Chinaga Betta Trek

Chinaga Betta is one of the lesser-known trails in Tumakuru and hence I decided to explore this the moment I got to know about this trek from BMC (Bangalore Mountaineering Club).

We were picked up from designated points across Bangalore and took a pit stop for breakfast on Tumakuru Road. We were asked to bring empty lunch boxes from home and lunch was packed in our boxes only. I sincerely appreciate this initiative from BMC towards eco-friendly traveling.  After a quick refreshing break, we hopped onto our vehicle and headed towards destination.

We drove on Bangalore-Tumakuru National Highway for some time and took service road for a right towards Swandenahalli (This is the closest landmark to reach Chinaga Betta). After taking this right, the drive across the villages is very scenic. Upon reaching Swandenahalli, we also spotted a KSRTC bus here at Swandenahalli Bus stop. So people who want to explore this trek on their own can take this bus till Swandenahalli and then take an auto to Chinaga Betta. People usually visit this place to give offerings to Chinaga Bettada Sri Ranganatha Swamy. We saw some vehicles and autos ply on this road to the temple. But please inquire on the logistics part before venturing on this alone else go with an organization like BMC so that you can enjoy your hassle-free trek.

We reached a point and our trek lead told us that our vehicle may not go beyond this due to bad condition of roads and we need to start walking from here. We got down from our vehicle. We were briefed about the trek, trail difficulty level, do’s and don'ts by our trek lead Prajwal ( His Instagram Handle - @onti_backpacker) and we started our adventurous trek from here.

Chinaga means Small and this has been named Chinaga in comparison with other big mountains of Tumakuru which is Devarayanadurga and Madhugiri (Asia’s second largest monolith).

Chinaga Betta total trek distance is 5 KM (up and down both). We started our trek from Tonne Anjaneya temple at around 10:30 am. 

Tonne Anjaneya Swamy Temple

And after around 300 meters distance we reached Kalyani. This is a good spot for relaxation. 

Kalyani

Here we found a guy who is appointed by Karnataka tourism, and he charged us Rs. 250 per person as an entry fee for this trek. After paying him entry fee we then walked for another 600 meters to reach Chinaga Ranganatha Swamy temple. 

We passed by this temple and walked for another 50 meters to reach another temple and this is the actual starting point of the trek. 

From this point started our actual trek into the jungle,  then open forest and rocky terrain.  Overall It was a mix of everything and this was a different trekking experience for me.

Arrows are marked along the trail. So you can follow them and make your way. The first milestone of the trail is easy to moderate I can say since the forest walk is pretty easy but rocky terrain to scale up the peak is little tough. Would suggest wear good trekking shoes here to get a good grip. We were lucky since the weather also supported us after a weeklong of gloomy and rainy weather in Bangalore.

After completing our first milestone, we reached a rocky slope. Here we relaxed for a quick water break, and we were mesmerized with the stunning views of the surroundings. We could see tiny Ranganatha Swamy temple from here. The calm breeze was so refreshing. This was a much-needed break after a full week of work stress.

From here the next milestone of the trail was pretty easy since it was a straight walk on mountain top. This was a plain terrain, and we could see water had clogged in few places due to heavy rains. Here we got to see the stunning views from the other side of the peak.

We could next see our third milestone and we knew it was a walk inside the woods again. 

We started trekking up into the forest and reached other side of the peak. 

We passed by an interesting junction wherein we had to squeeze ourselves in between two boulders and pass by. It was challenging since the due to rains the path was little slippery too. 

After passing this small preparatory test we finally reached our last spot where we had to give our final test to reach the hilltop. Trust me it was not easy. There are some tiny steps carved out on a big rock and you can keep one step at a time. So basically, you need to get hand support first and then keep your step. And you need to remove shoes for this adventure since this can be achieved only barefoot. We were lucky to have a cheerful and enthusiastic trek leader. He encouraged us to do it. He first reached on top and helped each one of us to complete it. 

It was thrilling but once we reached on hill-top, the view that unfolded in front of us was so mesmerizing. From this point, you get to see a panoramic view of the surrounding landscapes. Totally worth taking the risk and scaling the peak just for this view.

We patted our backs for this achievement and relaxed here for a while absorbing the serenity of this place.

We then had another tough task to repeat the same adventure but to climb down this time which wasn’t easy since the rock is straight and while stepping down you cannot even see the step. So we just followed our trek leader’s instructions and everyone got down easily.

After this adventure, we started our descent down the peak which was quite easy since we were relaxed by now after the trek. But while descending the arrows seem to be little confusing. So please ensure you try to reach base camp before it gets dark.

We finally reached the base point at around 2:30 PM. Here we filled our water bottles with natural water from the water tank at the temple. Few steps ahead we reached Kalyani and had our packed lunch here. 

After our lunch break, we then hopped onto our vehicle and started to Bangalore with memories of yet another adventurous trek and fun time with yet another new set of trekking enthusiasts😊.