Anthargange trek
Anthargange Caves and trek
Distance from Bangalore : Around 80 km
Trip type : Day trip
Day of travel : 18th September
Trekking length/Duration : Approx 3 km (to and fro)/ Around 2-2.5 hours
Difficulty level - Moderate
Our lives these days resemble the song " Hum tum ek kamre mai band ho aur chabi kho jaaye... Socho kabhi yesa ho to kya ho... " We all are locked in our houses/city and don't know what to do.
Though everything is open but still it is wise to avoid unnecessary travel. Moreover travelling for vacation is still NO NO!!
So, we continue to do what is considered safe and doable in a day.
Tatva has now completed 3 beginner level trek, and I was thrilled to start next level of trekking with him. I decided multiple places like Madhugiri fort, Kabbaladurga and Anthargange and zeroed down to Antargange, because this is closest (55km) to Bengaluru, while Madhugiri and Kabbaladurga are around 110 km.
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| The view point at Anthargange |
The trek
As usual, we started late from home - at around 11.45 AM. Lately, I have started to like this late timing, because it gives us enough time to get Tatva fully ready (with breakfast and all). Also, by the time we start the trek, normal trekkers would be finishing their treks. So we could avoid any crowd during our trek.
We had our owns shares of goof-ups during this trip. First of all, as soon as we stared, Amber complained of stomach ache. We almost decided to turn back when he suggested that lets fill the fuel in the car and we will turn. By the time we finished fueling, he was feeling fine. After we started from the fuel station, I realized that I had forgot my phone at home. We decided against turning back (and we will repent it later) to get the phone back. Thirdly, the Torch which used be in our bags, Amber had taken that out and did not re-pack (thinking we will use Torch in mobile). And lastly, Antargange hilltop rather than base point as the location which costed us around half an hour for detour.
Roads condition was very good from Bengaluru till Kolar. There is only one toll gate on the way. The road from Kolar to Antargange is a bit dug up but still in good condition. There was proper parking place, and of-course many monkeys wherever you park who will dirty the car. Be cautious of them and avoid eating in open.
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| Monkeys eyeing the food |
The trek starts with simple steps(around 200+ steps) leading to the temple. Its forest all around and is a reserved area. Make sure you don't litter and carry back everything you have taken up.
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| Trek starts like this |
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| Anthargange Shiva temple and water pond |
On the left side of the pond, there is a small gate leading to the trekking route amidst the forest. Initial part of the route is well formed and clear. After 500 meters or so, there are some forks and no signage.
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| Initial stretch for trekking. |
After 10-15 mins, We found one 12-13 year old kid sitting on the rocks. He asked us if we would like to explore the 2 caves (a water cave and a trekking cave). This place is more about exploring the caves and we did not want to miss that, hence we agreed to hire his services. I am sure if we can find guide in these times without pre-booking then it should be easier to get on other days as well. The trek is pretty steep and can be slippery. At times you need to use all 4 limbs to maintain balance and keep climbing. View keeps getting better pretty soon as you climb (you gain more height in short time due to steepness).
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| View at midway!! |
After trekking for almost 45 mins and having 3 water breaks, our guide told that we will go to the water caves. If you are not with a guide, it's not easy to detect Cave's location - these are slightly off-track.
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| Entry point of water caves |
The water cave's entry and exit are on either side beneath rock formations. We had to enter from a small opening on right side and exit from left side. The cave few meter underground and you have to slide down and crawl beneath during entire duration, you can't stand. It's pitch dark inside even during a bright sunny day and you need torches (remember we left torch as well as my mobile at home and only source was light was Amber's phone). In the hindsight, it made cave exploration more thrilling!!
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| Sliding down the water cave |
This cave has a fresh water source which one can consume. Water was very cold and sweet; everyone drank the water to their capacity. It was proving to be really difficult to manage light (one source among four people), click pictures and manage Tatva - who always wants to be go ahead. After 15 mins or so, we were finally out of the caves, fully exhilarated.
After that, we marched towards another cave which guide called "Trekking cave". This one is a long and big cave which exits on another side of the huge rock formations. Amber was not happy for losing the stick which he had been carrying since last 3 treks. Realizing the difficulty level of the cave explorations, he, with heavy heart, parted with it. We both got stuck/struggled at climbing and crossing difficult and narrow segments. Guide tried to assist Tatva but he was adamant at doing it himself and to his credit, he did most of it without help or with little help (except a couple where we had to pull him up or slide him down).
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| Amber is Stuck!!! |
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| Inside the cave |
We came out in approximately 30 minutes. It was a splendid experience exploring those winding caves.
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| Yeyy!! we did it. |
As soon as we came out of caves, we saw dark clouds and was about to rain. The guide asked us if we wanted to continue till the village and view point or we wanted to go back. We decided to continue. We found many wild guava trees, laden with marble sized guavas. We plucked a few to eat, the taste was just amazing.
Within 5 mins, it started raining heavily. We had a couple of raincoats and an umbrella but it was raining really hard and we got partially drenched. We found shelter near a very small temple. After 10 mins, rain turned into drizzling and we started our trek again.
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| The rain |
We reached near the village where we had initially reached in the car (remember we had taken a detour, thanks to Amber setting another location in google maps). We decided to turn back and go to the view point. View from there was stunning! We spent 20 mins enjoying the view and clicking pictures.
The descend was difficult - it was steep and rain had made it slippery. We needed to be extremely cautious with the footing. My knees were giving up. Tatva had started to get cranky because his energy level was low. It felt like never ending descend.
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| Descend |
We observed very beautiful sunset while driving back to Bengaluru. Different color, shades, formation. Gold smeared carelessly in the sky.
It was super fun and then I understood why Anthargange is so famous and it truly deserved it. We had great time overall. Points to Note -
- Carry as much water as you can. Take breaks and remain hydrated.
- Must wear proper trekking/sports shoes, caps, goggles, umbrella, sunscreen.
- If you need guide, carry some cash with you.
- Carry additional torch.
- This is mostly cave exploration so don't carry large bags.
Keep adding these details. Thank u
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