Rocks which tower above you.
Rocks which teach you balance.
Rocks which have stood for 2.5 billion years, dating back to the Archean age.
Rocks where you feel miniscule.
Rocks which you would love to climb.
Rocks which leave you speechless.
Rocks which truly rock!
Where are such rocks?
Just 25 kms south west of RSI Secunderabad.
We, a group of about 20 armed forces veterans and families hiked around the hill top at Khajaguda Hills. Each rock formation left us speechless.
Sharing below few pictures and videos of the hike on 27th Sep 2026.
The Dawn
We crossed the iconic cable stay bridge well before dawn. See the 15-sec video below.
We were a bit late to catch the sunrise. But the silhouettes of the hikers convey the magic of dawn.
Towering Rocks
There are multiple rocks which tower above the hikers. The rocks look formidable. But with bright morning sun and a blue sky at the rear, it makes a perfect frame!
The Burger Rock
A set of huge granite rocks which have horizontal chams in multiple layers. The rock looks like a huge burger or a sandwich. You need to crawl between the layers to climb the burger rock. Few pictures and a video below.
Chimneys and Caves
There are multiple chimneys on the hill. A chimney is a narrow vertical chasm between two rocks. Some chimneys are so narrow that a pot-bellied person can not go through. Pictures below.
Get a feel of being inside a narrow cave in the video below.
Hiking through Thorny Shrubs
There are stretches on the hill with thorny vegetation. Hiking through it needs adequate clothing and caution. Sharing few pictures below.
Visitors deface the walls of our monuments with graffiti. They don't spare granite rocks also! Littering is another irresponsible behaviour. See the pictures below.
Sanjeevani Shrub
Our guide Rabet had shown us the wildly growing Sanjeevani plants. He told us that the leaves will spring back to life when immersed in water for few hours. Our hiker Shyamala shared the picture below with her comment, 'What Rabet said about Sanjeevani is correct. I put it into water and few hours it's opened up and dark green like he said it'. Readers familiar with Indian Epic Ramayana, would recall that Lord Ram's brother Lakshman had been brought to life by Sanjeevani leaves.
The Tortoise Rock - shaped like a tortoise. A similar rock in Mt Abu in Rajasthan is called the Toad Rock.
Destructive Quarrying
Over the decades, Khajaguda Hill has been quarried indiscriminately on all sides. Tell-tale marks of the holes for blasting the rocks are still visible. Rock surface has developed man-made cracks all over. Pictures below show the destructive tale.
Lakeview Point
On the western edge of Khajaguda hill, a flat space has been created by using the soil excavated during the construction of the parking lot. One can get a clear view of Khajaguda Lake or rather the remains of the lake. Most of the lake has been encroached upon for construction of high rise buildings over decades.
Society to Save Rocks
Society to Save Rocks aims to preserve and protect the spectacular ancient granite formations of the Deccan Plateau, India - a natural wonder of stony ridges and hillocks shaped into picturesque balancing forms. Volunteers of the Society accompanied and guided us on our hike. Readers may browse the Society's website for more details. We thank Dr Sudheer Bhan, Mr S Rabet, Mr Dinayat and Mr Sreecharan for giving us such a wonderful experience.
Special thanks are also due to Rama Thoopal, Pranav, Dr Maneesh, Ansh and other members of the PBC for sharing their pictures.
We had done this hike five years ago during Covid in March 2021. A picture of that hike was the subject of an online Caption Contest titled Kaun Banega Ghumakkad. You may browse the picture story and the winning entries of the Contest by clicking the link below.
Hiking to Rediscover Yourself - Hiking in Khajaguda Hill area.
Palmette Bicycling Club (PBC)
Palmette Bicycling Club was formed in RSI Secunderabad in Apr 2019. Since then, it has conducted 172 events (including 10 treks). There was a long hiatus during the Covid period.
PBC regularly organises bicycling and hiking outings on weekends. Credit for PBC's sustained activities goes to Gen Naozar B Patel. This 75-year-old Veteran is a fitness enthusiast and a great organiser. Thanks Naozar for yet another great outing and an excellent YouTube video linked below which summarises the hike.
Other Hikes by PBC
Am sharing below the links to two other hikes by PBC. Just click the link to browse the picture story.
Devarakonda Fort - Built across multiple hills, it stands firm even though partly in ruins. It is maintained largely by volunteers from the community.
Bhongir Fort 1000-year-old - A picture story with videos of a fort built atop a 1000-feet high monolith.
Like the dessert which is taken after a meal, our two best shots of the hike follow. Both were shot inside a cave. Enjoy.
Thanks for browsing.
Did the Rocks of Khajaguda rock you? Will the rocks remain intact for the future generations?
Do leave a comment. It encourages us.
Stay connected.
- Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Ansh Bhargava/ Secunderabad/29th Sep 2026
#khajagudahill #khajagudalake #savetherocks #fakruddingutta #hyderabad #hydraa #destructivequarrying #hiking #bouldering #caving #sandwitchrock #monkeyrock #chimney #chasm #blastingcracks #sunrise #rocksthatrock #palmettebicyclingclub #rsisecunderabad #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #tortoiserock #SocietyToSaveRocks
And a 75 years young climbed so effortlessly
ReplyDeleteThanks much Anshu.
DeleteAmazing and very interesting
ReplyDeleteThanks for your encouragement.
DeleteThoroughly enjoyed this beautiful picture story! Engrossing storyline with captivating photos! Thank you for bringing Khajaguda Rocks to life!
ReplyDeleteWill share with Society to Save Rocks!
Warm regards,
Naozar Patel
Thanks much Gen Patel. You have created and kept PBC alive all these years. Kudos.
DeleteFantastic - cherished memories for a life time
ReplyDeleteThanks for your appreciation.
DeleteSo very cool! Loved reading about the rocks, the surroundings and about the Sanjeevani plant too. Looks like the perfect place for an adventure.
ReplyDeleteThanks Anchita.
DeleteBut the destruction by mankind is unpardonable.
What a meticulous coverage of the whole scenario where Rocks, rightfully, take the centre stage. Beautiful pictures, to the point written word and including every minute detail makes this a story for the ages. It simply Rocks!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sivaram. It was nice hiking together.
DeleteWhat an amazing story! Harshji, you’ve captured all the wow moments of the hike so brilliantly—reading your blog felt like reliving the whole experience. Those who’ve done the trail will definitely be screaming "Yeh Dil Maange More!", and anyone who hasn't will want to drop everything and rush to Khajaguda Rocks right away. Thank you so much for sharing this with the group. Looking forward to reading more of your work!
ReplyDeleteThanks Usha for your kind words. It keeps Ghumakkad going.
DeleteThe nature has amazing manifestation !
ReplyDeleteOne wonders how and when these rocks took such intricate shapes and stayed in formations !
Nice hike, elaborate coverage by Ghummakkad !
Thanks much Ajeet bhai.
DeleteExcellent compilation of the hike harsh @ ghumakkad. Was great meeting you sir rarely see such enthusiastic young 75 yr old. God bless.
ReplyDeleteThanks much Maneesh. It was nice hiking together. See you again.
DeleteFor eight years now, I've been visiting Khajaguda Hills. I've witnessed its glory, its defacement and its destruction. Yet I still love coming here, because the place has a distinct charm! Only the canvas has changed: high-rises now crowd all around, staring you in the face. Take an aerial shot today and the rocks look as though they've been fenced into a large gated community.
ReplyDeleteOnce, these hills were a lung space for young and old alike. Children played cricket in the parking lot, and youngsters stood at the same spot, mobiles held high, to catch the sunrise and sunset. During Diwali, enthusiastic photographers made nocturnal rounds with steel wool and light painting, spending the night capturing aerial shots in burst mode on their high-end cameras!
Now an eerie silence envelops the place. You feel stalked by the security guards, and by prying eyes from the balconies of buildings rising above the hill. The irony is that it's the rocks that now need breathing space, gasping amid a suffocating concrete jungle that towers over them and makes them look puny.
Hurry and visit them before someone claims them and wields their power to flatten them. They would clear the way for yet another elite enclave and push the flora and fauna beyond the fence to fend for themselves. Another Banjara Hills is in the making. Our future generations may have nothing left to see but photographs, like the ones I've been taking and exhibiting to sensitise people to save these rocks. Even those may fade into oblivion, surviving only as archives for historians to dwell upon.
Such is the way of life!
So well said Ashok. Many thanks.
DeleteInteresting post sir.
ReplyDeleteIf you ever happen to visit Bengaluru, do visit Savana Durga - Asia's biggest monolithic rock hill.
Sure will do. Thanks for the info.
DeleteThey are really enchanting
ReplyDeleteThanks much Lalit.
DeleteFaujis love nature and adventure 👍
ReplyDeleteTrue that, thanks.
DeleteLovely picture story accompanied with meticulous narration.
ReplyDeleteThanks for browsing.
DeleteVery fascinating! Nature at its best. In fact the outskirts of Hyderabad were dotted with rocks and more rocks like someone above threw them out a huge bag. Glad you are able to do this and have fun too. Ravi and Lakshmi
ReplyDeleteThanks much Ravi and Lakshmi.
DeleteAnother spot for your next visit to Hyderabad.
A story so beautifully illustrated by pictures and interesting information about each and every rock. Thank you for sharing your treck to the oldest rocks. One day may be I'll be in your group of wanderers.
ReplyDeleteWould be a pleasure to hike together.
DeleteThanks for your feedback.
👏👏👏
ReplyDeleteThanks.
DeleteAmazing!
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteFascinating reading about the rocks that rock , Harsh ! The shapes they've been carved into by nature are .awesome . The hikers have been bold and fit to climb some of the parts of the hills that are more challenging , like the chimney rocks where they had to walk between rocks with very little space in between . The sandwich rock formations and the crawling to get into their spaces , all made very interesting reading .Thanks for all the pictures and videos shared with us do we experienced the thrill of the hike along with your team of hikers !
ReplyDeletecongrats to Ansh for leading the way in some places ! Great going , Harsh and Ansh!
Thanks much Trixie for your keen observation and words of appreciation.
DeleteYour encouragement has been instrumental in improving the content of our blog.
Grateful.