Narayanagiri Hill (Jalamangala) and Thimmappana Betta – Lesser known hills around Bangalore

Best of the Beast: Iconic view of the twin hills at Thimmappa Betta

There was literally no information about this trek on the internet (that’s the reason I wanted to visit it and write a blog about it). I posted queries in the bikers WhatsApp group asking if anyone visited it. Surprisingly a lot of them had visited this place and the response was good. I watched GoPro.man’s video which gave me a pretty good idea about what to expect. Only me and Bhimu were on the confirmed list for this ride.


Sunday morning: I woke up at 6 am and got ready in half an hour. I picked up Bhimu from Kengeri bus stop at 7 am. Metro constructions and widening of the road made the Mysore highway busier than usual. After cutting through the crazy traffic we reached Bidadi at 7.30 am. We had delicious Thatte Idli and Vada at the popular hotel – Shivadarshana Shashi Thatte Idli (Click for google maps link). There are a lot of hotels at Bidadi but this one is my all-time favorite.

Must try Thatte Idli and Vada at Bidadi

We resumed our ride after breakfast and a hot cup of tea. The most popular route to reach Jalamangala is by taking right from Ramanagara, but the Google maps showed another route through countryside road. The Mysore highway looked too boring to ride further, so we decided to take the countryside road. The roads were covered by trees on either side. It was serene feeling to ride on this road cutting through many villages.

Take the route highlighted in the blue. It takes you through countryside road. Recommended for both car and bike. You can renavigate from Bidadi if google is not showing this route.

Somewhere near Jalamangala

As soon as we reached Jalamangala we could see the Narayanagiri hills right in front of us. There is a beautiful lake adjacent to the hill.  The google maps don’t show the off-road path so make sure you take the right turn after the lake (Follow the route with the red mark in the below image).

Behind me, you can see Narayanagiri Hill. From this lake, you have to take a right turn

This Rock frame in the lake was interesting to me. I don’t know the purpose of it though

Take the route I marked in Red. Google doesn’t show that. You can put the maps into satellite mode as soon as you reach Jalamangala.

I would like to divide the journey into two parts now,

Off-road: The offroad trail starts right after we took the diversion from the Lake. Coming next is one kilometer stretch of the mud road. The road isn’t as bad as you might be expecting the inclination is more. It wasn’t too difficult for me but if you are new to biking then you might face little hiccup scaling this stretch. If you are doubting if your bike can pick up on this stretch then don’t worry at all. I saw 100 cc bikes like Hero Splendor, Bajaj Platina parked atop. We reached a dead end after which we had to hike. We parked our bike and started trekking.



The Trek: Trek is very short and dead easy. Stairs till the top are hewn on the stone rock face. So there is no question about the directions or safety concerns.  You just have to follow the stairs until you can see the Lakshmi Narayana Swamy Temple atop. The trek was easy and we reached the top in 10 minutes. 

Steps are nicely hewn on the rock. It is assisted with a bar grip on either side.

You can see the parking area. Once you reach the dead end, you can park your bike/car and start walking on these stairs

As soon as you start hiking you can see this rock on the left. Good for dope photography and not dangerous

Soon after 10 minutes of hike you will reach the top and you can see Laksmi Narayana temple

I was expecting a tougher trek, it was disappointing to see such an easy trek. There is a lesser-known irregular route from the base of the hill which would make the trek considerably challenging. As there is no information about that route on the internet it was wise for us to take the route followed by the locals. I would recommend you to take a local villager if you want to scale the stretch from the base through some other route. There were many villagers atop, who came here for the weekend picnic. I could smell delicious Mutton Biriyani. The villagers come here to perform their rituals of meat-offering. It wasn’t much surprising for me as I am used to it in my village. Most of the locals were having drinks and playing cards but they didn’t misbehave. Be aware of what you might expect here. If you don’t like such things then it’s better you visit this place early morning or don’t visit at all. This place is great for night camping. You can drink, cook, eat nonveg – no one asks you. But make sure you don’t litter the place.

Front view of Laksmi Narayana Temple. The trees on either side add to the beauty of it

You can see locals preparing food outside the temple.

The villagers were kind enough to offer us breakfast but I didn’t have it as my tummy was already full. The smell of the food was irresistible, I regret rejecting the offer till date. We visited the temple, had some chitchat with locals and spent some more time looking at the panoramic view around the hill. We could see Thimmappa Swamy temple from the top. I had been to that place two years back (check out my vlog: This hill near Ramanagara will blow your mind), I decided to visit that as well. Thimmappa temple is just 8 km from Jalamangala and it was worth visiting.

Me just enjoying the panoramic view from the hill

You can see the lake at the base and a countless number of hills around

You can spot Thimmappana betta not so far from you

Thimmappa Swamy Temple, Thimmappana Betta: We descended and started riding towards Thimmappana Betta. We reached Thimmappa Swamy temple in 15 minutes. I was so happy to see so many improvements at this place. This place was not a very known place until GoPro man discovered it back in 2015. The iconic view of the twin rocks makes this place stand apart from all the places around Bangalore. Lately, it has got popularity, which was both a boon and a curse for this place. The place attracted a large number of visitors, among which some were obviously the irresponsible. There was litter everywhere, people used to drink and break the glasses here. But now the local authorities have taken a good initiative. The place is very clean, no drinking is allowed anywhere near this place. I was happy to see this in a better form than what I had seen last time.

Thimappa Swamy temple

Good to see the initiative taken towards conserving nature.

I took my bike straight on the hill. The gorgeous twin rocks and surrounding nature make it a perfect landscape picture for my Instagram. We spent the next half an hour clicking a lot of pictures and enjoying the surroundings. The temple was closed, so we couldn’t visit it.

We started riding back to Bangalore at 1 pm. We stopped at Srinidhi Military Hotel near Ramanagar Bus stop for lunch. It is a good recommendation if you like Naati style nonveg with ragi balls.

Delicious Mudde with Naati Chicken 😛

After lunch, we started riding back to Bangalore. We reached home at 3 pm. A day well spent away from the hustle-bustle of city life.

Important Notes:
1. Even the cars can scale the off-road stretch easily. I saw Maruti 800 near the parking area at Narayanagiri hills.
2. You can also visit the Kanva Reservoir if you have time.
3. There is no permission needed to camp at Narayanagiri hills. You are free to cook nonveg and drink atop.