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| Doddamuduwadi Betta Trek |
- Place: Doddamuduwadi Betta Trek (Ramanagara)
- Difficulty: Moderate and not recommended for casual climbers. (Animal Activity present)
- Distance: 60 km x 2 = 120 km.
- Directions: Bangalore > Bidadi > Ramanagara > Doddamuduwadi Betta.
- Krew: Datta (Dattu), Karthik (Sp).
- Bikes: Pulsar.
- Previous Visit: Machakal Malai Trek.
- Budget: Rs 230/head (Petrol = 260/2; Breakfast = 200/2)
IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:
Doddamuduwadi Betta is a totally off-the-grid hill for trekking. It is a totally free-style type of climb. There are no routes to the top. So yeah, made the chapter much more interesting. With the late onset of monsoon and the rains pouring in, it made the climb very challenging, fun nevertheless.
And this marked 376 days, 60 treks, 13 months, non-stop, since Oct 12th, 2025. This was our 48th trek in 44 weeks for 2026, with 45 first-time ascents and zero repeats :)
INTRO & PLAN:
Well, the Grand TN expedition was in full swing (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, Arulagiri Fort, Mookankur Malai Trek, Melumalai Trek, Puliyarasi Trek, Machakal Malai).
With tapping into TN artery 2 days back, it was time to hit a new grid on Mysore road. This was our 3rd trek in 8 days. With some rain showers pouring into the state, we had to pick a destination carefully. So, the plan was an obscure hillock on Mysore Road, but we decided to have something substantial.
Sippy - "Dattu, free Saturday?"
Dattu- "Yes, LET'S GO!, It's raining nowadays na?"
Sippy - "Yes, have plan B, C, D ready. With deteriorating difficulty. Guess what is plan D?"
Dattu - "Have bidadi tatte idly and come back?"
Sippy - "Haha, exactly!"
It has always been about catching up and keeping in touch :)
TIME: 18:00 (23 Oct, 2026)
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| Sippy and Doddamuduwadi Betta in the background. |
ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:
I was up by 03:15. Had 15 minutes for the alarm to go off. I looked outside; it was clear but cool. And in a matter of 15 minutes, I could hear water trickling down the road. When I looked outside the window again, it was pouring. Damn, I thought!
Messaged Dattu that we should wait it out. He replied, saying it was raining near his house too (~10 km away). With signs of rain subsiding, I put on some doom metal and dived into the wet dark roads. Rode to Mahalakshmi Layout, where a happy Dattu stood with the same fluffy cat in the dark alley. I jumped off the bike and started petting the cat. After a formal greeting, we departed from Bangalore.
TIME: 05:00
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| Shivasagar Bidadi Tatte Idly :) |
RIDE 1: (Bangalore > Bidadi > Ramanagara > Doddamuduwadi Betta)
With the strict no-Google-Maps rule, we cruised back to Mysore Road and headed toward Bidadi. Now, the rain had increased, and it was not favourable. We cruised slowly, hoping the rain would stop. And with Dattu sitting behind, open discussions are something I have really enjoyed. The topics ranged from Tamil movies, Heavy Metal Bands, anime, Latest manga, corporate politics, law and order, psychology, - Do not even get us started, haha!
We took an hour to cover the first 30km owing to traffic and our slow speed. But we were in no hurry at all. Pulled over at our regular hotel in Bidadi for some piping hot idlis. The guy at the place smiled at us and asked which hill we were tackling this time. The hot breakfast was food not just for the tummy; it was food for the soul.
Post-breakfast, we took the interior Ramanagara route and cruised past Handi Gundi, Achalu Betta, Kunagalu Betta, Muthurayaswamy Betta, Siddle Kallu and Narasimhaswamy Betta. As we approached Doddamuduwadi, we enquired with a local shepherd (the best people for mountain and route info). After speaking with him and getting the routes, we parked the bike as close to the hill as we could possibly get. Then awoke the "astral goat's" spirit and were all set for a very rainy trek.
TIME: 07:45
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| The view of Narasimhaswamy betta :) |
DODDAMUDUWADI BETTA TREK
ASCENT:
Well, the ascent took us about an hour, and it was crazy. The rains made it hard, and with no clear paths, it was bushwhacking at its finest. It was not a pretty one, but we enjoyed and learnt a lot. The grasses had grown thick and made things really tricky.
Like always, I have divided the trek into phases, so LET'S GO \m/
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| The initial trails. (The hill you see is the 1st milestone; behind it is the actual summit) |
Phase 1: The Initial Trails to the quarry
After parking the bikes, we could see an excavator resting peacefully somewhere 15% of hill. We walked on the mud path to the excavator. This hill is already being eaten into for granite slabs. So, not very sure how long this trek would be an option. Upon reaching the quarry, we could not spot any people. We took in the macro view of the hill and plotted a route based on our instincts and decided to move to phase 2.
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| Then came down the rains :) |
Phase 2: The Grass Stretch
Now, this is where the rains came down mercilessly. The grass was around 5 feet, and it was very thick. And the quick shortcuts to ascent via rock faces were not an option. We had to go through the foliage, and it was pretty draining. With the heavy rains, I was almost blinded as rain droplets settled on my glasses. So, I was trusting my feet, and it was almost like my feet were my set of eyes and they were signalling the way forward, feeling the terrain. It was a crazy surreal experience. Wading through the grassy stretch, we made it to the shoulder of the hillock.
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| Rain or shine, we grind through :) |
Phase 3: Summit Push
The final stretch was tough. I will not sugarcoat this part. We had to enter thick forest, and it was infested with thorns. As things were getting tougher by the second- the forest, the thorns, and the rains- we spotted a huge boulder, under which there was a cave. We thought of taking a break here, but what was in it shook us to the core: it was animal droppings. Not the kind of poop that a goat or wild rabbit would leave. It was carnivorous. And by guess - a bear or a leopard's. Now this was not a pretty sign. We had a few meters of vertical ascent to push, and push we did.
TIME: 08:45
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| A peaceful sitting :) |
TOP:
The top offered a stunning view of the Narasimhaswamy Betta. We were awestruck by the clouds shrouding the hill. The clouds just floated around, caressing the hillock. We sat and hydrated as the rains still kept coming down mercilessly. And it was not the rains that would stop. So, after spending about 15 minutes at the top, we decided to head back down, doubly careful - slippery terrain and animals if any.
TIME: 09:00
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| The tricky descent! |
DESCENT:
The descent took us about 60 minutes. It was more confusing than the ascent. We were sure that we could not trace back our path. So, following our intuition, we started heading down. The tall grasses hit the terrain underneath well, and this was not helpful.
Grabbing onto branches and thick grasses, we took each step, and this drained a lot of energy. After about 30 minutes of solid grind in the forest, we could spot the excavator afar. So, we went to the edge of the hillock and marked back a route from the excavator to our point and that made things easy. We got back near the excavator and retraced our steps back to our bike.
Mounted the bike, looked back one final time at the massive hillock, thanked her for such a rich experience and, more importantly, "LETTING US GO BACK".
TIME: 10:00
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| Beautiful view of surrounding hillocks :) |
RIDE 2: Doddamuduwadi > Ittamadu > Bangalore)
This was a 50 km ride back. Since we had tapped into a new grid/artery. We decided to scout the place. We took the country routes and marked all the neighbouring hillocks. Stopping and taking photographs and enquiring the locals about the hills. Trust me, this is a fun process.
And the whole country roads riding experience is so rewarding. The huge haunted banyan trees, buffaloes being themselves - lazy, goats running around all around the place, an old man smoking beedi and giving you confused looks, priceless moments!
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| Thank you :) |
The country roads actually spat us out onto the Mysore Road much towards Bangalore. This was a pleasant surprise. Loved the route, but might not remember it next time. We pulled over at our regular bar for some ice-cold beers to put the last rites to this wonderful chapter.
TIME: 11:30
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| Had to be the endurance monster for this one :) |
CONCLUSION:
Well, this trek was hard considering the rains and the amount of bushwhacking that had to be done. Maybe on a sunny day, it might be pleasant. But the views the summit offered were stunning and we were so happy with the grind.
In the past 376 days, we have pulled off 60 treks, ~11,620 kms in total, 13 months, non-stop. The Flame lives on \m/
KREW:
Sippy: From jacket, pants to the undies soaked. Walked into mud puddle with shoes on and almost fell into a slush in the fields with some cows - chaos at its best :)
Now, let's see, we take this 2026 year seriously and do zero repeat 50+ treks this year. LET'S GO ON THE FLYING NIMBUS \m/
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| Officially in IBR :) |
And guys, one important announcement: "THE LOAPERS" have made it to the INDIAN BOOK OF RECORDS - for maximum treks undertaken - 52 treks in 11 months. You can check out the top right banner on this page :)
Until next time, Ta-da Cia \m/
Oh yeah, if you want to read about the past 59 treks, here is the link: 59 NON STOP TREKS.
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| Who needs those small plastic ones, I want the big one. |
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