Skandagiri, Also known as Kalavara Durga, is an ancient mountain fortress located approximately 70 km from Bangalore city, and 3 km from Chikballapur. It is easy to reach this trekking point if you are taking the NH7 Hyderabad-Bangalore Highway. The peak is at an altitude of about 1350 meters.
Skandagiri Trekking is a great weekend getaway activity someone can plan if they stay in Bangalore, which is just 70km away from the city center. The Trekking is moderate with 70% with partial slopes and 30% more slant. But the trekking doesn’t require ropes or have any high risk as the tracks are evident and easy to climb by taking breaks.
From my personal experience
We couldn’t get the best view as expected compared to what we saw on the internet. The main reason for this is the Rainfall in Bangalore in 2023 was very low and therefore the cloud beds were not present, Even though prior booking had to be done and 150 people were allowed the place felt crowded for that many people.
For Booking Visit Karnataka Eco Tourism Site
We left Bangalore around 2:30 a.m. and reached the Trekking starting point around 3:30 a.m.
The trekking starts at 4 am and after 4 am anytime you can start your trekking.
Once we reached the trekking start point we couldn’t see any marking of direction or office near the parking area.
After checking with a few people we started walking through the muddy road right to the parking for around 200-300m to reach the gate ( Also can see this road in Google Maps ).
Once we reach the gate there is a small shop to buy water or snacks. There will be guards present at the gate where they mark the entry of people who booked. We haven’t got any guides to assist as mentioned in the websites, the path is well marked and can be navigated easily.
The trek is easy to medium level spanning 5 km on one side and it takes around 1.5 hours to 2 hours to reach the top for beginners with intermittent short breaks. It is advised to carry personal torches and sufficient water. The path will be dark and there are no other lights available.
Sunrise is around —– It will be foggy at the top depending upon the seasons.
For us the fog was minimal. Once you reach 70% of the trekking you will start to see the entire city lights on the left side. This view is perfect for a wide-angle shot if you have tripods ( Don’t carry big tripods since it’s difficult in trekking, Small tripods will be sufficient as you get big rocks to keep it ). You can try nice Long exposure shots at these spots.
Once you reach the top the sunrise will be on the left side. You can relax and find a perfect spot to capture the timelapse or wide-angle shots. In my case, since it was a weekend the place was a bit crowded and I didn’t have many options to choose a spot.
Below is the sunrise view around 6:20 am
Below is the view around 7:00 am
If you are not in a hurry, Just wait till 8:00 a.m. most of the crowd will disappear just after sunrise. We couldn’t see any cloud beds since it was not the best season we visited.
I suggest keeping your camera handy while descending Because you can get some good golden hour shots and wide-angle shots like below.
The descent took us another hour, we were back at the starting point around 9:00 a.m. and in Bangalore by 12 p.m. after the breakfast on way to NH.
Things i carried
- Camera ( Nikon D500 + Tokina 11-16mm + Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 + Nikkor 50mm f1.8 Prime Lens )
- Torch
- Water ( 1 Liters )
- Power Bank
- Mobile phone
- Some lightweight quick-bite snacks.
- Sweater / Jackets
- Cap
- GoPro with body mount.
I am happy to hear from you how was your experience trekking? Let me also know if this article was helpful for you in finding the frames along with trekking.
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