One-day trek from Bangalore to Makalidurga to Bangalore. If you are a couple riding on a Bike or you are a Family driving in a Car, then this trek plan works very well. Below is the route mentioned where you can plan accordingly.
Makalidurga is a hill fort situated 60 km north of Bangalore. The fort at the summit has an old temple of Shiva with Nandi and in legend, Markandeya Rishi performed penance here.
Route
Bangalore -> Makalidurga Parking -> Makalidurga Trek Starting point -> Makalidurga Summit -> Bangalore
Bangalore -> Makalidurga Parking
- Time and Distance: 1 hr 15 min (60 km) - Including a small break.
- Leaving Bangalore in the early morning at 4:30 or 5:00 would be a good choice so that you would be reaching early morning before 6:00.
- You will be riding/driving via Yelahanka, Doddaballapur, and after Doddaballapur you need to drive for 14 km and take a left towards the Makalidurga Parking area.
- After taking a left from the main road, it's a mud road for nearly half a kilometer and you will see the Makalidurga Parking area.
Makalidurga Parking -> Makalidurga Trek Starting point
- There is a parking space created for vehicles at the base of the hill of Makalidurga. One has to just cross the railway track and turn left to reach the Trek Starting point.
- There will be a forest officer who will validate the tickets you got for the trek. Note: Illegal trekking is prohibited.
Makalidurga Trek Starting point -> Makalidurga Summit
- From the starting point, In about 100 meters you will find Muthuraya Swamy temple on your right. You should follow the trail straight ahead until you reach a deviation.
- From here, the right-hand side trail will lead you to the Makalidurga hilltop, which you need to take. And on the left-hand side trail will lead to Gundamagere lake.
- The trail to the summit of the hill is well marked by arrows on the rocks. You need to follow them to be on the right trail. Surroundings are filled with lush greenery, especially during monsoons.
- The ascent will quickly become very tricky and you can see it steeper. There's a chance of slipping more, one should be more cautious.
- After you cross this section of the trail, you get a good panoramic view of the Gundamagere lake.
- After you cross this point, in a short distance you will come across a steep granite rock, which is slippery when water exists on the rock. Be very cautious and pass-through this rock.
- After you cross this one, you get a small plain rock side, where you can take a rest for a while, and then you can treat it as a first break. You can see the hilltop from this point.
- Proceed towards the fort on a slightly steep trail and in about 20 minutes you will reach the fort at the top, which marks the end of the ascent.
- At the top of the summit, we could see an old ruined fort and a small Shiva temple. One can spend 30 min to 1 hr on top of the hill.
- You can roam around the ruined fort walls. And the panoramic view would be worth it from the summit.
Return to Bangalore
- On the descent, you have to be quite careful, particularly at the steep rock. You can take a rest at the same place.
- For the entire descent, it might take nearly 1 hr 30 mins or sometimes even less to reach the parking area.
- You might not get food near parking, nearest best food option would be Doddabalapur.
- You can reach Bangalore in the afternoon or early evening.
Note: Have another person or more in your vehicle, who can drive.. so that you share the driving on the return journey because almost everyone would be tired. If you are on a two-wheeler, both should be good riders.
