One of the highest hills near Bangalore, Simply amazing!! Shivagange hills

COVID scare was pretty high and I had not been out for a very long time. I was missing trekking a lot so the coming weekend I planned on going on a solo trek. I started doing my research for the best hills near Bangalore. I had already covered most of the hills in Bangalore so I had to expand my search radius and that led me to Tumkur, which is the neighbouring District of Bangalore. That's when I came across Shivagange hills and it's one of the tallest hills in Tumkur and the Google pics seemed pretty nice too, so I decided to go there.

Google map showed me a distance of 80km from my place. I stay near Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore. I packed up my trekking gear by Friday night, set out from home on my bike on Saturday morning at 5 am and reached Shivagange by 6.30 am. That's when the watchman told me the gate opens only by 9.30 am. Waiting there for 3 hours was not possible for me so I enquired with the locals and one of them told me that there's another way near the arch via which the local go up the hill. He showed me the way and I started my trek by 6.50 am, the trek is on the harder side and some part of the trek is slightly risky too but the view from the top is worth it. I was trying to reach the top as fast as possible but the lack of oxygen as you go up and the steep climb made it harder. Few stray dogs were climbing with me too and they are totally harmless, they chase away the monkeys at the top. Finally, I reached the top by 8.20 am, that's around 90mins of the hard trek. It's safer to carry some kind of stick with you to scare away the monkey because some of them will try to open/snatch your bag. The top of the hill was covered in clouds and visibility was bare minimum. The weather was extremely cold but I loved it. The vibe you get at the top is just incredible. Clicked some good photos, videos enjoyed the weather and after resting for a while I started the descent. You got to be careful while coming down as it's slightly on the slippery side due to the wet rocks. Reached downhill within 60mins. Had some muscle pain for a few days but it was the pain of satisfaction.

I'd always suggest that you go early morning. The things I carry during all the solo treks that I go on are

A bottle of Water

Chocolates

Pocket knife

Pepper spray

A small medical kit

A speaker

A jacket and a cap

And always make sure to wear a good pair of shoes and please don't throw any of the plastics over there, keep it clean.

Difficulty level - Hard

Risk involved 3/5

Worth factors- 4/5

Average trekking time- 2 hours uphill

For any queries feel free to comment below or connect with me over IG, for more trekking/travel content follow

IG- wabisabi.stories

Safe trekking 🖤

Arjun