Locations for trekking in Bangalore
Bangalore is called a retired person's heaven, once there was a time when Bangalore was full of greenery.
It used to be raining from may till sep. The temperature at night drops to 22 degree. Although the city is full of traffic but you can still find so many places of interest within 100KM. People who are interested in adventurous activities can find them nearby.
So if you are interested to do adventure over weekend and you like trekking then you must go through the below list.
Nandi hills
Nandi hills is located in Sonnapura almost 43 KM from Yelahanka. You can find a left turn near rani circle on NH44 near Devanahalli.
So for trekking you will have to reach Chennagiri hills trek start point or nandi hills trek start point
and you can ascend towards nandi hills. Bike riders can take the road to the top of the hill, if you come before sunrise then you can reach the sunrise point and enjoy the beautiful view. The other side of the hill is like a wall with a great height. The view from the sunrise point is really great.
This is picture of 2011 when we had started early in morning around 2:30 AM from BTM 2nd stage and reached the top of the hill around 5AM. You might encounter crowd in the ticket counter so plan accordingly if you are going to see sunrise with vehicle, but if you are going for trekking then there will be a different route. The trek is not very long but is a good starting point. You can see some gardens and greenery there on the top of the hill and there are other places to view. You can also find breakfast on the top of the hill so need not worry about food.
The route from Rani circle to Nandi hills is amazing with valley road to climb the hill, be careful while driving specially near the turns as its a two way road.
Skandagiri
Skandagiri, also called as Kalavara Durga, is an ancient mountain fortress located approximately 44 km from Yelahanka and 3 km from Chikballapur (Bangalore-Hyderabad highway). It is off Bellary Road, and overlooks Nandi Hills, Muddenahalli, and Kanivenarayanapura . The peak is at an altitude of about 1350 meters.
The trek length is 4KMs and the starting point is here.
Get complete details with photo here.
Make sure to carry enough water for the trek to save yourself from dehydration.
The trek is a bit uneven and you might see somewhere rocky and somewhere soil. There are many photo points and view points there on the top of the hill so you can try photography as well.
Savandurga
Savandurga is on the other side of the city i.e. you will have to travel on mysore road and take the route that leads to big banyan tree. After crossing big banyan tree you will get a narrow road that takes you to savandurga. There is a nice temple at the foot of the hill which you must see.
Savandurga is almost 55-60KM from Bangalore BTM layout and is a single rock trek. Although the trek length is short but its much more adventurous. While travelling to Savandurga you will also see Arkavathi river.
There are few more trekking points which you can try are
- Anthargange
- Shivgange
- Ramanagara - On mysore road
- Makalidurga
- Bheemswari - You can do various activities in the camp.
