13/05/2016
Savandurga is formed by two hills known locally as Karigudda (black hill) and Biligudda (white hill). The earliest record of the name of the hill is from 1340 AD by Hoysala Ballala III from Madabalu where it is called Savandi. Another view is that the name is originated from Samantadurga attributed to a Samantharaya, a governor under Ahchutaraya at Magadi, although there is no inscription confirming this. There were no steps to reach the hill top and it was covered by bamboos and other trees forming a barricade.Megalithic burial urns have been found in the area. Saavana in Sanskrit also means three time rituals.
The main deity of the place is Sri Savandi Veerabhadraswamy Virabhadra. The temple is situated in the foot of the Savandurga hill. The lord Veerabhadraswamy has followers across the south karnataka districts like Bangalore, Ramanagara, Tumkur and Mysore.
There is a Temple of Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy, where there is an Idol of Lord Narasimha has been worshiped for many generations.
Savandurga provides for some top class serious slab climbing routes in the world. There are a dozen routes, bolted or otherwise on the south face of the monolith. These range anywhere from 700 to 950 feet of technical climbs, providing sport, trad or a trad-sport mix.
Most of these routes can be completed in half a day to a day, depending on various factors. Some of the routes have long runouts, and most of them face South or are exposed to South-east, implying that when the sun comes up, the rock becomes quite hot.
