Night trek to Kabbal Durga

It was my first trek with Bangalore ASCENDers (BASC), I was so excited about the event and I called Vinay many times to know the details about the trek. Common meeting point was at Jayanagar 4th block near Jain Temple, we gathered at 7.30 PM but started journey by 8.30 PM. 

Since we all were hungry we decided to have food on the way, so we went to Kamath hotel and finished food and started journey by 10.30 PM.
There were 3 cars, I was in Promod’s car, Kunal and Sathish were accompanying along with me and we started our journey towards Kabbal-durga. It was a great journey, in-between Pramod was cracking nice jokes.

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Aandi Gundi Night trek - BASC Birthday Celebration Trek

All right! Here goes my first write-up for Bangalore Ascenders. It had been a while since I did a night trek, so even a short one of a couple of hours held the excitement in me. Darkness has it’s own light: something which many people forget! But the more important excuse was it was the birthday of BASC.

So the evening of 19th April found a group of “not-complete-strangers” and “we-all-love-BASC” standing outside the KSRTC Mysore Satellite Bus Stand. Once we all had gathered, we started out for the trek without much ado. Midway, we decided to grab a bite and we stopped at the way-side restaurant. After much discussion over the dinner (read: I was discussing with my tummy whether a south meal or a north meal would be right), I chose the wrong one: the north meal, and realized this, the moment the south meals were served. Well no harm done. They say hunger is the best sauce, and it always is true.

Once the dinner was done, and I had tucked away my usual “Orbit – Lime flavored” strip in my arm pouch we were raring to go. In our car (piloted by Ravindra), we had a good time, discussing wildlife, cycling and Bangalore roads! And soon we had reached the village from where our trek was supposed to start.

After a couple and a bit more kilometers in the dark, a few wrong turns, and spotting black scorpions (the poisonous kind) we were on the right trail. For both me and Ravindra, the steep initial climb meant that we had to put our cameras back in our back packs. Then once the initial trail was covered, me and Akshatha fell behind, to stay a bit farther away from the torch lights. I tell you, darkness has its own light. The hills and the valleys in between looked so beautifully still in the light of the night. The sky was cloudy, hence all the stars were hidden above their generous cover. Slowly we climbed the trail, me making sure that I sweep the group (it was then that I realized that I take lead only when it is a completely unknown trail, the joy of finding untouched and un-trodden paths are a sheer joy).
Collecting some twigs for the fire, we started climbing up slowly. By the time we reached to the top, the folks had already settled down and were getting ready for the camp fire! And it was the sight at the top that always takes your breath away. On one side, were the city lights, and on the other, was the mask of perpetual darkness. Far on the eastern side, we could see small lights on the hills: signs of civilization. And on the west was the shades of dark. And amongst us were friends who shared the

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Night Trek to Nijagal Betta

Even though I love to write my experience in Kannada this time I am writing it in English, since I organized this trek and some Non-Kannadigas were part of it.

About Nijagal Betta:“Nijagal Betta” which is situated in Bangalore -Tumkur Highway(NH-4) near to Dabaspet. Foot steps are there so it is very easy to climb. We Can reach the peak in 1 to 1½  hours.

Ruins have their own charm and historical importance and Nijagal Betta is one of those which is a proof of ruined Kingdom. It is with full of ruined caves, forts and temples.

A mid-seventeenth century fort, build by Chikkadevaraya Wadiyar, adorns this hillock. Here in Nijagal Betta, it’s believed that a war was fought between Hyder Ali and Peshwa Madhav Rao.

In Durgastamaana (kannada novel by T.R.Subbarao famous as ತ.ರ.ಸು) there is a mention about Nijgal fort like how strong the fort was and how Chitradurga Paalegaara Madakari Nayaka who supported Hyder Ali acquired Nijgal Fort

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