Ramnath Kamat

Yet another reason for me to love Bangalore is its proximity to numerous riding places. In this blog I list my top places to ride any day. All these places are within 100km and can be covered within max 3 hours.

Nandi Hills

 On the top there is an old Nandi Temple. You can see a beautiful sunrise from the top of the hill. There are many hotels for having breakfast.




Riding highlights:

1. Distance from city- 70km
2. 47 hair pin curves test your riding skills.
3. Off summer season the road is usually covered in mist.
4. You get to ride on the airport express-way. 

AntharGange

Anthargange is about 80 Km from Bangalore off Old Madras road. You have to go inside Kolar town and from there the 2nd left takes you till the top of the hill. There is a village and a mosque on the top. There is another way to the top via a temple for which you have to park your vehicle down and trek about 3-4 Km. This route is not advised during night since parking at the base is not safe.




Riding highlights:

1. Distance from city- 80km
2. Ride in the deserted road till top during dawn in a winter
3. The sunrise among the rocks is spectacular
4. Explore the caves(just the gaps in the rocks, do not expect the Batman style caves)

Muthathi And Bheemshwari

Muthathi (or Muttatti) is a settlement situated on the banks of the Kaveri river near Malavalli in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is surrounded by a dense forest which is the home of the Kaveri Wildlife Sanctuary. Muthathi is around 90kms away from Bangalore, off Kanakapura road.

Savandurga is one of Asia's largest monolith hills situated about 60kms from Bangalore towards Magadi. It is very popular among climbers. 

Savandurga is formed by two hills known locally as Karigudda (black hill) and Biligudda (white hill). There is a Temple of Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy, where there is an Idol of Lord Narasimha has been worshipped.At the base you can park your vehicle, looks pretty safe for parking during day time. I had left home in the afternoon, so reached the base right when the sun was at its peak. 

Savandurga

There are steps carved onto the hill all the way till top. So climbing it is not a problem but make sure that you carry enough water for the climb. Being Sunday, there were lot of tourists to this spot. 

Manchinbele reservoir as seen from the top

 

Garden lizard

Story telling

Thats me

Temple at the top

View from the top

I spent an hour at the top exploring but the sun was hard to take. So, I climbed down quickly to the base and rode to the Manchinbele reservoir for the sunset. Going near this reservoir is now banned because of many drowning incidents.

 

Falcon at the reservoir

As the sun set I left to home..



Trekking details:Base camp: SavandurgaConnectivity from Bangalore: Better trust own transportJourney hours:  1 hour from Manjestic Trekking distance : 1 and half kms one wayTrekking season:All seasonsDifficulty level:Moderate for amateur trekkers.Easy for frequent trekkers.Must carry:
Good trekking shoes.
Water(1lts).
Food and water are sold here.
   Total trekking time:
If you are a frequent trekker, you can reach the summit  in 45 min-1 hour.

Tips for photographers:
View from the mountain gives a perfect landscape.
Visit early during the day to capture the beautiful sunrise.
Trekking rules:
Do not carry alcohol.
Do not throw anything during the trek.  Keep the trekking place clean for the following trekkers.

Ramnath Kamat's Happiness Index for the trek: 6/10

Bilkal Rangaswamy Betta also known as Bilkal Ranganatha Swamy Betta is a small hill nearby Kanakapura town. The hillock is located around 75 Kms from south of Bangalore. On the summit lies a huge granite stone and a carved Ranganatha Swamy temple inside it. The summit is at 1180 m height  (as shown by my Casio).

The summit can be accessed by two approaches, one via trekking through a shrub forest and the other is a 4 wheel drive.

On the way to the summit

I came across this place on some blogs and found it interesting for a weekend off road riding. Joined with me were Sandesh and Mahesh on Royal Enfield along with Vishwa on his Yamaha. We started early in the morning at 6:30 from Banashankari bus stand. Everyone was on time at the starting spot. Just a few kms away at Adigas we stopped for breakfast. Filled our tummy with Masala dosa and tea. Our estimated time to destination was 9'o clock. We starting riding in a group keeping line of sight at all the time. By the time it felt like we were riding we reached Kanakapura. You have to take left from the Arkavathi theatre in the town which takes you to the country roads. From here the best way of getting to the betta is asking locals the way to 'Bilkal betta'. We road through the curves, ups and down before we finally reached the base village Sundaghatta from where we had to take offroad to the hill. At the village, the forest guard warned us that there are elephants in the forest and told us to be careful.

Ranganatha Swamy temple

From the base village to the top is a 4 km off road which is a rock filled mud road. It did not seem difficult for the bullets. By the time we reached the summit there was mist surrounding us. We spent some time there, went to the cliff and it was time for photography. After an hour we started heading back to Bangalore. Reached home by noon.

Sandesh riding down  to the cliff

Google Map. Stands accurate Picture courtesy: Mahesh