"Scale the largest monolith of Asia!"
Written on : 16-January-2018
Visted During : July 2012 and January 2018
Some more Information
Savandurga as a monolith is larger than Madhugiri but trek distance is comparatively lesser. Yet, difficulty level of the trek remains same as Madhugiri. Savandurga is said to be the largest monolith in Asia. There are some very tough stretches in the route and are difficult to cross.
Important: Do not take unusual routes or try wrong paths. They are deceiving and you may end up in a location where you can neither go back nor proceed. There were instances of people doing so and had to be rescued later.
Savandurga is a rocky mountain and it gets extremely hot by afternoon. Early mornings are pleasant and hence one should start the trek by 7.00 AM – 7.30 AM.
There are people who sell packed juice etc. on the way. But, they may or may not come daily and hence I recommend not to depend on them. Carry required water and food along.
Anything that falls from here just rolls down and takes time to reach a point of stop. If for some reason you happen to drop anything, even if extremely valuable like mobile, camera etc. DO NOT run behind in the hope of catching it. Nothing is valuable than the life. Take best care, keep your calm in such cases. Wait till it stops rolling and only then walk to collect it.
This time, we had a few heart beats skip when we saw someone running behind his GoPro which he dropped. Out of the instinct, he started running until everyone around shouted to call him back. The scene was terrifying.
My Experience and Opinion
Couple of days back, I had shared the article of Madhugiri Trek. Savandurga is similar to Madhugiri and so does my experience. I had last visited Savandurga in 2012 before doing it again in January 2018. Wanted to start the year 2018 differently and hence decided to trek to one of the toughest around Bangalore. It was a great experience to drive all the way and trek.
What has changed in Savandurga in 6 years? Answer remains the same – “The changes made by visitors – the dirt”
Also, the number of visitors to this huge rock has increased manifold times. In 2012, we were a group of 4 friends who trekked. We had hardly met 10-12 others in entire trek. This time, the crowd was to that extent that at certain places we had to wait to cross narrow paths. Blame bloggers like me or blame social media where people see others travelling and get inspired. Or blame people getting rich. Truth is, because of all these reasons, these places are losing their real charm. It becomes difficult to appreciate a place when you expect it to be peaceful but you find lot of people shouting all around. Savandurga rock is not a lone rock anymore but has become a tourist center. It deserves being one of the best trekking spot near Bangalore since it has fort like structures on the way and also because it poses good challenge to the hikers. I just wish Savandurga remains clean and safe in the years to come!
Photos
Click near the base(2018)
Watch point in Trek route (2012)
Trek route
View from peak
Signature (2018)
Group pic (2018)
The Most Important asset while travelling - Google Maps
