Nagabhushan M N

Rayakottai Fort Trek Snapshot Where: Rayakottai, Krishnagiri district, Tamil Nadu From Bangalore: ~80 km via Hosur, about 1.5 hours on a bike. Difficulty: Easy. Stone trail and a short mud path. Fine for first-timers. Climb time: 1 to 1.5 hours at a relaxed pace Entry fee: None. Free parking at the base, and two-wheelers can ride a fair way up the trail. Best season: June to February. Avoid peak summer. Carry: Water (there is none on the hill), a cap, and shoes with grip. Some treks are about...

To trek on any Forest Department route in Karnataka, you now need to book a permit online, in advance, through the official Aranya Vihaara portal — aranyavihaara.karnataka.gov.in. And as of 2026, there's a big change: a certified nature guide is mandatory on every approved route, with one guide for every ten trekkers with daily caps set per trail (around 300 on the bigger Western Ghats trails). No permit, no guide, no trek. Here's exactly how it works, what it costs, and the permit details...

A few honest thoughts on crowds, carrying capacity, and how the Western Ghats I fell for have changed — gathered over more than a decade of walking these hills. I've been trekking the Western Ghats for fifteen years now. Long enough to have watched them change in ways that still catch in my throat. When I started, these trails carried a fraction of the people they do now. Even weekends felt unhurried — you'd pass a few groups, exchange a nod, and still find long stretches of trail entirely...