Its been more than a year, since I have described a trek on this blog. Incidentally, thats the same amount of time I have been in Bangalore and out of Pune. Not that there aren't any places here to trek, just that I couldn't muster the strength to get my growing (in width) body to get off its perch and head towards the hills. But then, a week in the past, I decided... Enough is enough. I have to get back to my old habits. With a firm resolve and lots of enthusiastic support from Anup, it was decided that we would be going for a trek to Skandagiri.
Transportation was not a problem at all. We anyway wanted to take out both the Alto and the Avenger out for a long drive. After a few calls to friends, we got two more people to join us - Ananth and Milan. Also, it got converted into a night trek, since that is what Skandagiri is famous for. My initial plan was to do a day trek to get to know the terrain better, before attempting a night trek. After all, it was our first one in the Bangalore region. But then, Ananth persuaded us to go at night by rustling up a plan of his own for the whole of saturday. Left with no choice, we decided to meet at our place at 6.30 pm on saturday evening and take the car.
Ananth came late and by the time we left, it was close to 7.30. We took the Outer Ring Road towards Hebbal. Our plan was to reach Chikaballapur at the earliest, have dinner there and carry on with our sojourn. The road to Skandagiri is very simple. Its a straight road from Hebbal till Chikaballapur on the Bangalore-Hyderabad highway. The road till Devanahalli is 6 laned, thanks to BIA. Afer that, it gets narrow and is less illuminated. There are atleast 3 railway crossings enroute and flyovers are being constructed at all of them. A significant stretch of the journey needs to be done on the wrong side owing to diversisons.
We halted at the Shanti Sagar hotel, on the outskirts of Chikaballapur. A quick meal and we were ready to go on. On this same road, there is a small crossing in the marketplace, with a statue of Vishweshvaraiya on the left. Taking the left turn took us to a temple at a dead end. A right from there, and another left, then led us straight to Papagni Ashram. This is where the trek begins. There is ample parking available here. Also guides can be availed of. We had no plans to take one along with us, but still enquired the rate, out of curiosity. The quoted figure - Rs 500. It really isnt necessary to take a guide along. You can see top of the hill to your left all along and there is a very well defined trail. Just be smart, follow your heart and then no one can stop you from scaling the peak. But still, we did manage to get on the wrong track twice, which we didn't mind at all. We were there to have fun and not just finish the trek. Someone has rightly said "The journey is more important than the destination". We took our own sweet time for the climb. Star gazing, catching up about old times, sleeping, singing - we did it all. It being just two days after the new moon, we didn't have the comfort of having the moonlight guide us. It is said that on a full moon night, flashlights aren't necessary, but it is always prudent to carry one.
Near the top, the trail goes along dilapidated fort walls. We had the urge to climb right over them, but then found it wasnt really easy. Better to walk along the twisting and turning trail, till it reaches a stone structure, something like a gatekeeper's cabin. The old fort complex begins here, and some scattered ruins can be found along the path to the top. On the peak, we found lots of other groups already camping there. There is a small tent selling omlettes and tea. There was nothing to see in the darkness. So we decided to get some rest and look around in the morning. We settled down behind the temple, assuming that it would be a nice place to shelter from the wind. But, we were soon proved wrong. Within a few minutes, we realized that, summer nothwithstanding, we should have got some warm clothing. All we had was one bedsheet. We could hardly relax, let alone sleep, with the chilly wind blowing from all sides. Luckily, a guy came along and offered to get a campfire started for us. We bargained the price down to 50 bucks from 80. And that is what kept us going till about 5.30. It was getting time to welcome the sun. We wound up our stuff and moved towards the eastern part of the fort. There is a sunrise point, but it was very crowded already. We decided to move further ahead and catch the sunrise from a ridge just beyond. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see any of the cloud covered views, for which Skandagiri is very famous. I tried my hand at some photography using my Canon. Wasnt expecting any great shots, but looks like some pics turned out pretty good.
For our descent, we thought of using another route. From the eastern ridge, we could see the parking lot right below us and we decided to plunge right down. It being broad daylight now, finding the way was very easy. There are some tricky patches though, on this path, where one has to be careful about one's footing. Withing an hour, we were back in our car and headed towards Bangalore.
Trek level - easy
Potable water - Not available
Food - Small hotel selling omlettes and tea
Parking - available at the base
Distance from Bangalore - 70 km
