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| Handi Gundi Betta Trek |
- Place: Handi Gundi Betta Trek in Ramanagara
- Difficulty: Easy Trek (But Forest area with animal activity)
- Distance: 45 km x 2 = 90 km.
- Directions: Bangalore > Ramanagara > Handi Gundi Betta.
- Krew: Madhu (DD), Karthik (Sp).
- Bikes: Pulsar.
- Previous Visit: Sanjeevarayan Malai Trek.
- Budget: Rs 190/head (Petrol = 200/2; Breakfast = 180/2)
IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:
Alright, Handi Gundi betta is a delightful climb of easy difficulty. However, it was closed by the forest officials. The trails are easy but runs through a proper forest, we did find a lot of snakes. So, yeah beautiful, worth it, but be cautious on this one!
And this marked 46 weeks, 48 treks, ~10.5 months, non-stop, since Oct 12th, 2025. This was our 36th trek in 34 weeks for 2026, with 32 first ascents and zero repeats :)
INTRO & PLAN:
Well, the Grand TN expedition was in full roar (Rayakottai, Anchetty Durgam, Ratnagiri Malaikottai, Udedurgam, Mallapadi, Jagadevi Fort, Thattakal Fort, Ankushagiri, Periyamalai, Virabhadra Fort, Maharajakadai Fort Trek, Musattu Malai Trek, Saanarappan Malai Trek, Sanjeevarayan Malai Trek). So, having taken off 3 days in the third week of Aug, 2026. It was time for some off-beat, forest venturing.
Handi Gundi betta had always been on our list since years. We used to pass by it on all our past treks - Achalu Betta, Shri Narasimha Swamy Betta, Kunagalu Betta, Muthurayaswamy betta. This is the unmistakable huge hill spotted on the left side while travelling towards Mysore.
But the news of it being closed by the forest officials, was floating around. However, we had got some positive news since 3 months, saying few people had summited this hillock. Hmm, we lay it to brew for a few months and having taken a week off from work, a perfect timing would be to hit it on a weekday early morning :)
Also, had made plan B,C and D ready just in case we get turned back :)
As far as the planning goes, it Madhu on the confirmed list and the conversation of planning goes something like this
Sippy: "Maga, found this new place, full forest, nice view, easy climb, nearby only.. (bla-bla-bla), can you make it?"
Madhu: "k."
Well, that is Madhu Alright, haha :)
TIME: 14:00 (18 Aug, 2026)
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| Madhu taking in all the goodness :) |
ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:
Yeah was up by 02:30 fresh and ready. It had poured last evening and the weather was cool, dark and heavy - just my type. Got ready by 03:30 and went down wiped my bike, kissed her on the dome and took it out and sat on the curb listening to slow doom metal. Primes me up real good. After about an hour, took the bike for a priming ride for about 15km, felt real good. Madhu arrived finally, after formal greetings, we left Bangalore on my bike.
TIME: 05:45
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| Shivsagar Bidadi Tatte Idly |
RIDE 1: (Bangalore > Bidadi > Ramanagara > Handi Gundi Betta)
Well, with the strict NO GOOGLE MAPS rule in place, we cruised along at a decent pace. Mysore road is something we had all grown up in. And Handi Gundi Betta is something we have been watching since 17 years, but for some reason, we had not climbed it. So, "It's not too late, it's never too late".
We cruised the first 30km to Bidadi, discussing about work, our respective office politics, engineering days and stupid things we had pulled off back then :) We pulled over at our regular Shivasagar Bidadi Tatte Idly Hotel, where the hotel guy greeted us warmly asking which hill we were goind towards :)
After a superb breakfast, we bid adieu to the hotel guy and then smooth 10km ride, we could spot the hillock. Now came the tricky part. Asked Madhu to be ready to turn around in case forest officials prevent us from entering, it was around 7am, so cruised along slowly. The last stretch is a complete off-road, with not a single soul around, parked our bikes amidst thick trees and dashed towards the mountain - the trek finally began, and our logic if we get caught, - start running towards the summit and get caught there :)
TIME: 07:15
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| The Handi Gundi Betta Trek begins :) |
HANDI GUNDI BETTA TREK
ASCENT:
Well, the ascent took us about 45 minutes. Clear trails throughout. But yeah, this is one trek, where you do not dash up the hill. The trail runs through thick forest and it is worthwhile considering where you land your feet. We spotted multiple snakes, so yeah, wildlife encounters can be expected you all :)
Like always, I have divided the trek into phases, so, yeah LETS GO \m/
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| Phase 1: Forest Trails |
Phase 1: Forest Trails - THE TAIL
The initial trails are actually spooky as it was a Thursday. Dead silence everywhere. And the hill look majestic with the summit being engulfed by clouds. As we began to quietly make past the initial forest, a friendly head peeped from the shrubs. It was Trinket snake, clearly the dual colour body gave it away. Although a non-venomous one, these are fiesty creatures and immediately it went into Coil-S position ready to strike. I sat down and was admiring the beauty and Madhu was trying to pull me holding onto my bag haha :)
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| Trinket Snake Spotted :) |
So, yeah, the initial stretch is spooky, but early mornings are when lot of animal activity occurs. SO, be on the lookout:)
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| The ascension starts. |
Phase 2: The Grind up - BACK AND SHOULDER
Here we started gaining elevation and quickly. The rock here are the white rocks, hence post a rainy day, it does not offer nay grip at all. So, reading the cracks, we wedge our feet and climb up. Once we gained some elevation, the views started getting better and better. And the silence, thicker and thicker.
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| Silence descended on us hard. |
Now, it turned real eerie. We could hear animal movements in the bushes to our right and left. But we could also notice the sounds fading away, meaning, they were heading out, not coming in. So, we continued on. Funny thing about these trails are, it splits up often into multiple ones and rejoins hardly a minute later. So do not get confused or break you head too much, as long you are going in the right direction (i.e, towards top) then you should be just fine :)
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| Final Summit Push :) |
Phase 3: Summit Push - NECK.
Now, we made it past the back and shoulder of the mountain. Now it was time for the final push to the summit. The whole girth of the mountain narrows on this one. And the another patch of thick forest appears. Here it got real dark and the trails consisted of mud and trees which formed a canopy. SO, it was spooky. Sticking close, we took clean and firm strides and pushed and finally we could find a vibrant tri-color flag flying gracefully amidst a haunting fog that was encircling the summit:)
TIME: 08:00
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| Crazy views from the summit :) |
TOP:
We felt really good reaching the top. But we were unable to sit down, the views were so uplifting. Clouds were just encircling the summit giving us flashes of the neighbouring hillocks. It was truly breathtaking. After some time, we sat down, hydrated ourselves. The sun and the clouds were having their final words exchanged. Finally the sun took over revealing the array of hillocks of the rich Ramanagara region.
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| How many can you name? |
The views were stunning, Madhu asked me as to why we hadn't covered this place in 17 years. I had no answer. That is the magic of being on the road year on year. You hit these magical places at some point. We could see Cheluvanarayana Swamy Betta, where we had gone actively searching for a Leopard's den. Other hillocks included - Thalavadi Betta, Jala Siddeshwara, Ramadevara Betta, Muthurayaswamy Betta, Achalu Betta. Then, after about 45 mins at the summit, we decided to head back, before the aura of the summit faded :)
TIME: 08:45
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| Sippy with the Tri-colour :) |
DESCENT:
The descent took us about 30minutes. But here it gets interesting, the re-tracing the exact trail is more difficult than you think. All look clear. So, a technique we use on these type of trails, we attach dirty thoughts to objects (with pure intention) on our way top, so that it acts like markers on our way back. Not sure how absurd this sounds, but hey it works :)
As we made it to the base, we kept our guards on high alert found our bike and zoomed off as though nothing had happened, haha. After reaching the village limits, we stopped, looked back at hill, she stood mighty and beautiful. Thanked her for the rich experience and more importantly "LETTING US GO BACK"
TIME: 09:15
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| Tata Handi Gundi Betta :) |
RIDE 2: Handi Gundi Betta > Bidadi > Bangalore
The ride back was an ultra smooth one. We were slightly on cloud nine, having pulled this one off on a Thursday and were still stunned by the summit views. Riding back at a decent pace, pulled over at our regular bar near home for an ice-cold beer and a small debrief :)
TIME: 10:00
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| Lost puppy Sippy :) |
CONCLUSION:
Well, this was a rabbit out of a hat type of surprise. One of the best trails, and best summit views we have come across. It was thanks to a lot of confluence of factors - previous night rain + early morning trek + sneaking in + not having to pull out plan B,C,D. So, yeah, it was a big gamble which paid off really well :)
Past 46 weeks, we have pulled off 48 treks, ~9600 kms in total, 10.5 months, non-stop. The Flame lives on \m/
KREW:
Sippy: Wanted to catch the trinket as a pet, but was pulled away. With 48 done in 46 weeks, lets go towards 52/52 on the FLYING NIMBUS \m/
Until next time, Ta-da Cia \m/
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| 4 left for 52/52, wish us luck :) |
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