Skandagiri night trek

I had not sought adventure during Bangalore visits. Almost all my trips ended up in the usual suspects of Commercial Street, Brigade Road, or the new, upbeat shopping malls that have sprung up in the city. Of late, however, we have started trekking on every single holiday - some challenging and some moderate. I found this soothing, calming, and an excellent way of getting to know a place. The habit of trekking was introduced by our kids - one continuously learns from youngsters, and their enthusiasm is infectious. Once we begin looking beyond city lights and exploring nature trails, it transports us to wondrous places, literally and figuratively.

 

Mountain ranges around Bangalore.

Bangalore has the luxury of numerous nature trails within driving distance. Plenty of hills and hillocks, old abandoned railways stations amidst thick, green vegetation, rivers and streams, temples with astounding stone carvings, forts and fortresses, waterfalls, small villages - all of which was hitherto unexplored. This time though, we resolved to make amends.

Trail entrance

That was how the Skandagiri sunrise trek came about. There are 5 prominent giris (hillocks) in the Chikballapur district. Nandi Giri, Chandragiri, Skandagiri, Brahmagiri and Hema Giri. Skandagiri is situated north of Bangalore at a distance of 80 km. The total trek covers a distance of 8 km. The trail starts from Papagni Mutt and follows its way to the hilltop. The ruins of a fort dating back to the 18th century can be found on the top leading one to wonder how such heavy stones were carried all the way up during those times. Skandagiri trek is a popular one - setting out at around 0345 hours to catch the sunrise as one completes the climb, if one is indeed lucky as it is mostly enveloped in mist.

Papagni Mutt 

Initially, the three of us were my hubby (Arvind)and daughter (Shruthi). We debated whether to join a group as the trek was scheduled over weekends or if we could gather the required number and have one of our own. Given our daughter’s ability to draw crowds and inject a sense of anticipation, we thought we opted for the latter and persuaded the company Plantheunplanned.com to have a unique trek for us on a day of our choice. Soon, we had 9 ready and willing members. The group comprised of a bunch of youngsters - persons who studied with our daughter in school... Shoba, during her undergraduate college... Rachna, post-graduate college... Darcy a PG classmate and workplace... a namesake Shruthi V. Not to be outdone, I managed to rope in a couple of my classmates - Jiji and Muneesh. The average age of this group was 35 with 7 female and 2 male members. The professions ranged from a landscape architect, aviation and Naval professional, school teacher, Urban and City planners, Tax policymakers, tech consultants, and of course finance professionals topped off with me - a homemaker!

Jiji, Rachna, Bala, Arvind, Muneesh, Darcy, Sruthi, Shruthi, Shoba

We were picked up for our trek by 2300 hours and reached the base camp ( the temple at Papagni Mutt ) by 0100 hours. The heightened excitement prevented any sleep, against the trek guide recommendation. Soon, with nothing much to do and the stillness of the night enveloping us, some of us decided to use the stone floor of the temple to stretch ourselves for the night shooing away the friendly, tail-wagging street dogs. Since we were some distance from the city, it reminded one of the old Bangalore, with a sprinkling of electric street lights, silhouettes formed by the canopy of large trees, a sleepy and drowsy atmosphere and a pleasant air. With a slight breeze, some of us felt a bit cold. Unfortunately, the base camp was simply a parking lot with practically no facilities to ease or stretch oneself. We had to wait for the forest officials to arrive to get our permits to begin the trek. Promptly, they arrived at 0345 hours.

Fifteen minutes later, we were on our way in pitch dark conditions. The first stretch of the trail was a flat walk from the mutt to the forest check post. This distance was about 800 meters and took us less than 10 minutes. The gentle climb into the forest was through dirt trails and rocky climbs. Flashlights lit our path, without which it would have been impossible. Walking in the dark under the starry skies was a surreal experience. As we ascended the hills, we would look back at the city lights. We took breaks to watch the magnificent night skies and the moving stars. By now, the younger and fitter amongst us moved ahead, outpacing the rest.

Night skies from our climb

Catching our breath 

Uphill climb over the rocks

   The journey was uphill, with rocky patches through most of the way. Some of the pathways were so narrow that a slip would have been dangerous. The narrow paths were flanked by thorny bushes and wildflowers. There were many steep ascents to reach the top. Loose gravel, wet rocks, morning mist, made the trail slippery.

Slippery slopes, caves on the way

The final push to reach the summit was a sharp steep ascent through huge slabs of rock. Just when we thought we could do no more, magically, a flat piece of clearing arrived with a cool, rejuvenating morning breeze, continuing to provide us the energy to complete the task on hand.

  

Final Push 

Wild shrubs, tricky paths on the trail

As we climbed higher, we were enveloped in a cloud of mist. The sights from the top were spectacular. There was an ancient Shiva temple to welcome us. No recorded history of the temple existed and it was only folklore that added to the beauty of imagination. We spent an hour or so at the top, taking in the 360-degree views of the surrounding hills. When the clouds cleared, we could get glimpses of the lakes around the mountain. Suddenly the mists would clear, affording us clear views of silvery water bodies, chipped off stones from massive boulders by the unscrupulous stone quarries.

The thrill of seeing a rainbow 

Views of the mountains 

Incredible as it might seem, there was even a stone carving of Nandi the bull leading us to debate if it was carried up or carved on top! Typically like most places in India, there were no documents detailing the history or geography. Much of it was left to folklore and fertile imagination. It was so reminiscent of Life itself.

Nandi Bull stone carving

Remains of an old temple

Climbing up left us exhilarated. After a few minutes of rest to catch our breath, we looked for various points on the hill for pictures and selfies. Plenty of yoga poses and photographs later, we reluctantly dragged ourselves for the downhill trek and discovered that it was not hunky-dory as we thought.

Photo opp

   

We made it!

Yoga time

Selfie time at the top 

Every 100m, the terrain changed from large slabs of rock to gravel, sharp, jagged rock, slippery soil, streams, hard soil. In single file, we descended, often asking if we had completed 50% of the journey. By this time, although the sun was up, it was not yet hot, and we had a clear view of surrounding villages. Again, the fitter and younger group outpaced the others.

Views of the terrain

  

A long way to go down

 Finally, we reached the parking lot with weary legs, ragged breath, and painful thighs and knees but uplifted in spirit and mind. The trek is quite challenging, posing some adventure every now and then. It is a test of endurance, stamina, willpower, and strength but well worth the effort.

Finding our foot 

Lost in the ruins

racing down the slopes

Skandagiri trail is a combination of mud, slippery rocks, loose stones, boulders, along thick vegetation. If I would do it again? The answer would be probably yes.

The motley crew, hastily but eagerly assembled, did it with aplomb..

Our Crew