Savandurga – One of the largest Monolith hills in Asia

Sanvandurga hill raises to a height of 1226m (4022 ft.) and it is said to be the largest monolith (a monolith is a huge single rock or stone) in Asia. It is situated around 60km west of Bengaluru (Karnataka, India) off the Magadi road. Savandurga is one of the challenging treks situated away from Bengaluru in the deccan plateau of Karnataka.

It takes 1hr 30mins to reach the location from Bengaluru via Mysore road and is around 48kms. There is another route which also take 1hr 30mins but it is around 57kms via Magadi main road to reach Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple situated at the foothills of Savandurga hills. The Savandurga hills are frequently visited by pilgrims who come to visit the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple. Trekking enthusiast, cave explorers and adventurers are among others who frequently visit Savandurga hills. The entire journey from the Sri Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy Temple to the Nandi temple situated on top of the hill should take around 2 to 3 hours maximum. The journey is extremely rewarding as the view from the top is spectacular.

I live in Electronic City, Bangalore South and it takes 1hr 30mins, 58kms drive on my Bullet. The route goes from Electronic City-NICE Road-Mysore Road Toll Exit-Kumbalgodu Right-Uddandanahalli-Manchanabele-Venkattayyanapalya Right-Lambani Thandya Right-Savandurga Hill. You will definitely enjoy this route on Motorbike as the sceneries and locations around will amaze you. The roads are pretty elevated and the view looks fantastic while you ride on the Motorbike.

And you can also find dense forest on both sides of the road up to some extent. 80% into my travel I found a big reservoir where an old bridge is used to cross the river water flowing underneath. Lot of people especially family members, children’s were enjoying the water. This reservoir is named as Manchanabele Dam and the same dam can be witnessed from the top of Savandurga hills.

At last I reached Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple where I parked my Motorcycle near the temple. The foot steps to Savandurga Hills starts from the temple. It was 4 o’clock in the evening and my intention was to reach the hill top before sunset. As it was said that reaching top of the hill takes around 2 to 3 hrs. So when I parked my Motorcycle, I immediately started my trails towards the hills. With me a gang of devotees who came to the temple and a group of friends who came for trekking also started their journey to the hill top.

As initially it was a flat surface and later on, the hills were very steep that every foot we took was difficult. You need to have good shoes to trek on this mountain. It was a sunny summer when I have planned for this trip, so no skidding factor. As it was summer the trees where dried and the grass present here and there were yellow in color. If you really visit this place, you should come on rainy season where you can witness greeny landscape and lot of greenery around you. But you need to be very care full on a rainy day as there would be skidding factor.

After reaching to some extent, a group of devotees who walked along me got dropped in between. But the group of friends are still alive, just kidding. At one point I too had a mindset of getting dropped, as I am not a professional trekker. I guess this was my third trekking and this doesn’t have steps built on rock but the previous two had. After climbing the steepy rock for nearly more than an hour you can find a muddy way to trek to the other side of the rock.

The other side of the rock takes you to the top of the hill. Meanwhile a group of friends who came along with me get dropped off. To reach this side of rock, it was a challenging trek for me and the others too. It was a long plain rock with no trees or grass in between and also you can find a big pit in where the rain water stagnates. In an emergency to reach the hill top before sunset, I could not photograph it.

As I said there was a muddy way to the other side of the rock, the rock was not as same as that I have climbed till now. This rock has to be climbed with legs as well as using your hands. After crawling on the rocks, I finally reached to the top of Savandurga Hills. I could see a Nandi statue (Bull- a divine guardian of lord Shiva) facing towards the village and near by Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple. This place looked divine with the Nandi statue and the sun rays falling on it.

From top of the hills you can witness beautiful landscapes, little mountains and the villages around it. When I started the trek I could see lot of people very enthusiastically started their journey to the hill top, but no one could make it except some. In that way I could see a couple as the one doing yoga on top of hill and the other capturing a photograph of doing yoga. This thing inspired me.

After looking at that girl performing yoga on a hill top. I got inspired and I started the pose of Padmasana with facing the sun. The breeze and the colorful sky with the sun setting down gave me peace of mind. I used to practice yoga, but never tried in such a hilltop rock. It was very pleasant and stayed there until the sunset.

Finally this trekking was an awestruck experience and never got to trek such an steepy monolith rock.

I got to return back and it was getting dark. No lights, was using my mobile flash light to get down. As it would be harder to climb but not much harder to get down, but the darkness made me little delay in getting down. Then I took my Motorcycle and started my trip way back to my home. But the thing is that my mobile got switched off and I don’t remember the route I came by as it was very dark. However the locals guided me to reach the high way road. Thanks to the locals I reached home in one piece.

So, remember things to carry 1) Water bottle 2) Snacks to have on top as you get hungry after reaching the hill top, but make sure not to have it in between as you can not climb to the top 3) Mobile charging bank 4) And enough fuel in your Motorcycle/Car 🙂

Thank You for reading my experience to Savandurga Hills – One of the largest Monolith Hills in Asia