[navsjab]

Introduction

At the end of June, 2018, we (my wife and I) moved from Kolkata to Bangalore . In the previous four months we only traveled to Shivanasamundra water falls. We took our time to get used to the move, the new work timings, running errands on weekends, having people visit us on weekends to checkout our whereabouts. We were craving for the slightest opportunity to indulge in some adventure.

Some information about the Skandagiri hills from Wikipedia:

Skandagiri, also known as Kalavara Durga, is a mountain fortress located approximately 62 km from Bangalore city, and 3 km from Chikballapur in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is off Bellary Road (National Highway 7 Hyderabad-Bangalore Highway), and overlooks Nandi Hills and Muddenahalli. The peak is at an altitude of about 1450 meters. It is accessed from Kalavara village, which has population of 1093 according to 2011 census.

The Story

For friends in a hurry; have a glimpse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MANUaHWBCo&t=9s

While working on a Monday morning I get a WhatsApp message from my wife about a trek organiser's link for Skandagiri. She was indicating an early morning trek on Saturday morning. The itinerary was something like: 1 AM pick up - 3 AM reaching the start point - 4 AM trek starts - 10 AM breakfast - 12 PM drop.

We got back home from our respective workplaces and discussed the plan for the weekend. I suggested we drive to the point ourselves and do it without the help of the organisers. This was only because around 9 years back, during my college days, we (a gang of around 25) did this without the help of organisers. Obviously, things were very different back then.

We got back early on Friday night, had dinner early, set an alarm for 1 AM and went off to sleep.

We were up as planned, snoozed a while, and got ready. While waiting for Bhavneet to get ready I did some random searches on google and found out that the night trek at Skandagiri had been banned. That was an old post, so I was still positive. I read at another website that the ban was lifted. That was enough for us to make a start. We left at around 2:15.

Route we took:





The moment we took a left off the Hyderabad road, we started feeling the night trek was not such a good idea. We got pretty close to the hills and found no one around, complete darkness and no boards for direction. We kept moving towards what google called the "Skandagiri trek start point". The path to the start point was narrow and lonely. It appeared as we were headed nowhere. We were considering going back home to continue our sleep instead. There was no one around to give us a confirmation on the route. When our location overlapped the google pointer, we were relieved. We saw a tempo traveler, a few cars and bikes parked. People were flashing their torches all around.

We parked our car and were asked to pay Rs. 50 for parking. This assured us that the place was safe. We disembarked, adorned our jackets and started following the others. The people from the tempo seemed to be on the guided tour that we had looked up online previously.

The car once parked



We heard from one of the adventurers who had walked towards the trek trail that the trek trail was barricaded and wound be opened at 4 AM. We had 45 minutes to pass. Got back towards the car, enjoyed the cool weather, stared at the sky full of stars. At 4 we walked towards the path which everyone was taking and were stopped at the barricade to produce the booking details. We had made no bookings and asked them what we should do. They asked us to make the booking at http://www.myecotrip.com. We did that and paid Rs. 536.6 for two adults.

The barricaded area where the booking is checked. The office on the left where they verify and take your personal details. (taken on our way back)





The trek started at 4 AM and we followed the team led by a guide. The start was pretty smooth, slowly the difficulty level started increasing. The trail with rocks and red soil was pretty challenging at places. Getting a good grip on the ground, taking huge steps while managing a light source in one hand was a real test of stamina. By the end of an hour we were really wanting the trek to end soon. Another 30 mins and we were motivating ourselves by saying we were almost there. Finally, at the end of two long hours, we reached at a point that seemed to be the top. Not many people were there though. A few people walked up and said that there was suppose to be a pole at the top. There was no trail that could be followed easily but they found their way and we followed once again. Some more challenging trekking and we saw the pole. The Karnataka flag was hoisted on it. We were walking in the clouds since quite sometime now and visibility was poor. The cool breeze and reduced activity brought in a chill. We put on our jackets that we had taken off while trekking. My spectacles, beard and jacket were getting moist due to the weather and mist, even though there was no visible rain. We walked a little and saw the sunrise point and the remnants of a temple. The sun was looking more like the moon through the dense clouds. We clicked a few pictures and waited a while for the sun to present itself. That did not happen so we started our descend after around 30 minutes.

A break to rest and click



The trail at night

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wUAEQ9fUIk

Few pictures at the top























This is what the Sun looked like, through the dense clouds we were enveloped by




To give you an idea of the clouds we were walking through.




The Sun again




The descend was tougher than the ascent. With controlled movement and lack of a low ratio gear to resist the force of gravity it was difficult to hold oneself back. The placement of the foot and the force with which it was laid had to be judged very carefully. Since I was wearing a woodland, having a solid toe-cap, my foot's large and little toe had to face a lot of pain due to the downward slide of my foot inside the shoe. The good part of the descend was that we did not have to hold a torch. Also, since there was natural light, I was able to take a few videos and pictures where the trail was a little simple.

Pictures while descending















To continue...

[navsjab]

......

Pictures and Videos continued

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PliT_47rvOQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cpedh5YzQaU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F686st0fsuw

Once on safe grounds - The hills from the start point







Once we touched ground level we were so happy. There was a sense of accomplishment. We were hungry and wanted to have breakfast as soon as possible. Back in my college days, there were maggi shops at the top of the hill which were no where to be seen this time around. We walked towards the parking lot and found a naariyal paani wala on the way. We bought two at Rs. 25 each. We enjoyed each sip. They were excellent to taste and thus I did not hesitate to ask for another. The second one had malai, which made it even more magical. With our stomachs now happy, we headed to the car, removed our shoes and massaged our feet for a while before starting our drive back home.

And finally, getting back to to the car; you see her at a distance?



Okay, spot her in the background?



Fine, here!



Once back home we soaked our feet in warm water, had a wholesome breakfast, freshened up and caught up with our night's sleep.

[theMAG]

Mod's note: Thread moved from Assembly Line to Travelogues. Thanks for sharing!

[Samba]

Awesome. Great to see both of you went till the top.

In 2009 there was no barricade and everyone was free to go. Back then we tried reaching till the top, lost our way in the darkness and saw the sun rising while we have not even reached the halfway mark. So returned from there without exploring the top of the hill. Thanks to you for showing how it looks.

A pic from our failed attempt.



After a failed attempt to Skandagiri, we did a successful trek to ShivaGanga. Am sure you will love it. Do give it a try in some weekend. This place is near Tumkur.

Here is what you can expect from the trek-

https://get.google.com/albumarchive/...iKIw5VMVeUj3OL

[BlackPearl]

Nice to see you exploring South India. Please complete everything in the next two years and come back to Kolkata, the Himalayas are much nearer

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by navsjab

At 4 we walked towards the path which everyone was taking and were stopped at the barricade to produce the booking details. We had made no bookings and asked them what we should do. They asked us to make the booking at http://www.myecotrip.com. We did that and paid Rs. 536.6 for two adults.

Nice travelogue and pics, but I really want to thank you for this information.

Was interested in Skandagiri for long, but was informed that the night trek was closed after some incident. Great to know its open again, officially.

[navsjab]

Originally Posted by Samba

Awesome. Great to see both of you went till the top.


After a failed attempt to Skandagiri, we did a successful trek to ShivaGanga. Am sure you will love it. Do give it a try in some weekend. This place is near Tumkur.

Here is what you can expect from the trek-

https://get.google.com/albumarchive/...iKIw5VMVeUj3OL

Thank you Samba. Will put the ShivaGanga trek in our to-do list. Superb pictures from your trek. Thanks for sharing.

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Nice to see you exploring South India. Please complete everything in the next two years and come back to Kolkata, the Himalayas are much nearer

Trying our best We do miss the Himalayas way too much!

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Nice travelogue and pics, but I really want to thank you for this information.

Was interested in Skandagiri for long, but was informed that the night trek was closed after some incident. Great to know its open again, officially.

Thank you CrAzY dRiVeR. This was one of the main reasons for creating this thread. We was not able to come across something as informative about the trek and just went there to try our luck.

[Thermodynamics]

Nicely written travelogue. Many a times we forget Bangalore itself was once a hill station. Its surroundings still retain the old charm. A beautiful night out log, a refreshing way to get out of hustle and bustle.