Hi there ! I live in Bangalore, and I try to explore different places on weekends. This blog is an attempt to help people looking for an easy one day ride and trek, with awesome views.
Itinerary:
| Location: | Channarayana Durga Fort |
| Distance: | ~ 100 KM one way from Majestic |
| Trek duration: | 3-4 hrs uphill and downhill combined |
| Trek difficulty: | Moderate |
| Trek terrain: | Rock surface + Steps |
| Bike Ride duration: | 2-3 hrs one way |
| Bike Ride difficulty: | Easy |
| Bike Ride terrain: | Tarmac -> 90% Highway + 10% Rural roads |
| Enroute diversions: | Devarayanadurga |
| When we visited: | August 2024 |
Route:
Story:
I started at 6 am along with my friend from Silk board on a Saturday morning, and cruised on NH-48 towards Tumkur. I was riding a Royal Enfield Hunter 350, and my friend was riding Triumph Speed 400. We did not have any breakfast and thought of having when we reach the destination. The road had significant traffic, especially trucks, at few places till we got to Dobbaspet. After Dobbaspet it was a beautiful scenic road with two lanes. The road after dobbaspet had minor damages here and there, but what’s a bike ride without few potholes.
On the way we noticed multiple bikers taking a left turn, and we decided to see where they were going. So we took the turn and I think the decision paid off well. It was the entrance for Devarayanadurga. At the start we were greeted with a beautiful pond, and we took some pictures of our bikes.
The beauty of Devarayanadurga is that you can actually ride till the top of the hill, and the road is comfortable for regular sized cars too. At the top, it was all foggy at 8am, and the views were spectacular. We spent some time enjoying the nature from hilltop. It was awesome to witness such amazing views and mind you this was not in the plan.
After we savoured the nature, we started to ride downhill from Devarayanadurga and continue our plan to Channarayanadurga fort. In an hour or so, we reached the village from where the trek needs to be started. It’s a small quaint village, nothing much. Few other trekkers were also starting their journey by the time we reached. The locals will guide you towards the trek starting point.
The fort has 4 levels. So each level rewards you with different views. The trek is mostly walking on slightly steep rocks. I would recommend to avoid the trek during rains, as it can get pretty slippery. In the second level, there is a pond, and lot of trekkers returned from here.
We being adventurers, decided to continue and climb till the top level. In around 2 hrs, we reached the top of the fort, and it was truly worth it. The fort was not at all crowded, and offered the perfect peace to enjoy the views.
We walked along the fort wall and observed various lakes visible from the top, and had some snacks we packed with us. There is this pretty interesting ladder made of rocks hanging from a wall. I made sure to climb that.
After an hour or so, we started our trek back, and reached the bottom in 1.5 hrs. The bottom descent might look little scary, but it’s easy, just trust your body and take the step. We then planned to eat something, as we did not have breakfast, but we postponed it, and decided to have lunch directly. We started our ride back, and were on NH-48, and by this time traffic had doubled. We stopped for lunch at a hotel on the highway, and by 3 pm were back at our homes in Bangalore.
Note: I would recommend this trek for beginners and moderate trekkers. But do go along with friends, so that they can support you mentally and physically to overcome the moderately steep rocks.
