—Categories: bangalore, hills, karnataka

Skandagiri

‘I can’t believe there is such an amazing place so close to Bangalore,’ said a friend when I showed the photographs. It was getting predictable – show pictures of Skandagiri to anyone, tell them it is just 60km from Bangalore and wait for them to gasp and react with those words – ‘I can’t believe…’

A year ago I had uttered these words myself on a morning after finding pictures of Skandagiri in my mailbox. Skandagiri is a small hill that is just two hours drive from Bangalore. Earlier unknown, it came into light when a few people trekked up there and came back with amazing pictures of the hill ranges peeking through the early morning fog. In the time of internet and group emails, Skandagiri instantly became famous. People have since been going there and camping overnight to see the dramatic mornings with waves of clouds kissing the hills, and to watch the sun come up slowly amidst them. Skandagiri also has a place in history with a small fort on its top built by Tipu Sultan.

Skandagiri

I was longing to visit the place, and when a local photography group planned for a trip, jumped in without much thinking. On the next night of full moon, we packed our camping gear and drove towards Skandagiri. We had all the night at our disposal to climb up, which means we started pretty late in the night. When we assembled outside the city, had our dinner and finally reached the base of the hill, it was already midnight. Hiring a guide and starting the trek took some more time and we started only around 12.45am.

Skandagiri

Skandagiri looked deceptively small and easy to conquer from its base. ‘Two hours,’ we were told, but we brashly estimated for 45 minutes of easy walk. Our guide took us through the route that first lead to the lateral part of the mountain and then up on an easy slope. But it got steeper as we walked and we slowly started increasing the expected time to reach up. It was hardly 15 minutes of climbing when a few wanted to halt and rest. The mountain was getting the respect it deserved from us, playing the hard way. Not even five minutes of rest and our guides was herding us up threatening, saying that we will never make it in this pace before sunrise. We moved on grumblingly.

But you can’t keep a bunch of photographers on their tows for too long. It was not much time before we found a nice rocky place with wide vistas of the planes below. Full moon shone brightly in the sky with a few stars flickering here and there, and dots of light from Chikballapur town a couple of kilometers away sparkled below. A gentle breeze blew continuously and rejuvenated us from the tiresome climb. Tripods came out from the bags and cameras mounted on them, we started clicking the endless vistas below. It was nearly half an hour before the guide overpowered us and forced us to move on.

The bridle path to the peak took us through patches of boulder strewn shrub jungle with a few big trees here and there. It got steeper as we moved up. We were deceived each time when we looked up and presumed it is going to take only a few more minutes to the top. We finally made it in little more than two and a half hours, tired and hungry.

On the top of the hill is a small rocky plateau with a short wall assembled with rocks, covering the perimeter of the plateau and making up the Tipu’s fort. In the middle stands a small ancient temple dedicated to Lord Ganesha. Once at the top, strong westward wind blew relentlessly and brought the temperature down by many degrees from the place where we started. Getting into the temple was the only way to escape the wind but the temptation of the bright moonlight and views of the barely visible plains below kept us outdoors. Around 4 am we were suddenly encompassed in thick fog with hardly any visibility, when we decided to pitch our tents and make an attempt to sleep.

Skandagiri

The chill of the wind hardly allowed us to get any shuteye, and unwillingness to miss the sunrise meant we were up in no time. We woke up in the bitter cold, to see the entire world below us covered in clouds even when the altitude where we stood had a clear weather. A few summits in the distance came into view on and off as the clouds played with the wind. It was like a large pile of cotton candy spread on the earth as we looked from a height, and I wished we could float among them. When the sun came, he came up from the layer of clouds below like a small orange ball far away in the horizon. Once again cameras came out from the bags and tripods were laid out to capture those beautiful moments forever. The magic lasted for nearly thirty minutes when eventually the fog cleared to make way for a bright day. We then made our way down, still finding it hard to believe that we have a place so beautiful, so close to the city.

Information

Skandagiri is 60km from Bangalore and is located along the same range as Nandi Hills. To reach Skandagiri, drive from Bangalore to Chikballapur(55km) on NH7 where you have to turn left and drive for another 5km. The trek begins from a small temple called Papagni Matha located at Kalwarahalli village. Once you are in Chikballapur ask for directions to Papagni Matha to make sure you are not lost.

The trek to the peak is steep at sections and one needs to be reasonably fit. It takes two to three hours to get to the top depending on your fitness. You can hire guides from Kalwarahalli village at the base of Skandagiri. Forest department charges an entry fee of Rs.15 on weekends.

—Categories: bangalore, karnataka, nature, wildlife

Blue Tiger Butterflies

Reading this brought some old memories when we had stumbled into an army of butterflies outside Bangalore. Amateurs, with a new found interest, we were gallivanting with camera in the arm searching for lakes, birds and the like. Walking aimlessly, we entered into a wooded area with tall casuarinas and were surprised to see butterflies hugging every inch of trees. Here is an image from the days when I had just bought my first and only film camera.

Blue Tiger Butterfly

There was another time I had stumbled upon loads and loads of butterflies. Driving through the forests of Bandipur, we encountered and endless stream of Blue Tigers. Now that I recall it, I am craving to see the spectacle again.

—Categories: bangalore, birds, karnataka, nature

Birds in Bangalore

Ask everyone, and they say Bangalore has changed a lot in the last few years. There are more buildings everywhere, more roads, more people, unbearable traffic and the like that come with unchecked growth. Lakes are shrinking and green cover around the city is making way to gleaming modern structures. But Bangalore still remains a favourable destination for many, and fortunately it has remained so with our feathered friends too. Between December and March last winter, pelicans had made their annual trip to the lakes in the city, and so did migrant Drongos and Swallows and the like.

Ashy Prinia
An Ashy Prinia at Madiwala Lake.

The green patches and the lakes around the city have always housed many species of birds through the year and host a lot more during the winter months, when migratory birds flock in from the cold regions in the north. Like everywhere else, their habitat is shrinking in Bangalore too. But still there are many places in and around the city that can charm a birdwatcher with plenty of variety.

Ashy Crown Sparrow Lark
An Ashy Crown Sparrow Lark near Jigani

Keen eyed birders have always been finding places that are teeming with many species of birds. Many water bodies like Hebbal Lake, Madiwala Lake, Yelemallappa tank and Hoskote Lake attract large migratory birds in drones during winter. Nandi Hills occasionally throws up surprises with unlikely birds like Malabar Whistling Thrush or Blue Capped Rock Thrush.

Blue capped rock thrush
A Blue Capped Rock Thrush in Nandi Betta

Purple rumpled sunbird
A Purple Rumped Sunbird at Hebbal Lake

It is a pleasure to watch those birds colouring up the periphery of the city. There is plenty of beauty, melody, action and even humour in tailing the birds. There are many things attractive, like the pleasant whistling call of the Dronogs, graceful flight of Gray Herons or of Barn Owls, and bright colors and the beauty of Blue Capped Rock Thrush or Parakeets. And then there is some interesting action to watch in the skies when a gang of crows manage to chase away much larger and powerful Kites – a frequently observed scene in the city’s skies. If the crows do this in the city, smaller birds like Black Drongos perform the same acts of bravery in the greener areas outside the city. Watching a paradise flycatcher fly past and its unusually long tail that looks very out-of-place and trying to keep up with the flight of the bird can be comical.

Paradise flycatched
A Paradise Flycatcher in Nandi Betta

River tern
A River Tern in Ranganthittu

When the thirst to see more of these beauties overpowers the Bangalorean, there is always Ranganathittu bird sanctuary just two hours away from the city. Ranganathittu is an ocean of joy for any bird lover, with its swarming population of birds of both migratory and resident kind. The ever-present River Terns on the rocks along Kaveri never fail to amuse their visitors. The dense population of large birds like Asian Openbill, White Ibis and Spoonbill always manage to entertain people who have never seen those big birds in such numbers.

White Ibis
A gang of White Ibis in Ranganthittu

Rose ringed parakeet
A Rose Ringed Parakeet at Hebbal Lake

Indeed all is not well with the city that is growing rapidly. Like in other cities of the world, Sparrows have long since gone away. Lakes are shrinking and Painted Storks that were once common in Hebbal Lake are not seen as often in the city. Rosy Starlings that came in large numbers to a tree near my house have not arrived in the last two years. It is only likely that their numbers keep coming down in the years to come. There have been many initiatives from the concerned people to save the city’s birding hotspots from destruction, and let’s join them and hope that all that work bears fruit, and these winged beauties continue to flock into the city as they have always done.

Tickells blue flycatcher
A Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher in Nandi Hills

Purple moorhen
A Purple Moorhen at Hebbal Lake

Information

Popular birding hotspots in and around Bangalore: Lalbag, TG Halli reservoir, Rampura Lake, Hoskote Lake, Indian Institute of Science, Valley school, Turahalli minor forest, Nandi hills and Banneraghatta National Park. Ranganathittu bird sanctuary, two hours drive from Bangalore is a great place to see huge flocks of migratory birds in winter.

For more information on birding Bangalore, join the Bangalore’s most popular birding group bngbirds. They regularly meet fortnightly for birdwatching sessions around the city.