Taking cue from French author Marcel Proust who said that the real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes, a group of cyclists have embarked on a journey to explore the hidden charms of places that have been existing with many features still uncovered.
Christened as Tour de Heritage, the State-sponsored programme has set this team on a 20-day-long cycling expedition flagged off at Punnami Ghat in Vijayawada on November 16. An initiative of Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority, Tour de Heritage will culminate in a grand concert at Visakhapatnam on December 7.
The itinerary includes visits to ancient temples to stunning beaches, from man-made bridges to rolling hills, from majestic forts to tranquil valleys. Cycling through landmark cities and sites, they are exploring historic structures, observing flora and fauna, relishing local cuisine and interacting with people who almost everywhere provide them a new perspective of the place. Of the total distance of some 2,000-km planned to be covered as part of the odyssey, the cyclists have already pedalled through over 1200 km so far covering the areas of Undavalli caves near Vijayawada, Chirala beach in Prakasam, Nelapattu bird sanctuary in Nellore and Horsely Hills in Chittoor among other places.
“It’s unbelievable! I’ve travelled before either by train or a car. This is a new experience, possible only when you slow down long enough to notice the birds darting around and the way the light filters through the lush foliage,” says an excited Dharma Teja, the team leader.
In a phone conversation during the team’s rest hour, this avid traveller and a film-maker based out of Hyderabad, talks endlessly about the fun they had at Gandikota, India’s Grand Canyon in Kadapa district and Belum Caves, the largest and longest cave structure open to the public on the Indian subcontinent and known for its speleothems such as stalactite and stalagmite formations, in Kurnool. “The caves have long passages, galleries and spacious caverns with fresh water and siphons. This natural cave system, we are told, was formed over the course of tens of thousands of years by the constant flow of underground water,” he says.
Covering a distance of 100 plus km a day, the team has four permanent members from the beginning of the journey till the end — Dharma Teja, Rajesh Setty, Sandeep Reddy Banoor and Rajesh Krishnamaneni. The remaining participants keep joining and dropping at different points. Besides interacting with the common man in the streets, five major concerts have been organised en route at Nellore, Nandyal, Bhimavaram, Srikakulam and Visakhapatnam. At Nandyal, singer Geeta Madhuri cheered the participants and regaled a large crowd that gathered to get a peek into the new concept of Heritage tour and playback singer Hemachandra entertained the crowd at Nellore.
Notable among the participants is Sekhar Gowd, who has been matching energy levels with one hand and one leg. Sekhar lost his right hand and left leg in an accident but slowly managed to walk after the amputation. “This is an all-new experience for me and I am glad to be part of this tour,” he said.
Sixty one-year-old K Sivaraj is another praiseworthy participant who joined the cyclists at Tirupati.
“We want to promote the culture of adventure activities by designing new trekking and cycling routes based on the feedback given by these team members after their return,” says Himanshu Shukla, CEO of the Tourism Authority.
