From IT hub to Climbing hub: Hyderabad’s rock rise
HYDERABAD: In a city better known for its biryani and IT corridors, an unlikely revolution is taking place on ancient rocky outcrops. Dr. Renuka Pechetti, an astrophysicist and president of STARCS, has transformed what began as a casual passion project between two friends into a structured non-profit organization putting Hyderabad on India’s rock-climbing map.
What started as an informal gathering of a handful of enthusiasts has, over the past three years, grown into something far more ambitious,Hyderabad climbers, a registered society, an affiliation with the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF), and a steadily growing community of climbers who are discovering that their city hides one of India’s most remarkable natural playgrounds.
Beginner workshops and multi-pitch training gain momentum
At the heart of this movement is Dr. Renuka Pechetti, president of the Sport, Trad and Rock Climbing Society (STARCS), and one of the most quietly determined sports advocates in the country. She manages the Hyderabad Climbers community, coordinating weekend workshops, multi-pitch climbing expeditions, and outreach events via Instagram and Facebook, all from thousands of kilometres away.
“No other city in India gives you access to climbing rocks within the city limits. Hyderabad is super special,” said Dr. Renuka Pechetti. She further added “Ask any climber in Bengaluru or Mumbai, and they will tell you that to reach a decent rock face, you must first endure at least two hours of traffic. Hyderabad breaks this rule. Within ten minutes of Gachibowli, one of the city’s busiest IT corridors, lies Khajaguda Hills, a cluster of granite boulders that would not look out of place in a professional climbing guide”.
“No other urban area in the country genuinely has access to boulders like this within the city,” Dr. Pechetti explains. Beyond Khajaguda, Hyderabad Climbers has established routes at Durgam Cheruvu, also tucked inside city limits, and at Ghar-e-Mubarak near the Forest Trek Park, just ten minutes from Khajaguda itself. The rock quality, she notes, is comparable to Hampi, the internationally celebrated climbing destination in Karnataka. “It is sharp, the routes are well-built, and there is enormous potential to develop it further,” she says.
Despite its geographic blessings, Hyderabad Rock Climbers has faced a stubborn awareness problem. Unlike hiking, where you can lace up your shoes and head out, rock climbing demands focus, technique, safety knowledge, and an appetite for challenge. “For regular people, it feels much harder than it is,” Dr. Pechetti acknowledges. “People who come into this sport tend to be the ones who actively seek out hard things.”
Because the society is entirely non-profit, funded by volunteers, membership contributions, and crowdfunding, large-scale marketing campaigns are out of reach. Growth has been organic, driven by word of mouth, social media, and the enthusiasm of those who discover the sport and stay. Yet, by any measure, the trajectory has been steep. “Whatever we achieved in the past three years has grown exponentially compared to the ten years before,” Dr. Pechetti says.
The society regularly organizes climbing trips beyond Hyderabad. Hampi, where climbers from across the world have been visiting for years to scale its distinctive granite formations, is a familiar destination. Badami in north Karnataka, another well-established site with routes set up by climbers from multiple countries, is another regular stop. But perhaps the most exciting project on the group’s agenda is closer to home, Mylaram.
Beyond the city: Mylaram’s limestone caves offer new potential
“We found a place that has the potential to become something like Badami or Hampi,” Dr. Pechetti says of Mylaram, situated about an hour from the city. What sets it apart is its limestone composition, a rarity in this part of the country, and its extensive cave systems, which offer unusual climbing terrain. Over the past year, the society has been painstakingly installing bolts for new routes there, financed largely through donations from group members. They have also secured the support of local authorities, a breakthrough that opens the door to wider development.
Every first weekend of the month, Hyderabad Climbers hosts a beginners’ rock climbing workshop. There are also courses covering rope skills, rappelling, and sport climbing, the kind of instruction that forms the foundation of basic mountaineering programmes. In fact, Dr. Pechetti believes the society’s curriculum goes beyond what many formal courses offer.
For those ready for bigger walls, there is multi-pitch climbing at Marigudem, where participants ascend at least 200 feet of rock face with ropes and belaying partners. In 2024, the group ran two multi-pitch workshops, double the number from the year before, and a new batch is already scheduled for March 2026. “People are not reducing. They are signing up, coming back, and moving to harder things,” Dr. Pechetti says.
In five years, Dr. Pechetti wants climbers from across India, and eventually the world, to think of Hyderabad the way they now think of Hampi, a place worth travelling to specifically to climb. “This city has the rock, it has the routes, it has the convenience that no other Indian city can match. We just need more people to know it exists,” she says.
The STARCS is registered and affiliated with the IMF. All activities are run by volunteers. For anyone curious about learning to climb, the society’s beginner workshops are the recommended starting point, no experience required, just a willingness to look up.
