Travel Log #7
A Short Journey Through the Mountain of Skandagiri
Location: Chikkaballapura
Altitude: 1450m
Surmounted on: 11th April Sunday 2021
Deliberately Delayed Start...
Skandagiri is a popular trekking spot among Bengalureans and the slots are usually booked out for the immediate weekend. We had missed out last month and so this time we made sure that we pre-booked our slots for 4 a.m. sunrise trek well before a week. But Covid-19 played its spoilsport again and there was a night curfew in place due to which we had to miss the sunrise. We reached the base of the mountain at 7 am and started trekking uphill immediately without any delay.
Endurance Tested!
The ascending pathway of Skandagiri was quite difficult although it didn't seem daunting. The trek to the peak is about 4 kms but looked much longer than it was. Thankfully in this mountain there were many cool spots, couple of stone hedges, to take pit stops amidst the summer heat wave. The pathway was filled with rocks and hardened mud giving us the much needed grip to surmount. We could notice a lot of greenery in the surrounding and was excited to imagine how would be the place on autumn.
The Wrath of Sun!
The summer already unleashing its heat waves, had it's effects upon us sooner than we had expected. I was literally soaked in sweat by the midway of the ascend. But the canopy of widespread trees and shrubs in the mountain gave us shades in most of the pathway to the peak. Even though we were covered from the Sun, we could still feel the warm humidity and considered that we could have started a little earlier at the morning. After an arduous ascend, we reached the peak, an hour and a half from the base.
A Rejuvenating Trip...
My friend had prepared delicious Mexican Wraps which was greatly appetizing to have at the peak with a splendid view in front of you and a cool breeze blowing over. We took a nap after our breakfast and as usual the mountains never allowed me to doze away. We roamed around, to explore the peak; Found Lord Shiva Shrine and couple of stone build structures nearby. Then we started our descend down to the base that was eventually easier than we had anticipated albeit with utmost care. We got down soon to the parking spot, refreshed ourselves in an installed tap water system and was back on our way to Bengaluru with a satisfactory outing behind us.
Skandagiri trekking is a moderate level difficulty which beginners could and should give a try.
It's a beautiful mountain for Sunrise and peak view.
And it's definitely a spot that I will be returning to, soon!