Six weekend treks from Bengaluru, ranked by effort
From a pre-dawn walk up Nandi Hills to the long haul up Kumara Parvatha — what each one asks of you, and when to go.
Start here: Nandi Hills and Skandagiri
Nandi Hills is barely a trek — there is a road to the top — but the stepped path from the base is a pleasant ninety minutes and it is an hour from the city. Go on a weekday if you can; weekend mornings at the summit are a car park.
Skandagiri is the better beginner's night trek: about four hours return, done in the dark to reach the top before sunrise, with a genuine cloud inversion below you in the cooler months. It needs a permit and an authorised guide, which is worth arranging in advance rather than at the gate.
Step up: Savandurga and Kodachadri
Savandurga is one of the largest monolith hills in Asia and the climb is exactly what that sounds like: exposed rock, painted arrows, no shade. Two to three hours up. Do not attempt it after rain and do not start it at eleven in the morning.
Kodachadri is a different proposition — Western Ghats forest, shola grassland, roughly 12 km of walking and best done as an overnight. Post-monsoon, from October, it is as green as Karnataka gets.
The long ones: Tadiandamol and Kumara Parvatha
Tadiandamol is Coorg's highest peak at 1,748 m, about 7 km each way through coffee estate and shola forest. Comfortably a long day if you start early.
Kumara Parvatha is the one that earns its reputation. Around 22 km return from Kukke Subramanya, a punishing continuous climb, and most people do it as a two-day with a night at Bhattara Mane. Carry three litres of water per person; there is nothing reliable on the ridge.
When to go, and when not to
October to February is the window. The post-monsoon months give you green hills and clear air; by March the exposed rock climbs are unpleasant by nine in the morning and by April they are genuinely unsafe.
In June to September the Ghats treks — Kodachadri, Kumara Parvatha — are leech country and the rock ones are slick. Several are officially closed in peak monsoon. Check before you drive four hours.
