"Deadly combination of Fort + Monolith + steep Rock"
Written on : 31-December-2017
Visted During : December 2012 and October 2017
Some more Information
Madhugiri fort is built over a monolith.The fort is present in different levels. It is highly recommended to avoid rainy seasons since the rocks will be slippery and it is very hard to climb down when it rains. Do carry water and food if required since there are not even shops or people selling anything on the way. There are 2 stretches in the trek where a lot of people struggle and I have seen people returning from the location. However, they are not as dangerous as they seem to be. After all, there is no fun if you do not reach the peak and embrace the breeze there So, keep calm and trek.
Difficulty level of Madhugiri is Medium to high even if the distance to trek is minimal. Madhugiri is a deceiving series of rocks and has fort built. Fort seems to be just a part of the huge rock itself and still stands strong even after years. But, in spite of the best effort by the fort to stand strong, it’s age can be seen and may only remain for one/two decade or little more from now.
Start the trek early morning so that you are back to the base before noon. Afternoons are very hot as the rock add to the heat. There are no trees in the path but you can take shelter under small rocks for breaks.
Do not plan the trek during rainy season as descending will be very hard. Unfortunately if it rains (as it did to us when we recently hiked there), then take best care while coming down. Some places are slippery and dangerous.
There are no shops/water etc. available in entire trek route and hence do carry required items.
My Experience and Opinion
As I sit to write the article about Madhugiri, my memories from Solo trek done in 2012 started flowing in. I am left amazed by the phenomenal increase in number of tourists to this huge rock. The change I saw in the huge rock is the damage that people have done. The monolith has stood strong against all odds of nature for hundreds of years but in past couple of years, people who hike have made it a little dirty and the feel of trek is not as exciting as it was.
When I climbed this huge rock in 2012, I was the only person and midway I met 3 people. So, once I started from the base of Madhugiri, I had seen only 3 people and saw hardly any plastic covers around. When we trekked couple of weeks back (Dec 2017), there were hundreds of people and lot of plastic covers, water bottles and all kinds of possible nuisance.
Being said that, I would still visit Madhugiri again and again for the challenge it poses to the trekkers.
This time when we trekked in 2017, we were almost near to the peak when it started raining. We were in a dilemma whether to take shelter below some rock or just run to the peak where there is a small ruined structure which is good enough escape from rain. We made our mind to just run to the peak but we were totally drenched by the time we reached peak. We took shelter there till rain stopped. We took some photos and started heading back to the base. It was one the hardest one to trek back as the rock was very slippery and we had to remove shoes while coming back. Legs were paining for couple of hours after the trek but the memories will stay for a life time.
Photos
Signed in Dec 2012 :)
Signed in Dec 2017
Trek Route!
Most Difficult stretch
Peak
Structure in Peak
Forts at lower level
View from the top
Photo stop midway
Totally drenched after heavy rain (2017)
The Most Important asset while travelling - Google Maps
