Shivagange Trek Guide ⛰️: Vertical Ascent, Blind Fog, & Sacred Steps | Chap 216 (Nov 22, 2025)

Place: Shivagange (Shivaganga) Trek

Distance: 60 x 2 = 120km

Directions: Bangalore > Nelamangala > Shivagange

Krew: Dileep(Koof) > Karthik (Sp)

Bikes: NS400                                                                   

Previous Visit: Madhugiri Trek - how we conquered the largest monolith of Asia! 

Budget: Rs 250/head (Petrol = Rs500/2)

IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:

This is one trek where you can still catch a glimpse of the fog. Reason? Well, it is only 60km from Bangalore and the route is perfectly clear. Our run was an excellent one. Slightly disappointed with the crowd, but we can't control these things. But the trek is nothing short of supreme, especially on a foggy day. This is our 3rd time at the place; the previous two were Shivagange Rain Trek  & Shivagange Dry Trek. Oh yeah, this was another no-breakfast trek. 

And now I present to you the fog trek :)

INTRO & PLAN:

The plan was simple. After Madhugiri, last week, the feet were itchy for another one. Koof was on the confirmed list. But on 21st Nov, I got caught right below a cloud burst for 5min in Bangalore, and was completely drenched. I almost wanted to pull off the trip, but sometimes, I'm too lazy to use the phone to cancel, I guess.

TIME: 22:00 (21/11/2025)

ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:

Yeah, I was up at 3am, did a few push-ups and pull-ups, had a sip of coffee and was all set to go. Called Koof, he woke and said he was at his relative's place and asked me to come near Nayandahalli. 5 Minutes later, Koof called and said he was at his home, and it was a dream haha! He arrived at my place, hopped onto his bike, and we left Bangalore. 

TIME: 05:00

RIDE 1: (Bangalore- Nelamangala – Dobbaspete - Shivagange)

This was a 60 km ride. It was a complete no-nonsense ride. We cruised at a decent pace to get out of the city. As we reached Nelamangala, heavy fog set in; we were kinda used to it. We slowed down and searched for the correct deviation from the highway. Once on the country roads, the fog came to life even more, and it was a beautiful ride to reach the base of the hillock. 

TIME: 06:30

SHIVAGANGE TREK:

Alright, had my doubts on Shivagange, as with Madhugiri, these are commercialised quite heavily. But she didn't disappoint. I mean, yes, the density of people is quite heavy, but the trek in its absolute sense is a beauty. Even though it has railings and provides you a sense of safety throughout via steps, the steps are something else, especially if it a fog-enshrouded day like our treks. Like always, I have divided the trek into the following sections:

i) To the Nandi Gateway - marks the 25%

ii) To the Shiva Parvati Statues - marks the 50%

iii) Stairway to Heaven

So, what do you think? Try to keep up with me, here!

i) To the Nandi Gateway: (0 to 25%)

This is the easiest part of the trek as the terrain is more or less flat. The trek begins with some steps right to the temple. From the temple, you need to take a left and pass through some ancient ruins of temples, and the path is very obvious with shops all along the way. 

With Koof huffing and puffing all along the way, I broke a stick for the monkey's but it came in handy to keep driving Koof up and upwards.

ii) To the Shiva Parvati Statues - (25 to 50%)

Okay, this stretch is still easy. But the terrain slightly gets wild and freestyle. But this stretch is really beautiful. And in winter, you start encountering the fog right around this stretch. Its a beautiful stretch but needs caution. You can start seeing the might of the hillock, wondering how much more to climb right at this stretch. 

iii) Stairway to Heaven:

After passing around the Shiva & Parvathi statues, the trek gets intense. A flight of stairs that leads directly into the skies. And on a foggy day, it looks like the sacred steps into the clouds of heaven. It is pretty intimidating to look at, but, is pretty easy as it has railings all throughout. But a word of caution, on a rainy or foggy day, the steps have condensed water, and the rocks are not the rough ones you get, so slipping is a high probability. So extreme caution is advised at this stage. 

By the end of this stage, you meet the friendly Nandi, which marks the top and finish of the summit. Well, our experience, Koof got his energy up by this time and started pushing along and enjoying the climb into the fog. 

TIME: 08:00

TOP:

The Nandi statue looked so mystifying this time, covered with a blanket of mist, he sat peacefully. With all the crowd, we just went and sat at a peaceful spot. The winds were strong, and with the fog around, it made the whole atmosphere chilly. We tried to catch some sleep, but with all the howling from the people, I actually felt sorry for the rowdy monkeys of this hillock. We rested about 20-30min and decided to head back.

TIME: 08:30   

TREK DOWN:

The trek down was a smooth one; we took about an hour. But we had to be doubly cautious as the slippery stairs would be a sure-fire recipe for disaster. a good rule of thumb to keep here is, until one foot is strongly embedded, do not lift the other one. I know it's basic, but basics work well. We were more or less doing the descent at a very good pace, then all of a sudden, Koof got the urge to eat Maggie (pahadi maggie). And there are a lot of shops. Koof took some Maggie, and I had a couple of cups of tea. We reached the base safely and hopped on the bike and took off. 

TIME: 09:30

RIDE 2: (Shivagange – Bangalore)

Well, there is no shortage of power for NS 400. As we left Shivagange, we could see the mountain clearly. The fog had lifted, and it was a good trip. Having skipped breakfast, we took a call to skip it for good and head home directly. As we reached Bangalore by 10:30, at a traffic signal, we decided to pull over for a light beer and head back home.  We sat and discussed about the trip and how good the past month has treated us with a trek every week. Finally, Koof dropped me back and headed home.

TIME: 12:00

CONCLUSION:

Well, this was one amazing chapter. Even though Shivagange is being commercialised and heavy density of people, it did not disappoint. The fog made the trek special. But if you ask me, I would return on a weekday sometime next year :) 

KREW

:

Koof: Made the monkey stick useful by trying to sit down at every nice big boulder he would find. Making me run back to him and drive him up. 

Sippy: Felt like a shepherd all along the way hahaha :) Cheers, guys, until next time, keep tripping \m/

And hey guys, if you have missed out, we are on Insta (theloapers_90) and we are active! 

Have you checked out our new mascot? - eJ (enlightened junkie). Visit and follow, would love to hear your thoughts, people! Also, we have started a crazy page called the "CHALLENGE DOCKET"; if you want expedition-level challenges, we give a codebook. Check it out :)

Here is eJ visiting Shivange. 

⬅️ All Chapters177. Madhugiri Fort trek ➡️

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Madhugiri Fort Trek Guide: Conquer Asia's Largest Monolith | Chap 215 (Nov 16, 2025)

Place: Madhugiri Fort Trek

Distance: 100x 2 = 200kms.

Directions: Bengaluru – Dobbaspete – Madhugiri –  Bengaluru.

Particiapants: Dileep (Koof) > Karthik (Sippy).

Bikes: NS400

Previous visit: Bhairavadurga trek.

Budget: Rs450/head. (Petrol = 400Rs, breakfast = 30Rs)

Difficulty: High endurance / Low technical.

IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:

This was one good, gruelling trek.  Madhugiri is Asia's largest monolith (at least according to its welcome board sign). We used to ride past her on every one of our previous 6 trips in a month. Yeah, has been a crazy end to 2025. Madhugiri is a pretty easy one in terms of technicality, but it's a never-ending endurance grinder. But yeah, this place is slightly commercial, and you can find people here as early as 6am. No Entry Fees and 6am-6pm are the timings. Oh yeah, last but not least, Madhu-giri = Honey hill, because a lot of honeybee colonies on this hill. 

INTRO & PLAN:

Madhugiri and Savandurga are the largest monoliths of Asia. And Madhugiri, trust me, is pretty scary to look at when viewed from the front. It is like a never-ending rock that goes through the clouds. On a foggy day, it sends a shiver down anybody who lifts their head up and looks at it. Koof was on the confirmed list. And we had decided to leave early at 5am or so.

TIME: 22:00 (15/11/2025)

ASSEMBLE:

Yeah, I was up at 03:00am, did a few push-ups and sit-ups. After which, I gave Koof a wake-up call. Listened to some Goth, Doom and Stoner metal and. prepped myself up for the day. Koof came to my home and said, one bike was suffice. So, parked my bike back and hopped onto his and off we went.

TIME: 05:00

RIDE 1: (Bengaluru – Dobbaspete – Madhugiri)

This was a 100km one-way ride. But what should have been a straightforward ride, turned out to be a topsy-turvy roller coaster. As we left Bangalore, things were calm. Then, post-Nelamangala, a blanket of heavy fog came over the roads and engulfed us. The visibility was reduced to freaking 50-100feet. With the icy fog raging on, our muscles became stiff, and my butt started to yell out in pain. 

We pulled over and stretched out a little bit to get the blood flowing, while stretching also we were also shivering despite all the jackets, etc, haha. We made it to our favourite idly spot post Dobbaspete and pulled over for some piping hot idlis, hoping that would at least cure the shivering.

TIME: 06:30 hrs

After a relaxing breakfast with tea, we realised the fog was still howling at us. As we left the breakfast spot, the fog began to lift, making riding slightly better. Madhugiri was still nowhere to be seen.  Parked our bikes at the entrance, and with the goat's spirit wide awake, we were ready for the mighty trek. 

TIME: 07:30

MADHUGIRI FORT TREK:

Alright, Madhugiri trek. Well, it's pretty scary to look at from afar, but once you come face to face with it, it's like an elephant, mighty but gentle (at least the gentle ones). But trust me, the grind is real. It would feel like a never-ending climb to the skies. We took about 1h, 20min to climb the hillock, with extensive breaks (details below!:P) 

The strange part about this fort is, a fort wall's height cleverly masks the next one. So, a climber would be amazed/devastated (depending on the enthusiasm) to see the next stretches keep coming, one after another, making it a good mental tester. Ok, let me break down the phases of the trek into these:

i) Initial gateways 

ii) Danger Zone 

iii) Never-ending stretch 

Alright, here goes, keep up with me here! 

Initial gateways:

The trek started off with a pretty easy stretch, with a lot of steps and a clear path. But hey, remember, steps drain you out. So, we decided to keep the pace slow, but no stops. At least that is what I was telling, before I turned around and saw Koof lazily on the floor resting in a half-sitting, half-sleeping position, haha! 

The gateways are very easy to navigate. After a couple of gateways, it opens up to a small grass patch, where a clear, narrow path takes you to the next phase of the trek. Once you get a whale-shaped rock, it signifies that the second phase of the trek has begun. 

TIME: 07:45

Danger Zone:

As soon as I spotted the whale-shaped rock, I pointed it out and jumped with joy. Koof looked at me, thought some clown must have possessed me. Alright, this stretch has railings and can be easily navigated. And the cross-traverse part of this section is considered to be the riskiest, and makes "Madhugiri"  the most dangerous trek of all? I mean facts, yes, cross-traversing a rock face is tough and dangerous, BUT. What if you take it HEAD ON and climb the vertical face itself? And that is exactly what we did :) Btw, there is a safe alternate route via railings which eventually joins the railing shown in the picture above and below. 

A few people gasped, a few other people called us crazy, but we continued being ourselves. Once we were out of the so-called "danger zone", then came the merciless, ruthless, relentless, running out of adverbs here, haha. - the never-ending climb!

TIME: 08:15

Never-ending stretch:

Now, after doing the danger zone, some might be feeling the adrenaline-pumping feeling you have reached the top. Hold your horses, it's, I guess, somewhere around 50% of the trek. Yes, AND NOW, the grind STARTS. 

Make your mind strong, from here it's a ruthless never never-ending climb. Remember the fort walls masking the next stage I had mentioned earlier? You will experience it here. Every time you feel it is the END, you will see another stretch ready to be served, with a crooked smile.  Koof in most of the treks, find the views along the way more enjoyable than the actual summit. 

I am not sure if it is an excuse for sitting. I had to cook up stories like "from the top of Madhugiri, you can see two suns, if you reach before 9am," etc, to keep him rolling, haha! After a hard time keeping Koof motivated with my cooked-up stories, we pushed to the summit. I mean, literally pushing, huh, see image above. And here are some motivational stories I cooked up for koof:

a. you will get kuska from the king's kitchen at the summit 

b. the fog always is hidden in a room on the summit

c. the king's wife can be heard time to time singing, only at the summit etc., ) 

TIME: 08:45 

MADHUGIRI FORT TOP:

As we reached the top, Koof, like always, started saying how easy the trek (sarcastically of course) and he is used to these kinds of treks for early morning walks, etc., I stared at him and said "go down and come back, I will wait here",  haha. We explored the granaries and old ruins at the top, then came to the entrance at the top and slept off there for 10-15 minutes. The spot we chose was slightly off the route, few poor travellers thought that was the route. We immediately warned them and pointed towards the actual route. The face below was the steepest 90deg rock face :P. After a peaceful nap, well rested we decided to head back.

TIME: 09:15

DESCENT:

The descent was a quick one; we took about 45 minutes to an hour to get back to base. And hey, non-stops on this one, felt really happy. We cruised past the "gruelling stretch" in a jiffy, asking her, sorry for all the names we called her on the way up. Then came the danger zone, well, no prizes for guessing, we took the steep route down, haha. 

I was making fun of Koof's bike, saying "first time, I'm not stressed while climbing down, but what scares me is sitting as pillion on your bike, my butt is gonna become rock solid :P" Once we reached the base of the hillock, Koof started making fun of me saying, "this was the easiest trek of all, i need something more challenging etc., etc.,"

TIME: 10:15

RIDE 2: (Madhugiri – Kortagere - Dobbaspete- Bangalore)

As we left Madhugiri, Koof said i try riding. And I was very sceptical, but as i started, I felt really good. And lots of power. Before a blink, i was cruising at 80-90kmph on empty highway roads. We spotted a local juice shop near Koratagere, where we pulled in for about 1 to 1.5Ihrs.  

After which Koof took over and cruised at a very good pace, dropped me to my home as we decided to skip lunch and left to his home respectively.

TIME 13:30

CONCLUSION:

"This was one grinding encounter. Madhugiri lived up to its expectation of being an endurance tester. It gives that sense of safe-ness. With whole families around coming to enjoy a picnic, it doesn't offer a raw, isolated, wild trek. But for a beginner, it is the perfect choice!!

KREW:

Koof - knew if it was one person to pull it off within 1.5 hours, it was him. But last thing i wanted to do was sit next to him, he would doze off 1-2hrs haha... 

Sippy - Having seen IT recently and getting inspired by the clown, kept the spirits high. And yeah, no glute exercises needed for the week :P

Until next time, Sayonara \m/

⬅️ 214) Bhairavadurga Trek                                                             216) Shivangange Trek ➡️

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