Known as Ballalarayana Durga, this majestic fort is located amid the stunning beauty of Chikmagalur and about 300 km from the crowded city of Bangalore. To reach the outpost, visitors must hike up through a mountainous forested area. Chikmagalur lies at a geographical focus for many attractions, including this beautiful fort located within Sunkasale in the Chikmagalur District of Karnataka state. There are very few other examples of such outstanding structures in the Western Ghats of India.
After seeing those pictures online I began to develop plans in my mind.
While most of the tourist traps in my home country don’t appeal to me, I had an interest in visiting Ballalarayana Durga but I was also hesitant because I didn’t want to lose money by falling for tourist traps. However, I felt an overwhelming desire to visit so I spoke with my best friends about it and ultimately made plans to visit.
We left early from Bangalore City. When I travel there are many things I am particular about. Some of the things I am strict about can be described as “What to bring” or “What to not bring” while traveling. Although we were determined to not use any plastic bags, it has become nearly impossible to not use plastic in today’s society, so we did our best to minimize use of plastic bags and were happy that we were able to minimize the use of plastic in our travel plans.
There’s a lot of bus service from Bangalore to Horanadu, Kalasa, or Kudremukh. In order to get to the Ballalarayana Durga fort, you’ll have to get off the bus at Sunkasaale. The normal place you’d begin the trek to the fort is from there. There is also a train station at Chikmagalur. We found out about these new travel options from the staff at the RiverMist resort.
During our journey, we saw the first signs of traffic, so we knew it was only a matter of time before the traffic grew really bad. On both sides of the road, there were numerous restaurants and hotels, and we ended up stopping at one of them for breakfast before we were off again to continue our journey.
We arrived at the resort after 12:00 P.M. Our trip was great and we were surprised at how much shorter it took than expected. Their GPS location was very helpful, as it was given by a staff memberThe staff was very nice and had prepared a homestay for us. After returning to our room, I quickly fell asleep from the exhaustion of the 6-hour ride.
We ate lunch from the restaurant (correct spelling is Malnad Style) and from that point on, our focus was only to go to Ballalarayana Durga for our trekking trip. Later in the afternoon, we were contacted by a staff member who explained the itinerary for our trekking adventures and other activities coming up.
The route that we would take to Ballarayanadurga Fort has two options: one is more challenging; however, it would be the most difficult and adventurous level possible! The best way to fulfill this is to take the Mundaje side; however, all other alternate routes will be via Mundaje.
In order to hike the Mukund Fort at the most challenging level is typically a 1 to 2-day journey from Mundaje village near Ujire. However, it also appears there are many other destinations that people can explore as well, including Bandajje Arabi Waterfalls and Gowdara base camp.
According to what I read before starting this trek (in the guidebook and online), I was warned this kind of trekking could prove a challenge for many people, however; I had originally planned on starting with a beginner level hike, so I was prepared for a much easier hike than the one I ended up doing here…
We were also told to bring plenty of water, personal medications, and some snacks with us; however, because Ballalarayana Durga was an abandoned/ruined fort located on top of the mountain, there were no stores available to buy food while visiting so it would have been wise to take breakfast/lunch along… so we were diligent about bringing everything we needed.
The team’s generosity was astounding in that they not only brought us water, medicines and a torchlight but also had a large amount of fruit on hand. As part of their continued hospitality, they offered us a set of instructions regarding the use of body cream to avoid issues with bees (we assume that this is from being outside). They informed us that the body cream prevents bees from stinging; when they picked us up we were driven to the starting point and arrived at approximately 3:45 pm.
The temple of Kalabhairaveshwara is located immediately below the fort and is believed to have been visited on a daily basis by the couple Ballala and his wife. We spent a brief period at the temple before beginning our trek; the temple’s atmosphere was unlike anything we have witnessed to date.
The breathtaking beauty of this temple is something that cannot be described. It was also not crowded like I had anticipated. The ritualistic ceremonies of the temple were what I had heard about previously and this fact piqued my interest. The priest described the lighting of the lemon lamps, which he said was a ritual to keep away evil as well as protecting our Grahas.
The priest also spoke of a weekly ceremony known as a Chatru Sanmaga Homam (oblation) and a blood ritual. The Bhairavar Prayer is another ancient ceremony performed at this temple. There are eight forms of Bhairava: Time, Kalpanta, Hostile, Skull, Samkara, Unmanta, Fighting, and Ukkira.
We felt blessed to have learned about so many new things, but we had to leave soon because we were on a strict timeline. We learned that we would need to hike down and back to reach the fort that was located on the third mountain, meaning we would need to first cross the other two mountains. After walking 5 minutes, we arrived at the Rani Jhari peak. The view from this point was absolutely incredible. Even though it had rained heavily in the area for the past few days, it was still a nice day when we arrived at this point. There is a story that goes along with Rani Jhari and that is where the Rani committed suicide. This is not a pleasant thing to think about.
After stopping to take pictures with the camera and spending time there, we were on the road again (back on the trek). We were assured since we were on a newbie (beginner) type of trek that it would be without risk.
While on our trek, one of the caretakers began telling us about Balla Durga. According to legend, Balla Durga uses different clothing at different points of the year. We visited during summer, so she was wearing her golden clothing, which is said to keep the earth warm.
Monsoon is where she will be wearing her green clothing, fill the place with vividness and the rains will replenish the earth. During the Winter season, she will wear snow-white clothing, and cool the earth with the soothing cold air which comes from the snow falling. Hearing stories such as these has been very interesting and always make me wonder. At approximately the same time as the night falls, we reached the summit of the first mountain where we were able to see the sunset, which was a beautiful sight.
When is the best time to go to Ballalarayana Durga Fort? The ideal time for a visit is between mid-November through May. You should try not to visit between June and October as this will be during the rainy season; however, if you’re a fan of the rainy season, then plan on your visit from June through mid-August.
The wet season brings lots of leeches and rocks become slippery, making it hard to cross small streams, so it’s better to pick another time to visit the fort if you do not want these difficulties.
Items to bring with you : Medication if needed, clothing depending on the weather, a backpack to carry everything including toiletries, lots of bottled water, sturdy shoes, sunglasses & sunscreen, a camera if you’d like, & bug repellent lotion, and last but not least, a flashlight with extra batteries or solar lights. Do not forget about bringing tents and camping supplies. Be sure to pack food which you can cook things with, and snacks. Additionally, bring energy bars, dried fruits, and glucose; however, keep in mind that it’s always smart to keep things as lightweight as possible.
