Devarayana Durga

June 19, 2014

Devarayana Durga

Devarayanadurga hills or DD hills, as we prefer to call with all our love, is a perfectly crafted out rocky hill that is rightly placed at a peaceful location free from all the disturbances and nuisance of Bangalore city. It may not be really a courteous thing to associate DD hills to Bangalore since it is located in the Tumkur neighborhoods and around 60Kms away from Bangalore. Okay people, let the credit of the location go to anyone as you wish, all I want to do is just brag about another amazing experience we guys had on our toys.

We made it even with seven bikes and seven riders this time with no pillions and that was the best thing we could do to make the ride awesome. It would have been a 6 by 6 ratio if Fabid hadn’t changed his mind and joined the ride with his handicapped duke 200 in the last minute :p ( just kidding bitch :D ). But then, again, it wouldn’t be so much fun if we had missed you out. Let us put all that aside and get into the business.

You can go to DD hills for three reasons:

You are a devoted and spiritual person : you wouldn’t find another temple anywhere that is so quiet and peaceful and is placed at a beautiful location

You are an admirer of the nature: the view from the top most point of the hill is just mesmerizing and you wouldn’t want to miss something like this ( trust me on this )

You are a rider and you are totally screwed up there in your brain: Well, this cannot be explained in a sentence. Let us get into more details.

Sweet facts

There is only one word to describe the ride till the exit towards DD hills, on Hyderabad expressway, from Bangalore – “BORING” . However, this is highly a relative opinion and definitions will definitely change depending on people and the way you ride. For those like minded and responsible gangs who can do some insane show offs ( safely and responsibly) on the roads, the three lane roads are highly welcoming but if you are thinking about riding steady and slow, you will have to count the sheep till you say bye to the expressway. The story takes a new turn as you take the exit towards DD hills and let me warn you that there is a high chance that you might miss this exit out most probably. A landmark to identify this exit is the first toll booth after the one in Bangalore city limits. You will find a toll booth with numerous tea vendors next to it. You should take the right turn from the next circle you reach and then it won’t be much difficult to navigate to DD hills.

I would suggest you to go here on an Impulse or any off roader bike because this place is best suited for off road adventures. Even though there are numerous curves and sufficient hairpin bends en route, the roads are uneven and may not be as exciting as it would be on an off road bike, for other bikes. Apart from the hills, you have access to a rocky hill while coming back from DD hills. You will find a mud road on the right side right after you finish the descend from DD hills. You can ride till the top of the hill and there won’t be anything more thrilling than this experience in DD hills. You have to be a bit careful while going up and extremely careful while coming down. We wouldn’t might if you would call us insane for racing up the hill because nothing can replace that feeling we had then.

Not so sweet facts

We don’t have to hesitate to admit the fact that us Indians can easily sell our conscience for some quick bucks and the ,at least, 3 days old dead body of the monkey exhibited for collecting donations was a disgusting scene to witness. You can expect this quite frequently since there are numerous monkeys hanging around the hill and temple premises. However, you can ignore these things and find the peace you were searching for at the Yoganarasimha temple on the top of the hill. This centuries old temple was apparently built by the king of Mysore. There is a hill top cottage where Dr. Salim Ali once camped during one of his many bird watching endeavours.

Riding tips

· Start off early from Bangalore but not so early since the temple will open only by around 9:30 ( yes we had to wait a little while)

· Go with bikes that can do better on off road terrains ( the R15 and CBR were not the best options for this ride, however it didn’t stop me and nidhin from doing crazy shit :p )

· No great place to eat nearby and therefore you need to go prepared.

· The hill roads are narrow and vicinity is very less. Be extremely cautious at the curves.

· You have to climb on the top of the hill ( go further beyond the temple and upwards) if you need to click the pictures of the hairpin bends from top ( these are the favorite pictures of DD hills on the net)

· You will find a small pond on the plains and the road is quite free and nice. You can do some stunts or photo shoots as you may prefer

WE KNOW THAT WE ARE JUST ROOKIES AND WE AINT NO STUNTERS.. BUT WE ARE NOT ATTENTION SEEKERS EITHER.. WE DID THIS JUST BECAUSE WE FELT GOOD AND YOU CAN SAVE YOUR "THIS CAN'T BE CALLED STUNT" COMMENTS FOR A BETTER CAUSE :P :D (FOR THOSE WHO WERE GOING TO GO WITH THEM :) ). THANK YOU