Two Unplanned Rides: Hesaraghatta Grasslands and the Unexpected Adventure at Muninagara Dam

Some rides are planned weeks in advance. Others just… happen.

This weekend was supposed to be a simple Sunday evening ride to Hesaraghatta Grasslands. A place we’d heard about, somewhere to relax for a couple of hours, click a few pictures, and be back home before it got too late.

What we didn’t know was that this laid-back evening ride would somehow lead to us waking up at 4:30 the next morning, convincing ourselves that going on another ride before work sounded like a perfectly reasonable idea. That second ride turned out to be far more adventurous than either of us expected.

Sunday Evening to Hesaraghatta Grasslands

We left home around 3 PM and reached Hesaraghatta Grasslands at about 4:40 PM. There was quite a bit of traffic on the way, and honestly, if I had known the ride would be this short while spending so much time crawling through traffic, I probably wouldn’t have worn my riding gear. By the time we reached, I was feeling more hot and uncomfortable than excited.

The last couple of kilometres towards the grasslands were completely off road. Nothing too technical or challenging, but definitely enough to remind you that you’re leaving the city behind.

Once we reached, though, it was absolutely worth it.

The grasslands are incredibly peaceful. Families had spread out picnic mats, kids were running around, and there were plenty of biker groups riding up and down the trails. It felt like one of those places where everyone had come for the exact same reason, to escape Bengaluru for a few hours.

We spent nearly two hours there, walking around, clicking photos, and recording a few reels for Ruchita. The weather had become pleasant by then, and watching the evening slowly settle over the grasslands made it difficult to leave.

As the sun started disappearing around 6:30 PM, we packed up and headed back. On the way we stopped at a nearby Udupi restaurant for dinner before riding home, reaching around 8:30 PM.

We were completely exhausted. Or so we thought.

Monday Morning - Muninagara Dam

After crashing into bed almost immediately, we woke up at around 4:30 AM.

The post-ride feeling hadn’t disappeared yet.

Half jokingly, I asked Ruchita,

“Want to go on another ride?”

To my surprise, she said yes.

Within thirty minutes we were dressed, the bike was ready, and we were riding towards Muninagara Dam. The plan was simple, reach the dam, spend some time there, have breakfast somewhere nearby, and be back home before 10:30 AM so we could both start work.

It sounded easy enough.

We reached the area around 5:45 AM while it was still dark. Sunrise hadn’t quite happened yet, and visibility wasn’t great.

That’s when things started getting interesting.

Google Maps directed us through what looked like a narrow road between a few houses. Since it was still dark, we weren’t convinced this could possibly be the correct way. It genuinely felt like Maps was asking us to ride through somebody’s property.

So naturally…we ignored it.

Instead, we noticed another road that went around the area and decided that surely this had to be the proper entrance.

A few kilometres later, the road turned into an off-road trail. A bit far off from the entrance stood what looked like a massive banyan tree, and Google Maps labelled the route as the Muninagara Trail.

We decided to trust it. It seemed to be a hiking or cycling trail.

The Forest Trail

The trail quickly became much more difficult than we expected.

Loose rocks. Uneven surfaces. Steep sections.

Every few hundred metres we stopped, looked at each other, and asked,

“Are you sure this is the right way?”

Neither of us knew the answer. Yet we kept going.

Eventually we reached a section with electric fencing meant to keep wild animals away. After carefully passing through it, another hundred metres later we arrived at a forest checkpost overlooking the dam.

Except…the gate was locked.

The staff member at the checkpost looked thoroughly unimpressed to see us.

He explained that we’d entered through the forest route, which visitors aren’t supposed to use. Unfortunately, he couldn’t open the gate that would take us directly to the dam entrance, so our only option was to ride all the way back through the same trail.

There wasn’t much else we could do.

The return ride felt even harder. There were several moments where I genuinely thought I was going to drop the bike on the rocky sections, but somehow we managed to keep it upright the entire way.

The Wildlife Surprise

Just when we thought the adventure was over, we noticed something strange. There was fresh animal dung right in the middle of the trail.

We were almost certain it hadn’t been there while riding in. Naturally, our brains immediately jumped to the worst possible conclusion.

“Could there be a leopard nearby?”

A few seconds later we heard a loud grunt echo somewhere through the trees.

It wasn’t a sound either of us recognised.

That was enough. Any thoughts of casually enjoying nature disappeared instantly, and we started making our way out much quicker than before.

A hundred metres later, nearly twenty deer suddenly leapt across the trail in front of us before disappearing into the forest.

Under normal circumstances it would’ve been one of the most beautiful wildlife sightings we’ve ever had.

At that moment…we just wanted to reach the main road.

Breakfast and a Lesson Learned

Once we finally got back onto the highway, the entire conversation revolved around what had just happened.

Was that sound a leopard? A wild boar? Something else entirely?

We even found ourselves googling different types of animal dung while sitting at A2B over breakfast.

Later that day we searched YouTube and realised exactly what had happened. The route Google Maps originally suggested the one between the houses that we’d decided looked suspicious was actually the correct entrance to Muninagara Dam.

The trail we had taken instead circles around the dam through the forest. So if you’re planning to visit Muninagara Dam… trust Google Maps. Sometimes it really does know better.

Final Thoughts

Neither of these rides involved covering hundreds of kilometres or crossing mountain ranges. Together they were barely over a hundred kilometres from Bengaluru. Yet somehow they’ll remain far more memorable than many longer rides.

One gave us a peaceful evening enjoying the grasslands. The other accidentally dropped us into an off-road forest adventure on a Monday morning.

Not bad for two rides that weren’t really planned at all.