introduction:
Away from the hustle of city life, spending time in an open sky, beneath the stars and moons at night with the calm and cool weather all around is something rejuvenating.
Trekking at night gives another experience, especially to the nature lovers, writers, and artists. The artistry each of them found is heartwarming and relaxing for them. This night view from the mountains shows promising dreams.
Skandagiri trek is one such of them. This trek proves the ultimate heaven for those love night trekking. It not only provides night trekking rather give wonderful view of early sunrise.
Located in Bangalore:
a one-day weekend trek at Skandagiri Mountains is at distance of70km from the city. This trek is the downward slope and an uphill ascent of 8km. Though the pathways of trek are marked clearly, the trek is little difficult to do. The route of Skandagiri Trek is filling with rocky patches, narrow trails, and steep ascents.
For doing this trek permission is need to be grant from the forest department located at the entrance of the trekking point. The fee for entering this trek ranges Rs 450 per head and for parking the charges range from Rs 50 to Rs 100.
Brief Information of the Trek:
· Location: This trek is located in Chikballapur district of Bangalore, in the Indian state of Karnataka
· Altitude: The altitude of Skandagiri Mountains is 4757 feet.
· Distance: The trek covers distance of 8kms from both the sides.
· Timing of Trek: The trek covers minimum timing of 7hours to do.
· Duration: The trek is of 1-day duration.
· Starting Point of the Trek: The trek starts from Papagni Mutt Base Camp at Bangalore.
· End point of the Trek: The trek ends at Papagni Mutt Base in Bangalore.
· Difficulty Level: The difficulty level of trek lies in between moderate to tough.
· Water Availability: As the availability of water is less on the trek, so its advised to carry sufficient amount of water with you.
· Phone Connectivity: The connectivity to phone is available only until the base camp. Once you cross Papagni Mutt, all pone connections are lost.
· ATM: ATM facility is available at Chikballapur, situated at distance of 5 to 6km from the base camp of the trek. It is better if you carry reasonable amount of cash with you before starting the trek.
Highlights of Skandagiri trek:
· Night Trekking experience at Skandagiri:
Skandagiri is famous for its legal night trekking. A trekker having spunk for adventure puts Skandagiri in their top list. Here trekkers will be enjoying walking over the rugged terrain under the twinkling stars. The shimmering lights reflecting on the landscape at night gives mesmerizing views. Participating in bonfire under starlit sky will be a memorable experience.
· Skandagiri Hills:
The Skandagiri hills are beauty to behold. With times, this creation of nature is becoming more attractive and attracting trekkers to visit the place more and more. During the clear day, the Nandi Hills felt to be cover under the blankets of white cottony clouds. It makes a spectacular scene.
· Sunrise View Point at Skandagiri:
It is the centre of attraction of the trek. Trekking during dawn between 3 to 4 a.m., you can witness beautiful sunrise of this region. As a result, Skandagiri also known as sunrise trek. To view sunrise one need to go to summit as it is visible only from there. The sunrise between the misty clouds beautifully reflects its aura on the hills.
· Spiritual:
This trek is also having spiritual essence in it. Starting point of this trek is at the foothills of village Kalawara from the Papagni temple (Mutt). There also lies an ancient temple of Lord Shiva having idols of Goddess Parvati and Nandi enroute on the top of the summit where trekkers visit and capture beautiful pictures.
Way to reach Skandagiri Trek:
· Through Road:
Bangalore city is well connected with the most of the cities of India via road. To reach Skandagiri, trekkers firstly have to reach Bangalore and then have to head towards Papagni Mutt base camp at distance of 62 km. Bangalore is well-connected to Papagni Mutt via road. One can take bus, taxi, or cab down from Bangalore.
· Through Rail:
Bangalore well connected with rail routes too. Reach Bangalore via train and reach Skandagiri base camp through the road.
· Through Air:
Bangalore airways are well connected with the whole world. Once you reach Bangalore through airways take bus, taxi, or cab to reach Skandagiri base camp.
