Savanadurga Trip

About Savandurga

Savanadurga (Magadi Tq) is a Tall Granite Hill (11 Km from Magadi) formed by the union of two high peaks (4,024 feet MSL) called locally as the Kari Gudda (Black hill) and Billi Gudda (White hill). This is a very popular location with walkers, hikers and climbers due to the pure natural adventure it provides. It also has a famous old temple of Narasimha Swamy. The temple is located at the bottom of the foothills. The main temple has an adjacent temple dedicated to Laxmi.

Trip Details

Now coming to the details of the trip, we wanted to start well and early, but got delayed a bit, and we finally reached the Kalasipalya bus stand 10 mins before 9:00 am. We immediately got into an KSRTC bus going to Magadi. The distance to Magadi is 50kms, and the ticket cost us Rs 20/- per head. Around 10:50 we got down at a place which I can recall as Hospet and took a bus to Nayakanapalya. The distance to this place is around 8 Kms and the ticket was Rs 6/- per head. We got down at a place known as the Nayakanapalya Gate and took an rickshaw to cover the last 4 Kms of the journey this cost us Rs 10/- per head. We reached the foot of the hills around 11:40 am.

The magnificent view

The first sight of the massive hill that lay in front of me just floored all the thoughts I had in mind. I was assuming it would be an easy trip where we could climb a hill without much difficulty. The hill is just too huge, and the journey to the top is difficult but at the same time the other people around who were also climbing with us seem to have a great sense of humor and made climbing a lot more fun.

The challenge

Though we wanted to go till the hill top, we aborted the climb mid way mainly due to time constraints and our ill preparedness (inappropriate foot wear for the climb/decent) for this climb. We thought it would be best to climb early in the morning and best when we are well prepared for this climb. Hence we went ahead with information gathering to have a proper climb the next time round. We found that it take 2-3 hours for the climb/decent of the hill. There is also a direct bus from Bangalore which reaches here at 8:00 am, which would be ideal for our next trip.

On the climb up always follow the arrows marked on the large stones for the know routes. And also follow the electricity line, which has the proper way to the top. And have a nice sense of humor along, helps a lot. For example, while we were just hanging around midway and considering returning down, we meet a person who was coming down. We asked him if he went to the very top, he told yes. To which we asked what is there on the top. His reply there was nothing much just the electricity poles and the Basava statue!!

Though we could not go to the very top, but still the views were absolutely superb and fantastic. The fun and excitement was much more than what we felt at Tippu’s Drop (Nandi Hills). We stayed there mid way for some time, talking to people and enjoying the view. We also had our packed lunch which we had carried and then finally descended down and visited the two temples which were at the bottom of the hills.

Heading back

We still had quite some time before the 3:30 direct bus, so we decided to walk the 4 Kms to Nayakanapalya from where hoped to catch some other bus or the same bus whichever came earlier. Finally at Nayakanapalya we ended up getting the direct bus. The bus went to Magadi and started from Magadi at 4:00pm and we reached Kalasipalya at 6:00pm.

All in all a very good trip, would have had been excellent if we were better prepared. But we really enjoyed every bit of it and will go again soon and complete the climb sometime soon. So if you are looking for adventure and that too in the most natural form with limited budget then this would really suit you well.

Facts/Suggestions:

• Savandurga is 60 Kms away from Bangalore.
• Kalasipalya -> Magadi (50 km) -> Nayakanapalya (8km) -> Savanadurga (4km).
• There are private as well as KSRTC buses. In these few are direct buses, but many buses are there to Magadi which run at regular intervals.
• It is best if you carry the food items/lunch from Bangalore itself, since there are no hotels as such at the foot of the hills.
• If you are not sure of how to go, then there are small boys who can be found around the Narasimha Swamy Temple who will take you till the top and back for a sum of Rs 50/-.
• The over all cost for this trip came to around Rs. 100/- including the food items which we purchased in Bangalore. Excluding the food it would come to around Rs. 65/- for the travel cost.