Savandurga Night trek

           Savandurga  is a hill 60 km west of Bangalore (Karnataka, India) off the Magadi road in India. The hill is considered to be among the largest monolith hills in Asia.  The hill rises to 1226 m above mean sea level and forms a part of the Deccan plateau. It consists of peninsular gneiss, granites, basic dykes and laterites. The Arkavathi river passes nearby through the Thippagondanahalli reservoir and on towards Manchanabele dam.

Location :
State : Karnataka
Area : 60 Km from Bangalore

Difficulty level : Easy at night , Moderate in daytime.

How to Reach :

Bus route: Take a bus to Magadi Road from Majestic Bus Stand, Bangalore. This bus usually drops you at one point of Magadi road within city limits, you will require to take one more bus from here to a Magadi road junction where you need to take a left for Savana durga (12 km from the point), there are private and KSRTC buses to Hospete Gate.Total travelling time 2hrs 15 mins from Bangalore. (In case you don't find a bus, auto can be used for covering these last 12 km).

Things to carry :

1. Good Hiking shoes

2. Water and Snacks

3. Torch light

4. Matchbox or lighter to setup fire

Personal Experience :

We started off from Bangalore city at around 12:30 in the night on bikes. We reached the base of the hill at around 2:30 am . We started our way up and all we could see is a single stone lying ahead of us.

We started climbing the hill and took small  breaks regularly at some points . As we covered some distance we could see the lights glowing from the temple and other houses. We took the first break for 10 mins after reaching a certain distance . All we could see in our surroundings is the only stone.

 
      Good hiking shoes are required as it could provide a grip with the stone. We took the second break at a point where we had to pass through a 50 degree angle and however there were steps cut on the rock.

        

    
      By the time it was around 4:30 we reached the third point where a fort is located and even a pond where rain water is stored. We took rest and waited there for sunrise ,since we were almost on the top of the hill. There was only a little distance to be covered to the peak after the first light.

   At around 5:45 am we got the first light and we started hurriedly further so that we wouldn't miss the sunrise. To reach the peak we had to go through under few rocks and between some trees and finally we were atop the hill.

    We had the pleasure to see the beautiful sunrise and the surroundings glowing with light . also we could see a river flowing through at a certain distance.

    
     After the sunrise we started back and then we could realize how far we had come since the complete hill was visible in the daylight . 

A Nandi is located at the top of the hill.













 Finally to conclude , its a easy trek if you have good shoes and a little stamina and interest.

So whats late , pack your bags and get ready to conquer the largest monolith in Asia.

---------------------------------------------Enjoy Trekking -----------------------------------------------

Antaragange Night Trek and Cave Exploring

        Antara Gange is a mountain situated in the Shathashrunga mountain range in the southeastern portion of the Indian state of Karnataka. Antara Gange literally means "Gangesfrom deep" in Kannada. It is about two miles from the town of Kolar and sixty kilometers from Bangalore. Antara Gange is famous for the temple situated on the mountain. In the temple is a pond which gets a continuous flow of underground water from the mouth of a Basava (stone bull). There is a steep, narrow path to the top of the mountain

Location :

State : Karnataka
Location : 60 Kms from Bangalore

How to Reach :
Route: Bangalore - Old Madras Road - Kolar - Antaragange

Things to carry along:

1. Water and Snacks

2. Comfortable trekking clothes :tracks,raincoats,T-shirts

3. Torch Light with extra batteries.

Personal Experience :

         Started of from Bangalore in Bangalore-Kolar Dmu passenger at around 6:30Pm and reached Kolar station at around 8:30 . We caught a bus from station and reached to Kolar Bus Junction.

Had dinner and took a auto to reach the base of the hill.

It was around 10, we started from the base of the hill. There was complete darkness and the steps were leading towards the temple. We took a halt near to the temple for a few minutes.  We found the route from the left side of the temple .

We started following the trail that was visible and continued going further . There were several places where we were struck with two to three trails dividing from a particular point , but however we managed to find the appropriate route. 

          We finally reached the point where the cave was located , we started exploring it and tried to find a route to the other side through it but after several trails we could not find any route and we had to come back out of the cave disappointed. However what bought us out of the cave faster was the sound/roar of some animal which we did not see but seemed like we heard the sound.

Out from the cave we started moving right side of the cave and we could see some lights from that height. At first we thought that some other group might have come and come and setup something but to our surprise we could see houses atop the hill on the other side which was almost like the peak.

We were wandering where to go and again we heard the roars of some animal and in no time we setup a  big camp fire to prevent ourselves.

Meanwhile it was around 1pm ,we could see vehicles coming atop the hill from the other side where the houses were located. They were some group that had come to trek all the way up the hill in vehicle,pity to them . They passed through us and went to explore the cave and came out and went out to sleep .

We started exploring other routes here and their and tried to climb the boulders in the dark and unfortunately we could not find route to the other hill .

Meanwhile the fog was very cool ad the clouds were moving right beneath us . It was a special moment. With the Sunrise coming we started climbing the boulders again to reach the highest point so that we could see the sunrise.It was a perfect view.

We started off at 7 down the way again ad caught a bus back to Bangalore. Finally it was one of the memorable trek that was added to our list of treks.. 

So whats late , Pack your backpacks and get ready for an adventurous trek.

--------------------------------------------Enjoy Trekking--------------------------------------------