This is one of the closest peaks (about 1226 m, Skandagiri
being around 1350 m) which is around 40 Km Bangalore, and is definitely is in a
must list those who do day trekking around Bangalore. This is also one of the
tougher ones to climb, certainly not recommended for those who are not fit.
This is said to be the largest monolith of Asia and is definitely looks humungous
when you see it directly. The Savandurga’s name amongst other reasons seems to
have originated from the sentence “The fortress of Death !”, the place being
very treacherous for the climbers. The hill seems to have been the fort of
Kempegowda and later occupied by Tipu Sultan. However most the structures atop
the hill seems to have been ruined with only a few structures remaining intact.
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| Machinbele Dam -enroute |
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| View of Savandurga at about 15 Km from the base |
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| Clicked enroute - near the dam |
The place also has the river Arkavathi traversing through,
culminating at Machinbele dam. The dam has a few adventure camp oragnizations
like Nature admire, Care, Angel etc., arranging, kayaking, sailing (yes, you
heard it right, 33 km from Bangalore you got a location for sailing with
yachts.!) cave exploration, rock climbing etc.,
Details: Savandurga has two hillocks – Karigudda or Karibetta (black hill), Biligudda
(whitehill) with each of them being a separate trekking routes and have a small
temple/fort at their top. Each of these two are worth a separate day of
trekking on their own. The bases of these hills are separated by around 10-15
Km.
Karigudda: Very little people trek Karigudda as it is more
difficult and people get lost easily en-route. The base of this hill can be
reached from a place called Nayakanpalya. Unless you have a local guide,
trekking this place is not recommended, as one may easily get lost and the
route is quite dangerous. But the place is certainly worth the effort.
Billigudda: This is the more accessible route and is
frequented by many. The foothills for this trek can be reached by reaching
Veerabhadreshwara Swamy / Narasimha Swamy temple which are closeby this place.
The route for this trek is also a bit tricky, however it has arrow marks at
most places to guide people to the top. The peak has a cute Nandi temple and a
flag pole at the top. The route also has many fort walls at different levels
along the way.
Both the places are also very dangerous when it starts
raining as the rocks become very slippery, if you slip by the wet rocks it
would just be a one way ticket to the top. It is always better to wear a good
sports shoe and woodlands shoes certainly do not help. On the other hand if it
is sunny, it gets really hot and completely drains you. It is better to carry a
lot of water in any case.
We planned to trek the Billigudda as the climate looked
very looming and we were not prepared to take any risks. We took along with us
poor old man who happened to stick to us as a guide also acted as a historian.
It was a good decision as there were not many people trekking along being a
weekaday. I would advise newbie trekkers to take a guide or follow a group who
are trekking along. The entire trek is not a lengthy one – would take a maximum
of 2/2.5 hours but is quite intensely steep and precarious.
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| The start of the trek |
Level 1:
The trek started with bare smooth rocks and some shrubs
along the route. There were 4 distinct levels I would say, with each level
marked by a ruined fort wall. We started climbing at about 11 am. Climbing over
rocks takes a toll on your foot. We reached the first level after about 20
minutes where we could see some battered wall. This stretch was enough to give
us a taste of what is left. We took a break atleast after every 10/15 minutes. Two
of our friends dropped out of this point. We started ahead expecting how long
the rest of us can withstand. Any deviation and own efforts to find the path on our own lead to dead ends or slippery rocks and we found it quite difficult to trace the best path towards the top. However there were arrow marks at most places indicating the route to the top. It is also possible to trace the shortest route by following the Electric poles/electric cable.
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| Level 1 fort walls |
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| Break after Level 1 |
Level 2:
After a grueling 30 more minutes we reached Level 2 where we
found another set of walls, this one as the guide said, seems to be the vantage
point for using cannons it seems. The route became less steep for a while
before we even had a flush of thick trees.
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| Level 2 -the master explaining the canon position ..! |
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| shot at Level 2 |
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| Somewhere close to Level 3 |
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| Enroute to Level 3 |
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| Another pic of the beautiful Dam |
Level 3 came about next 30 minutes, and we could find a proper old edifices and even a large pool at this height. From here the final peak and the Nandi temple perched atop, at Level 4 was quite visible. There was also a temple at this place, with a painted Hanuman inscribed in the rocks. Enthused by the sightings of the peak, we pushed ahead for the final climb.
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| View of Peak and Nandi from Level 3 |
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| Edifice at Level 3 |
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| Pool at Level 3 |
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| Temple at Level 3 |
Level 4:
Further continuing uphill, the next part was
the steepest of all and after a 20 minutes climb and intermittent rests we
reached the pinnacle or Level 4 at around 1 pm. There was a small Nandi temple
at the hilltop. Certainly reaching this Nandi was way more heavenly that the
other Nandi hills. The view was stunning indeed. The climb was certainly worth the effort. From here, we could also see people
climbing in the Karigudda peak, the paths looked quite treacherous indeed.
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| Cockahoop....! |
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| Mission Achieved ! |
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| Ringing the bell.. and a small prayer for a safe descent back..! |
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| More rest |
After
spending an hour at the top we started the descent. Though less tiresome the descent was more taxing on the
heels and foot but we could reach down much faster. However at around level 2
it started raining and the rocks became very slippery. Once our shoes got wet,
with the rocks already being wet, the route turns into a slippery theme park
like slides! Some of us took off our shoes while coming down. We reached the
bottom at around 2 30 pm. There were a few huts at the back of the temple,
which served rice and sambar or chitrana (lemon rice). There were no seats in
the hut, but we managed to finish the plates standing in the street as we were
quite hungry anyway.
Transport: Though there are buses from Bangalore (Bangalore ==> Magadi ==> Savanadurga), its
always better to come with personal transport, a bike or a car. The distance is
only about 45 Km. Since we started from Bannerghatta road, we went with the
below route. I guess this is the best route for anyone who can start from the
Mysore road. Bikes can be parked infront of the Temple. There were many local
shops, however as mentioned above there is no proper hotel, only local
eateries.
Bangalore ==> Nice road ==> Mysore road (for some 2 km) ==> Turn
right to Big Banyan Tree ==> After some 3 Km from Big Banyan Tree, turn a left (Chandrapa circle) ==> Reach Machibele
dam ==> Reach Billigudda base
Route that we took/recommended:
View Larger Map
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| A dip at Machinbele dam |
The road was pretty good and serene. The entire place and
the hill is not commercialized like skandagiri or Nandi hills and certainly a
must go place for all aspiring trekkers. But it is strict no during rain or
very sunny days. Machinbele dam was nearby, and we could go to the backwaters
on the way back for a cool dip into the waters after the tiring trek. There
were even some kayaking and sailing boats arranged by some adventure clubs. The
entire roads and the dam was very serene and we were quite surprised by the
beauty and remoteness of the place just 35 odd Km from Bangalore.
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| The Big Banyan Tree -enroute- A single tree spread over 2 acres -enroute |
