| Wanderlust MC: Devgarh Fort Ride: Sunday: March 26th 2006
Riders: Anukarana"STRIDER" Singh [Custom Lightning 500] Rajesh "RAJESSS" Thakur [Electra] Nikunj "BLUE FILM" Goenka [Machismo AVL 350] Rahul "SUTTA" Gupta [Thunderbird] One Way Distance: 130 Kms Total Distance Ridden: 260 Kms Good Roads: 90 Kms in all Dirt Track: 60 Kms in all Rest: MP Roads Destination: Devgarh Fort. A 16th Century Fort hidden deeper in the already un-explored and un-exploited Forests of MP. The Fort, built atop a Hill by Gond Tribals, stands in ruins now, with some recent desperate attempts being made by the pathetic MP Government to salvage and retain it's Ancient Charm, Heritage and History. To get to the Fort, one needs to get on the Nagpur-Chhindwara road which Initially starts from Nagpur on NH69, all the way till Saoner, from where one has to get onto the State Highway to Chhindwara. After crossing a small Ghat through the forest, after entering MP, one needs to keep asking passersby for the Village MAHAKHED. Just before entering Chhindwara, there's a Sign board on the right side point Left towards the Village Mahakhed. The roads beyond Mahakhed Lead to Devgarh fort. Bikes can go right uptil the Fort, but one needs to carry ample of water and refreshments along, as there's nothing that can be found there. Not a Soul!! Highlights of the Ride: The Highlights of the ride, besides the Fort itself, were the Dirt Tracks. Dangerously steep inclines and declines with nothing but loose dirt and and rocks as pavement. While climbing them is fairly easy, with a few unwanted wheelspins digging the tyres deep in the dirt, and struggling clutchplates, descending the dirt tacks is the hard part, as the texture and decline of the dirt tracks are such that you just cant roll down with or without engaging gears, and neither can you dare to apply the brakes while rolling downwards, as the wheels just slip off the rocks or skid in the mud. All four of us had minor spills atleast once on the dirt tracks!! Nikunj, riding more cautiously as it was his first time on dirt tracks, was riding tail most of the times, and had a crash landing even before we reached the Fort. He sprained his ankle and broke his Brake side footrest mounting and had to ride with his left foot, the sprained one, resting on the clutch cover till we reached Nagpur again!! Once we reached what we thought was the final point till where our bikes would go, it was a tough 1.5 Kms trek upwards into the jungle to the Fort. The Summer Sun Scorching our skins and the dry heat parching our throats, it was quite a fun trek!! Rahul and Rajesh gave up on the trek barely half a Km into it, and decided to turn back and stay with the bikes, while Nikunj [with his sprained ankle] and I made it all the way till the Fort, and soaked in the atmosphere of the ruins of the lost Kingdom of the Ancient Gond Tribals!! It was quite an enchanting experience walking through the Kings halls, and Sitting on his Throne too!! The MP Government has put up Information boards everywhere telling the History or meanings of certain places around the Fort!! All of them, including the ruins have been brilliantly captured by Nikunj on his Vivitar SLR!! Some pics, which are of a much lower quality and resolution, were taken from a tiny 1 Pixel Digicam.. a toy basically!! The most amazing thought was, that even during this day the jungle that leads to the fort is so dense, even in the dry Summer heat, that it must be almost impenetrable during the Monsoons!! And the fort was built in the 16th Century when the forest must've been much more denser and dangerous than it is now... how on Earth could anyone ever reach that place, let alone build a magnificent Fort there?? Why of all the places was the Fort built in a place which is even in this day and age almost inaccessible and unknown to the rest of the world beyond the tiny villages that surround it?? And what A magical place and time it must've been during it's glory days. We started from Nagpur at 10 AM. Took us four hours to reach the Fort. Spent 2 Hours there. and took another 5 hours to reach back Nagpur which included an Hour Long dinner at a Dhaba on the way back!! AWESOME ride, overall!! Just wish more guys from the club could've joined in for it!! But this is one place we're definately gonna visit again.. in Monsoons or Winter time!! Cheers to a short but nonetheless exciting, adventurous and thrilling ride to a place forgotten in Time, lost to Memory and still existing somewhere in Space. Anukaran Singh Wanderlust MC 2AM, Thursday April 6th 2006 |
My Bike parked on the way to the Fort 352x288 01.jpg 2006-03-26 00:00:00 |
Nikunj comin' down the Dirt Road 352x288 02.jpg 2006-03-26 00:00:00 |
Nikunj makes a crash landing 288x352 03.jpg 2006-03-26 00:00:00 |
Rahul, Rajesh and Nikunj start their Trek to the Fort 352x288 04.jpg 2006-03-26 00:00:00 |
Me trekking to the Fort 288x352 05.jpg 2006-03-26 00:00:00 |
First sight of the Fort 352x288 06.jpg 2006-03-26 00:00:00 |
Another view 352x288 07.jpg 2006-03-26 00:00:00 |
Fort Walls 800x536 08.JPG 2006-03-26 00:00:00 |
View from the Fort Entrance 800x536 09.JPG 2006-03-26 00:00:00 |
Me lying at the Fort Entrance Gate 402x600 10.JPG 2006-03-26 00:00:00 |
800x536 11.JPG 2006-03-26 00:00:00 |
800x536 12.JPG 2006-03-26 00:00:00 |
