A mystical journey above the clouds
Skandagiri aka Kalawarahalli Betta
Skandagiri or kalawarahalli betta is one of the hottest places for trekking enthusiasts around Bangalore. The peak belongs to a range of 7 hills on the Nandi hills range and happens to be the tallest peak in the range towering 7 feet above the popular Nandi hills.skandagiri is 60 kms from Bangalore on the NH7 leading to Chikaballapur.The trek starts off from papagni matta and the trail takes you to the peak amidst clouds .Attributed as a level 1 trek the the trek doesn’t offer much difficulty to a seasoned trekker and is one of the best treks for a first timer. The peak offers an enthralling view of sunrise with the clouds right below you.
A team of 8 trekkers from the business excellence unit of MphasiS planned to conquer the peak on a cold Friday night. Gathering resources from the nearby town of chikballapur we embarked on our trek at 8 45 pm.going unnoticed is the forest departments ability to cash in on the sudden popularity of this hill over the last season. a minimal trekking fee of 15rs/head is charged at the foothills. Most of the trekkers were new to trekking and they took like a duck to water owing to the fantastic landscapes.
Taking in-numerable breaks and losing our way in between we finally hit the peak at 00 hours on Saturday treading through slippery rocks and encountering innumerous show stoppers in the form of vertical drops towards one side of the path, Speedy winds threatening to take us off the cliff. We resisted and enjoyed the view from top with a few lights glimmering from the nearby town chikballapur.
The darkness didn’t help our cause with visibility reduced to zero on the peak. Imagine the rattling cold and the high wind speeds which didn’t allow 7 people in pitching a tent on the peak. Giving up on our ability to pitch a tent in such hostile conditions we retired at the temple treating ourselves to maggi.we hit the sack at 2 am preparing for an early wake up call. We were in a twilight zone for around 20 mins before the majestic sun showed up at 6.
Awe struck we looked on with more than 50 people who had made it to the peak in the early hours to catch a glimpse of the rising sun. For a moment it looked like the chinnaswamy stadium where India were supposed to take on Pak later in the day with people going bonkers when the sun came up. To say it was magnificent would be an understatement.
THE TEAM ON TOP OF SKANDAGIRI
After the rest of them had packed up after littering the places we sat on the edge of the cliff relishing the fruits of our hard climb the previous night. We started our descend at 8 am after treating ourselves to sandwiches which tasted like heaven. Unfortunately eco-friendliness and commercialization don’t go together and the former has taken a back seat due to the excess number of visitors and inadequate manpower to maintain the place. a tent serves omlettes and hot tea close to the peak while natives scare you away from venturing out into dark unknown territory without guides. Enlightening you with stories about pythons that kill cows and bears that roam the jungles. Most of it sounds like a joke with the floating population of this virtually unknown place a few months ago skyrocketing. The descend doesn’t take more than 2 hours. Clicking a few snaps to commemorate our successful trek to skandagiri we headed back to Bangalore stopping enroute to have lunch in 1 of the dhabas.we reached Bangalore at 3 pm thus ending our tryst with the clouds
Important Facts About this Place :
Height -- about 1750m from sea level.
Distance From Bangalore - 70+ kms From
Nearest Town/Medical Help : Chikkaballapura
Nearest Airport/ Railway station: Bangalore
The Route(Getting there) : There are 2 routes to kalawara betta. One is take a turn towards Nandi Hills and go further to kalawaraVillage crossing Muddenahalli. This is shorter route than the one from Chikaballapur. Second one is to go to chikaballapur and then to kalawaraVillage. From KalawaraVillage ask for Omkara Jyoti Ashrama / Papagni Mutt. There is a shiva temple and vehicles can be parked at the foorhills. Nandi to Kalawara to Papagni Mutt - 6 kms ........ Chikaballapur to papagni Mutt - 3 kms.
Level of Trekking: Easy
Best time to visit: November to January - MTC captured these clouds during our visit in mid-Dec. Pre-monsoon will be heavily foggy.
Trek time: 2 to 3 hours to reach the peak during daytime. A very nice place for moon-light trek. Best enjoyed when scaled at night. Depart from Bangalore at 11pm,reach skandagiri at 1 am, Start from the foothills at 2,scale the peak by 5 30.enjoy the spectacular sunrise and start your decent at 7 ** must carry Water, first aid box, Snacks or light food(chocolates).A tent serves bread omlettes and tea at an objectionable price.2 wheeler parking is priced at 15 and car parking at 30.a user fee of 15/head is charged at the base camp.
