It was supposed to be my first holiday of this year, what did I know that it would be the last one too?!
Gandikota was in the list for years. Honestly, years! Known as the Grand canyon of India, Gandikota was in almost every Indian travel lover’s wish list. Every time something would go wrong. The hardest part was that the only place of accommodation was the local government guest house/resort. This place had limited rooms and is booked out for months.
In 2019 December, we three women decided to do it. The next free weekend for all of us was in February. I know right! How busy and how fancy?!
I was extremely busy through and through and had the worst packing of my life. I threw in things together at the last moment and we were off at 6 a.m. on the 8th of February 2020. The drive from Hyderabad to Gandikota is 7 hours long. 382 kilometers with some rough patches of roads. We stopped for breakfast at around 8:30 somewhere close to Pullur. After a breakfast of your standard Idlis and Dosas, we were off on our way.
We passed by multiple quarries and even stopped at a lake side for a quick picture. We were supposed to go to Belum caves on the way, but when we got there we saw there was a mega political rally going on. The cops told us that it was a 3 day rally and to come back the next day to escape the larger number of crowd. We were at the Haritha resort at around 2 p.m., just in time for some simple, but absolutely delicious Andhra lunch. The place was packed with people. There was a huge tent being erected on the grounds, for an annual bank employees retreat which was displayed by not just the banners, but with the blaring music coming out of the speakers. The resort (just in name, nothing like a resort) had close to 200 people staying in there at that time!! The number of rooms were limited but people could erect their tents on the ground and stay. We kind of panicked looking at the speakers and wondered if our night would be ruined with the noise from there.
We were appointed a guy who promised to take care of us and get us whatever we need directly to our room. Fortunately, our room was far back, deep into the resort. Removed from all the crowd. There was 0 network in the whole place. We somehow found a 1 by 1 piece of land near our room where we could get one bar and quickly called home to let people know that we were well and fine. The staff member, henceforth referred to us “our friendly helper” 😛 gave me his number to contact him whenever we needed something. The problem? Remember there is no network!
It’s hot and we decided to chill in the room till it gets a little less sunny outside and then go exploring. When we left Hyderabad, I remembered that we hadn’t packed odomos, an absolute must mosquito repellent in a place like this. We had intended to pick it on the way, but didn’t find it anywhere. We decided to look at for it again in the evening, and for now settle having a drink each to celebrate this little getaway. Cheers!
At 4:30 we head out, later than that we would miss the sunset by the canyon. A short drive from the resort and we were at the only other attraction in this place, the fort. Like any typical fort, it had it’s own little world going on inside. A jail, 2 temples, a mosque, a granary and a little charminar. The ruins were gorgeous. The carvings, the architecture, the structures! Stones telling their story. It was unfortunate that there was no guide or even written information there for us to know a little more history of this place. I wish the tourism department had put some effort for a place that is such a huge attraction.
We took as many pictures as we could at every nook and corner of the place. I did my Animal flow poses for the pictures. Never miss a chance! There was a bunch of school girls on an educational tour. They were finding my shorts clad legs quite amusing and kept following us and giggling. Eventually, I turned around and smiled at them and they got the courage to come up to me. It was adorable how they wanted pictures and then were telling me all about their school and exams.
At the end of the last structure – the granary, was the part of the canyon. I could see the best spot – a walk little further down, was packed with people. Wasn’t worth walking up there. We took a few pictures and got out to go to the main canyon.
This place was full of campers. I couldn’t imagine just sleeping by it, on the rock all night long. I was very glad that we were staying at the resort. Round 2 of the photo ops and the realization that we were on the opposite side for the sunset. The sunrise can be viewed at the canyon and not the sunset. Either way, it was a breathtaking sight and you couldn’t stop marveling at nature’s work. Years of pounding by water and the wind had carved out the ravine and the unique walls of the canyon. Got into a conversation with one of the campers’ who told us that the sunrise would be crowded and we should get there early to grab a good spot. I could see people at a distance, who had hiked down and gone closer to the water. I wanted to do it too, and decided was safer to do it next morning instead of now, when it had already started getting dark. We sat for a bit, called up home as there was complete network here. I made sure my pictures were backed up in the cloud and checked out the time for sunrise next morning.
Back to the room and time to open up the bottles! We drank and we spoke about every topic common to us, just like people do. We took a walk in the middle to see what was up in the rest of the resort and saw maddening crowds at the main area. Our friendly helper told us that he would bring the food to our room and we wouldn’t have to come out for dinner. We had asked him to get some starters to go with our drinks which eventually turned into our dinner too.
When we walked back to the room, we saw a guy sitting outside the cottage next to us applying some kind of lotion. I got excited it was odomos and asked him. We were desperate. The numbers of mosquitoes in and outside the room was enormous. He told us it was just body lotion. That got me curious and after a few questions, I learnt that there was a common bathroom at the resort where all the campers could come and use it. In turn this guy too asked us a few questions and learnt that we had carried alcohol from home. Well prepared, knowing that we won’t get anything here. There is no odomos, so forget about alcohol! We had a feeling that boy was going to come back later with his friends. And that’s exactly what happened. They tried a lot but we didn’t part away from a single drop of our alcohol! 😀
Up early next morning, we drove upto the canyon. No sun as the sky was extremely cloudy. I tried walking down but couldn’t find a path and was worried that if I get stuck at some point, I might not be able to pull myself up because of my bad knee. After a while, I saw a group of boys going down and asked them if I could join them. One of them was super rude and said, ” Ok. But you better keep up.” I responded, “Wow. You are definitely polite and friendly.” One of them was actually friendly and we walked down together talking about ourselves, work and whatever strangers say to make small talk. When we reached at one of the points, I decided to stay there and not venture further. It was steeper from there and I wasn’t going to stress my knee. The guy took some pictures and I walked back.
On my way, I saw people hiking in rubber chappals! Boy! Were they up for some serious discomfort! Once back at the room, we took turns to shower. While I waited, I did some Animal flow and quick workout on the terrace.
After a lovely breakfast or pongal, we started our drive back to Hyderabad. We were supposed to stop at Belum caves. The rally was still on and we struggled to find the alternate entrance. The way was horrendous enough to make us worry about our car. The place was packed, there were people all over the place. Kids ready to impress and entertain Mr. Jagan Reddy, a local politician. The caves were an absolute waste of time. It is the largest, natural cave system in India. But, most of the pathways were out of boundary. We walked with 100 other people to a 100 metre stretch and back.
Food is a huge part of my travels and a friend when learnt through social media,that I was on my way and back from Gandikota, recommended that I try the Hunda biryani at a restaurant in Kurnool. This is biryani cooked in a pot. He couldn’t remember the exact name, but after a little research I learnt it was Sri Divya’s. The place was packed and we couldn’t get a place in the air conditioned section. We had no time to wait, so we sat outside. We ordered a mutton biryani for Aparna, and Payal and I got a mushroom curry, a cauliflower snack and rotis. I tasted a bit of the biryani rice and it was absolutely delicious. The place is a must visit if you are passing via Kurnool. It had bone soup, chutneys on the table for everyone to eat. Unlimited. I was curious about the soup but didn’t eat it. We all packed a biryani each to take back home for our family and friends. Time to wrap up and get back home.
Comments