Trip to Savandurga

A beautiful scenery at the small "vana dham" near Savandurga hill maintained by the State Forest Dept. A beautiful sight from the top of the hill....but not so spectacular from up close.

4 college friends (resembles Dil Chahta Hai??)- Avi, Madhu, Naresh...and yours truly- decided one fine day to go out somewhere together. The weeekends were getting boring and the week days were monotonous. We wanted a change. The married guys couldn't come as they had their family duties to perform and so the remaining bachelors in Bangalore were the ones. Maybe some adventure sport, a trek.......But after failing to decide early on the spot and not getting any booking, we decided we would drive down to Savandurga and do some "rock climbing/trekking".

Day started early at 5:30AM as we wanted to finish the climbing part before the sun rays start burning the handsome hunks. Madhu had recently bought a car... and boy... is he a gifted driver!!!Just one month of driving and the ride was so smooth, though a little slow. After picking up Avi and Naresh on the way, we took the Magadi road and the milestone read "Magadi-48KM". Magadi is the birthplace of Kempegowda - founder of Bangalore.

The road was good in patches...but had too many potholes and bad patches for a novice driver. The Arkavathi river passes by the side of road. We pass by the Thippagondanahalli Reservoir, more famous as TG Halli reservoir which was (not sure if still is) the source of drinking water to Bangalore. There is also the Manchanabele dam close by which we skipped.

We reached Magadi and got down to have breakfast at the roadside eatery. Had some bananas, "tatte idli", biscuits and water before we took the diversion to Savandurga which was 12kms from that spot. This stretch of the road is bad and almost no traffic. Thought there would be many adventure buffs going there for a trek...but thankfully...there were none.

At 8:15 AM, we parked our vehicle at the foothill where there was a temple. The local boys had explained the best route to climb the rock. At first glance, climbing looked impossible. I read that it rises to a height of 1226m above mean sea level. It looked so smooth and steep for me to climb. I can say I had done some rock climbing on my trips to the North-East, Jammu & Kashmir and Darjeeling (on a small "hill" at the age of 15). But this was not for me. Until, ofcourse, I started following the path. We were told to follow the electric poles up the hill.

The climb looked steep and we were huffing & puffing all along. Initially we had to stop to catch our breath after every 5 mins of climbing. After 5 halts, 2 puffs of Ventorlin as a precaution(a drug for asthmatics from Glaxo in the form of "spray"-nicknamed maddy's gun by the friends from school) and 2 lts of water down the thirsty throats of "Ramaiah Telecom" boys, we finally reached the top at around 9:30 AM. Someone had taken the pains to mark with arrows the best path to climb.

One of the most breathtaking sights I had seen from the edge of the hill at the top. There is a Nandi statue where we rested for a while. There were strong, cool winds which was a welcome break after sweat rolled down our faces and body climbing. It was so strong that at one point we thought our shoes, which we had removed for resting, would just fly away and had to be secured. We rested for a while at the top while enjoying the strong breeze and the beautiful scene from the top. Felt like standing on the edge with arms stretched and shout "I'm on top the world!!!"

But fear of going down took over and I was content just taking snaps. With Arkavathi river in the background, greenery on the ground, and deep blue skies dotted by clouds was a welcome change to the eyes, which normally are used to seeing computer monitors, Bangalore traffic and pollution. It was so peaceful up there, that sounds of an autorickshaw speeding on the road below could be heard on the hill. The 4 of us now realized how much sound pollution we were accustomed to back in Bangalore (and all the other cities I have been to, around India).

We did not want to get back from this beautiful place and come back to the chaotic life back in the city. But Avi and Naresh had some appointments in the evening. After spending a good hour on the top, we started our descent. We had 2 dogs following us all the way from where we parked our car to the top. They were our guides making sure that we didn't lose our path. They too had rested at the top and accompanied us down, though half-way down they shifted parties and accompanied another group which was climbing.

Coming down was easier than we had thought. At just one spot we had to sit and climb down. But it was taking its toll on our toes. There was so much pressure on them trying to balance and support the weight of our body and getting a grip on the rock. At a couple of spots, we thought climbing down was becoming less adventurous and tried to add some spice into it by thinking of jumping between rocks. But after getting close to the spot, we realised we weren't up for something like that and went back on the path.

Having perspired a lot during the entire climb/trek, and thoughts of losing 2-3Kgs got smiles on the faces of Naresh and Maddy. We got into the car and after a brief 5 min drive, we reached a small forest area maintained by the Karnataka Govt. for people to enjoy some picnics or just sleep in the midst of nature away from the hustle-bustle of the city. The entry fee is Re1 per person.

We were so tired. All the way I have been thinking of my physical fitness and need for me to start doing some physical activity. Decided to wake up early and doing some exercises again. Well this goes on in my mind every forthnight when a trouser looks to have become tight. We had some chapatis and curd rice... thanks to Avi's and Madhu's moms. After resting at the small pond and taking some snaps, we started back home at 1:50PM.

With Naresh challenging Madhu and intimidating him that even bullock carts seem to be overtaking and the PJs on Radio Mirchi, we reached the city around 3:40PM. Enjoyed every bit of it-time with the boys, the good ride thanks to Madhu and the beautiful locales of Savandurga. After reaching home, had a hot shower and hit the bed with some body aches and good memories of time well spent.