trek Day Trip to from Hyderabad to Bhuvanagiri fort

[LoneRanger]

Precursor to the Trip: 

Mr.Daddy calls me up on Oct 2nd in the evening. 

 

Daddy : I had to work today , who the hell works on Gandhi jayanthi? They don't even sell Liquor today. 

Me : Chill Macha , we chose this job. And have to take everything it throws at us. 

Daddy: I need some relaxation , plan something for the weekend. 

Me : Hmm, lets go to Bhuvanagiri Fort, I have been meaning to trek that fort since childhood. 

Daddy: Done. 

 

The plan has been made , but could not be executed the Dussehra weekend, due to the obvious reasons. Our Wives would let us go on a trek on a festival day. And i totally forgot about it , till 12th When Mr.Daddy messages to ask me if i'm available to do the trek on 13th (Sunday). I said yes , and the trip was on. 

 

Hill Fort of Bhuvanagiri: 

If you have ever have traveled to Warangal by road or by train you would not miss this small fort on top of the hill. I remember watching the hill for the first time as a kid, from a train window, on my way to Hyderabad. Since then i was always fascinated by this small fort and it was my long lasting desire to trek to the top of it.  

 

The fort is constructed in the 10th century A.D by Tribhuvanamalla Vikramaditya VI. That makes this fort atleast 1000 years old. In contrast Golconda fort is 400 years old. And Since it is built by Tribhuvanamalla , the fort is called Tribhuvanagiri , Which latter became Bhuvanagiri and with the Persian and Urdu influence of the local kings became Bhongir. The fort was built on a small egg shaped hill, and there were small steps cut into the rock to climb up to the fort. 

 

Drive To The Fort:

I started at 8:30 A.M on Sunday morning , and started towards Mr.Daddy's home in Manikonda, Hyderabad. I picked him up and on the way we stopped at Organic hotel to have breakfast. After having quick breakfast we took the ORR to reach Warangal Highway.

(Organic Hotel , where we had or break Fast) 

 

As there was no hurry , we mostly drove in the middle lane at 80KMPH max speed, The ORR charged us 140/- to get down at Warangal high way, And soon after that we had to pay another toll on the highway, We took a to and fro pass for 140/- and went on our way. The toll has dedicated lanes for fastag , and if you still don't have one Get one ASAP. 

 

As soon as you cross the toll gate and proceed further , you see something like this (Image is taken from Wiki) 

With the help of google maps we reached the entry point of the fort. There are two gates to get into , one for regular tourists and another for rock climbing school in the premises. There is ample space to park 8-10 cars. We parked our car , proceeded to the shop next to the ticket counter bought ourselves a water bottle & moved to ticket counter to buy our tickets. Ticket cost for Adults is rs: 10/- per head.

 

The Rock has steps cut into it , which looks fairly a recent addition to the 1000 year old Hill Fort. We started our climb from this point. 

 

The weather forecast for Bhongir on that day was partially cloudy and with intermittent rains. But Sun god has different plans for us. It was hot and the rock reflected the heat. After a brief walk , we ended up at the first gateway to the fort. There was some shade and i sat there for a couple of minutes. 

(The first gateway , where you will find some shade.) 

 

After the first rest stop , there is enough tree cover and it was a little cloudy , we reached the second Gateway in some time. 

 

The distance between the second and third Gateway is not much , but there is a increase in elevation. We soon reached the third gateway , and the the view looked like this after crossing the third gateway. 

 

From here there is no tree cover , and to my bad luck there is no cloud cover either.  From here ,  if you walked towards right from the path , you would find some ruins. This signifies that you have reached level 1. From here the path goes on to the top of the hill. We kept on walking and discussing on how ingeniously the architect of the fort has constructed multiple Dams to conserve rain water. 

(Level 1 ruins towards the left of the picture and Check Dams to conserve towards the right of the Picture) 

 

From here the walk way is very steep , one has to be careful. And this can be slippery during rains. 

(Steep Walk way , with stairs cut into the rock, Rails installed in the modern era for support, Another Check Dam towards right and Mr.Daddy gauging on how far we have to go)

 

After this i was completely exhausted , and stopped at every 5-10 minutes on the pretext of taking pictures ? ,  Approximately after an hour we started , we reached the top of the fort. 

(Celebratory pic of climbing the hill, My smile will tell you how happy i was on the top, the cannon at the back might be a late addition to the fort , as they were developed only in 15th century) 

 

There are three structures at the top of the Hill , one ruined old fort , and two other government buildings , with Cellular tower on top of one. The other building was build on top adjacent to an old well. (The Pic of the fort). 

 

The views from the top of the hill are simply amazing. Google maps told us that we were 1000 meters above MSL. Below are a few pics of the views from the fort. 

 (You can spot Bhongir Railway station , from where i first saw this magnificent Hill Fort. Also , at the bottom right , notice how Dams were constructed to save water.)

 

(Another pond , and the fort wall at a distance)

 

We explored the whole place for an hour , found a small entrance and a staircase, just out of curiosity i went in and started climbing the stairs , and Mr.Daddy followed me. 

The stairs took us to the top of the fort. There is no higher point in Bhongir Than this.  

(The fort view from behind)

 

(Me after conquering the fort, instead of a sword i posed with an Umbrella, modern day weapon to fight the soldiers of the nature) 

By 2 o clock we were hungry and decided to descend, as soon as we thought of of it , we could see dark clouds manifest out of no where and weather became cloudy and pleasant.  I wonder where these clouds were when i was climbing up the hill.   

 

We climbed down, and there were 6 other cars parked in the parking. We went to the shop next to ticket counter had another bottle of water. Went to a nearby restaurant in Bhongir and had our lunch. After and uneventful lunch , we started back to Hyderabad , and it started raining just as we were ready to leave Bhongir. 

Tips for Trek to the Top : 

• Carry your own water one bottle per person.
• Carry an umbrella , Sun or Rain it will help you a lot. 
• Avoid Summers , It was tiring to climb in October Sun. Imagine April Sun beating down on you. 

 

Suggest to go in groups, Half of the time i was engrossed in deep conversations with Mr.Daddy , and didn't feel the tiredness. 
Wear shoes and avoid Slippers and Flip flops at all costs

PS: For those who are wondering , why i call him Daddy , You can find the explanation in my previous write up

[Gowtham]

On 10/18/2019 at 8:38 PM, LoneRanger said:

They don't even sell Liquor today. 

 

haha

Beautiful pictures and very helpful information man. 
Loved reading it. 

Places looks completely deserted on a holiday. 

[uday]

On 10/18/2019 at 8:38 PM, LoneRanger said:

Tips for Trek to the Top : 

• Carry your own water one bottle per person.
• Carry an umbrella , Sun or Rain it will help you a lot. 
• Avoid Summers , It was tiring to climb in October Sun. Imagine April Sun beating down on you. 

 

Suggest to go in groups, Half of the time i was engrossed in deep conversations with Mr.Daddy , and didn't feel the tiredness. 
Wear shoes and avoid Slippers and Flip flops at all costs

 

This is a perfect guide for the first timer. It was a great experience reading you post on Monday morning. 

How much time does it take? To and Fro for the trek. Can a beginner like me do it? 

[karthik]

Nice log with great pictures and good write- up. 

On 10/18/2019 at 8:38 PM, LoneRanger said:

It was hot and the rock reflected the heat. After a brief walk , we ended up at the first gateway to the fort. There was some shade and i sat there for a couple of minutes. 

 

I guess early in the morning is the best time to visit, Any idea about timings? 

[Naveen1]

Trek is easy. A beginner car do it without any problems.  As LoneRanger suggested, you need to take good pair of shoes, last section can be slippery. Don't go during rain. 

[LoneRanger]

5 hours ago, Ranger said:

 

haha

Beautiful pictures and very helpful information man. 
Loved reading it. 

Places looks completely deserted on a holiday. 

 

Thanks @Ranger , there were very few people , some 5-10. But After lunch there were some 3 different batches of 4-6 young folks came to trek. 

[LoneRanger]

5 hours ago, uday said:

 

This is a perfect guide for the first timer. It was a great experience reading you post on Monday morning. 

How much time does it take? To and Fro for the trek. Can a beginner like me do it? 

 

I am a very heavy personality , and i am a beginner, with not much daily physical activity . We started at 11:45 A.M, reached the fort @ 12:40-12:45. Spent around 90 minutes at the fort , resting and clicking pictures and talking about the construction of the fort and started back at 2:00 and reached parking at 2:30. So we took 3 hours for complete trip. 

 

Folks with good fitness levels can do it in half the time. Hope this helps

[LoneRanger]

1 hour ago, karthik said:

 

I guess early in the morning is the best time to visit, Any idea about timings? 

 

The fort opens at 10:00 A.M and closes at 5:00 P.M. hence we cannot plan in comfortable hours of early morning or late evening. 

[sagar]

Lovely pictures accompanied with some amazing information which can be very helpful @LoneRanger. Thanks much for sharing your log and I thoroughly enjoyed reading through. Your log reminded me of our past breakfast drive meet to this place.

 

Sharing it here again if you had missed out to see this  

 

[shiva]

20 hours ago, LoneRanger said:

The fort opens at 10:00 A.M and closes at 5:00 P.M.

 

I did a early morning trek. We can trek from the back side of the fort, which doesn't have any entrance and join the steps little ahead.
Early mornings during winter is too good, fog and sunrise must experience . I will try to share the pictures which are stuck in my old mobile (display not working ?)/ 

Refreshed my memories.  Thank for sharing the beautiful log. 

Any other places similar to this fort around Hyderabad?

[LoneRanger]

21 hours ago, sagar said:

Sharing it here again

Thanks @sagar , must be a beautiful trek for yous, and it was a large group too. But one thing i observed is , how different the fort looks , It was Greeny in my trip and it was all warm and Browny in yours. Attaching a couple of pics to showcase the contrast. Which season did you guys visit the fort?

 

 

Both the above pics are of the same Gateway

 

[LoneRanger]

2 hours ago, shiva said:

We can trek from the back side of the fort

Hello @shiva , If possible can you share the details , it will be helpful for others. 

 

2 hours ago, shiva said:

Any other places similar to this fort around Hyderabad?

 

Here is the list I compiled , 

• Golconda Fort (In Hyderabad)
• Rachakonda Fort ( 62 Kms from hyderabad)
• Medak Fort(Methuku Durgam , 64 Kms from Hyderabad)
• Koilakonda Fort (98 Kms from Hyderabad) 
• Devarakonda Fort (108 Kms from Hyderabad) 
• Elgandal Fort( 130 Kms from Hyderabad) 

You might not find much in these places. But all good for Half/One day trip. 

[Gowtham]

• Golconda Fort (In Hyderabad) -- Complete 
• Rachakonda Fort ( 62 Kms from hyderabad) -- Completed
• Medak Fort(Methuku Durgam , 64 Kms from Hyderabad) --Pending 
• Koilakonda Fort (98 Kms from Hyderabad)  -- climbed other hills in the surrounding area, pending 
• Devarakonda Fort (108 Kms from Hyderabad) -- Pending
• Elgandal Fort( 130 Kms from Hyderabad) -- Pending

Interesting information,  with the temperatures going down, I think we can visit few forts in the coming months. 

[Shekar]

Very nice write up and will be a guide for first timers. My father's elder brother (no more now, my cousin stays now) used stay very close to the entry point of the fort and since my childhood I was dreaming to climb the fort but not finished it. 

[LoneRanger]

4 hours ago, Ranger said:

I think we can visit few forts in the coming months.

 

@Ranger , Looks like we are going to have a Meet-up soon  . FYI :  Telangana Tourism runs Haritha Heritage Hotel in Medak Fort.( Only 4 rooms tough). 

[LoneRanger]

48 minutes ago, Shekar said:

since my childhood I was dreaming to climb the fort but not finished it.

 

Don't delay any longer @Shekar , It is a good time to trek the fort. 

[karthik]

19 hours ago, LoneRanger said:

Attaching a couple of pics to showcase the contrast. Which season did you guys visit the fort?

 

Angle pictures are very identical ?
I think it looks like summer? 

[sagar]

21 hours ago, LoneRanger said:

Which season did you guys visit the fort?

 

Yeah it was a fun drive meet as we were in a good number. We made our visit in the month of February before the summer kicked in.. This season should probably be the best time for an early morning trek up the fort  

 

21 hours ago, LoneRanger said:

• Golconda Fort (In Hyderabad)
• Rachakonda Fort ( 62 Kms from hyderabad)
• Medak Fort(Methuku Durgam , 64 Kms from Hyderabad)
• Koilakonda Fort (98 Kms from Hyderabad) 
• Devarakonda Fort (108 Kms from Hyderabad) 
• Elgandal Fort( 130 Kms from Hyderabad) 

 

That's a great list of forts available around Hyderabad for a decent day drive during any weekend. Thanks much for sharing this valuable information @LoneRanger.

[LoneRanger]

8 hours ago, karthik said:

Angle pictures are very identical 

 

Yes , there was a small platform , which has the canon on top of it. Looks like we both shot the fort from the top of it.

[LoneRanger]

7 hours ago, sagar said:

Thanks much for sharing this valuable information

 

You are welcome @sagar , All the information was curated from various blogs and forums. In fact , I got to know about Rachakonda fort only after reading about it here.

[Gowtham]

On 10/23/2019 at 7:23 PM, LoneRanger said:

I got to know about Rachakonda fort only after reading about it here.

Rachakonda fort is decent, early morning and winter is perfect time to visit. 
No entry required, carry a flask to tea/coffee along with water and have fun.