Weekend Trek(Bananthimari Betta)

A search for a not so popular trekking spot led us to the place called “Bananthimari Betta”, a small hill near Kanakpura on the Kanakpura-Mysore road. We started our trip by 6 in the morning, planning to reach the place before 7.30 so that the Sun didn’t take a heavy toll on us. We had our breakfast at a small hotel in Kanakpura and headed towards the desination. We did have some difficulty in reaching the place as most of the people seemed to be unaware of this place except for a few. Even those who knew about this place could not share the exact route to the place. After a few hiccupps, we reached the place by 8 .

We parked our car near the temple which was located at the foot of the hill and looked for some localite to guide us. But we could hardly find anybody there except for two kids and their mothers. When we enquired them about the hill, they said that nobody has ever gone beyond the spot where we were actually standing. We then decided to ascend the hill on our own through the path shown by them.

After walking for about half an hour, we reached the top of a small rock. Though the views were not breath-taking, they were quite good. We looked for all possible paths to continue with our trekking and found one after a few minutes. We then managed to go further and reach the top of another hill. There seemed to be no possible route to climb further and we decided to get down the hill through the other side. We could not complete the descent as we reached a blockade after a few minutes and had to return using the same way we came through. Even though we were disappointed with the partial trek, we enjoyed the solitude which lasted for 3 hours. We could not spot a singe living being for 3 hours during our trek.

The sun was shining brightly and was trying its best to bring down our energy levels. Though the sun could not deter us from trekking further, the lack of a proper path and the absence of a guide forced us to end the trek abruptly and return. During the return journey, we lost our way twice, but somehow managed to catch hold of the path after some trial and error. It is not a dense forest to get lost completely inside. The flora was largely limited to a few thorny bushes which were already partially burnt. Finally we came back to the starting point by 11 and reached Bangalore by 12.30 .

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Directions:

Bananthimari Betta is located on the Kanakpura-Mysore road, about 60 kms from Bangalore. Drive through the Kanakpura road which is very good except for the final few kilometres. Once you reach Kanakpura, ask for directions to Kuthnahalli as many people are not aware of Bananthimari Betta. The road to Kuthnahalli is 3 kms from Kanakpura . Take the road to the right which comes after a lake and it leads to Kuthnahalli. From Kuthnahalli, one can easily reach the Bananthimari temple with the guidance of the localites. If you are game for a light trek, this place is recommended for you.

P.S.

There seems to be one more route to this place and it can be reached from a place called Konanadoddi which is 3 kms from Kanakpura on the Kanakpura-Ramanagaram road. One can start from here and reach the temple on the other side through the hills. We started from the temple and tried to reach the other side, but could not complete the trek.

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