Kunagalu Betta Dawn Ride
Bangalore → Bidadi → Ramanagara → Kunagalu Betta (sunrise trek through a bat cave) → Revanasiddeshwara Betta → Harohalli → Bangalore. ~135 km, out before dawn, back for lunch.
A pre-dawn sprint down Mysore Road to Ramanagara, then a left onto the Kanakapura road to Kunagalu Betta — a granite hillock 2 km out of town with an ancient Nandi halfway up, a pitch-black cave you crawl through with a torch, and a Hanuman temple on the summit. Thirty minutes up, sunrise over the Sholay boulders, thirty minutes down. The return avoids the highway entirely: Revanasiddeshwara's monolith temple, then village roads across to Harohalli and the Kanakapura road home.
Route idea: @the_vextro on Instagram — 'Kunagalu Betta ride — unexpected' — a night ride out of Bangalore to the hill
The route¶
Schematic map generated from waypoint coordinates — the shape follows the geography (compressed so long legs don't squash the loop), distances are labelled per leg. Not a navigation map. Download the graphic.
Leg by leg
| # | Leg | Dist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bangalore → Bidadi Mysore Road / NH 275 to Bidadi | 30 km | Empty at 4:30 AM. Fuel at the Bidadi pumps if the tank is low. tarmac |
| 2 | Bidadi → Ramanagara NH 275 to Ramanagara | 12 km | Boulders start to loom out of the dark on both sides. tarmac |
| 3 | Ramanagara → Kunagalu Betta Ramanagara – Kanakapura road, left to Kunagalu | 8 km | Park at the base of the hillock. Muddy trail to the Nandi, then the cave, then the summit — 30 min up. tarmac / mud trail |
| 4 | Kunagalu Betta → Revanasiddeshwara Betta Kanakapura road to Revanasiddeshwara Betta | 14 km | Monolith hill with the cave temple; motorable road most of the way, a few steps to the shrine. tarmac |
| 5 | Revanasiddeshwara Betta → Harohalli Village roads Revanasiddeshwara → Harohalli | 22 km | Single-lane roads through farmland — this is the bit worth the detour. Navigate by map; some stretches are broken. narrow tarmac / broken |
| 6 | Harohalli → Bangalore Harohalli – Kanakapura Road (NH 948) – Bangalore | 50 km | Wide and quick. Breakfast at one of the Kanakapura Road dhabas. tarmac |
Highlights
- Sunrise from the Hanuman temple on Kunagalu Betta, with Ramadevara Betta and the whole boulder field lit up gold.
- The cave stretch — cold, dark, smells of bats, and drops you out just below the summit.
- Revanasiddeshwara Betta's cave shrine on a single monolith, usually empty at 8 AM.
- The village road across to Harohalli instead of the highway back through Ramanagara.
Off-road & motorcycling notes
Tarmac with a muddy trek. The only riding challenge is the broken village road between Revanasiddeshwara and Harohalli.
- Kunagalu trail is loose soil and rock — fine in trainers, miserable in riding boots. Swap at the bike.
- Bring a proper torch for the cave; a phone light is not enough and the floor is uneven.
- The Revanasiddeshwara–Harohalli road has potholes and cattle at every village; keep it under 50.
Timings, permits & fuel
- No entry fee or permit; park at the base of Kunagalu Betta. Trailhead is unmarked — locals will point.
- Leave Bangalore by 4:30 AM to be on the summit for a 6:15 sunrise.
- Fuel: Bidadi, Ramanagara, Harohalli. Nothing needed in between.
Cautions
- Riding NH 275 in the dark: watch for trucks stopped on the shoulder without lights.
- The cave section is not for anyone claustrophobic; there's a walk-around.
- Summer (Mar–May) makes the bare granite brutal by 9 AM — be off the hill by then.
Along the way¶
Wikimedia Commons · free licence, see file page
Wikimedia Commons · free licence, see file page
Wikimedia Commons · free licence, see file page
Wikimedia Commons · free licence, see file page