Chennagiri Trek
It has been an year and half since my last trek. Though by no means a kannadiga Edmund Hillary, I do love my fair share of travelling, exploring and hiking.
Chennagiri seemed a good way to get back into things, it being a one day trek, not too far away from Namma Bengaluru.
Bangalore Moutaineering Club -BMC is always a good option to go on the trek, having been to Mullayanagiri with them.
Chennagiri is part of the Nandi Betta family of hills near Chikkabalapura, about 60kms from Bengaluru.
We started around 07:00 from the city and reached the base of nandi hills around 08:30. After a decent breakfast of Idly Vada and Filter Kaapi, we picked up our lunch packs and left for the base of chennagiri hills which is 10–15 minutes away from the right turn to nandi.
We started trekking from near the Kanive Basaveshwara Temple.
We started by 10:00 and we had three coordinators from BMC, all really nice and helpful peeps. Also a couple of dogs started accompanying us right from the start.
The terrain is not too harsh, the landscape was semi arid this being pre-monsoon season, we had to wade through a decent amount of vegetation in close proximity in the initial stages where we ascended at a decent pace.
There were a few young lads in our group, so this had the feeling of being a slightly tough family stroll from the beginning. There was a lady who had a young kid on her back which was evoked a lot of #respect and a little measure of this could be #dumb at the same time. Especially considering that the sun was beating down, HARD.
We had to take frequent breaks due the exhaustion which we were enduring due to climbing steep uneven paths, the exhaustion got compounded by the sun. After walking for about an hour or so in close proximity to vegetation and steep climb over terrain which had soil, mud, loose gravel to medium sized stones on the path, we reached an open area with a bunch of champaka trees (magnolia champaka).
The place had decent canopy and places to rest. There is a temporary shrine setup at this midway point.
I could have really used some local history buff at this point. It really pains me to see we not chronicling and remember pieces and parts of our local history.
After this point the path became pretty steep, with a couple of sections where we had to climb at a steep angle over hard rock. This is where my science of going low and transferring all the weight onto my knees kept me going.
Could see a decent expanse of the villages and farm lands below the Nandi Betta now and also we could hear the sound of planes taking on and off at the Kempe Gowda International Airport and a few of the planes were visible ascending up to their cruising altitude. The majestic view of tens of kilometers puts things in perspective.
After another solid 45 minutes trek uphill we were at the peak which had a stone water tank and a temple shrine along with a 360 degree view where you could clearly see Nandi Betta, Skandagiri Betta and a vast expanse of the Chikkaballapura District, the good along with the ugly quarrying which have been supplying construction materials to the urban expanse around Bengaluru.
After a heavy lunch of vegetable biryani with mosaru-bajji we walked around exploring the flora-fauna at the peak including water toads, chameleons and some flowers.
The walk back was mostly un-eventful, until the very end where a guy almost fell down the cliff onto the road 20–30 feet down. He fell down a good 8–10 feet but saved himself by hanging on to the tree roots growing on the side of the hill. The road below had been created by cutting open the hillside, the sides were not properly covered up with support or vegetation, which is why there was a significant amount of land run-off on both sides of the road, which made this small stretch of hike route dangerous. This near mishap also showed why you cannot switch off even for a second while you are hiking on a trek. You can enjoy the views from vantage points but self preservation is paramount in the rest of the path.
We got back, washed up at a tank besides the temple, did a coffee stop at the place we had breakfast and were on our way back. On the way back one of the coordinators showed me another hill called Horada Betta (The outside hill), which got added into my North Bengaluru Bucket List. I came back to my shack by 18:00.
It was a day well spend indeed. Intend to trek up skandagiri and horada betta to finish up the trinity around nandi betta. Only time/life will tell who long that takes to accomplish. Hopefully my next trek will be sooner than one and a half years I had to wait for this one.
Signing off with a few more pictures.
p.s. More of a personal aim to get a blog done. All comments welcome, especially those that prod me for an another trek. ;)
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