Overview
The city itself is located at a golden elevation of 1000 m making it an air-conditioned city. The weather in Bengaluru remains pleasant the majority of the time. The city is enveloped by small hillocks which are a lovely quick escape for the city dwellers. Most of them can be visited within a day or if you wish to see more of them over the weekend, there are campgrounds at the foothills which enables you to do so.
Skandagiri Trek
The Skandagiri hills are located at a distance of 61 kms from Bengaluru. The hills are an excellent combination of rocks and thick green forests with a layer of white clouds. The hills are elevated at 1450 m with a moderate to difficult trail range. The trek is more than ideal for sunrise. The golden sun rays passing through white clouds and brightening the hills with its golden glow is a mesmerizing sight to behold. One needs permission to enter the area and hence advance booking is advised. This is an all season trek however, winter is the best season to visit these hills. You can visit the Skandagiri Fort ruins and Shiva Temple at the summit. Not so long from Skandagiri summit, there is another peak nearby called Kalavaarahalli Hill with equally beautiful summit and valley views.
MakaliDurga Trek
This trek stands apart from the rest of the treks near Bengaluru. While others are accessible by roadways, Makalidurga hills has a railway station which serves as a trek start point. The trek is fairly easy to hike with an elevation of 1350 m. The establishment of Makalidurga Railway station made it easy and convenient for travelers traveling from Bengaluru to Doddaballapur. The distance of 62 kms can be covered within 1 hr 30 mins via train. The best to climb would be early morning as the temperatures are low and pleasant. The Makalidurga hills consist of ruins of the ancient Makalidurga fort and a temple. The trek also requires prior online permission to climb.
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Handi Gundi Betta Trek
Handi Gundi is an amiable location for short one day trips and picnics. The hillocks are located between Bengaluru-Mysore highway. It is closer to Ramanagara district at just 7 kms. Approaching this spot would turn into a kickass weekend which includes a road trip to Ramanagara and a hike to Handi Gundi. Upon further exploration from the Picnic spot, there is a Muthuraya Swamy Temple and a quiet lake. The hike is easy, whereas it does not contain food stalls nearby hence carry the necessary items with you.
Savandurga Trek
The reason why Savandurga always makes it to the list of best treks near Bengaluru is because of the number of campgrounds, farmstays and resorts nearby. Savandurga is ideally located between Bengaluru and Ramanagara. The summit is occupied with a plain land where you can sit and admire the sunset/sunrise. The summit also has a monolithic structure of Lord Narsimha Swamy. Similar to the treks mentioned above, Savandurga also consists of fort ruins near the summit and Manchanbelle waterfall nearby. The only demerit of this scenic hillock is that it remains closed during the weekends.
Channappa Betta Trek
This is a quiet hushed village trek which is 72 kms from Bengaluru. This is a plain simple trek for beginners. The key aspects which adds value to this place is the Hi-Den campground and Byrashettihalli lake. The lake is safe for swimming and has a very thin population of trekkers since this is a lesser known area. The camps provide tents, rooms and adventurous activities for their guests.
All of these hillocks have retained their natural and scenic beauty for years by keeping the surroundings clean and far from any kind of commercialization. The trekkers and travelers are becoming more aware of adapting the eco-friendly ways of tourism. Often people who carry plastic water bottles and snacks for the trek end up destroying nature with their plastic waste.
