Kunagalu Betta Trek
- Place: Kunagalu Betta Trek, Ramanagara
- Difficulty: Very Easy Trek
- Distance: 50 x 2 = 100 km
- Directions: Bangalore > Bidadi > Ramanagara > Kunagalu
- Krew: Datta (Dattu), Karthik (Sp)
- Bikes: Pulsar
- Previous Visit: Jagadevi Fort Trek
- Budget: Rs 262/head (Petrol = 200/2; Breakfast = 200/2; Lunch = 100/2; Tea = 24/2)
IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:
Alright, this was a peaceful and small climb to Kunagalu betta. The climb itself is very short and easy. However, the route is through caves, and the view from the top it offers is good.
And this marked 32 weeks, 31 treks, 7 months, non-stop, since Oct 12th, 2025. This was our 19th trek in 20 weeks for 2026, with 17 first ascents. :)
INTRO & PLAN:
Dattu and I had planned for a trek on Saturday. But as Dattu had to visit Sirsi on the weekend, I took leave on Friday and headed out on a weekday itself. We had some unfinished hillocks towards Mysore road. The plan was actually an exploration of a mountain towards Maddur, but then I remembered in the Ramanagara - Kanakpura road, one hillock remained - Kunagalu Betta.
TIME: 19:00 (8 May, 2026)
Sippy and the pointy rock at the Kunagalu betta, Ramanagara.
ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:
Yeah, was up by 3am. Did a few push-ups and hanging leg raises. Had a sip of coffee and left home by 4:45. With the rains last week, the major sting from summer had been subdued. Put on some slow doom metal and cruised through the city to Mahalakshmi layout, where Dattu was ready and smiling as always :)
TIME: 05:15
View from top of Kunagalu betta
RIDE 1: (Bangalore > Bidadi > Ramanagara > Kunagalu)
This was a ~65km ride. We rejoined Mysore Road and started cruising at a decent pace. Mysore Road always brings up nostalgic memories. It is on this road that we were trained. It is on one of the most notorious roads around the city, but it is our home. And yes, NO GMAPS rule like always applied on this one too!
As we cruised, topics that came up included kdramas, school days, rock and heavy metal songs, office politics, and, last but not least, Pokémon haha. We reached Bidadi, where they asked where we had been for the past 3-4 weeks. Haha, true connections along the way :)
Shivasagar Bidadi Tatte Idly
After having a nice breakfast, we continued towards Ramanagara. Upon reaching Ramanagara, we took a left towards Kanakapura. And there she stood, staring us down - the mighty Achalu Betta. Brought back a lot of memories of the wonderful trek we had undertaken a few months back.
This route has a lot of hillocks, some of the prominent ones being Achalu Betta, SRS Betta, Kunagalu, Shri Narasimhaswamy Betta. Give it a shot!
As we reached Kunagalu, we asked a local for directions and made it to the base of the hillock. Parked our bikes, awoke the lizard's spirit, and we were all set for the trek.
TIME: 07:15
The two markers before reaching the summit
KUNAGALU BETTA TREK
ASCENT:
The ascent took us about 30 minutes. The trek is very easy and has clearly marked trails. If you dash to the summit, it can be completed in 15-20 minutes. But when we have allocated an entire day for it, we didn't see the point of a dash. Hence, we took it laid back :)
The entire trek can be divided into two distinct phases: 1. Initial stretch, 2. Cave stretch.
The first part is a highway
Phase 1: Initial Stretch To the Nandi statue
This is a very easy section. After parking the bikes, we started going up the straightforward muddy trail. I wouldn't be surprised, in a few years, they might lay roads on this stretch as well (hope not). As we proceeded, we could see a group of 5-6 peacocks sitting peacefully on the road. As soon as they spotted us, they ran for cover.
The muddy trails slowly traded for jagged rocks, and oh yeah felt good; the achilles heel and shins started thanking us for the food. And as we made it out of this easy trail, it opened up to a viewpoint where a Nandi was sitting peacefully. Said a big hi, as it was our first time meeting this fella :)
First marker: The Nandi Statue.
Phase 2: The Cave stretch to the Hanuman temple and Summit.
Post speaking with the peaceful Nandi, we decided to push to the summit non-stop, and things got really creepy and interesting. It led us directly into an ancient pathway through the rocks. The temperatures plummeted, and the smell of bats was unmistakable.
The darkness will prevail
A small section, it was literally pitch black. Navigating it was totally fun. We spotted a few old trees growing amidst the caves, which added a whole new level of spookiness to the blend. It reminded us of the Siddarabetta caves, where we had spotted an Aghori layers deep into the caves.
Sippy heading through the caves
Finally, the caves opened up into an open land, and we could spot the Hanuman temple. As we reached the Hanuman temple, we could see that the summit is still pending. It was hardly a 5min walk from there. We made it to the summit, felt really happy that we were the only ones and we had the entire place to ourselves. The gamble had paid off :)
TIME: 07:45
The summit at Kunagalu
TOP:
As we reached the summit, we took off our jackets. Mine weighed a ton like Goku's. As the winds slowly hit us, we hydrated and sat. We decided that we would spend more time at the top, as the climb was too short. We discussed very interesting topics such as switching mental models, scenario-based applications, some more Korean dramas (crazy bunch trust me!), next treks, and the philosophy of systems.
We actually took "theloapers" as an example of a system built, and what it has done for cartographers. Beautiful and peaceful discussions these were. Then, finishing the water bottle, we decided to head back down.
TIME: 08:45
Dattu entering the caves section
DESCENT:
The descent was again 30minutes. Why? - Well, this is funny. We were too afraid to go back home early and get picked upon for coming back so early. Yeah, we are the 90's kids, where we were shoved out of our houses to play games on the streets :)
Entering the darkness
As we made it to the initial stretch, we spotted a muster of peacocks peacefully taking a morning stroll. As soon as they spotted us, they ran helter-skelter in all directions. We made it back to the bikes and decided to finish the last rites on this chapter :)
TIME: 09:15
Dattu trying to communicate with the bats
RIDE 2: (Kunagalu > Ramanagara > Bangalore)
As we mounted on the bikes, we had one last look at the hillock. Thanked her for the experience, and more importantly, "LETTING US GO BACK".
As we cruised along, the sun was up and blazing. The roads are well known, so yeah felt dizzy. So pulled over for some elachi tea. Washed our faces and poured a jug of water on our heads. It was still around 9am, and returning back home was not an option. Hence, we rode directly into our regular bar for some ice-cold beers. Post beer, we had a solid "mudhe oota" at our regular hotel. Dropped back Dattu and reached home at 1pm - somewhat acceptable outcome haha :)
TIME: 13:00
The loose boulders
CONCLUSION:
This was simple and easy trek. A much needed one as well. Even though the trek is easy, the caves uplift any hikers mood. The view from the top are amazing. For beginners, this is perfect. Give it a shot!
Past 32 weeks, we have pulled off 31 treks, ~6100kms in total, 7 months, non-stop. Let's keep going :)
KREW:
Dattu: From having a smile at 5am to 1pm, the endurance monster roars. The trek he comes hits a different arc. It's usually is peaceful and the discussions are deep. So the trek becomes an excuse for deep discussions :)
Sippy: Was skeptical about the place, but changed the route last moment. The gamble actually paid off :)
Until next time, Ta-da Cia \m/
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