Jagadevi Fort Trek in Tamil Nadu: Southern Grinder | Chap 238 (May 1, 2026)

Jagadevi Fort trek

 

• Place: Jagadevi Fort Trek (Tamil Nadu)
• Difficulty: Moderate Trek.
• Distance: 110 x 2 = 270 km.
• Directions: Bangalore > Attibele > Krishnagiri > Jagadevi.
• Krew: Anwar (Bhai), Karthik (Sp).
• Bikes: Pulsar.
• Previous Visit: Malapaddi Fort Trek.
• Budget: Rs 272.5/head (Petrol = 440/2; Breakfast = 80/2; Tea = 25/2) 

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IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:

Alright, Jagadevi Fort trek is an intense yet beautiful fort trek in Tamil Nadu. It tests both your endurance and technical climbing skills. Ours turned out to be something totally different, a young pup joined us all along the way and made this one a very memorable one :) 

And this marked 31 weeks, 30 treks, 7 months, non-stop, since Oct 12th, 2025. This was our 18th trek in 19 weeks for 2026, with 16 first ascents. :)

INTRO & PLAN:

Dropped a Napalm, alright with the Grand TN expedition. (Rayakottai Fort Trek, Anchetty Durgam, Ratnagiri trek, Udedurgam Trek and Mallapadi Fort). With pants stitched up from the harassment from Mallapadi, we were all set to go. With some good news back at the office, Bhai and I decided to retreat into the wilderness and celebrate quietly with a small gift from our mentors - CR-18. 

TIME: 16:00 (30 Apr, 2026)

Ever reliable Bhai at Jagadevi Fort

ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:

Yes, this time was up by 2:30am. Last time woke up pretty late. Had a sip of coffee and got ready. Left home at around 4:30, and zoomed through the city listening to some smooth doom metal. The traffic was quite heavy considering the three-day weekend. But reached Bhai's place at Attibele, where he was eagerly waiting. After a formal greeting, we took off. 

TIME: 05:15

Jagadevi fort hill as seen from the road

RIDE 1: (Bangalore > Attibele > Krishanagiri > Jagadevi Fort)

The ride was surprisingly smooth. We had got used to the conditions and operational rules of this highway. After leaving Atibele, we followed the 50km rule i.e, we pulled over after every 50km, whether rest is needed or not, to stretch.  As it had rained the previous weeks in Bangalore, the weather felt real cool and smooth. 

A perfect breakfast :)

Now, with the NO GMAPS rule in place, post-Krishnagiri, we slowed down. It is not very difficult to find this hillock. Just take the Tiruvannamalai route, which is the largest one, 10km from Krishnagiri. But with our tummies growling at us, we tried searching for a good breakfast spot, but nobody was open. Hence, we decided to have tea and finish the trek. Then we spotted one that was already serving, we zoomed in and belted some pongal, idlis, and omelettes.  Post breakfast, near the hillock, we parked our bikes, awoke the lizard's spirit and were all set to hike up.

TIME: 07:30

Bhai and pup are playing in the open lands.

JAGADEVI FORT TREK

ASCENT:

The ascent took us about 60 minutes. The trek is quite interesting. It has phases where you never get lost and phases where you must get lost. Yeah, that is how it was. But the trek is a grinder for sure. Loved every second of it, as we had a companion :)

The entire trek can be divided into three distinct phases: 1. Climb to the  Hanuman temple  2. Forest section and 3. The summit grind. Alright, keep up with me here!! 

Phase 1: Easy peasy

Phase 1: To the Hanuman Temple

Ok, like Mallapadi, the trek started with a clear trail. But BAM.. came these haunting cries from the hill. Trust me, it was scary. It was a cry of pain for sure. A lot of thoughts rushed into our minds (a wild animal was in pain, somebody getting lynched, somebody hurt and stuck in the forest, or a rape etc). We looked at each other, then took a deep breath. With the super-duper Swiss-knife in my bag, we decided to calmly keep going, check it out and help somebody as they badly needed it, judging by the sounds.  

The trails were clear, and we continued cautiously, willing to help whatever creature it might be. Then, to our surprise, a small pup was lost and was howling at the top of its lungs in a very scary way, almost like a human cry for help.  Looking at it, we felt relieved that it was not any other scenario, and as soon as we saw it, it came running and pounced on us with joy. It was an instant connection :) 

An instant connection :)

It was still a small pup. Not knowing what to do, but with a clear agenda to complete the trek, we asked if he wanted to join us, too. For everything, the pup was smiling. We gave him some water and promised him a safe return to base once we complete the trek. We had found an amazing companion :)

Phase 2: Forest section.

We reached the Hanuman temple in a jiffy, as clear steps led there. Then the adventure began. Now, this section is really tricky. We have to navigate through a thick forest without any signs. Our gut insttincts kicked in really well here, reading the rocks, water flow paths and direction of fallen leaves (a lot of it!). With the lot of fallen leaves, it was quite tough to get a gripping, over that the pup was all over us over-joyed getting in between our legs and trying to grab our attention. Haha. 

The forest route is tricky but fun :)

The pup was clearly young and inexperienced. It was thinking twice before taking a leap or climbing. Many times, we had to carry it like a little baby through the tricky sections. It felt something different and special. (check out the first picture of this post) 

The forest section also had a lot of creepers with huge thorns on them, a whiplash from it would leave us in pieces. Reminded a lot of Achalu Betta Trek a few months back. Carefully navigating them and carrying the pup, we made it out of the forest into an open land. 

Bhai and Browny rest in the forest section

Phase 3: Grind to the summit

Ok, now let me lay out some stats. The first two sections combined are just about 30-40% of the trek. Now the true grinder started. With the sun rising slowly and the temperature picking up, sweat started dripping down our faces. But what lifted our moods was the fact that there was no confusion in the dog's face. It was clear that it would follow to the end of the earth. Smiling at the poor creature, we were even more determined to leave it back at the base safely. 

Bhai and browny almost at the top.

We fed him water on a regular basis. We could see him picking up climbing skills as we climbed higher and higher. It was so special to watch. We actually started conversing with the dog, saying all the skills he was learning would come in handy someday. We could see him, spotting some puddles in the pockets of rock and going there and drinking water and lying in the water to cool down. After all that, he would come up and spray all the water on us. 

Hydrate yourself buddy :)

Just before the top, there is a scary stretch. It is plain spooky. I said I would lead here, before I could take the first step, the pup ran further and had a look around, looked back and smiled with its tongue sticking out. Our hearts melted right there. He was growing right in front of our eyes. There were a lot of buildings in ruins at this stage. It was spooky alright! 

With a hearty laugh, we pushed and reached the summit. We did a quick reconnaissance of the place and found a beautiful open land overlooking other mountains and decided we would rest there.

TIME: 08:30

Bhai resting at the summit.

TOP:

Took off our jackets. Mine weighed a ton like Goku's training clothes. As we began to rest and hydrate. A few monkeys, mostly young ones, started peeping out from boulders atop; some of them were standing on two legs curiously onlooking. I could feel a brush against my back. The pup was scared of them. We took a stick and kept it near just in case. We took out CR-18 and peacefully sat and congratulated each other. The pup was fast asleep by then. 

We discussed about the upcoming treks and decided to crash. Suddenly I felt a wet touch on my face. the pup was licking my face, laughing and jolting up, kept him on my thighs like a little baby and started petting him. He became calm. He couldn't watch us drift into sleep with the onlooking monkeys that scared him. 

See, you can do wonderful things too :)

We had some ORS packets, mixed them with water and had them. Severe dehydration is a serious thing, better to be scientific about this. Finally, after a good 45 minutes at the summit, we decided to leave as we had a responsibility to leave the dog back at the base :)

TIME: 09:15

Only wish i could take you home :)

DESCENT:

The descent took us about 45minutes. Yeah, with the sun up, it was quite draining. And climbing down a steep rock face was no easy task. The pup had found its natural instincts had kicked in, but was still lacking confidence. But this time, we didn't try to carry it, but rather push ahead without looking back. And we could hear the tiny tick-tick sound behind us. It was figuring out and pushing through the fear and finding its own way. He used to run ahead of us and try to look us in our eyes, trying to tell us what we missed back there. It was hard to control our emotions on these stretches. 

We know exactly what u pulled off, and we are proud of u :)

As we successfully made it back to the forest zone, the dog was treated as a water slide on dried leaves. He was radiating with confidence, until a thorny small creeper got caught on his forehead. Pulling out, we spoke to him for a few minutes. He just got back to sliding haha :) 

As we reached the clear trails and steps of the last section, the dog was hesitant to climb down. We felt the pain as well. But he belonged there. It was truly draining. He was simply refusing to climb down, trying to take breaks. As we made it to base, there was a small dharga, where he was chewing on some food he had found. Turned to Bhai and said, "This is the right time to take off".

TIME: 10:00

Browny and Sippy navigating the tough climb

RIDE 2: (Jagadevi > Krishnagiri > Attibele > Bangalore)

As we mounted the bikes, we simply took off. The dog ran behind us until the main road and turned back. Was watching him in the bike's mirror all the while. It was hurting, but it must be done. Bhai said that he wouldn't mind carrying it behind. But we never knew who would be looking and be happier to see it back. We rode a few kms ahead, looked back at the hillock and thanked her for the rich experience, and thanked her for making us meet the pup and lastly "LETTING US GO BACK". 

We rode to Krishnagiri, and rode non-stop in absolute silence for the next 50km to reach Attibele. Here, Bhai took us to a kick-ass place to belt on some biryani. Post which, I dropped back Bhai at his place and then rode solo for another 40-50km to reach back home :)

TIME: 13:30

The ruined buildings at the top

CONCLUSION:

The Grand TN expedition hit a special arc with this chapter. More than the Jagadevi trek itself, the pup made the whole experience very special. This is what being on the road does. You never know what springs out, we have to have an open mind and open arms! 

Past 31 weeks, we have pulled off 30 treks, ~6000kms in total, 7 months, non-stop. The Flame lives on \m/

KREW:

Bhai: Getting up early and waiting on the road at 5am, pitch black, haha, he is turning as crazy as me now. The travel bug has officially bitten him. The quiet celebration with him was something special. 

Sippy: Felt really heavy leaving the place. But like the saying goes, all good things, no matter how good must end. Its better you actively initiate it and accept it. 

Browny the Pup: Thank you, boy, you grow up strong and show others the path from now on \m/

Until next time, Ta-da Cia \m/

Sippy trying to sign-off :)