Just an hour from Bangalore, is the largest monolith hill in Asia - Savandurga. It’s a popular spot for everyone - picknickers, pilgrims, adventure enthusiasts and also those looking to simply chill while looking at a gorgeous view, like us. It is also one of the most frequented places near Bangalore, hence don’t expect to find solitude! That said, since the trek is not easy, the population density is inversely proportional to the height from the bottom - that should be a good motivation to keep climbing on!

Trek difficulty: Moderate

Duration and Time of Visit

1 day
October beginning

To and From

Itinerary

• As conventional wisdom suggests, we left early morning from Bangalore, to avoid the city traffic. We decided to take the NICE Road instead of the shorter route via the city
• As per our standard practice, our first stop was at Udupi Gardenia, right after the NICE Ring Road Toll Booth, for a good South Indian breakfast; and the next stop was directly Savandurga, where we started the trek right away
  • The hill looks grand from the bottom - a huge single piece of rock towering ~4,000 ft high
  • In terms of difficulty, I would rate the trek as moderate. There are some stretches where it becomes quite diffcult. But it is doable - may just take some extra time. The path is quite clearly marked with yellow arrows on the ground and electric poles all along
  • The trek can be divided into four parts

Source: MemExp Blog

• Till the first Fort wall (25 minutes)
  • The initial 10 minutes were quite easy with a defined and well-trodden trail
  • But soon the path became steeper and slippery. Unfortunately, the day we went, it was quite sultry, making it all the more difficult, and hence we liberally took breaks in between
  • In the later parts of this stretch, while the terrain was smooth, the incline was quite steep, making it perhaps the most difficult and tiring part of the trek overall
  • And finally, we reached the fort wall. These are the ruins of the fort built by Kempegowda II in the 16th century

• Till the second Fort wall (20 minutes)
  • The slope was mostly gentle in this stretch, except the last part, when we were just a stone’s throw from the second Fort wall - there were steps cut into the rock at an inclination of ~60 degrees, for which most people had to bend down and climb on all fours
  • It was a sense of achievement to reach the second Fort wall and look down

Source: MemExp Blog

• Till the pond (20 minutes)
  • This stretch was quite easy, with broad steps to climb for most part of it. Additionally, the weather had also improved by now
  • At the end we encountered a stone structure and a small pond. It was a perfect spot for a halt - the view was epic, plus it was empty, as all the people who managed to come till here, had directly headed for the peak, and the rest had already given up
  • So we spent a good 1.5 hours here, lying down under the structure and enjoying the view of the Manchibele dam and the reservoir at the foot of the massive boulder we were on, with many such hills filling up the landscape, albeit all smaller. I think this was the highlight of the trek for us, more than the peak

• Summit (15 minutes)
  • Finally we got up to scale the summit - which was a comparitively easier path
  • There is a small Nandi temple at the top
  • As soon as we reached the top, it started drizzling. We most definitely did not want to descend the already slippery hill during rainfall and hence, we started the journey down right away

• Descent (30 minutes)
  • Descents are always quicker, this time all the more because of the impending rainfall. But it was also trickier than the ascent at the critical spots - again we had to go down on all fours at times
  • Luckily we did not get much wet before reaching the car

• Without wasting a minute, and unfortunately, without visiting the temple, we left for Bangalore

Major Expenses

• Self drive rental car: Rs. 2,100 (including fuel)
• Food and drinks

Summary of Things To Do

Things we did:

• Trek Savandurga
• View of Manchibele Dam from the top

Things we didn’t do:

• Temple of Sri Basaveswara, Sri Narasimhaswamy and Sri Veerabhadraswamy: this is the tempe at the foot of Savandurga, but we couldn’t visit it because of the rainfall

Tips and Resources

• For the trek, it’s best to wear a cap, apply sunscreen and carry sufficient water. Although, all along the way, you can find local people selling water, juices, soft drinks and biscuits (at well-deserved higher prices)
• The network was fine for most part
• Since the internal transportation is not that good, it’s best to go to Savandurga by your own vehicle
• A picture-blog showing the trek route