Chandrampalli Dam and Chincholi Forest

Karnataka is blessed with many beautiful water bodies of which Chandrampalli dam is a less known nevertheless an equally exquisite one. The sleepy village of Chandrampalli approximately 140 km from Hyderabad welcomes us with its two small tea stalls and one pan ki dukaan. (Diya.. you should have purchased something in this dukaan. You surveyed this entire little shop without even asking for a price of a single item.) One can park the vehicles near these stalls or near the Horticulture training centre behind one of these stalls. Well ... Moving ahead from this point we enter a gate which takes us to the earthen boundary of Chandrampalli dam. The dam has its release gates in the southern end.  This dam which is built on Bhima River has an island in it.  This island and the area surrounding this dam offer a beautiful camping site for the trekkers.  A flight of steps on the adjoining hillock takes us to Hanuman temple.  This temple is very unique in its sense. For me this was the first time when I saw Nandi in the mandapa of Hanuman temple. As we all know Nandi, (vehicle of Lord Shiva) is generally a feature of Lord Shiva’s temple. However in this temple we can find it in front of Hanuman’s temple.  After a small hike on the route adjoining this temple we reach an abandoned bungalow.  This bungalow offers us a panoramic view of dam and the Chincholi forest; our next destination.  

Retracing back to the tea stalls a dirt track towards southwest takes us to the Chincholi forest. It would be advisable to fill your water bottles at this point as there is hardly any potable water source on its way to Chincholi forest. After trekking for a distance of approximately 5 km one can reach the highest point of Chincholi forest.  The trail from Chandrampalli village to highest point of Chincholi forest is amazing. It’s a paradise for a birdie, for a butterfly lover, for a snake lover and of course for a person who wishes to have solace in isolation. On our trail we spotted birds like Spotted Pigeons, Rollers, Wagtails, Bee eaters, Jacanas and many more.  Sight of a baby Russell Viper was the peak of it. 

As the route is marked with thorny trees on its way one should have clothes which fully cover hands and legs.  Shorts and Bermudas should be a strict NO for such treks.

Well this trip will be a permanent memory for me for tons of reasons prominent being Diyanat’s crude and jolly Hyderabadi entertainment, Mel singing all the way from Hydera-BAD (as Mel would pronounce) to Chandrampalli and ofcourse for  ‘Maa ki Kirkiri’ by Arun. But without the queen of this trip ‘Bawa ki Gadi’ this trip was not complete. Bawa ki Gadi is Arun’s Dads Maruti Alto which we (read Arun) really toiled on the route for which no Alto would have been tested or would be tested.  Every time Arun skidded it, bumped it on a pot hole, hit it on a speed breaker he would scream ‘Bawa ki Gadi’ in Hyderabadi Hindi with a devilish smile on his face. Without undermining the beauty of the terrain, abundance of butterflies, terrific landscape and amazing beauty of the dam  – guys, without Mel, Diyanat and Arun this trek was not worth it !!! Long Live the Karnataka roads, long live the Bawa ki Gadi !!!