Savandurga Trek
Marked as one of the largest monolithic rocks in Asia, Savandurga is a hill located about 60 km west of Bengaluru off the Magadi road. Savandurga is formed by two hills known locally as “Karigudda”, which in Kannada translates to “black hill” and Biligudda which translates to the “white hill”.
Day Plan:
- Start from Bangalore at 6 am
- Reach the basecamp by 9 am
- Start the trek and reach the peak
- Have Packed lunch with a view
- Descend, reach back to the base by 3 pm
- Depart and reach Bangalore by 7:30 pm (approx)
Included:
- Transportation(Non AC) to and fro from Bangalore
- Food(Veg) 1 lunch
- Guide and entry charges for trek
- Experience that you gain
Not Included:
- Anything not included in the inclusions above
- Any kind of insurance
- Personal Expense(snacks, mineral water etc.)
The short distance makes it a perfect trek for all adventure lovers who have a time crunch. The lush green views will keep you enchanted and the panoramic Magadi forest landscape will blow your mind for sure. The Karigudda trail is steep and well exposed but needs authorities, so trekkers prefer Biligudda which is equally adventurous and challenging. This trek starts from Sri Narasimha Swamy temple at the foot, and a lot of pilgrims can be seen as it is quite famous in the region. As one moves along, the trail gets slippery and steep but not hard enough to stop you from reaching the top. Huge rocks and boulders can be seen on the way and are also lifesavers during the sunny hot afternoons.
The Arkavathi river flowing into Thippagondanahalli reservoir adds to the wide beautiful view while reaching the fort, as the trek gets slightly steeper, but the winds and cool breeze will compensate all the hard work you are putting in.
Robert Home in his Select views in Mysore (1794) shows distant views of the hill from Bangalore. He called it ‘Savinadurga’ or ‘the fort of death’. The steep trek is completed here, and the ruins serve as camping space but with legit permissions, of course!
Pick Up/Dropping Point:
Following are your pickup/drop locations. You could let us know which would be appropriate to you before the trek in advance. Also note, the drop points would be the same as pick up.
- Fabindia – House No. 54, 17th Main Road, Opp. Madivala Masjid, Koramangala 2nd Block, Sidharata Colony, Santhosapuram, Koramangala 2nd Block, Koramangala, Bengaluru, Karnataka.
- New Shanti Sagar Hotel – Old Airport Road, Domlur, Bengaluru, Karnataka.
- M Chinnaswamy Stadium Bus Stop – Queens Rd, Shivaji Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka.
Kindly note the timings for the above pickups, would be updated to you a day before the trek.
Things To Carry:
We request you to kindly carry the following. It’s better to be prepared rather than not prepared.
- Yourself (That’s most important – after all you paid us!)
- Rucksack (Just stuff your things in!)
- 2 water bottle – 1 litre each (Dehydration is much needed.)
- Torch/Headlamp (It’ll be really dark at night.)
- Portable charger (You might just want to keep your phone aside, but then, selfies toh banta hai!)
- Deodorant (You shouldn’t stink!)
- Paytm balance (Thanks to Demonetization)
- Money (You’ll not need it, but do carry some!)
- Energy Food ( Chocolate bars, Electrolyte drinks – Glucon-D, etc ) (You can carry some extra – we don’t mind to share!)
- Raincoat / Bag cover (Of course, you don’t want your rucksack to get all wet!)
- An extra pair of clothes, socks, undergarments, T-Shirt (And we don’t want you to walk in drenched clothes!)
- Flip-flops (Just to laze around the campsite.)
- First Aid Kit (along with personal medicine as per your requirement)
- Toilet kit (Not much would be required – just your toothbrush would do)
- Towel (Oh! We believe in saving water. Let’s ditch bathing for two days!)
Optional: AUX CABLE, UNO, BLUETOOTH SPEAKER, GUITAR/ANY MUSIC INSTRUMENT, or any other games.