Skandagiri or Kalwarbetta Sunrise Trek

The Kalwarbetta or Skandagiri sunrise trek is as famous for every true Bengalurian as the MTR hotel breakfast or Vidyarthi Bhavan Masala Dosai.  This peak of Skandagiri is situated near Chikkaballapura and around 70 kms from Bengaluru.

How to get there

You can take the Bengaluru Hyderabad highway, and instead of the by-pass, enter the road that is going to Chikkaballapura.  You will see a signboard that mentions Muddenahalli road after 2.6 kms. Muddenahalli is the birth place of Sir M Visweswariah the great engineer of Mysore Maharaja.  He is the architect of the KRS dam across river Cauvery, near Mysore.  2 kms down the road will lead you to Nandi Hills Chikkaballapura road.  Take a left turn towards Nandi Hills and after half a kilometre you get a right turn towards the only available road.  The museum of Sir M V will be seen to your right.  Take a right turn again and another 2 kms will take you to Kalvara village. A sharp left turn at the village leads you to the parking lot of Skandagiri trekking and also Papagni mutt. There does not seem to be a regular bus service from either Bengaluru or Chikkaballapura to this place, so you could take an auto from Chikkaballapura which is just 5 kilometres from there, or else use your own transportation to reach the place.

Restrictions of Skandagiri Trek

Being in a reserved forest, entry is strictly restricted and without an entry ticket from the forest department - taking the trail is illegal. So don’t go unprepared and return disappointed.  Unlike olden days, thanks to the Government of Karnataka e-governance, it is a lot easier to get an entry ticket to any forest department reserved trails. Get yourself registered on Government of Karnataka’s myecotrip. Once you register, it is a hassle-free procedure to book the ticket for the trek of your choice and it costs Rs.258.75 (roughly $4).  Remember that this is a medium trek - neither too easy nor hard according to the government’s grading.  Kalwarabetta, the other name for the hills, is beyond the famous Nandi Hills.  Nandi Hills is Tippu Sultan’s summer resort.  Furthermore, there is a time slot which is 0400 hours and anytime between 0600 and 0900 hours.  Beyond that neither they permit nor issue tickets. 

Preparations needed for the trek

From the starting point of the mud road after the Papagni mutt, it is exactly 3 kms - the first kilometre of which is a short walk until the sign board of forest department, after which you will need to climb the remaining two kilometres. In some places the gradient is bit steep, so it is better to have a good hiking shoe rather than using regular jogging shoes or walking shoes. If you prepare for an early morning trek, then a litre of water is sufficient. It will take an hour and 45 minutes to climb, for the average person, including rests in between. And almost the same time for getting down.  Nothing is available en route, including shade/shelter, hence you will need to take whatever you want to eat to keep you fit. The 0400 hours slot trek will surely require a good head cover and sweater - due to the altitude of 1374 metres above mean sea level, it gets very chilly in the mornings.  Being just an hour and half drive from Bangalore, you would not need to sacrifice an entire night’s sleep. You can get up at 0200 hours and still reach the place comfortably.  There is a decent parking space, whether you travel by bus or car or two-wheeler.  A good torch, preferably a miner’s torch, to keep your hands free while climbing is also advisable if you take the early morning trek.

My experience:

For a long time to come, when anyone brings up the topic of a sunrise - I find that I will immediately recall the beautiful sunrise from the bed of clouds below the Skandagiri hilltop with cool breeze keeping me company. 

Picture Courtesy : Karnataka Forest Department My Eco Trip

If I am probably going during the monsoon season, this could be the scene. So do not fall prey to the colourful advertisement of sunrise from the clouds, which may not always be true.  This is one of the best places to enjoy the sunrise, I can say that it is at par with Kalimpong, Agumbe’s Kundadri sunrise viewpoints.  The first kilometre of the trek was just a normal walk till you reach the forest department signboard.

This is the information board from where you have to take a left turn

From here you have to take a left turn. Now comes the hard part of climbing the hill, with gradient increasing at every turn.  I could see the wall of Tippu Sultan’s fort in a dilapidated condition even before reaching it. 

 The dilapidated supporting wall of the Tippu Sultan's Fort

The climbing trail is a zig-zag pattern and since a good number of people climb the trail on weekends, the probability of getting lost is zero. 

As I climb from the opposite side of Nandi Hills, the hill ranges down below are clearly visible.

The Hills ranges view opposite to Nandi hills from Skandagiri Hill.

The point where a few huge boulders meet making a triangle gap is approximately at 1/3^rd of the climb. 

This is the place which is almost 1/3rd of the height that I covered.

After climbing 2/3^rd of the distance, you get a shelter which was used by soldiers on the watch in those fort walls. With just a stone pillar and roof, it provides adequate shelter during the rain and sun while coming down. 

The Shelter which marks 2/3rd of the height of the hill that is covered

The beams of the stone shelter

Now comes a comfortable plateau-like stone bed which is the final climbing aspect of the Skandagiri hill.  

Views of the hills below

Overall infinite view from the plateau

The stone plateau indicating almost reaching the peak

You can see a pole used in those days now surrounded few for a selfie

Once I climb this portion then it is just plain walk to the peak of the hill.  There is a pole for hoisting flags in those days, which is still intact.  In fact this is the only structure that is visible from below. 

At the hill peak, there is a Shiva temple that seems to have been abandoned.  I was told that the early morning climbers are using this temple as shelter to keep them warm from the cold breeze due to the height of 1374 metres. 

  The remaining structure of the shiva temple during day time

  During those chill early morning hours taking warm shelter

 Shiva with Vinayagar and Subramanya

 The Nandi before the Lord Shiva

The temple is just a plain square box without the typical ornate temple features which normally comes to one’s mind.  A statue of Lord Shiva with Vinayakar to his right and Subrahmanya to his left. A typical Nandi statue is positioned in front of the lord.  Behind the temple is a watch tower that offers a view of the entire land below including Nandi Hills at a distance.

The Watch Tower behind the temple overlooking Nandi Hills and beyond.

There is a big single stone which is normally the sitting place for sunrise watchers.  It was well safeguarded in those days with surrounding walls. 

 The big monolith stone where people normally wait for sunrise.  Behind and below this is the temple and watch tower 

With the time due for sunrise, the sky acts as a canvas with beautiful colours, ready for the sun to rise. 

 The canvass just before the sun rise.

The Early Morning Canvass with lights in the villages below

When the sunrise actually happens, it is a moment that is not to be missed - not just because of the location but also because of the euphoric exclamations of those people who eagerly wait for this moment.  One thing is sure, a professional camera can do wonders to capture a sunrise like this. Now the yellow, orange and red flame ball of a sun which I can see with naked eye takes to another world. 

 The video of the sunrise

It makes you forget the struggles of climbing up the hill. While this trek would not completely be classified as a hard trek, for a beginner it would seem to be so. It is moderate by any standard, surely not an easy one.  

There are three dogs which are the only occupants of the hill top, God only knows how they are surviving there.  A possessive mother keeps watch over her five puppies that were delivered within the temple, not allowing anyone to go near them. 

Due to the steep gradient, climbing down is not very easy but a trekking stick could help a bit.

The getting down is bit steep at many places.

Almost the entire stretch of climbing is like above.

While it is absolutely not necessary to have a good hiking shoe, you would need to exercise caution and restraint - the failure of which will result in a fall which may be nasty. 

Having enjoyed the trek and sunrise, with a brimming heart I returned back to Bengaluru by 12 noon.  

 The panoramic view of the hills