Saavandurga - Trek is only for brave hearts :)

This blog is about Saavandurga - One day trekking destination near Bengaluru. When googled this place, we found that the place was permanently closed. However we decided to go and give a try. Saavandurga is located at a distance of about 50-70km from Bengaluru. I am saying distance is about 50-70km because there are 3 routes to reach this place and the distance varies based on the route. One can use google maps to know the different routes. For the purpose of documenting, I am mentioning the routes here.

1. Bengaluru - Kengeri - Deviation near Brigade Panorama - Doddaladamara road - Manchinabele - Savandurga
2. Bengaluru - Kengeri - Kommaghatta - Tavarekere -  Magadi - Savandurga
3. Bengaluru - Soluru - Magadi - Savandurga

We started our bike journey at 6.45AM in the morning of a Saturday and chose route-1 to reach Savandurga. This road goes via Manchanabele dam and the view of this is treat to eyes. Here is how it looks from road.

Manchinabele View

Once you stop here for mandatory photoshoot, proceed in the same road which will take you to the front of dam and one can play in water if needed. Only the kids in the below pic knows the fun of playing with fresh cold water of the dam. But be careful if the water levels are high.

Kids enjoying at Manchanabele

However, if you are planning this visit only to do a day trek in Savandurga, do not waste time here. One needs to hurry up to reach Savandurga as early as possible and start the trek. This is because, first of all the trek is a bit time consuming -  thanks to the inclination of the hill. Secondly because as the time goes, the rocks will be heated up a lot and makes the trek experience tougher. Hence better reach the destination and plan for Manchanabele while returning or on some other day. As you progress on the route mentioned above, you would reach one kaccha road which lasts for about 10km. This road is not tarred. To make it worse, they have spread the crushed stones on the mud road. So any small vehicle should be careful to drive here without affecting their vehicle. You must be wondering where we had breakfast right? Yes, we had breakfast at Srinidhi restaurant after Kengeri at about 7.30AM. We reached the destination at 8.45AM.

Saavandurga has something to offer for everyone :) For toursists it offers great view of the hill along with temples and nature walk by forest department. For travellers and thrill seekers it offers a wonderful trekking experience. So, let us explore what I found out there :)

As you enter Savandurga, you would see forest office at the entrance and one can go for nature walk here if they wish. We had been there with a plan to trek and hence we did not explore this option. We were welcomed by Sri Veerabhadraswamy temple. From here we saw the destination we had to reach by trek and we were all excited. Let the pic speak what we felt. Zoom the picture to spot the peak and the nandi temple at the peak. Thats the destination for the trekkers :) Remember this pic, so that in the course of time you can see how the temple looks from the peak !!

Veerabhadra temple at entrance

We did take blessings of the god from outside and proceeded to find the trek route. As we went through, we found one more temple of Sri Lakshmi Narasimha swamy where we parked our vehicle.

This is the point where the trek begins :) The temple was open when we parked the vehicle here. But one needs to be cautious here because there are plenty of monkeys in the parking area and do not be surprised if there were some damages to your vehicle by the time you return. We entered the temple and got the divine blessings of the god and began our trek. Here are the pictures of temple and trek beginning point. Again, zoom the picture of temple timings to spot the nandi temple at the peak which is seen as white structure in color.

Lakshmi Narasimha temple

Temple timings with view of the peak

Trek beginning point

As you see in the picture of beginning point, we do not see the white Nandi temple at all from here!!!

We were also equally surprised and realized that the trek will not be shorter and we have a long way to go. We begun our trek by about 9.45 with the target of reaching the peak in 1-1.5 hours. Initially I found it a bit challenging as the inclination was about 80 degrees and I had floaters with which my foot was not getting proper grip. So, I did not take off in the path that is seen in the above pic. Rather I went towards right and ascended. I found that there were yellow markings on the rocks and that made me realize that, I entered the path that guides me to the peak. Later my friend who started his ascend in the 80 degree inclination also joined me once we crossed this first stage. We reached the remains of the fort built by Kempegowda ( as per locals!!, later used by Tippu). The remains of forts are the land marks that confirms you are on right path to reach the peak. Also, one can simply follow the current lines to reach the peak. The markings on the rocks go parallel to current lines. We took brake here for refilling our energy and for some photos.

We did not waste much time here as we found we need to cross two more such steep hills to reach the peak. On the way we found some attractive trees which tempted us to do some monkey business and we did it :) We climbed up the tree and took few photos and tried to get the view from top of the tree ( hope you did not read it as TOT!!!!!). After this we proceeded towards second stage of the trek - towards remains of the fort. Have a look at the view from this stage and the steep hill we climbed to reach here :)

View from half way to second post

View of second post

View from Second post

View from almost near second post

Actually, this second stage is a bit lengthy and steep also. As we were busy in photos, the cap I was wearing was taken away by the wind!!! My friend raced towards it and was able to catch hold of it! So, what I mean here is, it is better to have caps. But be careful to not let it carried away with the wind. Finally we reached the second stage. Near first stage and second stage there are few locals who will be selling cucumber, pineapple, maa,frooty etc. If you do not have enough food or water refill with them :) After this we headed towards 3rd stage of the peak. This was pretty easy as we got used to steep hill climbing and on the way we stopped near a tree for refueling our energy. We had carried robusta banana which will keep hunger at bay and is a rich source of energy. As we moved on, we were on a illusion that we reached the peak!!!!!!! Yes, it is...No..its not..We found a mantapa of stone and assumed it to be peak. But found that this was the third post of the fort which confirmed us that we were on right track but not yet at the peak. Also we found the peak also from here!!! Finally atleast we got the glimpse of it. Now all that wass remaining was to reach there and celebrate :) Here is the picture of the same.

Third post, peak can be seen from here

Well, so far we were thinking we had reached pretty fast. But when we checked the time we found that already 1.5 hours has been spent to reach here. We drunk water and estimated that we would reach the peak in 15 minutes and begun trekking towards the peak. Yes, we did our estimate properly. We reached the peak in 15 minutes. But this final trail is really challenging with the mix of steep ups and downs. All the way we followed the yellow markings on the rocks and power lines to reach the peak. The view from the peak is breathtaking. We felt it really worth so much of effort for such an astonishing view. The fresh air gushing through your hairs made us jump like feathers. We enjoyed the peak thoroughly and opened our food items to fill our hungry stomach. We were surprised to see 3 dogs at the peak. They were sleeping there with peace without the hassles like the dogs of Bengaluru!!!!! Here is the pic from the peak. Now try to locate the temples of foothill by yourselves.

View from the peak

View from the peak

Now being at the top we thought we could reach the base by 30 minutes. But as we begun our journey we again realized the steps are steep enough to put our life at risk. Hence we descend carefully and took about 45 minutes to reach the foothill. We ended our trek with amazing experience. to cherish for rest of the day :)

Here are the key points to note:

1. Start as early as possible. If you are trekking, plan to start the trek by 8-9AM. This will make your ascend easy and make the journey more enjoyable.
2. Carry enough food and water. Carry proper backpack which can hold these items.
3. Be properly equipped with footwear of good grip. Shoe would be better option.
4. Sun screens are must as there are hardly shades available in the path of trek.
5. Carry sun glasses if needed. 
6. If you are wearing caps, take atmost care to not let it carried away by wind. Even if it is carried away, do not bother or rush to catch it. Make your safety a first preference.
7. For people not having private vehicles, there are buses available from Bengaluru. Alternatively one can reach Magadi and from there autos keep plying between Savandurga and Magadi. Check with BMTC/KSRTC for bus timings. 
8. At any point in time, if you are not finding the path, stick with the groups if there are any. Also if you feel it is tough to climb, return. Prioritize your life.
9. Please do not litter. Do not throw plastics or any garbage there
10. You can freshen up at the temple premises. There are water taps available.

Stay safe and enjoy your trip. Please let me know your opinion about this blog. Also contact me if any information is needed.