unknown treasures ap

When Bets finally relented to my pestering and naggings about visiting Hyderabad for a weekend, I was one triumphant soul and the weekend planner was opened. But planning a trip is not as easy as planning a project. Specially, when u’re particularly sick of visiting the same ol’ places cos the itinerary was always the same whenever somebody landed here, Ramoji, Golconda, Birla Mandir, Hussain sagar (though not necessarily in that order). So this time, we decided to go someplace else, where we could not jus strain our eyes, but also give some exercise to our legs, which had become a li’l too cramped by jus sitting in office.17th February, ’07, relishing the traditional Hyderabadi biriyani and Pakistani mutton curry at Shadab near Charminar, Sandy had a brainwave. Let’s go to Bongiri, he exclaims and we stare at him, a li’l stupefied. Forget the fact that we all are still new to Hyderabad, but at least he should be shouting some names which are very famous on the tourist destinations. He immediately calls up his colleague and gets an idea on the direction. Itz somewhere in uppal, says he. Where’s Uppal??? We’ll find out. Never knew it was such an important city in Hyderabad. So there we started off to this unknown place, with not an iota of idea as to what lay in store for us ahead…….I proclaimed myself as the official guide, who did full justice to her role as she got the others thoroughly confused, and helped the whole group get lost twice or thrice. But then what more does one expect from such a thoroughly unplanned trip!!!!So the foursome awesome started on their trip to Bongiri. This fort is 51kms from Hyderabad and is on the Uppal road. We started at around 2.30pm from Shadab (Charminar) and reached our destination a little after 4. Our journey was pretty comfortable, considering the fact that the sun was beating into our eyes while we were riding. The road was very smooth, and the traffic was bearable throughout the journey.Known as Bhongir Fort to the Andhraites, this fort is located upon a single hill at Bhongir. More than 500 feet high and spread over an area of 40 acres, the fort was considered practically impregnable by invading armies. Built on the 12th century, it has a unique egg-shaped construction with 2 entry points protected by huge rocks. We started out with jus munch chocolates, and a bottle of water which got rapidly used up even before we reached halfway through. Jenny particularly found a thrill in “discovering” new routes, routes never walked upon before (or so he believed) which could have ultimately ended up all of us in yashoda hospital with a fractured bone or two. But lady luck was with us the whole time and we reached the top quite safely following our Vasco da gama.It will always remain a mystery as to why this place has not been talked of much. The view from the top is absolutely breathtaking. Lush greenery all around makes u want for more. There is a small house like structure at the top. Guess it used to be occupied until recently. A small pool is also perched at the top which badly reminds u of the ol’ pearl of wisdom, “Water water everywhere, but not a drop to drink”. We would have given snoopy n goofy n their likes a run for their money as we lolled our tongues out, badly in need of a drop of water. Again lady luck was on our side, as we set our thirsty eyes upon a family, carrying a huge container of water. Always on the lookout for making new friends ;), we befriended our way among them and ended up gorging madly on their precious water, not to forget their hot pakodas also. We were lucky to catch the sun setting down and the sight was just amazing. The sun looked more majestic on its descent downwards with itz golden red rays glazing the countryside, and expressing itz reluctance at having to bid farewell for the day. This was very much our feelings when we realized we had to make our way down like the sun. Our descent was sprinted compared to our snail ascent. But we took our own time, relishing every moment of it, and capturing everything in our cams. Bhongir fort is a good destination for an evening getaway, but be sure to be armed with loads of water, to quench your thirsty appetites.