Hutridurga TREK-2022
On Sunday, the 24th July 2022, we friends of Secretariat [SplCABGANG] drove towards Kunigal at around 8:00AM. and it is place of our colleague Sri Gangadhar, who is the resident of Doddapalya, near Kammanahalli, visited his house and his farm and a nice breakfast and we proceeded towards Hutridurga [ Uttari Betta ]
Hutridurga is situated 65km from Bangalore and 15km from Kunigal. It is located off Kunigal-Magadi state highway (SH94). Google maps and helpful locals will be able to guide you to the base. There is a designated parking area at the base, near the village temple. Villagers especially the priest of the temple will collect a nominal fee.
Most people trek this hill fort in the night or at dawn to view the sunrise. By the time we reached, many were heading back after having watched the sunrise. The place is safe for night treks.
Hutridurga trek is an easy trek and can be completed within an hour. Most of the trail has rock-cut steps. The first stop, is at Shankeshwara temple. There is a small pond by the temple. We relaxed there for a while. The route leading to summit was marked. Some places were steep but nicely built stairs carved on the hills helped, some places without any stairs and you will have to negotiate thorny bushes along the way. With each elevation we could see wall fortification.
More about Hutridurga
Hutridurga, also known as Uttari Betta is a fortified hill in the south-east of Kunigal taluk, rising to 3708 feet above the sea level that is located 15km south-easterly to Kunigal, the Taluk centre. Hutridurga is situated about 65 km west of Bengaluru in the state of Karnataka, in Kunigal taluk, Tumakuru district. It is situated off the Kunigal-Magadi state highway (SH94), at a distance of about 7 km from it and 10 km from the Anchepalya industrial area on the Bengaluru-Mangalore National Highway (India) - NH48 near Kunigal.
Hutridurga was built by Kempegowda in the 16th century. Ruined fortifications are still visible on the two hillocks surrounding the village. Historically, Huthridurga Fort was the military bastion of Tipu Sultan against British, which was conquered by the latter in 1791. It is believed to have been a seven tiered fort and is considered one among the nine "Durgas" (fortified hills) around Bengaluru ("Nava Durgas"). It has a small temple dedicated to Shiva known as the Shankareshwara temple, a Nandi idol on the top of the hill and an Anjaneya temple, midway. Aadi Narayanaswamy and Veerabhadra temples are situated in the village. The Pooja to the deity is done only on Mondays and Fridays. It saw use as a center of administration during summer and there are structures that housed the war commander, soldiers and a stone umbrella that is said to have been used by Kempegowda himself.
The hill fort has eight gateways from the foot to the summit in addition to several outer gates. On the summit known as Sankarakumbhi is situated a small Shankareshwara temple with a spring called Dodda done or big spring in front of it. From the summit, we get an extensive view of the surrounding landscape dotted by a large number of tanks and hills. Hutridurga derives its name from Hutri, a village situated about 3 km from the foot of the hill. The village immediately at the foot of the hill is known as Santhepet and that situated on the first elevation as Hutridurga. The Hutridurga village has several temples of Adinarayana, Veerabhadra and Anjaneya etc.
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