Kalavarahalli Betta, Skandagiri

Ever since I started receiving forwards about a hill 70km from Bangalore, I knew I had to go there. The mail had this amazing snaps. It was picturesque with cushion of clouds all over the hill. And yes I had been to skandagiri popularly known as kalvarhalli betta. Its near Nandi hills and a popular weekend gateway for many people across Bangalore. If you are expecting a view with clouds, I suggest you to visit Skandagiri in January.

The trek uphill is easy and is meant to be done during nights. The starting point is from a path behind an Ashram " papagni Mutt " . It wont be difficult to find the path as localities can help you locate the trek route. However my trek was not done during the night and to compensate the night trek experience we did not take the usual route. The route we took was more steep and we had to make our way to reach the peak. For adventurous lot I suggest you to look for a Peepal tree (Ficus religiosa) "Arali katte" towards left side of the road while coming from nandhi hills to papagni Mutt. That will be your checkpoint zero and park your bikes there. Then you need to find the way uphill. Do not take this path if you are planning trek at night.

Kalvarahalli betta is hilly with shrubs like trees across the hill. We had plans to have lunch on the peak and had packed " Boil & Eat" MTR rice dishes. The journey uphill was tiring. As we had plans to cook atop I suggested every one to collect dried twigs on the way. Later we had to throw our wood stock as we assumed there would be plenty of them on the hill. And yes we were right, there was plenty of it. We were stopping occasionally to catch our breath and enjoy the views. Gentle breeze and the sound of wind gushing across was a delight to listen.

Finally we were on top of the hill. It was windy and cooking was way to difficult. Somehow we managed to build a steady fire and off we went to boil the water. Finally we had our lunch. Temple atop is in ruins and smelly. There is also a rain water pond nearby. Very tricky to find as its hidden out of view. I dunno whether its potable, but there were fishes and i assume it's not that bad either.

It was about time and we had to return. The return journey was easy as we took the easy down hill route. We were silent while coming back and were recapitulating the the fun we had on the hilltop. Also met a lone trekker separated from his group, he was relived to see us as he had lost his way and was searching for the way back. All in all it was a good experience

Route:Bangalore - Hebbal Flyover - Devanahalli - Chikkaballapur - Skandagiri. Take a left turn inside the city, follow the narrow road to reach Papagni Matt which is at the foot of Skandagiri.