our plan. Our new destination was close to Kolar, a hill with a wide plateau on the top. As we drove towards Kolar we picked one hill and decided to climb it. We drove off the highway to our left, through the woods for about a furlong, parked the car and took off on foot. It was already warm.
Full Moon Rock. Also looks like a scoop of butter scotch ice cream.
The rock on the top looks as though it's yawning with it's mouth wide open.
Nature's wonder; how the rock stands balanced for God knows how many years.
I was alone up here while rest of the group was down below.
The higher I went, more interesting the hill was.
This flower could be a close relative of Fire Tree.
A spider web. First time I saw this type of web.
Shadows of the thorns caught my attention.
Flowers look like little ice-cream cones with a cherry on top.
Another spider web with dew on it.
The climb was not easy since there was no ready-made path. Grass poked us all over. Thorny bushes snagged in our clothing. We were not prepared for this terrain. Durga, Gulli and I wore sandals. At one point I took off my sandals and went bare foot. By 12 we decided to head back... the heat was uncomfortable. We had scratches over our exposed skin. The hill is wild and interesting. If at all we plan another visit, we should reach much earlier. Also wear shoes, carry lot of water and make sure we carry a first aid kit.
Back at the car, we washed our faces, hands and feet. It felt great. Deepak suggested we have lunch at a highway dhaba near Hoskote. We almost missed it. Deepak's clue helped locate it. The place was right next to a mosque. Food was great; we had Kerala Parotas, Ceylon Parotas and Naans with some three varieties of spicy dishes.
Burrpp!!
ZZzzz...
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