Bilikal Rangaswamy betta is one of the hills close to Bangalore and a great place for rock climbers. It is located close to Kanakpura (about 50 kms from Bangalore) and is a very pretty place lush with greenery. The hill can be reached by two different routes. One is through a jeep track via Kanakapura and another through Harohalli and Dodda Maralawadi which is good for trekkers. For motorists, a short distance after the Kanakapura bus stop at a small circle much before the one which goes to Mekedatu, a left turn leads to the jeep track that goes all the way to the top of the hill. Enquiring with local people will help reach the top. (Often while enquiring, people mistake it for the Biligiri Rangaswamy temple at BR Hills), but this is Bilikal Rangaswamy which gets its name from the white colour granite rocks of the hill. ‘Bilikal’ means ‘white stone’ in Kannada.
The region is completely forested as one drives along the jeep track. The vegetation is mostly dry deciduous and shrub. The hill is part of the Eastern Ghats and the view from the top is very scenic as one can see lots of other hills around. Savandurga hill is also visible according to localites when the sky is clear. It is elephant territory and one can see the destruction of crops caused by elephants along the track and local people will have lots of stories to narrate as to how they drove the elephants away at night.
The region also has lots of birds like Drongos, Kites, Sunbirds, Bee eaters and many more. The hill top has a cave temple and the priest’s house. It is a perfect weekend getaway from Bangalore. It’s important to carry lots of water and food, and ensuring no plastic and trash is left behind.
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