Huthridurga Fort Trek – Treasure hunt on the hill

Place: Huthridurga, Kunigal taluk, Karnatka

Distance: 70 km from Bangalore
Type: Trekking
Ideal for: Friends and Family
Trek Difficulty: Easy
Trek Length: 2 kilometers one way
Trek Duration: 1 hour one way

Best of the beast: Dabbing atop Hutridurga fort

Bangalore is surrounded by a number of hills and hillocks – all waiting to be explored. One such relatively unknown hill near Magadi is Huthridurga. Bangalore weather was cloudy for the whole week which tempted me to grab the key and go on a long ride. I opened my yet to explore list of places and zeroed down to Hutridurga fort which looked interesting. My friend Vinay had visited it recently so he gave some inspiration to visit it. I called my friends to check if they can join. 5 of my friends joined the ride. Since all my friends were from the different part of the city we decided Sunkadakatte as the meetup point.

One of the friends had to stay in the office till 12 in the night. He insisted we start the trip a little late so that he can get proper sleep. Since the weather was pleasant throughout the day we decided to leave at 8 am.

Brief about the place: Hutridurga is Ruined fortification are still visible on the two hillocks surrounding the village. It’s one among the Nine Durgas around Bangalore (Nava Durgas). It has a small temple dedicated to Shiva and Nandi. It was built by Kempegowda in the 16th century. Ruined fortifications are still visible on the two hillocks surrounding the village.

Saturday morning: Bhimu and I got ready by 8 am, others were still getting ready so I asked them to have breakfast on the way itself. Bhimu and I had breakfast at by2cafe near my home and we headed to the Meetup point. Everyone came to the Meetup point at 9.30 am. After a warm greeting, we started the ride.

Stopped for a tea break on Magadi Road

The Ride: There was a little bit of traffic on the Magadi road, this is the reason I prefer to start early in morning to avoid traffic. The climate was cloudy and pleasant which made us crave for the hot cup of tea. We pulled over after a few kilometers for the tea break. The destination was around 50 km which is a piece of cake to cover so we didn’t hurry much.

We Saw this beautiful ruined bridge on the way.

So we decided to have a photoshoot. Sadly I didn’t take my DSLR for this trip so ended up digital zoom on the mobile

The weather was amazing so we stopped again for some more photos

The Roads are amazing with greenery on either side

It started drizzling in the middle but luckily the rain wasn’t heavy. We took a couple of more stops to click some beautiful pics which cost us a lot of time but we didn’t bother much as we had the whole day free for the trip. Also, the weather was pleasant throughout the day so it didn’t matter much at what time you start trekking.

Stopped at this restaurant for lunch. Ragi Ball was tasty

We crossed Magadi and reached a small village, Vinay had told about a small restaurant which serves great food. The time was 12.30 so we thought of having lunch and then trek. We stopped at a hotel called Veerashaiva Palahara Mandira (click for maps link), it’s a very small hotel (you can’t expect much from villages) but the food was really tasty. We took puri, Ragi balls, and rice bath out of which Puri was really bad and rest were lip smacking. It was 1.30 by the time we finished lunch followed by another cup of tea. The destination was another 9 kilometers. I strictly said, everyone, that we are not going to stop till we reach the destination.

I started navigation to the destination, Vinay had told me the point on the maps leads to the village not the base of the hill. I followed the instructions as guided by him and took the right turn near at an arch which said welcome to Huthridurga fort. We started ascending, soon the view of the surroundings was good. After a couple of twists and turns, we reached a small village. There was a minibus parked so I guessed some group would have come. There was a signboard which read “Way to Shankarlingeshwara temple” in Kannada. Left from it leads to the base of the hill.

The starting point of the trekking. Bikes can come till this point

Trekking: It was 2 pm by the time we started trekking. Usually, it’s not recommended start trekking in the afternoon but the weather was pleasant throughout the day so it really didn’t matter. There were few ppl already descending, I talked with them and got know that they were from BMC group and they were around 40 in number. The trek was going good, the best part about this trail is after every fort wall you cross you have to find the entry to the next fort wall. It felt like a Treasure hunt at sometimes when the doors weren’t visible clearly. The trail to the top goes through 7 archways/doors (Dwaraka). The trail is mostly rocky – going over boulders and steps carved into huge rocks.

The entire stretch is decorated with greenery on either side

After this point the trail is easy. The steps carved in the hill looks amazing.

The green vegetation followed us throughout the trek. The climb is very easy but sometimes finding the trail was difficult as the shrubs covered the route. Otherwise, the trek is very simple. After a good trek of about an hour, we reached the temple. Unfortunately, the temple was closed and there were no locals around to inquire about the place. I thought this was the end of the trail, so we sat down to chill out and enjoy the beautiful panoramic view.

The panoramic vistas are treat to the eyes

A small pound on the way

The grasses are almost 4ft tall at some places

My vlog buddy. By the way, did you watch vlog of this place? check the link at the end of this post

The view gets better as you go up

Shiva temple atop

Inside the temple

And we have conquered another peak

This brick wall is a perfect place for vast photography ideas

Trek abhi baki hai mere dost: There was another group of around 10 people, after talking to them I got to know we can go further and explore the summit. We walked past the temple to the other side of the hill. I could see another big hill adjacent to the hill. The trail was clearly visible. The route was little narrow at the beginning but the entire stretch was amazing.

The route to go from temple to the hill on the other side

The temple looks glorious and very beautiful from this point

We will be going to the hill on the right

Seems like I took too much risk for a photo. 😐

After another 15 minutes of the mild trek, we reached the peak of the hill. We sat there for a while enjoying the view while eating the snacks we got it from the base. The time was around 5 pm. I wanted to ride back through Savandurga state forest but it would be dark by the time we would start back so we thought of going back on the same route as we came.

And we are heading to the other hill. this trail is very exciting

We had to fight with over sized shrubs to make path for overselves

And then we were greeted with this greenery.

The clouds added beauty to the panoramic view

Remember the hill on the left side? that’s where I’d did dab pose

Well I’d to prove that we conquered the hill. So I was posing like a fool 😀

Everything looks so better in goggles. Do you agree?

I could just sit and stare at this view for hours and don’t get bored

Descend: After enjoying the view and splendid time we started trekking down. The route was confusing while descending but somehow we managed to find the way down. We reached the base of the hill at 5.30 pm.

It was time to get back home

But a perfect selfie isn’t easy to get. You need to pose crazy.

I stopped taking DSLR to my trips after getting this beast. OnePlus rocks.
Note: All the photos are taken in oneplus itself

Riding Back: I was happy to see our bikes safe and sound. We started riding back without wasting much time. It started drizzling and the climate was colder than ever. We pulled over for snacks and tea. I can’t find words to explain how it felt to have hot Bajji and tea in a climate like this.

It became dark by the time we resumed our ride. The single-lane road with lots of potholes was a difficult task, especially in the night. We reached Bangalore at 8.30 pm.

Conclusion: Hutridurga is definitely one of the most underrated offbeat places you must visit. The trek is easy yet the scenery is very good. You can cover it in half a day.

Important Notes:
1. You can have breakfast/lunch at Veerashaiva Palahara Mandira hotel.
2. Put navigation to Huthri Betta Hike Starting Point not just Huthridurga. (click on the link)
3. There is good parking space available if you want to park your car. If you are on the bike then you can ride till the trek starting point but the road gets very narrow and its a tough terrain.
4. The Pooja to the deity is done only on Mondays and Fridays

I have done the vlog of the trip. You can watch it here. Do subscribe and like to show your love.