Abutting the picturesque Manchanabele Reservoir is Savandurga — touted to be the largest monolith in the continent — rising to the skies. For long, it has remained a popular one-day trip for many Bengalureans, but over the last few weeks, even on weekends, there has been absolute silence at the forest check-post from where the trekking path snakes up the hill. A month ago, amidst much fanfare, seven eco-trails around Bengaluru were opened by the Karnataka Eco-Tourism Development Board (KEDB). The concept was simple: register online, pay a standard fee of ₹450 per trek, and arrive at the location.
A trained nature guide would accompany trekkers to ensure the trails, between 2 km and 4.5 km, packed as much information about the environment and spread the message that “forests were for water”. A month later, barely 275 people have come for these treks, a majority of the footfall has been in Skandagiri, besides Nandi Hills, which is the closest to the city. Devarayanadurga forests, which the brochure describes as tourist’s delight, has seen just 14 trekkers in the past month.
“Before the system, we had large groups driving here on weekends. Now, when we tell them they cannot enter unless they book online, most argue with us about the fees. Eventually, they have no option but to leave,” said a forest officer at Devarayanadurga. This was echoed by those on other routes, saying the entrance fee had seen trekkers head back.
The trail that has seen the least footfall is Bidarakatte in Ramanagaram district, which once played host to a fort and a walled city. Only three people took the eco-trails walk in the past month. KEDB personnel say this is a new trek and is yet to be popularised.
However, this does not explain why patronage is low at Savandurga and Avalabetta, which have traditionally been popular treks considering their proximity to the city. Cumulatively, they have managed just 33 bookings between them. Local forest officials said temples on top of both peaks see hundreds of pilgrims, or those claiming to be pilgrims, go on these trails without payment.
Naturalists remain underutilised
The Forest Department had trained 29 nature guides, who are primarily certified youth from neighbouring villages, with each capable of handling 10 trekkers at a time. For each trip, they will be offered a payment of ₹1,200. However, work is hard to come by, with the team of 29 cumulatively clocking only 39 days of employment till September 24.
The KEDB personnel said that with lack of resources for advertising, hope was on word of mouth. “We have encouraged our trekkers to post their pictures of the treks on social media. Since this is the first time such a trail has been opened close to Bengaluru, we believe this will generate interest and awareness,” said the office.
Illegal treks
While the popularity of Bengaluru Eco-trails is yet to pick up, the placement of a check-post at some popular trekking trails has gone a long way in curbing illegal trekking.
Take for instance, Skandagiri, a haunt for many who trek illegally in the night. It was just last year that emergency personnel had to rescue a group of techies that lost their way in the night. “Illegal trekking has come to a stop. Our personnel are always at the check-post, and if we find people in the night, we ask them to book online and wait till our guides can take them,” said Mallikarjun, in charge of the Skandagiri stretch.
