Siddara Betta Trek - When divine meets the Adventure

Place: Siddara Betta, Tumkur

Distance: 100 km from Bangalore
Type: Trekking
Ideal for: Friends and Family
Trek Difficulty: Easy
Trek Length: 3 kilometers one way
Trek Duration: 1.5 hour one way


Trekking group at my office was stagnant since the last trek to Madhugiri. Siddara Betta was in my todo list and it was time to move it to the done list. I created a trekking event and 25 people turned up for the trek. We booked a minibus to accommodate such a big group and also got some snacks and refreshments for the trek.

Best of the beast: Do more than just exist!

Saturday morning: Naresh stays near the office so he took care of onboarding everyone in the morning. Smitha and I were waiting near the Nelamangala toll gate only to be picked up at 7 am. We were welcomed by a big shoutout. The music was playing loud and everyone was dancing. Even I joined them with my zero experience in dancing (Nagin dance came for the rescue :D). We pulled over at Vrindavan Bhavan just before Dabasbete for breakfast.

The dancing session continued with even more intensity after the breakfast. Meanwhile, the bus took right turn at Dabasbete to take Koratgere route. Siddarabetta is another 53 kilometer from Dabasbete. After 42 kilometers an arch to the left welcomed us to the Siddara betta. The road condition was bad for the last 11 km.

We distributed the refreshments while everyone was getting down.  After a first group photo, we started trekking together. There were a lot of vendors on either side of the road and throughout the trail selling Puja items, food, and water. So don't forget to carry your wallet you might feel hungry at any time :P

The trek started after a big selfie

Trekking: An arch reading "Shri Siddeshwara Swamy Kshetra" welcomed us. There's also written signboard in Kannada which says "Devotees are requested to climb barefoot". It's up to you if you want to go barefoot or with shoes on. My suggestion would be to go with shoes if you are planning to go beyond the temple.

An arch welcoming us to the sacred hill 

Steps are laid till the cave temple.

The inclination at the beginning is high which made us take rest often but resulted in such group photos en route

The starting tail is boring yet tiring as we just have to climb plain stairs. But the initial stretch is steep making you tired at the beginning itself. After half an hour of the climb, I looked around only to be amazed by the view of the hills on the other side. After some distance, we came to an open area where there was a hut-like structure. If it's sunny you can take rest at this place but we were lucky to be trekking on a cloudy day so we kept moving.

At few parts the steps have been carved out of the hill with good supporting railings

Hut for resting while trekking.

Look at the lovely view. Wish I could climb all of them.

After this stretch, there are no supporting railings or stairs for some distance. This stretch is short yet can become very tricky during the rainy season. You will find monkeys attacking from this point onwards. Make sure you don't carry any food items in hand.

Panoramic view of the surroundings getting better and better with every step

Last stretch just before the cave temple

Monkeys everywhere. Beware of them if you are carrying anything eatables or bag in hand

Sorry for the bad drawing skills :P Hope you got what I wanted to say in the above picture.

Cave Temple: Finally, we reached the sacred dark cave which is surrounded by a huge group of rocks. As we entered, we could feel the coolness embracing us. The place looked like a miracle, because of the refreshing atmosphere hid inside the caves against the harsh sun rays outside.

Cave temple and the deity worshipped here

huge Vibuthi on our forehead, as the practice of Shiva followers

This area is dominated by monkeys, be careful with it.  The best part of the temple is about to be experienced here.  The priests splashed the cool water of on our heads. The tiredness of climbing the hill just disappeared and soothed our body. They applied huge Vibuthi on our forehead, as the practice of Shiva followers.  We bowed to the Lord Siddeshwara with devotion. The idol is small and crowned by a 5 hooded snake. There were small idols of Basava, Ganapati and many more of Shaiva cult.

Don't miss the fun: Most of the devotees return from this point but the best part of the trek lies beyond the temple. We took the right turn which leads to the summit of the hill. I asked shopkeeper about the summit but he didn't seem to respond positively.

Trek to the peak: Few members of the group had already started walking towards the peak. The trail is rough and not much inclined. There were few tricky parts but easily manageable (be careful in rainy season).  We encountered few caves which act as a resting point during summer time. Within, 30 to 40mins first sight of the peak was revealed. A sense of satisfaction and a joy of accomplishment made us smile. We just turned all around to capture the beautiful views. The blue skies and many lofty mountains in a series. The changing shadows cast by the clouds on the mountains was sublime to watch. I couldn't resist myself from taking Timelapse which turned out to be fantastic. Many group photos to follow and portraits and posing. It was all fun and spend a great time with the group.

Reached the summit after 30 minutes of the trek from the cave temple

Clouds and green landscape created a great composition throughout the trek

The summit is relatively big and flat

I could just look at this view all day long

The panoramic view of the surrounding hills

We could see few lakes as well

Well a group photo at the peak is well deserved

And this jumping photos has become a ritual in my every trip

Descend: At 2 pm, we realized we were all hungry and need to have lunch. We started descending down. Descending down the steep rocks and steps appeared far more difficult than ascending with the trembling legs. In an hour or so we reached the base and boarded the bus.

Returning to Bangalore: All were tired and hungry, the soothing songs helped to take a power nap. Unfortunately, we could not find any good restaurants till Dabasbete. I was hoping to find some restaurants near Dabaspete but since it was 5 pm most of the restaurants were closed. And few of the small restaurants which were open couldn't accommodate 25 of us. 

We traveled a long way in search of a restaurant and finally to stop by a Pravasi restaurant for the North Indian meals. The food was good, after all, it always feels great when we are damn hungry :D. We resumed the journey, the group was refilled with energy and started singing songs. We reached Bangalore at 7 pm.

Summary: Siddara betta is an easy level of the trek you can do this trek without any preparation. Make sure you go till the peak to get most out of the trek.

Important points:
1. There are many shops en route so you can rely on them for the snacks and water.
2. It's optional to wear footwears while trekking. Most of the devotees climb this hill barefoot but if you are planning to go beyond the temple then shoes are a must.
3. There are not many Dhaba's on Tumkur road especially on the left side while coming back to Bangalore. So plan your lunch accordingly. 
4. There will be a free afternoon meal at the base of the hill from 12 pm to 3.30 pm but you need to inform them prior so that they will prepare sufficient food.
5. There are multiple results in google maps when you search for Siddara Betta. Here is the right location on google maps. 

You can also watch my vlog on youtube. Don't miss the time lapse.



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