Skandagiri, also known as Kalavara Durga, is an ancient
mountain located around 70 km from Bengaluru city, and 3 km from
Chikkaballapur. It is located Ballari Road (NH7 Hyderabad-Bengaluru Highway)
and overloolks Nandi Hills, Muddenahalli and Kanivenarayanapura. The peak is at
an altitude of about 1350 meters above sea level.
Skandagiri is considered to be one of the difficult places
to trek. There are to trails: one is considered to be easy compared to another
which is more dangerous. It all depends on which way one chooses to take up the
trekking expedition.
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| SKANDAGIRI |
It is common to teak in the dark and it is a lot of fun on a
beautiful full moon night. Trekkers usually start climbing at around 2 am and
aim to reach the top by around 5 am to catch the glimpse of beautiful sunrise.
You must carry one torch per person if planning a night trek. Mid of December
to second week of January is the best time to visit Skandagiri and witness the
beautiful scene of Sun rising over the white bed of clouds.
This is a moderately difficult trek, as the hill is
precipitous and high. The trek starts from the Papoagni Temple at the foot of
the hill. The fortress is in full sight throughout the trek uphill. This steep
and fantastic trek through a maze of dense shrub is highly fascinating.
Just as you reach the fort wall content that you have topped
the hill, you see another ring of fort. There are six such series of stonewalls
protecting an abandoned ancient temples on the hilltop. The trek is
approximately 8 km and takes around 1.5 – 3 hours to climb.
It gets quite hot at the top as the day passes on. Local
villagers camp on the peak and sell food, cold drinks, tea and other
refreshments. Chikkaballpur authorities had banned trekking completely during
the year 2011. However, the decision was revoked in August 2014 and only day
trekking is allowed. Most of the trail has been marked with guiding arrows
which, if followed, leads to a safe route to the hill top.
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| SKANDAGIRI HILL TOP |
About Skandagiri
Hills
Skandagiri is home to a hill fort by Tipu Sultan, weathered
badly by nature and banyan trees. History tells that this small hill fort was
surrendered to the British troops on 19 October 1791 and remained in. The
British hands until the peace treaty of 1792, which concluded the third
Anglo-Mysore war. There are two caves, through the hill as told by locals - one
starts from the base and another one
somewhere midway, about 30 feet below , both leading to the temple at
the top. Both remains unexplored yet and local people claim pythons in the
caves swallowing their goats. It is said that there are 6 Samadhi’s in the
cave.
Reaching There
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| SKANDAGIRI MAP BY GOOGLE |
From NH 7, turn towards Nandi Hill, after reaching the base
of Nandi Hill turn right and proceed to Kalwara village via Muddenahalli to
reach Papagni Mutt, which is the base of the Skandagiri.
By Bus
From Bangalore Majestic KSRTC Bus stand get a bus to ChikBelapur from Platform No 11. There are
buses frequently, and it takes 1 hour. (Rs 36). The route is along NH 7 the
route to Hyderabad crossing the Yelanka, and
Devanahalli (Where the new airport is Located).
From Chik balapur, You goto to a place called Pappagni matt,
which is the foot of the Skandagiri Hill. The distance is about 5 Kms which can
be covered by foot: autorikshwa is also
available 80 to 180 Rs . Walk takes around 1 hour admist plantations of papaya,
guava, roses and many.
By Car.
You can follow the NH 7 to reach Chik Bellapur and from
there you can move to Pappagni Matt where
you can park your vehicles there and start the Trek.
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