Savandurga Voyage Tips and guide

Savandurga is a hill west of Bangalore in Southeastern Karnataka.

This was a location for the making of David Lean's movie Passage to India.

Savandurga is Asia's largest monolith with a height of 1,226 m (4,022 ft) above mean sea level. A part of the Deccan Plateau, Savandurga consists of peninsular gneiss, granites, basic dykes, and laterites. The Arkavati river passes nearby through the Thippagondanahalli Reservoir and towards Manchanabele Dam.

Savandurga is on Magadi Road. It is around 70 km from Hudson Circle (in Bangalore City). On the way to Savana Durga you will find ChamarajaSagar Water Treatment Plan (on your right). Magadi Road is also known as State Highway 17E. When you cross the 50 km mark, you will start seeing the monolithic rock structure. You will have to turn left from the highway and travel another 12 km before making another left turn to travel 3 km. At the end of that 3 km stretch, you will find Savandurga.

There is no need to give any fees to climb the rock. There are some guides, mostly kids, who will guide you to reach the top of the monolithic rock. You will have to pay them some money after you get back from the top.

There is a ₹1 entry fee to enter into Kempegowda Udyanavana. For all those people who need to do some adventure activities then you need to get permission from the District forest officer at Ramanagaram with the payment of ₹125/- per head as entry fee.

Map of Savandurga

There are young boys who would be willing to lead you up to the top, for about ₹50-100. However, the track is pretty straight forward and you would not strictly require a guide. The key is to follow the power lines as it leads all the way up to the top. Also, there are white coloured arrows painted on the rock at regular intervals.

The monolithic rock climb is used by many trekkers. On top of the rock you will find a fort and a temple. The temples dedicated to Sri Basaveswara, Sri Narasimhaswamy and Sri Veerabhadraswamy, at the base of the hill also draws a large number of devotees.

• 12.8670277.334451 Manchanabele Dam. A reservoir across the Arkavati River, and a trekking destination. Kayaking is also conducted here. However, the reservoir bed is a death trap with sudden fault-lines, large boulders as well as deep slush. It is very dangerous to get into the waters in this reservoir even for a good swimmer.  (updated Mar 2026)
• 12.97333377.34252 Thippagondanahalli Reservoir (TG Halli Reservoir), 35 km (22 mi) W of city centre. A reservoir at the confluence of the Arkavati and Kumudavati rivers. It is used by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) to supply water to the city. It is also a popular recreation spot in summer.  (updated Jun 2025)

There are no souvenirs to buy from here

There are no major hotels nearby. If you are willing to quench your appetite with light items like biscuits, you can get it at the foothill of Savana Durga Rock.

Also at Nayakanapallya (3 km before foot hill) there is a small restaurant you get good thatte idli (Rice pan cake) suggest to eat before hill climb. Before climb carry at least 1 liter water bottle per person.

You can buy packaged drinking water at the foothill of Savana Durga. There are a lot of tender coconut vendors and other fruit juice vendors, at least during the holidays.

There is no facility available to stay at this place.

There are few adventure clubs like Nature Admire, Capture, Care, Angel who organise adventure camping at these place, it not just camping they also provide food, transport, activities like rappelling, zip line, kayaking, camp fire, jhummering, vine traversing.

If you go early in the morning, you will find that the rock is wet in patches. Wear good rubber soled shoes during the trek.