THE LOOP: Maredumilli → Sileru → Maredumilli
16–17 July 2026
215 km | 2123m Elevation Gain | 4 Cyclists | No Support
Maredumilli → Sileru (via Dharakonda): 96.6 km
Sileru → Maredumilli (via Donkarayi): 116 km
Terrain: Eastern Ghats, Forest, Tribal Roads
The true story of cycling across Eastern Ghats — the route, the reality, and the survival.
Why This Loop Mattered
Some rides are workouts. Some are adventures. And then there are rides that sit quietly inside you for years — waiting.
This loop was one of those roads. Not a race. Not a challenge. A calling.
I didn’t ride it to prove anything. I rode it because it refused to leave my mind.
The Road That Waited
“Some roads don’t ask you twice. They wait years for you to come back.” “Some roads never leave you. They sit quietly in your head for years, waiting.”
For me, that road was towards Gudisa — the stretch from Maredumilli toward Sileru via Dharakonda.
A couple of years ago, I drove a small piece of this road with a friend to climb Gudisa hill. Since that day and thought: I want to ride all of this route. Through the tribes. Through the Eastern Ghats. The full loop.
But I never dared alone.
One day, a cycle mate said, “Let’s plan a long, beautiful ride.” I suggested this road. He said, “We’ll do it. We can take a truck back from Sileru.”
But the more I stared at Google Maps, the stronger the urge became — not just Maredumilli → Sileru, but the entire loop, returning via Donkarayi. Not easy. Not solo. And I wasn’t even sure if the stretch was cycle‑friendly.
We confirmed the plan one day — not fully sure if we’d do the entire loop. I pulled in two more riders. Team set. Car to Maredumilli. Start there.
I calculated the elevation. Plan and discussed: finish the first half, save the massive climb for last.
We enquired with a couple of cyclists; a few gave us an estimate, and a few didn’t know. Whatever we understood was only from Google Maps and the information available online. On paper it looked tough. On the day, it was tougher.
PART 1: Maredumilli → Sileru (via Dharakonda)
The Day the Road Fought Back:
4:30 AM. Maredumilli. Rice meal the night before. Good sleep. Gear on. Two bananas. Water. A picture. Start.
The first few kilometres were perfect — villages, cool air, easy warm‑up, music, I thought, this will be a fantastic ride.
Then the road changed:
Lower bridge after lower bridge. Broken cement. Broken asphalt. Stones everywhere. A punishment if you try this on a road bike.
No hotels. No breakfast. Just mountains, tribes, fields. Bananas and electrolytes were gone.
Ups and downs got sharper. We asked for directions — “This way,” someone pointed. The road ahead looked worse. No other option. We kept going.
Those broken, patched, cracked cement roads and lower bridges continued, all small stones scattered everywhere, it is becoming hard to control road bike, while it wants to cruise the downhill. My bike was dancing on stones — grinding tires, rattling rims, vibrations in my bones. Sometimes I could hear my shoulder and temple bones adjusting with tiny noises. This road is not suitable for cars or bikes, as there are several low bridges that can get submerged during heavy rains, and the road itself may become damaged. My co‑riders on hybrids and MTBs were ahead, having a better time.
Then an old tile‑roofed shop — couple of bananas and a juicy pineapple were our breakfast. We chatted with the owner — even here, people buy/sell land, plan cement houses, the same living and struggle.
A sad part: even that shop sold junk in plastic sachets, just like what we eat in cities. I was a bit surprised to see them there. I expected old‑style snacks and candies.
People from the villages — passersby and those riding past on their vehicles, many asked, “Where are you going?” The thumbs‑up gestures and smiles were small motivation boosters. We were kept asking few of them about breakfast, food, and the road.
Silent Killer Cross:
We were silently pedalling through mountains. We didn’t realise we were climbing a massive mountain until we started cruising a long downhill. Eastern Ghats — crossed. One of the highest peaks on our route — done without knowing.
The Stream:
I had to go off‑road because of broken patches to maintain balance, ended up riding through cattle waste. Cleaned it at a stream.
We found a newly opened store — cookies, biscuits, junk and water. Again, those snacks, biscuits, chocolates, junk in plastic sachets. Plastic scattered everywhere. Painful to see in such a beautiful place.
Everyone said the same thing: “Food available only in Dharakonda. And it’s far.”
The roller‑coaster roads continued.
The much awaited Lunch:
We saw someone selling a kind of snack in a small village and thought of having it as our food before lunch. But everyone felt we should push on and have lunch at Dharakonda — serious biking with tired, painful legs, no breakfast, and a desperate ride toward lunch.
Finally — Dharakonda 1 km. Smiles on all faces.
No mobile signal or GPS — we almost missed the turn to Sileru in Dharakonda town. Someone guided us back on track, while we take the turn, we found a small hotel — hot rice, curries, curd. Pure hospitality. They kept serving more than we could eat.
We took rest for a few minutes, but we wanted to start again, as we didn’t have a hotel booked and weren’t sure how the weather or the ride would turn out. We were a bit worried and, in a hurry, to complete the remaining distance to Sileru.
The hotel owner told us that after a couple of kilometres from here, the road was going to be good. A sigh of relief for all of us — and of course for me and my road bike.
The First Destination:
From there — thick forest, a bit downhill, cloudy, getting darker. We wanted to reach Sileru before rain and nightfall.
Finally — Sileru 0 km. We made it. We took couple of pictures at that 0 km milestone.
Locals guided us to a hotel. The owner welcomed us warmly, took a group photo, informed local reporters, and gave us big rooms for the same price after hearing about our cycling adventure. That kindness stayed with us.
The moment we checked in — downpour. Lucky escape.
Tea. Rest. Hot bath. Another tea. Snacks. Proper rice dinner with curd in a pot — perfect. Quick walk. Next‑day planning. Fully tired. Early bed.
PART 2: Sileru → Maredumilli (via Donkarayi)
The 25 km Climb That Tested Everything:
4:30 AM. Gear on. Same motivation. Two bananas. A picture in the middle of Sileru town. Start.
Beautiful morning — flat roads, downhills, fog on mountains, music on, clouds in valleys, everything green. It’s cinematic — beautiful, scenic views and very nice weather.
The breakfast at Mangapadu and Donkarayi: Mountain in front. Clouds above. Hot tea in hand. This is breakfast.
We searched for tea — found a small tiled hut in front of a huge cloud‑wrapped mountain. We had a quick and pure breakfast. Hot tea.
Another small hotel at Donkarayi — another good breakfast, with pure Puri and Andhra style curry.
Water bridge: When the river decides to cross the road instead. India, you’re wild.
Rolling ahead — We found a bridge over the road and thought of taking a quick look at what it could be. Surprisingly, it was a water bridge — a canal flowing over the road. First time witnessing it. Lots of photos.
CRPF marching — maybe for security.
Locals suggested a dam, bridge, reservoir. We took a steep narrow road to see it — beautiful. Heard films were shot there.
Time was running. We wanted to reach the “Y” junction by noon — 4–5 hours before dark, time it takes to Maredumilli from the foot hill. The forest mountain after that gets dark early. Wildlife. Forest police restrictions.
Downhill cruising:
Enjoyed the ride through thick forest. Sometimes dark due to huge trees and clouds. Humid drizzle. Old Telugu songs playing. Touched 50 kmph.
An unknown and surprising junction made me to stop and wait for the other riders, so none of us would miss the group and the road or end up taking a different route.
we asked for directions — avoided the waterfall route due to time.
No hotel for lunch or food. Water running out.
The clock was ticking. 25 km of climb ahead. Must finish before 5 PM.
I reached the “Y” junction first and waited. Once everyone joined, we started.
Motivation before the Killer?
When we reached to the Sileru hotel, the owner was surprised to hear that we had cycled all the way from Maredumilli to Sileru via Dharakonda. He took a picture of us, clicked a selfie, and said he was going to inform the media because he felt we had done something truly adventurous.
Later, at the Maredumilli check post, one of the media persons had been waiting for us for a long time to speak with us and take another photograph. Apparently, our cycling trip was covered in four newspapers, along with our photos.
It wasn’t exactly what we had told them—some details were added here and there—but we genuinely appreciate the effort they took to wait for us and cover our journey.
The Killer:
First 10 km — tough but okay. After that — draining.
At the 3rd major climb, I felt dizzy — no lunch, low sugars. For a second: I may not make it.
A co‑rider gave Bolt electrolytes tablets — helped. Stood and pedalled.
Bad timing — sunny, humid, sweaty, draining.
One co‑rider’s HR was high, leg coordination off. I told him to walk. No hurry. I decided to walk/ride with him.
We saw a broken truck — the driver collecting wood for a campfire. He said he once saw a tiger here. For a second — fear.
Another expert rider on a mountain bike was pedalling those peaks and hairpin bends easily. He kept going ahead, but he always looked back for us and joined again.
Electrolytes gone. Water gone. Fully drained.
A car stopped — offered some food. It was stale — couldn’t eat.
Another car stopped — gave water. We mixed electrolytes. Each drop that went down the throat felt like coming back to life.
Another rider struggled but reached a viewpoint with a mobile ice‑cream shop and joined that mountain bike rider.
Hairpin bends — steep, immediate climbs. Even small elevations felt huge.
Map said 15 km left — but about 5-6 KM uphill. We decided: finish somehow. Worst case, walk.
My calves were tight, painful. No jokes, no songs — silence.
We rode flats and moderate climbs, walked tough hair pin climbs. We walked about 4 km. Reached the viewpoint — ice‑cream shop, joined other two riders. Everyone had 3–4 scoops — sugar kick. Energy back, started pedalling.
A couple more climbs. Then rain — cold, shivering — still pedalling.
Finally — downhill. Super downhill. Smiles returning.
But the last 10 km felt endless. Every bump felt like a mountain.
Counting down each kilometre. Desperately waiting for the start point.
Finally — we can see the starting point. Laughter. Smiles. Relief. A sense of achievement.
The loop I dreamt of — complete.
Finish line: We started as 4 riders. We finished as 1 team. Loop complete.
EPILOGUE: What the Road Taught Me
Be determined to explore — you discover your body’s strength only when you test it. The road has no interest in your plans — it only watches whether you keep moving when those plans fail.
CLOSING REFLECTION
Some rides end when you reach the finish line. This one didn’t.
It stayed — in the legs, in the lungs, in the mind. A reminder that the body breaks, the mind bends, but the road… the road keeps teaching.
This loop wasn’t just a ride. It was a return — to a road that waited.
TIPS FOR RIDERS
1. Carry more electrolytes than you think you need.
This loop drains you faster than normal rides.
2. Don’t depend on hotels.
Food options are rare. Plan your nutrition.
3. Start early — both days.
Forest roads get dark early. Wildlife movement increases.
4. Expect broken roads.
Road bikes struggle. Hybrids/MTBs have an advantage.
5. Respect the climbs.
The 25 km Donkarayi → Maredumilli climb is not forgiving.
6. Hydration is survival.
Streams are rare. Shops are rare. Water is gold.
7. Don’t ride alone.
This loop demands teamwork — mentally and physically.
8. Keep your devices charged.
When you get a chance, keep your devices charged, when you have signal you can call home, and for pictures, and music.
Few pics and fun
