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| Shri Krishnagiri Betta Trek |
- Place: Shri Krishnagiri Betta Trek
- Difficulty: Very Easy.
- Distance: 65 km x 2 = 130 km.
- Directions: Bangalore > Ramanagara > Kanva Dam > Shri Krishnagiri Betta
- Krew: Madhu (DD), Karthik (Sp).
- Bikes: Pulsar.
- Previous Visit: Saanarappan Malai Trek
- Budget: Rs 243/head (Petrol = 286/2; Breakfast = 200/2)
IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:
Alright, Shri Krishnagiri betta is situated in interior part of Channapatna. The climb itself is very easy and short. But the views it offers from the summit is breath taking. Overall, the trek is great a perfect "break without taking a break".
And this marked 45 weeks, 46 treks, ~10 months, non-stop, since Oct 12th, 2025. This was our 34th trek in 33 weeks for 2026, with 30 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).
Regarding the plan. We had initially planned this trek on the Mutturayaswamy Trek day, but last minute we changed the direction totally. So, with a hectic week at office, thought this hill would be perfect for a small enriching climb. A perfect break without taking one ;) And as far as the krew, it was the old school Madho who was on the confirmed list.
TIME: 20:00 (4 Aug, 2026)
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| The beautiful trails at Shri Krishnagiri Betta Trek |
ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:
Yeah I was up by 03:15, stretched out a bit. The monsoon had arrived late in the city and it was raining pretty good post noon. Hence the trek also made sense for two reasons - we could be back in our bar prior to noon and if it rains, we could still climb this hillock. Woke up Madhu by 04:15 and I went down and sat on the footpath in the dark listening to some slow doom metal and watch the vehicles glide past. After about 1.5hrs of what I would go ahead and call "dark meditative trance", Madhu arrived and we left the city.
TIME: 05:45
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| Dark meditation :) |
RIDE 1: (Bangalore > Bidadi > Ramanagara > Shri Krishnagiri Betta)
Well, with the strict NO GOOGLE MAPS rule in place, we cruised along at a decent pace. I had a rough idea where this hillock lies. The google maps suggests a confusing a route. Best would be to ride to Kanva and then head towards Makali State Forest.
The initial ride was to Bidadi a simple 30km cruise, we spoke about work, about our previous trek to Jalasiddeshwara Betta. (And more importantly how madhu had scolded some influencer for making stupid reels on this haha) We pulled in at our regular hotel for some hot piping tatte idlys :)
TIME: 06:30
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| The final offroad to Krishangiri betta |
Post a good breakfast, we hopped on the bike and cruised along. We took our old Kanva route and it brought back so many memories of this place. This was basically home ground. We used to bunk classes and come here to swim back in 2009-2016. The place had changed so much, many of us learnt to swim at this place. And once 18 people had rode on 9 bikes in 2010. Great memories. From here the route got really superb, completely interior and calm. The gloomy skies, the half asleep cattles, the fresh greenery and old grandpas smoking beedis in the farms, made this ride a superb one :)
Madhu was taken aback by the precision with which I was negotiating each turn to perfection, he questioned "oye, did you come here and practice all of last week?" haha, I tried to turn around and land a punch on him. The roads faded, and the final stretch to this place is complelty off-road. It was a fun ride, parking our bikes at the base of the hill, we awoke the "lizard's spirit" and were ready to ascend.
TIME: 08:00
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| The trek starts! |
SHRI KRISHNAGIRI BETTA TREK
ASCENT:
Well, it took us 15-20minutes to ascend the hillock. It was non-stop and the trails are really beautiful. With all the treks in the past year, body felt conditioned, so yeah it was a short one. But this is a great place for beginners. Like always, I have divided the trek into phases, so, yeah LETS GO \m/
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| The initial trails at Shri Krishnagiri Betta |
Phase 1: The Initial Trail
The initial trails are really beautiful. With us being the only two at the place, the silence embraced us fast. With the late onset of monsoons, the place was lush green with still a lot of dew. Walking through these narrow trails between grasses left us in awe.
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| The rock face at Shri Krishnagiri Betta |
Phase 2: The Rock face
One we were out of the grassy trails, the rock face began. Now here, it can get tricky. Firstly the views just lifted. We could spot the massive Kanva reservoir. And the rock face had support railing, and yes, we didn't use them. But the rains had made the rock slick. One important thing here, the rock here is either white/red rock. These rocks are really dangerous and slippery as they do not offer good grip. Hence a word of caution especially when it is wet.
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| Lets push it! |
Phase 3: Summit Push
Now, the last face was absolutely fantastic. Here we got the black rocks. These rocks offer a great grip. And we could afford to imbibe the nature and views it offered whilst climbing. In between you get a temple. During festivities, this place will be crowded and the priest would expect you to climb from base without shoes, so yeah, choose your dates carefully ;) Pushing through we made it to the summit!
TIME: 08:15
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| Green is the word! |
TOP:
Upon reaching the summit, the the winds mixed with small water droplets embraced us like an old friend. The silence still prevailed. The entire hill is in the middle of forest, so it looked real green and crazy. We hydrated ourselves and just sat there taking in the beauty. We spoke about our engineering days and some stupid stuff we had pulled off. Then the topic shifted to "theloapers" as a club, how we didn't get swayed by the various influences that came our way, 17 years we held on to our core basics - " go out there like a kid, enjoy and come back with respect". Madhu still seemed upset about all the Insta reels and instant gratification concept, I was laughing aloud which echoed through the forests :)
TIME: 09:15
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| Gloomy skies :) |
DESCENT:
The descent was an easy one and took us another 15minutes. But yeah, extra caution was exerted as the wet white/red rocks, become a real danger. Navigating carefully helping each other, we made it back to the base of the hill in a jiffy. 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: 09:30
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| Wet rocks |
RIDE 2: Shri Krishnagiri betta > Ramanagara > Bangalore
The ride back was a smooth one. Before we left, we had to call the third musketter, Koof, whom we had actually forgotten to call haha, he cursed us for a good 15 minutes, but agreed to meet for some ice cold beers. We rode back non stop, then reached our regular bar in Bangalore at 10:30. And Koof came in like a purple teletubby and we goofed around as usual to put the last rites on this chapter :)
TIME: 12:00
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| Ever reliable Madhu :) |
CONCLUSION:
Well this was a peaceful easy trek. These kind of treks are very important if you are on a streak like ours. It helps you take a break without actually taking one. And the churn of krew paid of really well. With Madhu, it was like a brother in arms. We have been through the toughest phases of our lives together.
Past 45 weeks, we have pulled off 46 treks, ~9230 kms in total, 10 months, non-stop. The Flame lives on \m/
KREW:
Sippy: Felt like a morning walk, but the trails and views is something that hit me hard. With 46 done, lets go towards 52/52 on the FLYING NIMBUS \m/
Until next time, Ta-da Cia \m/
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| Wish us luck on 52/52 |
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