The mission of the travel was to witness sunrise, which has been a rarity off late. To accompolish this feat we left Bengaluru well past midnight and headed to Skandagiri. Situated in Chikballarpur, this trekking site is quite popular with the Bengalureans and is well known for its night trekking. It was deserted drive all the way till the base point.
We were in for a surprise as a large crowd had already gathered to experience night trekking in the chilly climate. As a precautionry measure I had a couple of layers of sweaters to escape the cold. There were a few unauthorised guides who wanted to help us but we decided to go without them. With a small torchlight to guide us, we rumbled on through the unknown paths in the pitch-darkness of the night. The only option for us was to follow the crowd and we just did the same and reached the top after 3 hours of treacherous trekking. On reaching the top we were greeted by a huge crowd who were ready with their SLRs and tripods to capture the first rays of the day. Skandagiri is also the place where you can walk through the clouds as they float very low during certain months of the year. However we were not lucky enough as we chose the wrong time of the year (end of January) to trek. With more than an hour left for the golden rays to spread across the horizon, we made a fire with a few sticks available there and made ourselves warm and comfortable. Refreshments in the form of omelets and tea were easily available at the top of the hill and we happily relished the tasty eggs.
After a long wait the horizon changed colours and we could see glimpses of the crimson shade spreading all over. Slowly but steadily the darkness of the night gave way to beautiful shades of gold, yellow and orange. As the cameras went clicking all over the place and the trekkers posed for their silhouette shots, the lovely bright sun showed up from above the clouds and the small hills. With the lovely moon and the twinkling stars disappearing and the sun spreading its rays all over welcoming a bright morning, it was time for us to trek all the way down.
As we walked down we were quite alarmed to find the crooked narrow path through which we trekked the previous night without knowing where the next step was leading to. It got hotter as we went down and each layer of sweater on my body came off one by one. After a morning tea at the base of the hills we were off to Bengaluru for a well needed sleep and rest.
Signing Note: A blend of moonlight trek and colourful sunrise is absolutely enchanting...!!
Route: Bengaluru- Chikballarpur- Skandagiri
Distance: 75 Kms