Maiden climb of Savandurga summit

Visit One

My first visit to the place was time November 1994 with Anish and Gulli, my neighbors and good friends. We went there out of curiosity to see early morning mist at Thippagondanahalli reservoir, a rain water reservoir about 40 km west of Bangalore. We had a wonderful time- fresh cool air, clouds of mist floating around, birds chirping sweet melodies... nothing like Nature. Gulli and I bounced stones off the water surface till our arms ached. We played around like kids until we were hungry which made us head towards Magadi. We stopped at a junction on the outskirts of Magadi We saw a small shop selling vada and tea. We had something like 60 vadas, the tastiest vadas ever. Tea was okay.

We learned about Savandurga from the shopkeeper and decided to go there. Rode our bikes through the woods stopping on and off when something caught our attention. During one of the stops I noticed a few wood-apple trees with fruits hanging on high branches. We managed to fell some by tossing sticks. At Savandurga village, there are two temples dedicated to Veerbhadreshwara and Laxminarasimha. We parked our bikes close to Laxminarasimha Devastana. One of the local kids insists on visiting the temple. A quick visit to the temple and we are on our way to the hill guided by the same kid. By now, the sun was up, beating down fiercely. 20 minutes later we reached the first wall. Another 20 minutes we reached the second wall. We were exhausted, the kid was fine.

We decided that we had had enough for the day despite the kid's attempts to encourage us. There goes our first attempt but I was determined to come back soon.

Back home my mother told that wood apples are not supposed to be plucked. They were supposed to fall off on their own which is an indication of ripe ones. Oh what a waste!

Visit Two

Gulveer and I, were back at Savandurga few weeks later determined to make it to the top. I do not remember how we met our volunteer guide, a local kid. Our guide knew the easiest path but we hardly obeyed him. We trekked wherever we felt was easy, struggled a bit for not listening to our guide.

We went past the first gateway. From this point onward, the path is very steep. This is where most first time climbers give up.

We reached the second wall - point where we had given up during attempt #1.

Our guide encouraged us constantly and we too were determined. Actually, I was the one who was struggling while Gulli and the guide were climbing effortlessly. I hardly paid attention to the sights around us. We reached the ancient stone structure, a guard house. We took more than one hour to reach this point. My heart was beating fast, sweat pouring down my face.

We shared our our breakfast of biscuits, oranges and water with the guide. We were told that the summit was not far from here, in fact the stone mantapa was in sight. The short break let my heart beat come back to normal.

From here the path gets very interesting. It goes through a wide pit covered with six feet tall grass, then a passage through boulders and a short steep climb to the summit where the Basava Mantapa sits on the tip of the peak.

We had made it! Finally I climbed Asia's largest monolithic rock hill. Thanks to our guide and Gulli.

The view was breath-taking!! These pictures give you a rough idea, that's it. You should see, smell, hear, feel and experience the place for yourself.

BTW, pictures in this post were shot during different visits. As you see, some were shot during dry months and some during rainy season.

Since the sun was up we could feel the rise in temperature. Another hour it would get real hot when the boulders start radiating heat. We started our descent which was effortless for me. Gulli was little scared climbing down. Just before the second gateway, we took a diversion towards the first gateway against our guide's advice. The path was very steep, we were on our feet and bottoms, literally sliding down, it was madness. Our guide was scared but joined our crazy adventure.

The trek was fantastic. A totally new experience for me and Gulli too. I'd fallen in love with Savandurga.

After this visit, I visited Savandurga 20+ times. Many were solo visits, quite a few with Gulli and brought many of my friends and relatives here. In December 1996, Gulli and I spent a night on Savandurga. It was another wonderful experience with Savandurga. Then years later I climbed the other hill known as Biligudda and also explored the fort ruins on the sprawling rock bed around the hills.

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Thippagondanahalli and Manchenbele reservoirs from Savandurga

Manchenbele and Thippagondanahalli are two man-made reservoirs with dams to harvest rainwater. These reservoirs supply water to some parts of Bangalore.

Thippagondanahalli was one of our weekend destinations. Once Satish, Deepak and I spent a night camping next to the reservoir, very close to the dam. We pitched a tent, made a fire, had beers sitting around the fire. Our little party went late into the night. Our dinner was ten rolls shared between the three of us. When we ran out of booze, Satish and Deepak went to Tavarekere town which was about about 12 km away, but came back emptyhanded.

When we were thirsty we tried to boil water from the reservoir so that we could drink it. The bottle burst and the water put off the fire. We decided to hit the sack, we got into the tent. It was filled with smoke. What an outing!! Simply unforgettable!

Manchenbele is closer to Savandurga. I've passed by the reservoir several times but never found an opportunity to go close to the water. It's quite big and you can appreciate it's size and beauty better from an elevated position. It's a popular destination for watersports and for movie makers it's a convenient spot.

Both pictures were shot from Savandurga hill top. 

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Savandurga - overnight stay three

My earlier posts had covered overnight visit one, two, four and five. Three was pending since the pictures had to be located. I did find only three pictures. I think the trip happened in 1999 or 2000. We were six of us- Praveen, Murali, Nagesh, Kallappa, Appaji and I. Murali was a grocery store owner, a businessman accustomed to city life and typical family tours. I was surprised when Praveen told us that Murali would was joining, but happy that another person was seeing Savandurga, that too at night. The group sans Murali was familiar with Savandurga.

As before we organized all required stuff and prepared the bags for the trip. I think it was a cold season, we had to be prepared for the windy and cold weather on the monolith. We left Bangalore around 2-00 pm, reached Savandurga by 4-15 or so, parked our vehicles at Veerabhadreshwara Devastana and started our climb around 4-30 pm. Kalappa and I lead the pack, Nagesh and Appaji trailing behind us, Praveen and Murali struggling at the back. I knew Praveen's pace well, so we carried on just keeping them in eyesight but well out of earshot. Kalappa and I reached the guard house around 5-30 or so, had to wait 20+ minutes before everyone joined. As soon as Murali reached the guard house, he sat down saying that he did not know about the climb. He was little upset, I think. He said he'll never ever go out with us. I was laughing inside but managed not to show it. I tried to pacify him saying that he would enjoy the night but he was in no mood. Anyway, he didn't have any other choice but to stay :)

I think it was two or three days after full moon, we had sufficient moonlight to look around. This time we carried candles and lanterns, we had planned to stay inside the guard house. To our luck, the guard house floor was covered with hay. Looks like some other group had stayed here few days back. Of the six only Praveen and Appaji had whisky, rest of us had soft drinks. Murali had brought number of snacks. We had a pocket radio, tuned into Akashvani, listening to sweet Hindi songs. Dinner was around 9-30, we hit the sack around 11-00. Sleep was on and off. I guess Appaji and Praveen slept well. We got out of the beds at dawn, sunrise is little late because of the mist. One of the younger fellows made a small fire to keep out cold. That's Appaji trying to warm up.

Normally at day break we head to Nandi Mantapa at the summit. We asked Murali to come. The response was a stiff no. He didn't want to move step further. I tried to change his decision but he stuck to it. Praveen too decided to stay back to give company to his pal. Four of visited Nandi, offered him one or two Frangipani flowers and our Namaskara. Kalappa is holding on to the radio, probably he had tuned into Vividbharati, listening to old Hindi songs. The mist would not clear though we spent around twenty minutes. So we head back to the guard house.

At the guard house Murali surprises us with breakfast of bread and jam. I think it was Jan-26th hence the tricolor. We couldn't find a straight stick, had to do with a crooked one. The flag is a genuine one, made of Khadi, purchased at the manufacturing center at Khadi Gramudyog, Garag near Dharwad.

That's me. I like walking on this hill barefoot. After coming back from Nandi Mantapa, I'd been for a short walk alone, barefoot. The abrasive surface of the rock is so comforting to the sole. The acupuncture points in the sole are activated when sharp but momentary pressure is applied. Yes, one must walk barefoot on rocks or soil everyday.

Back at Bangalore, I asked Murali if he wanted to join us on another trip. He said nimm savasa beda nanage. Ha ha ha!

PS: There were two previous and two subsequent overnight stays on Savandurga, each time it was a different group. Here are the links to them: Overnight Stay One, Overnight Stay Two, Overnight Stay Four, and Overnight Stay Five.

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