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| Devarayasamdura Betta trek |
- Place: Devarayasamudra Betta trek (Kolar)
- Difficulty: Moderate (home to bears, wild boar and leopards)
- Distance: 100 km x 2 = 200 km.
- Directions: Bangalore > Hoskote > Kolar > Devarayasamudra
- Krew: Gundachar (Gunda), Karthik (Sp).
- Bikes: Pulsar.
- Previous Visit: Kolirayana betta trek.
- Budget: Rs 255/head (Petrol = 440/2; Breakfast = 50/2; Tea = 20/2)
IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:
Alright, Devarayasamudra is a massive hillock near Kolar, known for housing animals such as wild boars, bears and leopards. But the trek as such is pure free styling; there are no trails. So makes it much more fun :)
And this marked 38 weeks, 39 treks, 8.5 months, non-stop, since Oct 12th, 2025. This was our 27th trek in 26 weeks for 2026, with 24 first ascents. :)
INTRO & PLAN:
Initially we had planned to continue our Grand TN Expedition (Rayakottai, Anchetty Durgam, Ratnagiri Malaikottai, Udedurgam, Mallapadi, Jagadevi Fort, Thattakal Fort, Ankushagiri, Periyamalai). But as the OMR expedition had also kicked off (Ambajidurga, Kurbooru fort) we decided to tap into the OMR artery this time.
After some research, one place stuck out for its pure uniqueness - Devarayasamudra. Usually, a hill's second name would be durga (fort), giri (hill) etc.; here it was samudra (ocean). So, had to check this out! The hill looked massive and looked completely like a freestyle climb. So the text to Gunda goes something like this:
Sippy: "Gunda, found a kick-ass hillock, your type, full free-style climb, are we on?"
Gunda: "Yes, SUPER ON!"
These replies are just so good to feel. Never did he ask where, what etc. Thankfully, didn't have to mention it's leopards, bears and wild boars' home :)
TIME: 19:30 (19 June, 2026)
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| Samudra feeling only :) |
ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:
Yeah, I was up by 03:15 without an alarm. Did some stretches, had a sip of coffee and went down. Wiped my bike in all gentleness. Tied the Tibetan flag I had received as a gift for my birthday; now it looked even better with the flair. Asked her if she was ready for the day, and took off by 4am from home, listening to some slow doom metal, head bobbing all the way.
Gunda hadn't picked up my call at 4am, so I thought I had about an hour to reach his place at KR Puram. I cruised along at a slow pace and, of course, stopped at KR Puram, the flower market, and took in a few deep breaths; the mixture of flower aromas always gets me slightly high. By the time I reached KR Puram, Gunda said he would be ready in 10 minutes. I parked my bike, took off my trek bag and helmet, and started stretching in the middle of the road like it was a gym, haha. Gunda arrived, and after a formal greeting, we decided to leave Bangalore.
TIME: 05:15
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| The first glimpse :) |
RIDE 1: (Bangalore > Kolar > Devarayasamudra)
Well, as we left KR Puram and touched Hoskote, the skies were still dark. We rode, and as we crossed Hoskote, the highway from Hoskote to Kolar is pure bliss. It reminded me of Old Mysore Road; I felt very nostalgic. It immediately became my new favourite highway around Bangalore. On these types of highways, you see a lot more in your rear view mirror than in front of you; that is how we learnt to ride our bikes. So felt in our element, and as we approached Kolar, the silhouettes of the jagged boulder hillocks appeared afar and then rose; the mighty sun rose, lighting the hillocks, making us feel the whole hill was constructed with balls of fire. We pulled over at a local roadside vendor for some breakfast.
TIME: 06:30
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| The weather supported us :) |
As we were having some breakfast, Gunda turned to me and asked, "Where are we going?" I explained about the hillock. Then he said he wished that in one of these climbs, he would come across wildlife, not in a way where an altercation happens, but just meet face to face and both go their way. I had begun to giggle inside, and with full control over my facial expression, requested some tea. Post Kolar, we rode into Devarayasamudra and enquired with some locals about the start point of the trek, and the reply we got is pure gold: "There is no way to the top, you have to find your own way and climb". And that is exactly what we wanted.
As we rode a muddy trail, it directly led us to the base of the hillock, but we realised we were standing in the bed of a dried-up lake. The silt structures looked magnificent. Parking our bikes at the lake bed, we awoke the "lizard and ibex's" spirit within us; we knew it would take a lot of climbing, and more importantly for me - watching out for wild animals haha :)
TIME: 07:30
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| Careful there buddy :) |
DEVARAYASAMUDRA BETTA TREK
ASCENT:
Well, the trek is a free-style climb as mentioned. So there are no fixed trails. It took us about an hour to reach the summit. But yes, we marked and took a very distinct trail. To start off things, after parking our bikes, we got a good macroscopic view of the hillocks and started mentally marking. The thing about these boulder-filled mountains are the boulders actually put you in a blind zone when directly confronted, totally stealing away the other markers. So, this was a new fun experience, and we learnt a lot :) Like always, have divided the trek into phases, LET'S GO \m/
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| See a way up? |
Phase 1: The Initial Trail
Well, as we dashed into foliage, we were reminded of our Ambaji Durga and Hiregundagal experience. Reading the mountain's water flow paths, we were navigating up. It was not long before reality hit us hard. As I took the lead in one section, navigating my way across a boulder, on a boulder just beside, I saw something that got me to shake: a bone of a leg of some small creature, all the meat eaten away and left on the flat boulder. This got our senses alert, and we were scanning constantly 360deg for predators. We made our way up and finally hit phase 2.
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| Grind it, Grind it. |
Phase 2: The Rock face grinder
Now, this was a true test of stamina. The rock face stretched for a long time and led to the shoulder of the hill. From where we could traverse across the neck and reach the summit. The grip it offered was good. So we started fooling around, remember the technique we were experimenting on, placing all our weight on the front part of our foot and using our calves as a spring? We tested it again! And this time we felt in control, and it was fun. The rock face led us directly to an open land, and we could spot the summit from here. Getting there, however, was no easy task!
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| Aye, here we go? |
Phase 3: The Boulder Push to the Summit.
As we spotted the summit, we were happy, and as we began the final dash, reality hit us back. We were completely robbed of the summit sight in a matter of minutes, as huge boulders blocked our view all around. The winds died down, and the silence descended hard on us. To be frank, it was actually scary. As we were circumnavigating these boulders, slowly but gradually pushing upwards, I told Gunda, "I can see the wind", he looked puzzled, thinking I had lost it; then I had to explain that I could see a few shrubs up ahead which were wavering; that is how I saw the wind, and we must be close to the top. As we pushed forward, we found an ancient Stone Mantap, and nothing above us clearly marked the top; when we turned around, the rock pillar (which we had marked as the top) stood right there. We felt very happy :)
TIME: 08:30
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| The summit we touch :) |
TOP:
Well, the relief was immense. But as we hovered around the stone mantap, which, btw, looked majestic the mud below the mantap had been dug deep. As we were exploring, we spotted fresh animal dung. Of which animal? We could not say. But that got my eyes running all around the place. We decided to rest at the rock pillar as there was a steep rock face on the other side and we could face the only path. The winds had picked up, and we felt very relaxed. We rehydrated, and then I told Gunda this mountain houses - boars, bears and leopards. Gunda looked at me with enthusiasm, haha, all of theloapers are equally crazy, felt very happy:)
We relaxed at the top for about an hour and then decided to head back. And head back we did in a very, very different path - true to theloapers style and the spirit of this mountain.
TIME: 09:30
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| Our Free-styling Leopard - Gunda :) |
DESCENT:
Now the descent took us about 30 minutes, how one might ask? Well, there are two reasons; let me explain. First, we mark dirty thoughts into a few objects we find on our way to the top (with pure intent, of course). This helps us on our way down and introduces some laughter, which is the currency of the mountain. And the second, we took a totally different route on the way down.
The first part of it helped us navigate Phase 3, and while hitting the rock face, we marked our bike direction towards the dried-up lake bed. Then decided to circumnavigate the hillock on the rock face and directly climb down on the rock face as it was offering very good grip. The rock face is no doubt taxing on the body, but it cuts down all the time-consuming effort from the shrub and mud terrain. Carefully gauging each step as we were heading down, we found an entire compound constructed around the hill towards the village. We climbed over it and made it back to the village. When enquired about the compound, they confirmed it was to prevent animals from entering into their villages. They had even spotted leopard pug marks quite frequently around the wall :)
TIME: 10:00
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| Sippy trying to spot the direction towards the bike |
RIDE 2: (Devarayasamudra > Kolar > Hoskote > Bangalore)
As we reached the bike, we looked back at the mighty hillock, thanked her for the rich experience and more importantly "LETTING US GO BACK". The ride back was again a superb experience. This Bangalore-Kolar road is officially my new favourite highway. As we reached KR Puram, the heavy traffic welcomed us back. I had got used to it by now. Dropped back Gunda to his place and rode the last stretch of 30 kms listening back to some slow doom metal to reach back home :)
TIME: 13:00
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| Parking right in the lake bed :) |
CONCLUSION:
Well, this was truly an off-beat mountain trek and experience altogether. Devarayasamudra did not disappoint us at all. It was worth every energy spent in researching and climbing the hill. But a strict caveat: carry a knife and be prepared for a hungry leopard or a crazy bear :)
Past 38 weeks, we have pulled off 39 treks, ~7900 kms in total, 8.5 months, non-stop. The Flame lives on \m/
KREW:
Gunda: When it is a free-style, no trail hillock. Gunda is a combo offer - he is the perfect athelte and architect at the same. Loves the free-style, and this hillock had to be done with only him. Totally in his element.
Sippy: With the Tibetan flag flying in front of me, felt like flying rather than riding :)
Until next time, Ta-da Cia \m/
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| OMR is the BEST (Old Madras Road, I meant) - wish us luck on our journey to 52/52. |
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