2022
Skandagiri Night Trek is one of the most thrilling adventure activities you must try around Bangalore! The hill is situated at a distance of 60 km from the tech city, Bengaluru off the Bellary Road. This night trek is well known for sunrise views over the clouds. The hill is also famously called by the name Kalawara betta. Lush green surroundings and a beautiful weather usher in the trekking season, which begins from the month of October and extends till February. All this makes the night trek to Skandagiri Hills a truly memorable experience!
The beautiful Nandi Hills can also be overlooked from this trek. This interesting as well as exciting trail has a total trek distance of about 8 Kms. At an altitude of 1450 feet the Skandagiri is a perfect weekend getaway that is preferred by most nature and adventure lovers.
Skandagari Trek Permission
The Skandagiri trek was banned a while back due to some mishaps. However it has recently been re-inaugurated by the Karnataka forest department and Karnataka Ecotourism Development Board. So one needs to obtain permission to the trek online by visiting the link mentioned below:
Permission for trekking from forest office click Here.
The Cost of the ticket is Rs. 250 Per head. Once you have obtained your permission for the required time slot, you will receive a confirmation SMS on your phone along with Contact details of the guide.
What all to Carry for this trek?
Sufficient Food or Energy bars and Water, A Torchlight and the e-ticket is all you will basically need. We at three trekkers strictly believe in Eco friendly travel, so please make sure you carry back the plastics or any trash and dispose it at a dustbin. Nature offers us a lot for free, but let us not take it for granted. #IDontTrashMyTravel
Reaching the Base CampTiny yet beautiful reporting office at the base camp
The trail starts from Papagni temple located in the Kalavara Village of Chikballapur district off Bellary Road. The Forest Department will allow you to start the trek after 4 AM. I would recommend to start and finish this trek as early as possible. Because once the sun shows up, it can get pretty hot up there.
A Private Vehicle (Either two wheeler or Four wheeler) is most convenient mode of transport as Public Transport wont be available so early. There is paid parking available near the temple where you can park your vehicles.
For direction to the base of skandagiri hills click here-Google maps
Early morning scenes at the Base camp
We left Bangalore at about 3 AM. It will take about a Hour and Half to reach the location from Hebbal. When we reached the base at about 4:30 AM and there was quite a lot of crowd gathered already. We parked our vehicles and headed to the Base Camp, where a forest official checks our ticket and lets us proceed further into the trek.
The TrailThe rocky trail is surrounded by thick shrubs and beautiful flowers
Through the entire trail you will get to see the majestic fortress located on the peak. The trail, through the trek is pretty steep and rocky terrain, surrounded by thick bushes. Which is why we would rate this trek as “Moderate to Tough”. It is suggested you carry sufficient food and water during the trek as it may turn out to be tiring. You can take breaks along the trek and get refreshed if you feel exhausted.
The below video will give a perfect picture of skandagiri trek so do watch..
It was a sensation to be trekking underneath the beautiful stars in the clear dark sky above. Torches or Head lamps are quite essential to trek in the dark hours so that you can watch your step as you trek up. As there are a lot of rocks and slippery loose gravel terrains, you have to be careful during the climb and descent both. And no, you cannot watch the sunrise until you reach the very peak of the hill and that is because you will be trekking on the opposite side of the hill. (Which is another reason why you should start the trek early)
The Rising of the Sun
You will find the Trek to be quite misleading as you climb along the maze of bushes. What you actually see initially as the peak during the climb turns out to be just another wall of the fort. And once you reach there you find another wall and so on. So the trek wont actually end when you think it will.
Once you cross through the final stretch of thorny bushes, A panoramic view from the peak unveils. On your left you can see the yellow sun rays beaming on your face as it rises over the clouds. We were not lucky enough to witness this phenomenon since there were barely any low lying clouds. Nevertheless the sunrise was very beautiful to watch and the view from the top is bound to leave you awestruck.
Pleasant view of the lake and hills in the background
We also got to experience the clouds gliding over the hill all around us which is amazing! Strong and Cool breeze, Clouds flying all around you and the lush green surroundings on Nandi Hills make Skandagiri Trek pretty much a perfect weekend get away from Bangalore. There is a tiny temple on the peak and few destructed remains of other rocky structures. The trek might initially leave you tired, but the view from top is so relaxing that you would forget all the struggle you’ve been through.
After spending a while exploring around the temple and the hill top, We sat down at a peaceful place nearby. Akhilesh (my friend)had got some fruits and energy bars which we munched and relaxed on the rocks .
Trotting Down
Often during treks, getting down is the quickest and easiest part. But in case of skandagiri, I don’t think that is the case. Why? Well one reason is that the trail as i said is full of uneven rocks and steep at the same time and you will have to take extra care while getting down. Another thing is that while climbing up, it would be pitch dark and you wont really notice the sweet spots along the trail. Take your sweet time, click pictures and explore the around the fort on your way back. And I repeat, You will want to start your descent by 9 AM because when the sun starts to play, it burns! Things get pretty tiring and torrid.
I hope you like my blog on skandagiri hills and feedback accepted so feel free to comment 🙂
Thanks and Regards
Namskar..
Excellent Experience review wrote in your blog..
I feel I just visited there with your team, all reference photo is also very interesting and awsome..
I like Nature and all about feel Nature..
so thank you for this post..
Regards From Mumbai..
