Rock Climbing Series 6: Skandagiri

Overview: Skandagiri is probably the first place which I explored through trekking. Back in June 2008, on a cloudy monsoon morning, I set off to Skandagiri with my college friend. My friend, who enjoys biking, and I enjoy hiking, combined each other's passion and set off to Skandagiri. Skandagiri is situated on a village called Kalavarahalli village near Chikkaballapur which is the base of the hill. Though trekking is done in Skandagiri at midnight or past midnight so that they get a glimpse of the magical sunrise, we decided to go there a bit late to avoid the crowd. We started from Bangalore at around 5:30am and reached Skandagiri at around 7:00am. We parked our bikes at Papagni Mutt which is at the foothills. The hills looked inviting and the weather was cool. So we immediately set off to climb the hill. The path is well laid with directions pointed out on rocks at every step. We could see people climbing down after catching the sunrise. We climbed steadily and the trek is not a very difficult one. The scene around the hill was very enchanting and we could get the fresh smell of grass and herbs on the way. We climbed further and found some open space where we rested for a while. We carried on after that and finally reached the top in around 2.5 hours. Very strong and cool winds were blowing made it hard for us to hear each other but the experience was out of this world. On the top we could see a ruined temple, a Nandi bull and a few structures made of stones probably used during Tipu Sultan's times. We were struggling to hold on to our jackets which were flying with the wind. After enjoying the experience we started climbing down. We had a chance to see various varieties of flowers blooming on the way. We reached the base in around 1 hour and the descent was less tiring. It was a wonderful trekking experience and would like to do it again during sunrise.
                  
References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skandagiri
How to reach: Car/Bike: Head on NH7 towards Bellary, at Chikkaballapur town turn left towards Kalavarahalli. From the village ask for directions to Papagni Mutt. Park the vehicle at Papagni Mutt and begin climbing.
Food/Accommodation: Food options available at Chikkaballapur town and on NH7.
Map:

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