Skandagiri

Skandagiri is a hill, located approximately 70km from Bangalore city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is off Bellary Road (NH-7 Hyderabad-Bangalore Highway), and is very close to Nandi Hills and Chikkaballapura. The peak is at an altitude of about 1350 meters, it is every adventurer’s paradise with beautiful night trek, altitude camping, stunning sunrise, and serene and swimming clouds that sometimes limits visibility to just a few meters.

View of Skandagiri Betta From Below the mountain

About

The village is called Kandavara Halli and the hill is called Kandavarahalli Betta (aka Skandagiri and Kalwarahalli Betta). It is in the Chikkaballapura district of Karnataka.

Skandagiri is one of the hill forts in the Nandi Hill ranges. The dilapidated walls of Tipu Sultan's fort can be seen even today . History says this was a small but strong hill fort. Tipu Sultan reportedly captured this fort from a local ruler by bribing two milk women who used to supply milk to the ruler to poison him and his men to death. It surrendered to British troops on 19 October 1791. It remained in British hands until the peace treaty of 1792, which concluded the third Anglo-Mysore war.

There are 2 caves, one starts from the base and as per locals, leads to the temple at peak and another one is somewhere midway which is about 30 feet only. Both are yet unexplored, especially the first one. Locals say that there are pythons in the caves and had swallowed their goats at times. Supposedly, there are 6 Samadhis in that cave.

Altitude	about 1350m above sea level
Distance	70 km from Bangalore
Nearest Town/Medical Help	Chikkaballapura, 5 km
Nearest Airport/ Railway station	Devanahalli(bangalore international airport)
Co-ordinates	13°25′3″N 77°40′58″E

Getting there

There are two routes to Skandagiri:

• From NH-7, turn towards Nandi Hills. At the base of Nandi Hills turn right and proceed to Kalawara village via Muddenahalli (birth place of Bharath Rathna Sir.M.Visweswaraih).
• From Chikkaballapura proceed directly to Kalawara village.

Directions:

• Follow the Bangalore International Airport , better known as Bellary Road. After crossing the BIA , you shall be on Chikkaballapura road. Follow the same road until you find a Visweswaraih statue on to your Left.
• Take a left at this place and a right turn at the City Municipal Council a little further down. Later this shall directly lead to papagni Mutt, which is the basement of Skandagiri.

At Kalawara village ask for Omkara Jyoti Ashrama / Papagni Mutt(13°25′26.6″N 77°41′28″E). There is a Shiva temple near the base of the hill, where vehicles can be parked.

• Nandi to Kalawara to Papagni Mutt is 6 km.
• Chikaballapur to papagni Mutt is 3 km.

Trekking

Level of Trekking : Moderate

Must carry water, first aid box, snacks or light foods. Local villagers sometimes camp on the peak and sell omelette and tea. They even gather wood for you in case you want a campfire.

It is common to trek in the dark, and it's a lot fun on a full moon night. Trekkers usually start the climbing around 2:00 AM and aim to reach the top by around 5:30 AM to catch the sunrise.

This is a tedious trek as the hill is precipitous and high. The trek starts from the Papagni Temple at the foot of the hill. The fortress is in full sight throughout the trek uphill. This steep and fantastic trek through a maze of dense shrub is highly intriguing. Skandagiri is a teaser. Just as you reach the fort wall content that you have topped the hill, you see another ring of fort. No sooner do you reach there, than you find another majestic fort wall waiting to be conquered. There are six such series of stonewalls protecting an abandoned temple on the hilltop.

Recently the Karnataka Forest Department has shown interest in Skandagiri due to the frequent visit of people and has established a parking place for all the vehicles visiting there. An Entry Fee of Rs 15 is charged for each person visiting the hill.

External links

• Skandagiri / KalwarbettaPhoto Gallery