 |
| Sanjeevarayan Malai Trek |
- Place: Sanjeevarayan Malai Trek
- Difficulty: Moderate. (Easy in terms of technicality, but a grinder)
- Distance: 125 km x 2 = 250 km.
- Directions: Bangalore > Rayakottai > Palacode > Sanjeevarayan Malai.
- Krew: Anwar (Bhai), Karthik (Sp).
- Bikes: Pulsar.
- Previous Visit: Shri Krishnagiri Betta Trek
- Budget: Rs 335/head (Petrol = 550/2; Breakfast = 100/2; Extra water bottle = 20/2)
IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:
Alright, Sanjeevarayan Malai is an off-beat hill offering a really scenic trek. The hill is massive, the trails are clear and easy. A grinder for sure. Perfect for climbers who want to test mental grit and endurance. And oh yeah, this is the first hill dedicated to Hanuman. Usually it is Vishnu or Shiva. It is believed that this hill has herbs that resembles that of the Sanjeevini Parvath that Hanuman got from the Himalayas :)
And this marked 46 weeks, 47 treks, ~10.5 months, non-stop, since Oct 12th, 2025. This was our 35th trek in 34 weeks for 2026, with 31 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). So, with the last week break we decided to resume the expedition to an off beat location.
It would fall on independence day, where a lot of travellers (and wannabes) would be on road.
Regarding the plan, Bhai was back from his native. During lunch, we sat at bakery munching on egg-puffs and the conversation goes something like this:
Bhai: "this weekend?"
Sippy: "Yes, lets go, TN side expansion"
Bhai: "if strike is there? or place is crowded" (Karnataka-Tamil nadu water issue)
Sippy: " We will find a way to sneak into the state, about return, we will think later" :D
TIME: 12:30 (14 Aug, 2026)
 |
| 5 to go for 52 weeks, 52 treks :) |
ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:
Yeah after hectic week at office (work + had caught a 5-6feet snake at office) was drained. So had crashed early and woke up at 2:00am fresh and ready. Messaged Bhai and no reply. Got ready by 3:00am, and left my home at around 3:45am, gliding in the cold dark city listening to slow doom metal felt good. Head bobbing all the way and singing aloud shamelessly in the dark, covered the first 30km to reach Attibele to pick up Bhai :)
TIME: 04:30
 |
| The beautiful Rayakottai - where the streak began in Oct 2025. |
RIDE 1: (Bangalore > Rayakottai > Palacode > Sanjeevarayan Malai)
Well, with the strict NO GOOGLE MAPS rule in place, we cruised along at a decent pace. I had hand drawn a map in a paper (in case we get lost) but thankfully we did not have to use that.
Still amidst the darkness, we cruised past hosur to touch the NH844. And boy this road is good. A butter smooth 4lane. Reminded us of the old mysore road (SH-17). Kept a nice cruising pace, chatting about work and other stuff, we reached Rayakottai for a break. We had decided to take breaks and stretch out as we knew the trek wouldn't be an easy one. Post Rayakottai, we cruised to Palacode negotiating each turn to perfection based on a hand drawn map.
 |
| The beautiful skies reveal :) |
In Palacode, we tried hunting for a breakfast stop, but couldn't find any open. It was still 06:45, we took a call collectively, to finish the trek and then have breakfast. We spotted the hill, kilometers back itself, and she was massive and majestic. Enquiring the locals about the start of the trails, we parked the bikes at the base of the hill and awoke the lizard's spirit and were set for the trek.
TIME: 07:30
 |
| The summit of Sanjeevarayan Malai Trek |
SANJEEVARAYAN MALAI TREK
ASCENT:
Well, it took us about 60minutes to ascend the hillock. Well, we are primed for these conditions since a year. If you are trying this first time, keep 180-210 minutes. The trek as such was really beautiful with clear trails. But the climb kept coming and coming. A grinder for sure. Each TN hillock hits you differently and this one surely did. Try these hillock before attempting this one -Periyamalai and Maharajakadai Fort Trek for building up endurance. But two clear warnings
i. the rocks and boulders on the trail are loose. So, don't go bonkers with the strides and jumps.
ii. There are lot spider webs right at face level, the spiders are poisonous and big. I walked into at least 7 of them haha.
Like always, I have divided the trek into phases, so, yeah LETS GO \m/
 |
| The Initial Stretch |
Phase 1: The Initial Stretch to the Hanuman temple- 25%
The Initial stretch begins at the the temple and ends at the Hanuman temple (~25%). The trails were clear and the silence descended on us. The forest enwrapped us like a old friend. We were in our element, and trekking on empty tummy felt light and we could feel our body start tapping into the reserves. And one thing we observed were the boulders on the trail were loose. And pushing through we touched the Hanuman temple. Going around it, we began the second stretch.
 |
| To the cave temple |
Phase 2: The Cave Temple - 50%
Now the real grind began. The trail is similar to the first one - loose bouldery trails. The trail as such is less steep with lot of boulders. So knees take a massive hit and the trail keeps coming - like Draupadi's saree :P
Now the grind started etching us. With sweat dripping off like a stream as a canopy engulfed us, we kept grinding. Now it was more of mental grit with a lot of physical co-ordination. We kept the pace slow, but never sat down. Stood and took a few breathers to enjoy the views, but the GRIND WAS ON. We reached the cave temple (~50%) and boy it offered some views.
 |
| Getting to the cave temple. |
Getting to the temple is slightly off the actual trail. A slight tricky rock stretch exists. This has to be done cautiously. But yeah, totally worth it. Our moods were actually uplifted after reaching it. It actually gave us a good break. Sitting on the rock, looking into the landscape felt really serene.
 |
| Final push |
Phase 3: Summit Push - 100%
Now, the last stretch is a never ending grinder. The views from the cave temple, lifted our energies. But the last summit push was a no less easy. So, this were we came with the "shaori technique of climbing", earlier we used to call it zombie mode, haha. When your down on energies, and have a long way to go, you reach a point, where you stop fighting the hill or the trail trying to force yourself on it. You become a part of it. You keep climbing, as soon as you feel a branch poking you, you become so fluid that you go back and go around it. This helped us a lot during the final stretch to keep grinding. With sweat dripping like a stream and draped with spider webs we finally spotted the summit :)
TIME: 08:30
 |
| Bhai at the summit temple :) |
TOP:
Whew, it felt good. But the Shaori style of climb is something everybody should try. It takes off a lot of load and makes you mentally free. There exists a strange structure constructed from rocks and a rock from the hill itself is considered the god. We paid respects to it and then came a massive unexpected surprise.
 |
| Totally worth the grind :) |
As we did a reconnaissance of the place, we spotted a view point, where we had climb over a steep pointy rock. And the view beyond that blew our minds away! It was kilometers and kilometers of forest and hills. The melagiri range showed all her cards. And boy we were high on the view itself. But on a dangerous rock cliff. Getting used to the rock, we sat down and just admired. Sitting on a steep rock edge, overlooking this lush green forest which stretched for kilometers Bhai asked me "What is freedom / Independence?". I answered "It is a state of mind Bhai". We smiled and looked back into the forests. It was something both of us were awestruck by!
 |
| The sheer beauty is unparalleled :) |
Bhai went on to show how teak wood trees flooded this place, and maybe the resemblance to the actual Sanjeevani Mountain that Hanuman carried back could possibly be a reason for it to be called the name. We felt really happy and slightly proud (humble proud) that we were sitting on the summit. But the kid within got back in full flow. I asked Bhai, what if another giant creature comes and picks this mountain while we were sitting. Bhai evoked his kid within and asked "have you locked the bike properly, it would take some time to get back?". We laughed our hearts out and hydrated.
 |
| The cutest Nandi ever :) |
Taking the last good breaths of the summit air, feeling so energized, we paid respects to the place and just as were about leave, we spotted a Nandi and Shiva Linga at the base of the truncated cone type of structure, the Nandi looked so cute with a "panche" wrapped around it. I couldn't help but decorate him further with a coconut shell hat etc, Bhai had to interfere and restore the place so that people do not get offended.
TIME: 09:30
 |
| Ever reliable Bhai :) |
DESCENT:
The descent was another 60minutes. And boy with low on water, and no breakfast. Now, we had assumed that descent would be an easy one. But the loose boulders made it tricky. Now it was back to Shaori mode. We didn't fight the trail or the mountain. We were so fluid that, sometimes we stood right on loose rocks and then pivoted away. It was beautiful. And then where the technique didn't work so well, was, I kept walking into massive spider webs and when i i tried pivoting, the whole web got stuck on sweaty face and came off haha! Grinding through the descent we made it back to the base. We went straight to a water tap and quenched our thirsts, washed our faces. Absorbing the last ounce of goodness that we could we looked back the hillock, we thanked her for the rich experience and more importantly "LETTING US GO BACK".
TIME: 10:30
 |
| How we do it without Gmaps :) |
RIDE 2: Sanjeevarayan Malai > Palacode > Rayakottai > Bangalore
The ride back was a smooth one. We pulled over at a local hotel and belted 4idlys, 2 dosas, 4 Vada's. The aunty running the place felt so happy to see us gulping down one food after another, she kept getting more treating us like her own kids. And we didn't mind one bit of behaving like hungry kids :)
Thanking her for awesome breakfast, we departed. TN food and culture is something that everybody should experience wholeheartedly once. As we mounted the bike and hit the highway, the sun was up and blazing and huge 4-lane road made us dizzy. So we pulled over for a water bottle top-up. And while travelling from south to north, you can really feel the winds hitting you from the west. There is actually a very beautiful geographical reason for this. The Western Ghats have a massive gap near the Pallakad region, and on a hot day, the low pressure created in the arabian sea, makes the winds gush inlands. And boy did it keep hitting us hard. In a car you wont feel a thing, that is why we ride bikes to embrace the totality of the journey :)
We made it back to Attibele crossing the border. Bhai said he had to go to Banashankari bus stop, which was actually enroute my home. So dropped him and then made it back home, tired, sweaty - a day well lived :)
TIME: 14:00
 |
| Small made made cave enroute the Hanuman temple :) |
CONCLUSION:
Well the grand TN expedition roars on. Each TN hill hits you differently. And each one has its own niche space in our hearts for sure. Sanjeevarayan Malai was truly a grinder and we enjoyed it. The trail spotting is easy, but the grind is real and yeah, if you planning here, make sure you carry extra water and keep suffice buffer in terms of ascent/descent time.
Past 46 weeks, we have pulled off 47 treks, ~9500 kms in total, 10.5 months, non-stop. The Flame lives on \m/
KREW:
Sippy: Cursed the spiders, played make-up with Nandi, treated the breakfat aunty as mom, had fun and felt independent on Independence day. With 47 done in 46 weeks, lets go towards 52/52 on the FLYING NIMBUS \m/
Until next time, Ta-da Cia \m/
 |
| Wish us luck on 52/52 |
2 comments:
All the very best
Thank you very much :)
Post a Comment