kavaledurga: silence, solitude and serene

A traveler's trip never has a beginning or end, being open to new experience and new destination is what makes one a traveler. This destiny was one such which was not intended during the start of the journey while it fell on the way to the destination and we stumbled upon this marvelous trek's spot. It was rainy season and it was one such cloudy morning when we decided to visit the popularly known "Nagara fort", the journey started at 6:30 Am in the morning with minimalist packing for a trek. It was a three hour long drive after which we were supposed to reach the destination. Meanwhile, after one and half hours of our journey. A sign board gave a direction towards another fort which was close by and in an instant we decided to visit this fort. It was a close 20 min journey from the sign board that the maps declared that we had reached our destination.

The clouds created an apprehensive weather for the trek, we parked the vehicle at a nearby tea stall and had a cup of tea. Then we were informed by the shopkeeper that no other person was there as this was not a very preferable weather to visit the place and also cautioned us about the snakes we could encounter during the trek. After listening to his instructions carefully we set ourselves off to this wonderful trek.

These tiny water structures are proof that it has been raining for a few days, this is somewhere before we start our trek to the fort.

We had just started our trek and we encountered a huge stone entrance and stones aligned in a way which enabled us to walk.

If you continue to walk through these steps you will reach a wonderful destination which is beyond your expectation.

The way throughout is graced by these wonderful tiny yellow flowers as it was a rainy season and the sight is just magnificent and looks like these plants were elegantly draped around the stones leading to the entrance to yet another mesmerizing place.

After inspection it could be understood as to this was the meeting hall and surrounding it are the kitchen and washrooms, the forces of time have bought the fort down but is still unable to expedite it's beauty in any way. right next to this wonderful remains you will find a small pond (more like a kalyani, a place which is used to wash legs before entering a holy place). The water there is even now crystal clear.

This pic is an understatement of how beautiful this kalyani is, yet it captures the essence of the crystal clear water, The slightest touch of this water is so rejuvenating that we had to wash our faces and dip our legs in the water for sometime just to let the solitude and sereneness to sink in.

reaching further up, you will find abandoned temple of a deity with his consort sitting on the lap.

This temple has an open access, anyone willing can enter it and enjoy the profoundness of architecture and also experience the serenity of it.

There is another temple whose gates were bolted and we couldn't reach to capture it's inner beauty, while we took a snap from outside and the below image is how it looked like.

By now as you can see the cloudiness of the day was over and the sun was out and bright as if empowering us through the journey.

Continuing further you will reach your destination which is the top most part of the fort.

On the way, you will find some wonders of nature if you dropped to see this destination in rainy season.

After the temples, the way leading towards the top most part of the fort is a pure trek experience as the way is not paved like before and you will have to figure out by yourself by looking at the huge stone leading to the last gate of the fort. Supposing if you were calm and continued your journey till the end gate, your view will make you feel the worth of taking the journey.

You can see a lot of water bodies around due to the heavy rains that were pouring and also as we reached the top of the fort. somehow, the clouds made a comeback and it just made the feeling a lot better. Though it should have been an exhausting exercise to trek this place, the season, weather and the serenity of the whole place made the visit worth it and we felt the exhaustion only while we were climbing down the fort.

Quick facts: There are seven such stone walls, that kind of gives the feeling that when the fort was operational, it was quite secure. As it took a lot of time for one to reach the operational stage of the fort. The top most view is an example that the areas around the fort to almost more than kilometres can be seen and observed and hence any potential threat could be easily noticed coming from any surrounding directions.

Best time to visit: Anytime during the rainy season, avoid weekends if you want it to be a serene experience. Reaching the first wall at around 7 am would be the appropriate time, as the fog is just rolling off and the sun is just starting to rise.

Location: Kavaledurga fort. 1 hour 45 mins to 2 hour journey from shivamogga.

This place is a must visit if you are anywhere close to Malnad region of karnataka.

Snaps of few flowers that we encountered during the trek.

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