The Akkayamma Betta Bangalore is by far the smallest attraction I’ve written about in the metropolitan and ever-growing city. Only people living close to it for a change. People living at the heart of Bangalore – it’s not worth the ride.
Living further from Yelahanka on the Kempegowda airport road, the hills are about 8 kilometers. I distinctly remember looking at a hill behind the road of the Decathlon on Chikkajala years ago and not visiting that day.
Only months ago did I with a bunch of friends visit the Akkayamma Betta on an evening. With some of the best evening shots we got, I decided to put this on my Bangalore Diaries. Ever since it’s also been a short cycling trail that I often take for my morning workout.
But for a change, a sit with your old pals, or if you simply wish to look at a plane flying close by (it’s close to the airport after all) – it’s worth a visit.
When to Visit Akkayamma Betta
The evenings! The best time to visit Akkayamma Betta (or hills) is in the evenings. Apart from the barren land and a few small buildings here and there, there isn’t much view from the top – after all, it’s just hills – not a mountain.
But the evenings with a cool breeze, red dusky skies with hints of yellow from the sinking sun, and lights shimmering far from the hills make it beautiful for a few moments of the day.
I think that suffices to why you should visit Akkayamma Betta Bangalore in the evenings. However, I’d recommend visiting between 5-6:30 pm, though the timings of the hills are said to be from 6 am – 6 pm.
As the place is deserted, it’s not safe late in the evenings. Also, it’s difficult to get online taxi services like Uber here at night. Speaking of deserted, let’s talk of where it lies.
Where is Akkayamma Betta?
It lies on the outskirts of Bangalore by the Kempegowda airport close to the Chikkajala locality (Maranayakanahalli to be exact). It’s visible from the airport road behind Decathlon in Chikkajala. Take the tiny road passing by the Decathlon to get there.
From Yelahanka, it’s only 9.6 km away, around a 15 minutes drive. A good 1-2 hours should be enough to wander the spot.
Since we live only 8 kilometers away near Bagalur and were aware of the inner routes, we got there through the tiny inner roads from the Bagalur main road. Thus we completely avoided the main road.
It isn’t as popular as many other places in its location: It’s 22 kilometers from the city’s center. It’s sweet for people living nearby to take a stroll. But I wouldn’t say it’s worth the drive from the city – visit Nandi Hills further from the airport road if you want a drive and a view worth the drive.
The TinyWalk up the Hills
I read some forums that talked of trekking up the hills. ‘Trekking’ is too strong a word for Akkayamma Betta as it’s no more than a 15 – 20 minute inclined walk up the steps of hills with a shed over the head till the top.
The main attraction features a temple at its peak, 3-4 other temples around, and most importantly the serenity of the spot. I read a post about its temples being open only 3 days a week thus people still do visit them during the daytime.
But most evening visitors are youngsters that walk further and sit on large rocks overlooking the dusk view. Some sit on the large rocks and talk for hours, some just pass by clicking pictures, others get high.
While some of my friends had been there earlier, they decided on going again – I and my roommate tagged along. We went around at 4:30 in the evening.
While we had the view of the sunset and lights, a lake is visible on the other side of the betta (hill). We couldn’t visit it as it was dark, but it’s called the Akkayamma Betta Lake Viewpoint.
Sunset Sketches, Climbing, and Vandalism
Besides the beautiful scenic sunset view, visiting the Akkayamma Betta in the evening hides away the vandalized rocks.
There aren’t many trees around on the hills. The rocks protruding around with the engravings and scratches by visitors is a sad sight. The evening sun and the darkness hide it all away leaving behind only the lights of buildings far below for the view.
As the sun dipped further, one of us climbed on a large rock just big enough to fit us all and we helped pull each other up. We sat for a good half-an-hour watching the sun completely vanish beneath the horizon. We didn’t want to get off the damn rock!
Partially because it was scary to get down. I saw some older kids jumping from one large rock to another without a car in the world – it was legit dangerous! I couldn’t afford the risk – I love my life too much – so I settled on the lower rocks.
Vague History of the Place
The history of Akkayamma Betta in Bangalore, like many small local attractions, doesn’t have a firm documented history. Similar to the experience when I visited some temples in Dharwad, there’s less actual written founding of the place and more folktales passed on from our ancestors here.
It finally comes down to what we decide to believe in.
While I focused more on the timings and whereabouts, and how the place appears to me, I found a blogger that covered more on its temples – the Akkayamma Cave Temple and their certain open days.
More posts I wrote on Bangalore:
Akkayamma Betta Bangalore: Closure
The Akkayamma Temple, timings, its location, and all about my visit – this sure is a short article but it covers my experience of the Akkayamma Betta Bangalore.
Since there are fewer greens at the top and it’s usually a dry region, keep your clothing light and everything shall be fine. Well, that rhymed.
Anyway, I hope you have a great day :)
