Bangalore Trekking Club had organised a 1 day trek to Sri Revanasiddeshwara Betta which is 63 Kms from Bangalore.    13 of them opted for the trek and 4 dropped finally 9 of us decided to go for the trek.   4 of us traveled ( Myself, Chaya, Harish and Anthony) in the car and there were 3 bikes.   Had not gone on long drive for some time and thought its a good opportunity to drive around 120 Kms.     So we set off from Rajarajeshwari Nagar Arch @ 7 AM and allowed fellow biker Harish to park his vehicle in Kengeri Bus Stand.    Our next halt was in Ramanagarm for Breakfast.   What i appreciated was the speed discipline which was maintained through out the drive.    None of us went beyond 60 Kms speed and we reached Ramanagaram @ 8.30 AM and had breakfast @ Mayura Hotel opp Ramanagara Bus Stop / Signal.  Most of were hungry and  had Idli Vada and Parceled Pallav for Lunch .  After distributing the food packets we commenced our journey towards Revanasiddeshwara Betta ( kept a vigil on the Yellow direction board).   After 2 - 3 kms from Ramanagara Bus stand we took a left turn ( after the petrol bunk).   Road to the hillock is  fantastic and you can get there in the next 20 - 30 mts.       Once you reach the Avarehalli village Arch, proceed for another 2 Kms to reach the base of hillock.    You have ample parking for the vehicles and can park your vehicles at Sri  Rama Temple compound or can drive to the foot hill and park your vehicle.   

On reaching the foot hills, footwear is not allowed to trek the hillock.     One has to go bear foot to trek the hillock. It is advisable to carry first aid cream, if you are trekking for the first time and have started trekking  and especially you have more temperature in the climate.    Ideal time to visit is between November - February.    On the foot hills you will find Renuka Devi Temple and trek starts from there.

You will be flocked by curious army of monkeys from here.    If you are carrying any pooja items / food items in a plastic cover, better be aware that it will be attacked by this army.   You have concrete steps upto some extent and then starts the steep ascent with the steps carved out of rock.   If you are lucky enough you can spot an White Eagle flying across this area.    If not regular Kites can be seen flying across.  

This is an easy trek, but a bit difficult at one single stretch, one can easily make it to the top.  Once you reach the top of the hillock, you will be welcomed 2 Pillars and a Bell mounted on a iron cliff.    It is believed that followers of Lord Revanasiddeshwara can ring this bell 5 times and pray for their vow to be fulfilled.    

One can have a spectacular view of the mountain ranges, awesome landscapes, rock formation from the top of the hillock and witness cold breeze giving a soothing effect and quench your tiredness.     

After resting a while you can go further decend to Lord Revanasiddeshwara Cave Temple.    Usually the Pooja is conducted at 11 AM and one had to wait for the darshan if you are inclined to see the pooja.    If not you can ascend back to the top of the hillock, rest and descend back to the base.

After visiting the cave temple, we were back to the base and decided to land up at one more awesome place - Ramadevara Betta  the Northern side of Ramanagaram and have our lunch there.    We drove back to Ramangaram and then to Ramadevara Betta.   We encroahed the Mantapa ( Porch) for having our lunch.     All tiresome souls rested across each pillar at the Mantapa and finished our lunch.     Next destination was visiting the temple before trekking to the top of the hillock.

It was an awesome place to trek behind the temple and one can ascend to the top of the hill through steps carved out of stone.  This is a trecherous place, one should be careful while ascending and descending.   Once you reach the summit, you can have a glimse of the mountain ranges covering Ramanagaram such as Revanasiddeshwara Betta, Rama Siddeshwara betta, Shivar-amagiri, Kaakasura Betta, Kapotagiri, 

Atop the hillock you can view 5 rocks adjacent to each other, mythology says that 5 rishis who were meditating in this area, did not want to leave the serenity of Lord Rama, hence got converted to rocks as per their wishes.   Hence you can see a faced shaped rocked next to it.   

Once we scaled the peak of Ramadevara Betta, we were off to Bidadi enroute to Bangalore.    Our team wanted to have tatte idli and refreshments, hence camped next to the Tatte Idli Hotel next to Bidadi Police station.  After hogging Tatte Idli, we were off once again to Bangalore.    Our next stop was at Kengeri satellite Bus Stand, Anthony and Harish were seen off and later we dispersed at the end of our 1 day trek to Revanasiddeshwara Betta and Ramadevara Betta with fond memories to cherish.

Look forward to the next trek by the team.