Bangalore to Vatadahosahalli Lake and Gudibande Fort

Day trips around Bangalore have become our new normal now a days. Over the last few weeks we visited several beautiful secluded places around Bangalore including Chhota Ladakh, Muninagara Dam, Mariapura Lake and Gundanjenyaswamy Temple. All of these were within 50km of our residence. On each of these trips, we packed our food from home, wore masks & carried hand sanitisers. So as to minimise unnecessary interactions at public places. And all these places are not at all crowded, so it was super easy to maintain social distancing. In fact, at some of these spots we happened to be the only visitors!! With hardly anyone around, and sometimes no phone network! By the way, that reminds me to mention that you can now conveniently purchase eSIM in India and use anywhere in India.

So, after visiting these places, we finally decided to explore a little further this time. So, we drove to Gudibande Lake & Fort & Vatadahosahalli Lake this time.

Last Sunday we started from home around 7:00am. The drive to Gudibande Fort is through the New Airport Road and NH 44, the whole road is in excellent condition.

Gudibande Lake

Right before Gudibande Fort comes the Gudibande Lake. We reached here around 9:30am. Although we had to stop several times on the way because our younger kid was having motion sickness. However, if you drive at a stretch, it will take a little less than 2 hours only to reach here. The lake is extremely beautiful, surrounded by hills on almost all sides. And the best part is that the road runs right besides the lake. Also there is a beautiful spot to safely park your vehicle. And then enjoy the views.

The Gudibande Fort is also visible across the lake, perched atop a hill. And there are beautiful rocks in the middle of the lake where you can spot sparrows and some other birds perched on these.

We stopped here to have our breakfast. And spent a good half an hour before driving further to Gudibande Fort. We also munched on some of the breakfast that we had packed from home. Including yummy idlis, thekua , and some fruit breads. After finishing breakfast and taking several snaps of the lake, we drove further to the Gudibande Fort.

The Gudibande Fort

Gudibande Fort is an abandoned fort located near Bangalore. It is almost 400 years old. Built by Byre Gowda who belonged to Vijaynagara Empire, it is said to closely resemble the Madhugiri Fort. There are several flight of stairs to the Fort as it is perched atop a hill almost 1100 ft tall. And on the top is a Shiva Temple, one of the 108 Jyotirlingas of India. There are interesting legends attached to Byre Gowda. He was known as the Robin Hood of the Vijaynagara Empire. As he robbed the rich and distributed the money to the poor. Also, in this fort, he put some great engineering techniques for that time like several tanks with water harvesting techniques!!

We reached the town by a 5 minutes drive from Gudibande Lake. From the main road, there are several narrow streets that lead to the foothill of this Fort. We parked our cars in one of these streets. And then decided to walk 2 minutes to the fort base.

As we reached the fort base, we saw some other vehicles parked right there. The road gets broader near the fort. So these cars must have entered from a different street as the one we entered from, it was so narrow that driving the car through it was too difficult an option. Anyways, the complete area is residential with houses on both the sides. So, it doesn’t seem to be a problem parking in the streets.

We started climbing the fort stairs slowly, taking breaks in between to rest. The stairs are not steep and they are very broad. So, it helps maintain social distancing as well, if you encounter anyone else while navigating the trek. However, there were very less people around.

On the way, we stopped once again for some quick bytes and to take a little rest. The day was cloudy. So, we didn’t have to worry about the sun. As there is no shade all through the path and even on the top of the fort. However, it was little humid. Good that I was carrying my Seer Secret Natural Toning Mist spray with me. Just a little spray now and then on the face and it will make you feel completely fresh. I am sure to carry this to all my road trips now onwards.

Then we continued further trekking till a point where the stairs vanish! From here, you need to trek through the stones. We decided to stay here for sometime. As the views from here were beautiful. We could see vast expanse of plains all around, and also the Gudibande Lake in its entirety. Interestingly, the Gudibande Lake looks like the map of India when seen from atop!!

From here, we did attempt to climb further. But we found it a little difficult with our little kids and parent with us. Especially the younger one. Who wanted to do the complete trek on her own. And managing her through the stairs had been a tough uphill trek!!! So, we finally decided to return from here this time. And return back some other time to go till the top.

It seems the rough patch of trek stretches to some distance. Beyond which there is again proper stairs to climb. So, if you are not constrained by conditions like ours, feel free to go ahead and reach till the top. From here, we traced our path back to the foot of the hill. And then started on our way to the Vatadahosahalli Lake.

Vatadahosahalli Lake

The star of our trip was Vatadahosahalli Lake. But before we get there, let me tell you the 6km drive from Gudibande Fort to Vatadahosahalli Lake is extremely scenic. With mountains hovering on the side, vast stretches of absolutely green fields filled with several crops at their prime and an excellent road condition!!

We deliberately drove slow on this stretch and stopped twice to enjoy the surroundings.

Finally we reached Vatadahosahalli Lake – a vast stretch of pure water right on the foothills of a gigantic hill. It looked right out of the postcards. Although we parked our vehicle on the highway and then walked through the kaccha road till the bank of the lake. There is a stretch of kaccha road from the highway to the lake through which you can take your vehicle right till the banks. It was raining over the last week. And the water in the lake seemed to be more than usual. As a result, the water has expanded and covered the plains near the banks. Otherwise, there is a vast stretch of mudland here with intermittent dry patches where you can do a nice picnic setup.

Nevertheless, we went all the way to the bank of the lake. Enjoyed the scenes from here. Then sat near the bank on an elevated stretch of soil for sometime. It is absolutely peaceful here.

Finally, we decided to drive back to Bangalore from Vatadahosahalli Lake. We came back up on the highway and walked to our car. And then started on our way back. It took us around 2.5 hours on our way back home from the lake. And we were back at our place by 3:30pm. Adding another memorable day in our travel treasure box. The day was very well spent amidst several stunning natural beauties.

If you are like us and you are itching to drive away after the lockdowns have eased. We highly recommend you visit here once. Before you do that, do go through our tips on taking this trip.

Tips on visiting Gudibande and Vatadahosahalli Lake from Bangalore

1. Carry an umbrella. Luckily for us, it was a cloudy day. But generally when it is sunny, there is no protection from the sun on any of the three spots. So, you definitely need an umbrella.
2. Good to carry water from home. There are some shops in the town around Gudibande Fort. But it is good to avoid outside interactions in the current times as much as possible. And it will also save you from the hassle of finding the right way to dispose off the use and throw plastic water bottles. As we didn’t see any proper dustbins installed anywhere.
3. Pack your food from home if you want to avoid eating out. Otherwise, there are several food outlets on the main highway. And we did see a lot of rush in many of them.
4. There are a few items that we have been diligently carrying around with us post the lockdown, for our safety. And highly recommend you also carry these. Including this hand sanitiser, this surface disinfectant spray and tissues and wipes to clean any surfaces. Or to regularly clean our hands once in a while to keep infections at bay.
5. Also, don’t forget your masks. We have been using these breathable cloth masks which are super comfortable. And also for kids, we got these kids masks, which they have easily adopted to. For the little one, I have been using this face mask, which fits her well. We also carry these extra disposable face masks, just in case, if our kids drop their usual masks somewhere or get them dirty.
6. Last but not the least, wear comfortable trekking appropriate shoes, particularly for Gudibande Fort. Where you need to do moderate trekking on slippery rocks. Also, I have found a very handy thing recently for such treks – my seer secrets deep tissue balm oil .In case you suffer a strain during such treks, it’s highly effective. Just spray 2-3 pumps on the stressed area. And then massage gently. It does the trick in few minutes. And provides instant relief.

If you happen to visit Gudibande and Vatadahosahalli Lake, do let us know how your experience turned out to be! We hope to soon bring your way another beautiful day trip story.

 

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