A Day out to Gopalaswamy Betta

There are times when you wish if you could breath some fresh air. That’s exactly when you feel that the unnatural, processed, chilled air inside your office room is slowly killing your natural instincts. That’s the right time to take a break. The nearest Sunday is the answer. Then its all about making up your mind, saddle up your motorcycle and twist the throttle. For me, nice times always come in the form of getaways to hill stations and that too on two wheels.

Gopalaswamy Betta is the highest peak in the Bandipur National Park. This hill is fully covered with green grass. Though I have heard about this place as a picnic destination, I’ve ever had a chance to visit the place till last Sunday.

Gopalaswamy Betta is approximately 85km from Mysore. 10km. after Gundalpet, there is a small village where there is a very much visible right turn that leads you to Gopalaswamy Betta. The final 8km stretch is the true reward of the trip. Rough narrow patch, tempting curves and wilderness all around- this is the perfect recipe for adrenaline pump when you are on your motorcycle. Heart tries to repeat the same beats of the motorcycle with every throttle twist.

I don’t know how many times I have passed Gundelpet during my rides to Kerala. But I never had the fun of climbing this hill. This time, unfortunately I didn’t have a camera with me to copy the moods of this beautiful hill. As soon as you enter the peak, the mountain welcomes you with a chilled breeze and it never stops until you get down. Its worth spending few hours on the peak doing nothing. Your mind is calm and your thoughts are positive when you are close to nature. That’s one magic of mother nature. When you are surrounded by hills, greenery and trees no sorrows and worries bother you. I don’t know if this is the case with everyone. Its pretty much true in my case.

It’s been few months since I have seen rain. Gopalaswamy Betta blessed me with cold showers after almost a couple of dry months. I was so happy that I did not have any rain gear with me except the jacket which hardly covered my head and very minimal parts of the body. I have enjoyed many drenching experiences and this was one of them.

I have added Gopalaswami Betta into my favorites’ list. I leave a favorite place only to come back. We both will see each other again.
Oh, Let me not miss to mention about this fellow. My hearty wishes to the cop who looted 100 bucks from me for having an outstation registered motorcycle. Hope he multiplies that amount and becomes a millionaire in the near future.

PS:
Thanks to Aishwarya for information about the place and directions.
Thanks to Sameesh for accompanying me as pillion.