Savandurga Hill — Attraction in Karnataka

A moderate-high difficulty trek if you are going all the way to the top. The view at the Nandi (Highest point) is breathtaking and totally worth the climb.

How to get here: There are two major ways to get here driving /riding from Bangalore. There is a beautiful toll road called NICE road which goes all the way from Electronic City to Mysore Road and beyond. I suggest taking this toll road because the road is good and the ride is fast till Mysore road. You can drive through the city on smaller roads and join Mysore road. I have done both these routes and personally NICE road is my go to option although the route is longer for me because you can push your vehicle above 100kmph.

After taking either of the routes above you have to drive through Savandurga forest and some villages to get to Savandurga Hills. There are multiple routes again but they are pretty much the same and the twisty roads and village environment is beautiful. I have done these roads in the dead of the night when not a single vehicle was on the road and the forest was completely dark. It was a surreal experience and the moonlit night gave me the chills.

You can park your vehicle below and grab some snacks. The climb starts off nice and easy but gets difficult in a matter of meters. You are essentially climbing bare rock with very steep incline at certain spots.

Tips: Wear proper shoes and clothes: Everyone mentions sports shoes for climbing however I feel the term is ambiguous and misleading. You need trekking shoes or shoes which have rugged grip, reconsider climbing up during rainy weather and plane rubber soles, improper grip. Test out your shoes on the rock surface before you climb and always climb to your capacity. Stay vigilant. It's very easy to lose grip here at certain places where the rock is slippery. Wear comfortable clothes and warm ones if you are climbing early morning. Wear light coloured clothes if you are climbing after sunrise. Breathable fabric and gloves help as well.

Consider your fitness level: Take your time climbing up top because the incline is daunting. You will definitely lose your breath at some point, early on if you are not used to the outdoors. Climb, rest and repeat till you are at the top. Remember that you have to climb back down all the way so take it slow and do not tire yourself out.

Travel light: Climb during daytime after sunrise, people sell water and drinks on the way to the top so you need not carry anything if you are willing to spend a bit. Carry water and snacks

Follow the arrows: Do not consider climbing up at night time if you are inexperienced or are coming for the first time. Trail is correctly mentioned on Google Maps so follow that and use your head. If you feel something is not scalable you are probably right. Personally we encountered some people who managed to climb up to a spot which was completely off track and had reached a dangerous part of the rock during a drizzle. Climb during daylight.

Do not give up: Knowing the difficulty of the climb I have to say it's very doable but needs some amount of motivation if you are not used to trekking. Try your level best and at the very least make it to the fort at the top which has a challenging climb right below it where the incline is 45° or so with footholds.

I will divide the climb into 3 parts: Climb till the fort: Easy climb 90% of the way, follow the arrows. Final climb to the fort is a bit hard with very steep incline but there are footholds so take it slow and climb with confidence. Climb beyond fort to artificial lakes and hut like structure: Easy climb all the way just a bit steep and long. Take breaks and plow through. Climb till Nandi :Now this is the hardest part and by far the most beautiful one. You have to climb through fallen boulders and over bare rocks. Really good climb and gets your heart racing. Final phase for this climb involves going over a big rock on the very edge of...

Hi Guys,

I’m writing genuine and latest reviews on our recent visit to the SAVANDURGA at Nov 2023

Absolutely no doubt, it’s one of the best nature hill trek anyone can enjoy. Near to the Bangalore city and one can think of 1 day trip.

What’s the Best?

If you really want to enjoy the beauty of nature, try to reach there by 6:00 / 6:30 am bit early in the morning.

Coming there after 8:00 am Sunny time, there is no point in trekking as heat worsens your trek and start too much DE-hydrating yourselves.

You will surely loose yourself in such beauty of rock and hilly nature area.

Climbing is really fun and after finishing you feel big accomplishment of something challenging(as it’s mentioned, largest monolith in entire ASIA). It’s amazing!

Rather than best part of this place, I’ll write what should be taken care more? Anyway others might have written similar, but I really need EVERYONE to be very careful on these things as we came across one very bad incident. I don’t have intention of any de-motivating here. Just few awareness(A PUC 2nd Year young boy passed away just in-front of our eyes while we were returning back and shocked to see his death because of minor negligence), and SAME SHOULD NOT happen to anybody again!

This place is first of all, NOT AT ALL SUITABLE DURING THE RAINY SEASON and NIGHT TREK. Risking yourself, directly you’ll be in mortuary of the hospital. Very less probability of surveillance. Not good and avoid it completely.

This place is not recommended for the CHILDREN, OBESITY(FAT) and AGED(OLD) PEOPLE. If it’s first time trek, it might take 2-3 Hrs depend on energy of the trekkers.

Go with suitable Trekking comfortable dress and MOST IMPORTANTLY, PROPER TREK SHOES which don’t slip on the rock.

Carry as much as water bottles and energy snacks to keep yourself active during the trek. You won’t get anything to drink/eat except at the base station.

Once started trekking, there are no any support to hold while climbing(like rail bars, rope etc., ). PLEASE BE IN THE GROUP, HOLD EACH Other’s HANDS and Climb. Keep motivating and help others. THIS IS NOT A RACE who reaches first and get best timing.

There you MAY NOT get any Guide. As guidance, there are SOME WHITE and YELLOW ARROW MARKS ON THE ROCKS IN BOTH THE DIRECTIONS. You just need to follow those. DO NOT DEVIATE FROM THE ARROW MARKS. Else, you will loose yourself somewhere. There are some square marks they have made on the rocks just to support your legs and not get slipping.

We being as INDIANS we are very much addicted to SOCIAL MEDIAS taking Pics and posting instantly in WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram. Guys, please avoid these non-sense activities on this trekking place specially. You will loose the balance and YOU WILL SEE YOURSELF IN NEWS PAPER NEXT DAY.

If you want photos, stand in one place properly with group and click aaram se. However, once you reach top, nice place to take the photos.

This Trekking place is specially has very steep rocks and slight jerk leads to falling from the top.

DO NOT ACT, JUMP and DO NOT DO ANY UNNECESSARY activities apart from Trekking.

LAST AND MOST IMPORTANT THING .(KIND KIND REQUEST O EVERYONE)

AGAIN BEING AS EDUCATED, FEW PEOPLE ARE DESTROYING THE NATURE’S BEAUTY BY THROWING EATABLES, PLASTICS COVERS, OTHER MATERIALS WHATEVER THEY BRING FOR TREKKING. GUYS, NATURE HAS GIVEN US SO MUCH BEAUTY PLACE AND ITS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO MAINTAIN and TAKE CARE OF IT.

I URGE THE TOURISTS / TREKKERS TO MAINTAIN THE CLEAN. Carry with you big polythene bags and just collect all your wastes, garbage in that plastic and bring it down the hill and throw in common dump yard. Don’t throw anything in the Hill.

If we take precautions, do proper and well plannings there are NO ANY HARMS during this trekking. No dangerous then.

You can really enjoy the Trekking and have lot of fun.

So, please be aware on DOs and DON’Ts during...

It's indeed Trekker's Paradise. Loved the Trek, it will make you push your extreme. Although you really get exhausted halfway and want to give up but then you will want to give your 100% and you continue the trek and once you reach the top, you will feel top of the world, sense of achievement and view from top is amazing.

Few points to consider - Take enough water bottle and keep hydrating yourself in between. Small steps make you cover more distance than big steps and losing energy early. Take enough breaks in between and drink water and eat fruits. I feel little lack of oxygen in between and felt like giving up but then taking good rest in between will help you. Start the trek little early by around 5 so that you can enjoy sunrise and also will reach top when it's not too hot. Later the day it will be very hot and make you drain faster. Also rocks get hotter and will be tough to use your hands to take some support. There are some shops on the way up where you get something to drink (everything but water) and eat. Wear cap and activewear. Keep motivating your trekking partners because at some point you will feel like giving up but some motivation and push you would need to finish the trek Help others and take help wherever needed. Be cautious as the rock is very steep.

Parking - parking space is huge and no parking fee.

Roads - I took manchinbele road, it's little rough and has potholes every now and then but that's the shortest way relatively. Drive carefully.

Shops and hotels - you will get lot of small shops where you can drink some juices, tender coconut etc and eat some snacks. No proper hotels for breakfast or lunch. There is a temple in Savandurga where you will get prasada from 11 am to 3 pm. You can enjoy that if you want.

Overall very good...