Skandagiri Night Trek
Chikkaballapur District, Karnataka
- Time needed
- Overnight (10pm – 8am)
- Distance
- 70 km away
- Entry
- Forest permit and guide fee ₹350 – ₹500 via a registered operator
- Best time
- Oct – Feb, avoid monsoon months
Skandagiri, also called Kalavara Betta, is climbed at night specifically to hit the summit around dawn, when the valley below is often filled with cloud cover you look down onto rather than up at. The trail passes through the ruins of a fort destroyed by Tipu Sultan's forces, with sections of loose scree that make sturdy shoes non-negotiable.
Access is regulated by the forest department and only permitted through registered trek operators with a set entry window — you can't simply drive up and start climbing after dark on your own. Groups typically start around 10pm to 11pm from the base and take two to three hours up.
Highlights
- Sunrise above the cloud line from the summit
- Ruins of a fort destroyed under Tipu Sultan
- Rocky scramble sections near the top
- Combined visit to Nandi Hills afterward, a short drive away
Good to know
- Book only through forest-department-registered operators — unauthorised night entry has been cracked down on in recent years
- Carry a headlamp with spare batteries; phone flashlights aren't reliable enough for the loose scree sections
- Descent by daylight is genuinely tougher on the knees than the climb up — good shoes matter both ways
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