Madhugiri Fort Trek Guide | 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 trekALL CHAPTERS  ➡️

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Kudur Bhairavadurga Betta Trek: The Test of Shiva's Fury & Descent into the Thicket of Annihilation Chapter 214 (Nov 8, 2025)

Kuduru Bhairavadurga Fort Trek

Place: Bhairavadurga trek

Distance: 60kms x 2 = 120kms

Directions: Bangalore > Nelamangala > Solur > Bhairavadurga

Krew: Anwar (Bhai) > Dileep (Koof) > Karthik (Sp)

Bikes: NS400 > Pulsar                                                                                  

Previous Visit: Ratnagiri Fort Trek

Budget: Rs 210/head (150 = Petrol + 60 = Lunch)

IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:

Alright, Bhairavadurga is the craziest among the Navadurgas. (Kabbaladurga, Makalidurga, Savandurga, Huthridurga, Huliyardurga, Nandidurga, Devarayanadurga, Channarayanadurga). Bhairavadurga is just 10-15km from Shivagange. I think this is my 5th visit to the place, we have not once found the route right. So, you have to have the mindset of leaving some scars behind when you visit this place. 

INTRO & PLAN:

As far as planning goes, I had an office travel planned on 9th Nov, the 8th was pretty much free. So decided to go to a nearby place, and really beaten to the bone. Riding doesn't destroy you as much as treks. Hence a tough climb, but nearby. So Bhairavadurga was chosen. Bhairava is a wandering form of Shiva who annihilates. So yeah, does the place some justice :)

TIME: 22:00 (14/9/2019)

ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:

Yeah, I was up at 02:30, did a few push-ups and sit-ups, had a sip of coffee and was all set to go. The meeting was scheduled at my place at 5am. I went down and sat on the footpath again, listening to some doom metal and doing air guitar. And the cops arrived like last time, saw me, thought I had gone full crazy and left me be, haha. Koof and Anwar arrived at 5am, and after formal introduction and greetings, we left Bangalore. 

TIME: 05:15

RIDE 1: (Bangalore – Nelamangala – Solur - Bhairavadurga)

This was  60km easy ride to Bhairavadurga as most of it was on highways. As we left Bangalore on two bikes, we zoomed ahead through the Outer Ring Road and reached the Tumkur highway in a jiffy. Post which some fog set in, but didn't bother us much, we cruised till Nelamangala and took the Hassan route, searching for a hotel, but since it was very early, all hotels were closed. We had some tea and decided to conquer the hillock. 

And yeah, the surprise was that, without maps or asking locals, we made it to the base of the hillock. The hillock is usually visible from afar, but owing to the fog, we could not spot it.  Requesting the locals to take care of our bikes, and with the goat's spirit wide awake, we were ready to get beaten up.

TIME: 06:45

We don't chase the sun; it's the other way around.

BHAIRAVADURGA TREK:

The trek is one of a kind, I tell you. We usually take the stone route up and forest route down, but yeah, we got lost on both this time, haha. The place is so menacing, it always brings us to our knees every time. But we love her, no matter what! I have divided the hike into these sections, so keep up!

i) Initial Thicket 

ii) Stone wall 

iii) Final stretch 

iv) Forest route - trek down

Initial thicket

Initial thicket:

Alright, as we parked our bikes. We walked through the fields (which is pretty much straightforward), and then we took a deviation much earlier than the forest route to start climbing the hillock on its steep rock face. Wait, Wait. Not so early, we got lost in between the deviation we took and the rock face itself, haha. The vegetation, I mean, was so thick that we literally had to crawl through it. Hands were completely bruised, but the rock face was nowhere to be seen. Grinding through the thickets, we made it out of the forest and onto the rockface. 

Koof on stone wall

Stone wall:

Once on the rock face, we felt comfortable. But not too much. The rock faces are steep here, but with a good grip. I was behind, Anwar led, and Koof was in between. Slowly, we progressed through the rock faces. This hillock will teach you a lot about how to read the cracks and grip them. The last part of it is really steep, and this must be done with extreme caution.

Final stretch

Final stretch:

The last stretch starts from the point where the forest route also merges. This is still a rock face, but not as steep as the previous one. It was fun navigating this one, as we felt it was easier than the previous. But if you decide to take the forest route, then it will be slightly tough. We could spot Shivagange shrouded in mist afar from here. After the final grind, we reached the top.

TIME: 07:45

Top of Bhairavadurga

TOP:

With the sun still hitting the snooze on the alarm button, the air was cold and windy. And without breakfast, we had managed to summit the hillock. Once we hit the trails, we forget sometimes even the most basic necessity - food. It felt good, we sat down, sipped some water and decided to rest and recuperate. We had made one BIG assumption that we would take the forest route, and it would be EASY. Haha, nature always has surprises in store.

TIME: 08:30

Forest route (at least when we followed it)

Forest Route / Lost route - trek back down:

As we finished our naps at the top, we put in about 25pushups and were set to go. We navigated the "final stretch" with ease and had already started making plans on where to have breakfast, haha. Then we took the forest route, it was smooth until a point. Then the thick vegetations fooled us and took us off track. 

Now, getting lost in a forest with 6-7-foot shrubs is no joke, huh. And over this, the shrubs had thorns, which speaks about a fatal wrong turn. We kept our cool and made the plan simple. We kept going down until we hit the flat bottom, then we spotted the hill, and based on the rock face we had climbed, we could find our bikes. 

Crawling through the thickets

But easier said than done. The shrubs and grass got so thick that walking was impossible. We had to literally squat down and see the water flow paths and follow it. And oh yeah, in between all this, getting pricked by 1000 thorns. It was gruelling and tiring, but also fun. Thorns were getting embedded all over the body, and some bruises had started bleeding, but we kept persisting. At one point, trust me, this is funny and scary, we were walking on thick grass, not knowing how deep it was below.

Finally, after a lot of struggle (it is actually difficult to express the full depth of the experience. All I can say was, it was a not humbling, but a MIGHTY ASS-WHOOPING), we rejoined the main path. And hardly with 5 minutes to go to the bottom. Haha, so basically we kind of (not explored) but survived the Kudduru forest (known for bears) in its purest and wild form. Something magical :) 

Once we set foot on flat ground, we cleared off all the thorns and other things from our jackets and trousers. We felt a sense of relief. Sweat was pouring all over our faces as it was hard gruel. We felt a sense of relief and kinda missed the action, haha, as we made back to our bikes and were ready to ride back home.

TIME: 09:30

Shivagange afar

RIDE 2: ( Kuddur – Solur – Nelamangala – Bangalore)

As we started, we said screw breakfast and quenched our thirsts at a local bar. We spoke about engineering days and, as usual, pulled each other's legs. From there, we cruised along at a superb pace to reach near college for some well-deserved "Mudhe Oota". Whew, tasted so good :) a perfect finish to a crazy chapter.

TIME: 12:30

A perfect end to a wild chapter.

CONCLUSION:

"Gotta say, this was one crazy chapter where the hillock tested us until the last moment. Getting lost amidst the thickest of forests, we could actually feel the forest trying to make us bend down and keep us to the ground. It is a force you wouldn't wanna mess with!!

Koof - as usual, an old schooler, ready for any adventure. Anwar - had a totally crazy experience, enjoyed the trek down more than the climb up. Sippy - will shut and bow down, voluntarily to any place I visit (before the trek only, next time, haha)

Until next time, tata :)

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