Navadurgas

On completing the 9 durgas!

Navadurgas are the 9 fort hills around Bangalore which are situated less than 100kms around Bangalore. It helped protect Bangalore for siege of British. Each fort name has its own meaning. Conquering the garland forts was a pleasure to do and has developed a healthy respect for the city i live in - Bangalore!! \m/

Now,

I describe our visit to these places:

#1 Savanadurga

#1 SAVANDURGA (The Fort of Death)

Distance = 45 x 2 = 90kms
Difficulty = 3/5
Trek rating = 4/5
Route = Bangalore > Kengeri > RRDC (right) > Big Banyan Tree > Manchinbele > Savandurga

Savandurga (Savina-Durga) when translated to Kannada means the fort of death. This hillock is the largest monolith in Asia.  This hillock is visible from Bangalore as well (right from my terrace too! :D) This hillock is pretty famous as it offers a decent challenge for a hike and also is pretty close to Bangalore. Manchinbele reservoir is a top spot to combine during your trek to this Navadurga. During one of our visit's we were fortunate to witness the town's festival as well :)

#2 Kabbaladurga

#2 KABBALADURGA 

Distance = 100 x 2 = 200kms
Difficulty = 4/5
Trek rating = 4/5
Route = Bangalore > Kanakpura > Sathnur > Kabbaladurga

Kabbaladurga is no doubt my favorite of the Navadurgas as i spend my birthday's alone at this place every year. It offers a pretty good challenge and clears your mind totally. The legend goes somehting like this,  it has 5 hill ranges within this hillock and the demons which guard the goddess within test the climber throughout the journey offering various challenges. But this hillock is the favorite of all people who are on road long. For me, it became the favorite of the 28th trip.

#3 Makalidurga

#3 MAKALIDURGA

Distance = 75 x 2 = 150kms
Difficulty = 3/5
Trek rating = 4/5
Route = Bangalore > Hebbal > Yelhanka > Doddblalpur > Makalidurga

Makalidurga is the closest railway trek one can find to Bangalore. Amazin, amazing trek i must say. Make sure you start from the railway station and then proceed towards the trail. Our visit to the place proved to be one tough cookie as we had forgot to carry water bottles. We had to take a deep sleep to re-align our energies so that we could get back to the base. The view the trains passing by as one ascends the hillock is a pure joy to experience.

#4 Channarayanadurga

#4 CHANNARAYANADURGA (Fort of Gold)

Distance = 100 x 2 = 150kms
Difficulty = 3/5
Trek rating = 4/5
Route = Bangalore > Nelamangala > Dobbaspete > Koratagere > Channarayanadurga

One of the club's favorite destination.  Even though it was known for hidden treasures, this fort hill sends chills down the hiker's spine with its spookiness. It takes the hiker through this ancient time lapse and leaves his spell bound. The initial stretch is the toughest after which it is pure exploration. The small lake in the first tier of the fort is a great refresher. But what a fort hill, you will be amazed by the construction.

#5 Bhairavadurga

#5 BHAIRAVADURGA (Fort of Annihilation)

Distance = 75 x 2 = 150kms
Difficulty = 4/5
Trek rating = 4/5
Route = Bangalore > Nelamangala > Solur > Bhairavadurga

Bhairava is a wandering form of Shiva associated with annihilation who guards the cardinal points. Bhairavadurga turned out to be riskiest of all the climbs till date as we climbed the steepest phase. Not much of fort to see at the top, but the actual trail leads the hiker through the forests and open lands. Overall, it kinda touched our hearts in a different way! So cheers to this place :)

#6  Huthridurga

#6 HUTHRIDURGA (Ootradurg)

Distance = 75 x 2 = 150kms
Difficulty = 3/5
Trek rating = 4/5
Route = Bangalore > Nelamangala > Solur > Bhairavadurga

This place is actually famous for the fact that James Bristow (Bengal artillery man) a captive of Tippu Sultan escaped this fort by making a hole in the fort wall. This fort has to be one kick ass one. It offers 10-12 gates and takes the hiker through a journey. Deceitful in its construction it still is an amazing fort hill. Savandurga can be seen very clearly from the top of this hillock.

#7 Huliyurdurga

#7 HULIYURURGA (Fort of the Tiger)

Distance = 100 x 2 = 200kms
Difficulty = 3/5
Trek rating = 3/5
Route = Bangalore > Ramnagara > Maddur > Huliyurdurga

Huliyurdurga stands for "Fort of the Tiger". Lot of mystery revolved around this fort hill because of its 360deg steep rock phases. Not many hikers had scale this fort hill as well. So, we had to actually go out there and explore. And 20mins were were on top! :P But the hillock does offer pretty good challenge in a couple of stretches. Otherwise the hillock ain't that high. This was the final navadurga we completed as a mark of the 150th triop. Metaphorically it was like wearing a garland of navadurgas around our neck for completing 150 trips haha! :)

#8 Devarayanadurga

#8 DEVARAYANADURGA (Fort of the Gods)

Distance = 75 x 2 = 150kms
Difficulty = 2/5
Trek rating = 3/5
Route = Bangalore > Nelamangala > Dobbaspete > Devarayanadurga

Devrayanadurga is pretty famous and well known to people from Bangalore. Even though it is known for the temple primarily, one must not forget the renowned ornithologist Mr.Salim Ali who had spotted some of the rarest birds around this area. As far as the hike goes, one can ride upto the temple and not much climbing from there.

#9 Nandidurg

#9 NANDIDURGA (Nandi Hills)

Distance = 75 x 2 = 150kms
Difficulty = 2/5
Trek rating = 1/5
Route = Bangalore > Hebbal > Devanahalli > Nandi Hills

Yeah, some of the horns would have shot up knowing they have covered atleast one of the Navadurgas. Heh, one of the most commercialized places around Bangalore. Its one of our least favorite places due to not only the amount of crowd, but also the type of crowd that flocks into this place. You can ride upto to the top so yeah, hence most of the people would have seen the view from the top of this Navadurga. Tippu's Drop, where he used to execute prisoners is worth seeing at this place.