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| Kabbaladurga Trek |
Place: Kabbaladurga trek
Distance: 100kms x 2 = 200kms
Directions: Bangalore > Bidadi > Channapatna > Kabbaladurga > Channapatna > Bangalore
Krew: Karthik (Sp)
Bikes: Pulsar
Previous Visit: Kurbooru Fort Trek - Boulder Training.
Budget: Rs 400/head (Total: Petrol = 400)
Check out our Navadurgas page. - a tight interlocking of 9 forts around Bangalore, which kept the baby safe!
IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:
Alright, Kabbaladurga is one of the toughest of Navadurgas and a very special place for me as I had almost lost my life here in 2011 during my first ascent at this place. So, yeah, this is my 19th ascent, and every time the hillock presents a different side of herself. Needed some thread work into my soul, hence visited her :)
And this marked 36 weeks, 36 treks, 8.5 months, non-stop, since Oct 12th, 2025. This was our 24th trek in 24 weeks for 2026, with 21 first ascents. :)
INTRO & PLAN:
Had taken a week off from work as it was my b'day week. June 11th every year I visit this place solo, but this time we had other plans; hence, I met Bhai at work, we sat and discussed. June without Kabblu solo trek feels like an empty biryani. Hence, took leave the entire week and decided to visit multiple hillocks with sufficient breaks in between.
TIME: 20:00 (8/6/2026)
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| The mighty Kabbaladurga |
ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:
Well, I was up at 3am as usual. Stretched around a little, had a cup of coffee. Oh yeah, btw, last meal i had eaten was the idly breakfast on Kurbooru fort trek (3 days back) - now don't ask me how I can survive. It is what it is. Went down, the bike looked superbly polished and ready to roar. Kissed her gently on the forehead and asked if she was ready to head out!
TIME: 04:30
RIDE 1: (Bangalore– Ramangara – Channapatna - Kabbaldurga)
This was a 100 km ride, last time we rode this stretch, it was actually haunting. It was winter, and the sunrise was late. But this time it was pleasant. As I left home, put in some slow doom metal and, singing aloud, cruised along, bobbing my head and navigating the traffic.
As I reached Bidadi, our regular Idlis hotel was closed; guess the universe wanted me to continue the streak. Hence, continued past Bidadi, Ramanagara and Channapatna. The Old Mysore Road felt so good. A few stretches, just lifted my left palms and felt the air, singing atop of my lungs.
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| First glimpse of the mighty Kabblu |
Oh yeah, there NO GMAPS rules applied throughout the trip, not like I needed any maps for this one. The roads post Channapatna turned beautiful; and it began to drizzle, the trees on the right side of the road and left side of the road formed a canopy. It was like they were holding hands above my head and welcoming me, wow! Cows and buffaloes were still waking up, some grumpy, some plain lazy.
With the rains, I got slightly worried, as Kabbaladurga is the stone hill. Rain and a stone hill - never a good combination. As I reached the town of Kabblu, it had turned into a very faint drizzle, jibbed between the local houses, and I parked my bike, awoke the lizard's spirit, looked up at the hillock and shouted: "I have come back to you! Stitch me up good"
TIME: 06:45
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| The trek begins |
KABBALADURGA TREK:
With 35 treks in 36 weeks, I felt great. It took me 30minutes to complete the ascent. It was a non-stop, slow, steady type of trek. But yeah, felt good; nobody was there at the hillock. Or was there? - found a four-legged friendly companion for the entire trek. As before, I have divided the trek into the following sections:
- Initial stretch
- Old Traverse and Grinder stretch (New updated! - from all other chapters)
- Viper stretch
- Final Stretch
Ready? So, yeah, on this solo trek, the winds hit you different; the sounds you hear are different. You can hear your own heartbeat; sometimes you wonder what you would be doing- these are the first few times. After your purpose and intent are clear, there is serenity in these treks, and nature always presents beautiful companions, and the experience becomes the greatest b'day gift ever :)
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| Hello there?, wanna join! |
Initial stretch:
As I parked my bike, locked my helmet and started walking towards the mighty hillock, I knew the first initial stretch was usually my goof-up spot. Technically, it is the easiest, but it often misleads me; I work around it. As I was walking, something bumped into my legs from behind; it was a dog :) His face seemed ferocious. But with a few taps on the head, his eyes flattened, his mouth widened, his tongue came out, and the tail started wagging. I had found a friend for the journey :)
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| That route is for human; we go this way :) |
The Old Traverse + Grind stretch
The 3-pointer stretch was my go-to all these years, but since my past 4-5 times to this hillock, it has not been. The reason being, clean man-made steps. It is just too boring and safe. As I made it a few steps, the dog was sceptical to follow me all the way; I kept stopping and whistling, and it would come running and stand next to me :)
But when I jumped across the railings and started walking across the mountain on the steep rock face, the dog had officially concluded I had gone mad. Called him repeatedly; he was not confident. He didn't know his own capabilities. Dogs are natural climbers and need to be pushed to break boundaries. After some pep-talking, finally he agreed and came along :) The old routes offer a different vibe; yes, it is riskier than the normal route, but well, that is where the fun is.
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| The master of the mountains :) |
By the end of this stretch, you would be gasping for air. Well, then the mountain presents the grinder. The double the distance on rocky, steep terrain. Well, the legend goes something like this - there are 5 sub-hillocks and the Kabblu tests each of the hikers. This stretch would really burn you lungs, so slow down and take each step with caution. In our case, the dog had found its mojo and I was the one behind. But he did not know the route, so he used to run up and wait for me :)
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| End of Viper stretch |
Viper stretch:
As the second stretch, you end up at a fort wall with flat land. This is the perfect rest spot. I offered some water to the dog, but he didn't drink it at all. I laughed aloud and asked him why, he just stared at me. I drank it to show its safe, but he went ahead. Guess he wanted to reach the top or was assigned to guide me to the top :)
The viper stretch is a fun one. A narrow mud and boulder path runs curvy amidst thick grasses. It is as though a titan boa had crawled through these mountains aeons back :)
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| Ok, you win :) |
Final stretch:
Well, in the final stretch, we are back on the rock face again. Now the mountain really tests you, the top was visible, but you have to grind it out. And it was fun. But there was a caveat, as it had drizzled, streams of water was flowing on the rock faces. Now, if you step on water, no matter how good your shoes are, they wouldn't grip the rock face. So carefully applying vertical pressure (straight down) took slow strides and well "konahamuru" (yeah this was his name after all our conversations and giving him other options) was negotiating these effortlessly. Finally we made it to the top and things took a turn :)
TIME: 07:15
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| The clouds engulfed us :) |
TOP:
The cool winds greeted me at the top. No matter how hard the climb is, as you reach the top, your energy restores. This is something I have been feeling every time. I walked to the main Kabblu temple and said a big "HELLO" and told her I have returned. Thanked for giving me a good start to 2026, and I winked and requested permission to kick some more ass for the second half :)
And then bare-foot, walked to the Shiva temple. Here the clouds engulfed us totally. IT was a surreal scene. The clouds close to the mountain were travelling fast and were thin, but the clouds afar were thicker and moving at a slower pace.
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| The ambience was surreal :) |
Konnahamuru and I sat there blinking and admiring the movements. It was truly beautiful. Then his ears stood up. I had just removed a packet of biscuits. I gave him some, but he was hesitant to eat it. I showed a few and gulped it down myself. Then he started munching them down and finished the entire packet :)
Now, after some munching, we hydrated ourselves and decided to crash with the clouds shrouding us as blankets. This was really a surreal moment. With nobody around and the winds howling like a wild banshee, we sat calm knowing we had each other to rely upon.
TIME: 08:00
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| And we crash :) |
CLIMB DOWN:
Having spent 45 minutes at the top, we decided to head back down. Or atleast I was. Konohamaru was fast asleep. Poor thing had exhausted himself. I sat beside him, waiting for him to wake up. Pat his head and asked if he was ready to head down :)
The climb down was a smooth one; it took us 30 minutes. We had to be doubly careful, as the gravity would act against us, especially on the water stretches. I sat down, clumsily made it through some of it. And Konohamaru was pulling each stretch flawlessly, wondering why this two-legged human was struggling. After a few steps, he would look afar into the horizon; I tried to follow his gaze and wonder what was going inside his head. But then again, I thought, why not just see and admire the beauty without any interpretations, and it worked. It was pure, unadulterated observation; it was the flushing I needed.
As we made it back to base, he was happy that he was on flat ground again and ran towards a small shop. I had to take the other way to the bike. I looked at him, still going to high ground and observing. I stood and stared at him, and finally he looked back. I waved a big "Bye-bye" and thanked him for the company and with actually not a heavy heart started walking back. These treks offers companions and we have to learn to let them go with grace. That is the one and only way :)
TIME: 08:30
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| Rest well Konahamuru. |
RIDE 2: (Kabbaldurga – Channapatna - Bangalore)
As I made it back to the bike, I saw two oxen led by a farmer to the fields; the oxen gave me a strange look. I told them I had my leave and I am forced to take it; moreover, it is my b'day week. They glanced at me with heavy judgement and went away haha! Did they know when their b'days was? - I thought.
Looked back at the hillock, winked at her, thanked her for the rich experience and more importantly "LETTING ME GO BACK". Promising her a return in 5-6months time, mounted on my bike and rode back.
The ride back was smooth, listening back to some slow doom metal, riding quite slow actually, enjoying the events of the country life, made back home in one piece.
TIME: 10:30
Until next time, Cia \m/
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| Tell me all your stories, Konohamaru :) |
CONCLUSION:
Well, this trek is a need of this club. I had made theloapers miss out one weekend, so I had to make it up myself. And the Kabblu, is less of a trek and more of home. Tough no doubt, but this is a place where we gauge our stamina, fitness and more over meet the place as though it was a living entity :)
Past 36 weeks, we have pulled off 36 treks, ~7200 kms in total, 8.5 months, non-stop. The Flame lives on \m/
KREW:
Konohamaru: Thanks buddy for keeping me company and taking me to the top and returning me back safe. Guide others who come to the place as well :)
Sippy: With the soul stitched up, I can go Super-Saiyan mode now, Super Kaioken coming Up \m/
Until next time, Ta-da Cia \m/
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| Konohamaru and Sippy signing off \m/ |
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