Madhugiri Fort / Madhugiri Hills(Betta) Trip

About Madhugiri

Madhugiri is a small town about 105 kms from Bangalore, Karnataka and about 43 km north of Tumkur. The place is known for the Fort (Kote), Temples and for the adventurous climb the hill provides. Madhugiri Hill or Madhugiri Betta is one of the largest monolithic with a height of 3930 ft and provides for a very good adventurous climb to the top. The fort which situated on this hill is said to be build around 1678 during the reign of Raja Hera Gowda but is in a very bad state today due to poor maintenance.

Trip Insights

• Travel Date: 18-February-2012
• Location: Madhugiri Betta/Madhugiri Hills/Madhugiri Fort
• Mobile Coverage: Good coverage in Airtel and BSNL.
• Transportation: Take KSRTC bus heading to Pavagada from Majestic, Bangalore platform 4. There seem to be buses every 15 minutes.
• Food: Carry lots of water and snacks if required. Food available at KSRTC canteen, options limited.
• Travel Time: 2.5 hours to Madhugiri from Bangalore
• Climb Time: 1.45 hours upwards and 45 minutes downwards (including photo time)

Getting to Madhugiri from Bengaluru

Friday night I and my friends decided to go a trip, after lots of discussion we finally decided on Shivagange for a fun Saturday. The plan was to meet at KSRTC bus stand in Majestic, Bangalore at 8:00am and take a bus which would take us to Dabbaspet (on the way to Tumkur) and then take another bus to Shivagange.

At 8:15am we were told platform #4 has buses which would take us to Dabbaspet. When we asked a bus conductor who was waiting in the platform he pointed at the bus and told it would go. We noticed that the bus was going to Pavagada, but what struck us that the bus was going via Madhugiri. Couple of years back when we had been to Savandurga, we had also planned to go to Madhugiri as well as both are know to be good trekking places and one of the largest monolithic around.

So we started a conversation with the conductor to know more about the place, he mentioned that it would take us around 2.5 hours to get to Madhugiri and the frequency of buses to Bangalore in conductor’s words were “hedge-hedge ge sikkute” meaning you would get a bus every step you take :-)

Excited on the opportunity available we decide to head over to Madhugiri instead of Shivagange. The bus started at 8:30am from Majestic and the charge for the journey was Rs. 75/person. Once the bus passed Nelamangala the journey was a breeze till Dabbaspet where the bus took a right turn below the flyover, the roads after this was a bit bumpy but not bad. We went past Korategere and reached Madhugiri at around 11:05am. On the way we saw signboards for two places we had been to before Devarayana Durga (5Kms from main road) and Siddara Betta (11Kms from main road).

As we got down at the Madhugiri KSRTC bus stand, we saw the magnificent hill right in front of us waiting to be conquered. We filled our stomach at the canteen at the bus stand premises, the rates were reasonably and food was good. Idli (2 nos) - Rs. 12, coffee Rs. 6, Vangi Baath Rs. 20 were the options available.

First view of the climb

The entrance to the hill/fort is right after the KSRTC bus stand, you need to walk around 200 meters once inside to be greeted with the steps which is the start of the really big climb to the top. The hills is surrounded by walls of the fort and all through the climb up one can find the walls of the once glorious fort. As we started the climb towards the top we were greeted by the magnificent view of the town and the scattered hills around Madhugiri.

The initial climb is really easy and the fort and the magnificent view meant we spent a lot of time photographing. One thing that really hurt us was the way in which the walls of the fort were filled with people’s names. It is a shame that we are ruining such a good monument by scribbling all over the walls.

As we continued we came across the main wall of the fort and the entrance. We click a few more photo and continued further to be greeted a huge reservoir used to store water, unfortunately it was empty. But it is interesting to notice that people cared out water then, but now people follow rain water harvesting only when imposed by the Government. The reservoir in its filled state must have been a really good place to spend time.

We continued further to move through one more entrance from where the climb got a bit difficult, but there were railings to hold on to and small steps cut out of the hill to provide some footing which going up. We were hopeful of reaching the top very quickly since we had the railings for support. But with each milestone we crossed, the hill seemed to just get bigger and bigger and never ending, we realized we had not even come half-way and were deceived by the walls that blocked our view to the highest point.

Till this point we had not seen many people around except for a couple of lovers and a few school kids and it was lonely towards the top with no one visible, quite a strange thing for a place which was supposed to be a famous among tourists.

At each of the level (the fort has multiple rounds of defensive walls) there are many bastion’s. Heading over to the bastion gave us a complete view of the city. I was left wondering how the place would have been around 300 years back when it was under attack and how each of the bastion’s came the rulers army the advantage of seeing the attacker much before they arrived.

As we continued our ascent we came up to the last part of the climb. This part was really steep and the most challenging, the steps were going cross and railing were the only thing which would support us from a fall and help us reach the top. Please wear good footwear if you intend to attempt this, as one slip can be really break many many bones. Also avoid it if you have fear of heights.

Moving one step at a time we finally reached the last level of defensive wall which we had thought to be the top, but surprise was waiting, the walls of the fort were hiding behind them one more climb the last one towards the very top where the granaries and the temple are situated. But this time without any railings and steps only till half way. By this time we had exhausted most of our water supplies we carried and it was around 1:45pm, yes we spent a lot of time on taking photos. At the top the ruined temple of Gopalakrishna is located. Note that there is nothing available at the top, carry whatever you require yourself.

We spent some time with the cool breeze hitting us and taking in whatever we could of the beautiful nature around and then headed downwards, once the difficult part of the descend was complete it was mainly like a stroll downstairs.

The most interesting part about the climb was that this was the first hill which we had been to in and around Bangalore which did not have monkeys!!! Yes, they have been our friends in all the climbs we had undertaken. One thought which was going through my mind was that had monkeys joined the endangered species list, but my happiness knew no bounds when we came towards the bus stand and I finally saw around 3-4 monkeys..

We reached the KSTRC bus stand around 3:10pm, headed over to the canteen and had whatever we could find, food was ok again. The menu available was Anna Sambar (Rs. 20), Bajje (Rs. 10), Tomato Baath (Rs. 20). We hydrated ourself with almost 2 liters of water by which time the bus to Bangalore arrived, we started back at 3:35pm and reached Majestic, Bangalore by 7pm.

Total cost per head came to Rs. 235, which includes the bus charges of 150. The rest were mainly on food, water and snacks.

To conclude, for an unplanned trip this went on smoothly. When starting it seemed a quick climb up, but we had obviously underestimated the height of the hill, each bastion greeted us with more never ending climb. But overall it is a very good place to spend a day if you love climbing. Lots of photo opportunities, a very good and interesting climb. Moreover the city is well connected by public transport and the hill is reasonably clean with very few people around and we could enjoy our hearts content.

Tips:

• Carry plenty of water, at least 2 liters per person is recommended.
• The last section of the climb is steep hence have footwear which provides good grip.
• There are buses back to Bangalore every 15 minutes till 7pm, so take your time to look around.
• Carrying biscuits or any other snacks from your starting point is recommended as the shop charges Re.1 extra on almost everything.

Update (28/01/2022): Added better quality photos and added sections to the post.