Savandurga, Rock climbing adventure

It is one of the largest monolith hill and a famous visiting spot for adventure loving people. We visited the place in the scorching month of April, but its monsoons snaps that I have seen on other sites are heavenly. But it would be a risky place to visit during monsoon due to high slope and slippery rocks. We started our journey form Kalasipalyam bus stand, Bangalore. From there we took a local bus for Magadi which is 45-50 kms form there. It took 2 hrs to reach Magadi. Take whatever refreshment you want from here as you will not find suitable place after this. Keep water, liquid diet and food for onward journey. From Magadi we took a different bus to Savandurga for 10-12 kms distance. Be ready for a rough ride as local buses are

heavily packed but roads were fine. There is another directroute from Bangalore and journey would be more enjoyable if you have your own vehicle. The rock was visible from far distance also.

Bus left us at one spot from where we hired an auto for a 2 kms bumpy ride which took us to the foothills where there is a temple famous among locals. We hired a local kid for 30-40 Rs, which we later felt was not necesaary and started our journey at around 12 noon. The gradient of climbing was very high and we started rapid breathing within minutes and had to rest and intake water after regular interval of 5-10 minutes. After climbing up for about 45 minutes we left the boy as he was disinterested in going further. There is a transmission line going up, we tried to keep climbing around that only as otherwise there were

chances of losing direction. For directions there were arrow marks which played crucial role to reach and come back in time.

The gradient is very high and at some places as high as 75-80 deg which we found very hard to negotiate with. On the way there were many crevices and beautiful rock structures. As more

and more we climbed, our view- horizon expanded rapidly with increasing inten

sity of natural beauty. We could see a large river flowing and perhaps Bangalore city also. After 90 minutes we reached a point beyond which no view of hill was visible and we struggled to find the way beyond it because of very high slope. The periphery was covered with a manmade boundary wall. We gathered our strength and climbed straight-up with utter care as it was a risky

affair. Beyond this the climb was somewhat easier and we reached to the other side of hill. Full blown wind was flowing and even under direct sun we were not feeling the heat. After 30-35 minutes we reached to amanmade shelter. We took rest for a while, enjoyed the view and took snapshots. From here the way to destination, Nandi-idol, passes through rocks and cave kind of structure. Arrow marks are must, never miss arrow marks as it would be difficult to find the way otherwise. Ups and downs

through trees and shrubs were very adventurous and most enjoyable moments of journey. We passed through some cave like structure; saw few distant views of deep and dark caves which we later came to know could have been dangerous as local fauna includes bear and leopards. About 3: 30 we reached our destination, the

Nandi temple. As obvious we could see beautiful views in all directions as it is the highest peak in nearby area. We ate fruits and biscuits and rested for sometime after taking beautiful snapshots.

Around 4 pm we started our return journey but on the way we lost our way after

sometime and started coming down in another direction. In absence of any path we took help of narrow

dried water conduit and came down slowly in sitting position for about 100 ft. We managed with some difficulty to get back to the original path. By 5:45 we reached at the base and hired auto for going back to Magadi. There is no place to stay in Savandurga, so ensure that your

journey gets over within a day.