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| Chaluvanarayanaswamy Betta Trek |
- Place: Cheluvanarayanaswamy betta trek
- Difficulty: Medium.
- Distance: 50 x 2 = 100 km.
- Directions: Bangalore > Bidadi > Ramanagara > Cheluvanarayanaswamy betta.
- Krew: Datta (Dattu), Karthik (Sp).
- Bikes: Pulsar.
- Previous Visit: Achalu Betta Trek.
- Budget: Rs 200/head (Petrol = 200/2; Breakfast = 200/2;)
IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:
Alright, this was a crazy chapter in search of leopards. Cheluvanarayanaswamy betta is amidst a forest range and has multiple leopard dens. The climb, perse, was excellent. The spooky feeling of entering a den of a leopard in the wild is something that maybe I can never formulate in words. 2026 stats - 12 treks in 12 weeks and 10 new places wohoo \m/
INTRO & PLAN:
After last week's chaos at Achalu betta, I was struggling to remove thorns from all over my body. And graciously, life threw me another curveball, a massive hit to the right knee, making me limp around. Called Dattu and asked him if he was game for a trek, a simple yes came from the other end. While hunting for a new place, one caught my eye that said it had a leopard's den. Got me very excited, and the place was Cheluvanarayanaswamy betta.
TIME: 20:00 (13 Mar, 2026)
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| And the chapter begins |
ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:
Yes, I was up by 02:30 sharp. A lot of thoughts on the right knee had begun to creep up, so I had fallen asleep by 8pm. Helps me subdue unwanted garbage thoughts. Stretched a little and did some hanging leg raises. Then left home at 5am, rode to Mahalakshmi Layout (~15km), picked up Smiley Dattu from his home, and we cruised towards Mysore Road.
TIME: 06:30
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| Bidadi tatte idly |
RIDE 1: (Bidadi > Ramanagara > Cheluvanarayanaswamy betta)
We rode very slowly, chatting all along the way and then pulled over at Bidadi for our regular breakfast - Tatte Idlis. The discussion continued, and it was brilliant. The topics included game theory, school days, psychology, ethology, and finally, idly making. Oh yeah, I was still limping until this point, hoping the injury was external, and the trek would heal me.
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| First glimpse of the mighty hillock |
The route was chosen in particular because it placed less cognitive load on us. And obviously NO GMAPS. We rode, taking the Ramnagara bypass, and tried to spot the hill. Once the hill was spotted, it was merely a matter of asking locals repeatedly until we reached the base of the hill.
Now, for many, treks like these require asking many locals. The reason is that, first, you get the place's vibe and connect with the community. Second, it teaches you to be humble, and Third, in case things go bad on the mountain, people will know two people have ventured into the forest mountain.
After asking a few more locals and a very judgmental cow, we parked our bikes near a brick factory and asked some local workers to watch over our bikes and helmets. We awoke the "astral goat's" spirit and were ready for the trek.
TIME: 07:30
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| And the trek begins |
CHALUVANARAYANASWAMY BETTA TREK
ASCENT:
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| The initial route |
Initial trail:
The initial trail was through shrubs and trees. The forest welcomed us. Now, with hyper vigilance, we took each step carefully. The burnt grasses of this initial trail made us track quite easily. We were mapping the macro picture of the hillock, ensuring we do not get too close to it. The closer you get, the more you tend to lose the possibility of spotting the routes. So we did a lot of exploration in this stretch.
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| The leopard's den |
The Leopard's Den:
Ok, as we spotted the leopard's den. Heart started pounding hard. And with excitement. Locals had claimed that they had spotted leopards resting here earlier, and Ramanagara is known for leopards. With excitement and caution, we peeped inside the den, fortunately / unfortunately, nothing was there. But clearly, the smell of an animal resident lingered. We felt really happy, we found the place :)
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| Final push to the summit |
Summit Push:
TIME: 08:00
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| Finally, the summit :) |
TOP:
Whew, felt great reaching the top. There was no shade as the top is flat. Hence, as I was about to crash, Dattu suggested we do a reconnaissance of the place. We walked around the place, hoping to see the leopard cursing us for disturbing its morning haha. Finally, we found a nice dried grass spot, hydrated ourselves and crashed.
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| Sippy resting atop of Cheluvanarayanaswamy betta |
As we rested, we had a crazy discussion on the "planning" of anything in general. When to keep it fluid, when to keep it rigid, or rather, what aspects of the plan to keep fluid. We remembered old past trips and tried to see what made the trips feel better. The fluidity or the rigid itinerary. This was Dattu's 52nd trip since 2010, and it was he was the perfect school friend to bounce off such ideas. Finally, after a second round of rehydration, we decided to head back down, hoping our helmets and bikes were in place, but at the summit, we were at the summit :)
TIME: 08:45
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| Dattu squeezing down a narrow path |
DESCENT:
Well, the descent was straightforward. We retraced the trail to almost perfection. Heart thumped joyfully as we reached the den, peeping in again, we wished the leopard wherever it was a happy life and decided to head back down. The last stretch, we decided to head straight down towards the brick factory. The factory workers smiled and welcomed us back, asking if we had completed the entire trek. We smiled and said yes. I so badly wanted to say, we spotted a dinosaur to confuse the living hell out of all of them haha. Looking back, we thanked the hillock for giving us such a rich experience and, more importantly, LETTING US GO BACK. We hopped onto the bike and left.
TIME: 09:15
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| Sippy at the leopard den |
RIDE 2: (Cheluvanarayanaswamy Betta > Ramanagara > Bangalore)
As we headed out, we waved big bye to all the brick factory workers. Some of them had no clue about the route, but waved us back happily. A few kids ran behind the bikes as well. Then we hit a wall. The same judgmental cow was still hanging around the grass fields, it just looked us from the corner of its eye and judged us one last time, haha.
The ride back was smooth, we cruised at a decent pace to reach back Bangalore at 10:15am for some ice cold beers. Sitting over a beer, we further discussed what it takes to maximise the experience of a trek. We had a discussion about the challenge of meeting the skill level to enter into a "flow state". It was a superb discussion, and we had a light lunch. Dropped back Dattu to his home and then rode back home.
TIME: 12:00
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| The endurance machine dashing up |
CONCLUSION:
Well, this trek was pulled off the hat. Had marked a few more hillocks, but at the last moment the leopard's den drew us here, and it proved to be an overall superb trek. From asking multiple locals, getting judged by a cow, to entering the leopard's den and having an intense discussion at the summit, this was an absolute banger of a trek.
KREW:
Dattu: The endurance machine dashes on. From a simple YES, to the dash to the summit, never broke a sweat. All the trips done this year with this endurance monster hit different. (Minchukallu trek, Acchallu trek, Kengal Betta Trek, Thalavadi betta trek)
Sippy: Was very happy with the find. And the best part for me about the trip was getting judged by a cow, hands down haha. 24 weeks, 24 treks, the fire burns on \m/
Until next time, Ta-da Cia \m/
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| Sippy signing off |
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