The blockbuster trip of the year - Gujarat

After going through lots of busy schedule and other commitments, finally we firmly decided to make it to Gujarat this year, which was a much much awaited trip since many days. We decided to schedule this trip at any cost and planned well in advance, that is 3 months in advance to be honest. Ok, let me not waste time in describing how important this trip for me and my family. I will straight away take you for important aspects of Gujarat, itinerary and many other stuffs that you may be looking for.

The route map of our trip is as follows

Map of our tour

Here is the quick access to all the information you need.

1. From where the trip was started?
A: From Bengaluru

2. Where did you reach in Gujarat and how?
A: Reached Ahmedabad in flight

3. What time was the flight and what is the duration of journey?
A: We took early morning flight at 6.15AM, and journey is around 2hours

4. How did you book your tour?
A; Via TravelTriangle. Got it customized as per my requirement.

5. Did they book flights as well?
A: No, flight I booked on my own.

6. Who was your tourist operator?
A: Transway India

7. How was the service?
A: Not very good. Somehow manageable.

8. What all did it include?
A: It included Pickup from airport, AC cab for sight seeing, Hotel bookings and Drop off to airport.

9. Was it group tour?
A: No, it was customized for me.

10. Did you see any advantage booking tour like this?
A: Yes, hasslefree. The agent will book everything on your behalf and he will be single point of contact for you

11. How different it is from other agents?
A: We will be able to book via local agents who will know better about their locality.

12. How much did it cost for you?
A: Almost 40K per person inclusive of all.

13. How was the experience?
A: Wonderful. A must visit state for travel enthusiasts.

14. Can you please share the itinerary?
A: Here it is.

     Day 1

     Ahmedabad

     Arrival at Ahmedabad, meet our representative and proceed to hotel. checkin at hotel. Later visit           Akshardham Temple and Adalaj Stepwell. Eveing visit Law Garden Market and O.N at Ahmedabad.

    Day 2

    Ahmedabad- Vadodara - Champaner –Pavagadh- Ahmedabad

    After breakfast, we drive to Vadodara.Visit the Laxmi Villas Palace and Museum. later drive to                 Champaner and Pavagadh. Later drive back to Ahmedabad and O.N at Ahmedabad.

    Day 3

    Ahmedabad- Mdhera- Patan- Little Rann of Kutch.

    After breakfast drive to Modhera. Visit the famous sun temple and later proceed to visit the Stepwell      at Patan. LAter proceed to Little Rann of Kutch. Checkin at hotel and O.N at LRK.

    Day 4

    LRK – BHUJ ( 400 KM) 

    Breakfast at hotel and later we take a jeep safari to Wild Ass Sanctuary. (Jeep is complimentary            ,Reserve entrance to be paid by guest) . Later lunch at hotel and drive to Bhuj.

    The historic city of Bhuj derives its name from the Bhujiyo Dungar, a hill, overlooking the present day     Bhuj town. Bhuj is a typical example of a desert town located between two geographical features -         Bujiyo Dungar on the east & Hamirsar lake on the west. Visit Aina Mahal and Prag Mahal and                 Museum.Overnight Bhuj.

    Day 5

    After breakfast a day excursion to Banni Villages

After Breakfast proceed for a day excursion to Banni Region. Amidst the Desert land of infinite dimensions, are suspended, quaint little villages. These are the last villages on the India-Pakistan border. Here you will come across master craft people' exposing their traditional art, turning out master pieces every day. Their ornaments, clothes, utensils, everything they use - will make you feel as if you have stepped into lifestyle museum leaving you spellbound. Banni Embroidery of Kutch This needle work derived its name from the semi-desert areas called Banni in the Kutch district. It is a long tract of 2,144 Sq. Km. where 44 villages form hamlets (Vandhs) People in this area are engaged in tertiary occupations like embroidery, leather work, dairy and other cottage industries. Banni embroidery is locally known as "Kutch Bharat" Khambira, Kharek, Kodi, Kacho Bharat Fako, Bharat etc are main stitches used in this area. The work is known for minute designs Gorgeous colors embroidered articles are closely associated with their day to day needs.

The grasslands of Banni are scattered with villages of pastoral groups. As the women of these groups do embroidery for their personal use and a supplementary income, this is one of the highest concentration areas of craftswomen in the world. 

Khavda (85 Km.) – a Small village, One can visit to Khatrivas to see artisans printing & selling Ajrakh. The town also has skilled Leather Craftsmen and there are some shops retailing local crafts, including Leather Slippers. Off the main road is a clinic run by Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan (KMVS), Federation of Kutchi Women's groups. 

Ludia Village is comprised of several hamlets belonging to the Meghwal & Samma Communities. The latter community, primarily herdsmen, is more conservative when it comes to tourists. Gandhi nu Gam, populated by the Meghwal community, features beautifully Painted Bhungas .The Kanjari (Blouses) of the women and the Bhunga decoration of this village are especially colorful.

To curb exploitation & experiment with community marketing, the hamlet has set up an “Otlo” or a roofed platform next to the Temple, where each household brings out their embroidered goods for selling.

Drive to Hodka. Take typical Kutchi Lunch at Shaame-e-Sarhad Village Resort. Hodka – a cultural village is located in the Banni Grassland, right on the edge of the great Salt Desert – the Rann. The name Hodka is derived from the Gujarati word “Hodi” meaning Boat, as the shape of the Jheel is believed to be in the shape of a Boat. It is believed to have been set up by the Halepotra clan. 'Halepotra' literally means the 'Son or the descendant of Halaji', who is believed to have immigrated from Sindh. The village is now a part of National project. The village is famous for its craft like Decorative Mirrors, Lamps, Hand Fans, Letter Boxes, Wall Hanging, Lather, Clay, Wood, Metal, Mud Work and especially the exquisite Silver Jewellery. The artisans sell their goods directly from their artistic Huts.

Visit the Bhirandiyara – is a favorite Tea stop for locals and visitors alike on the road to Khavda. The village boasts of a delicious sweet – fresh Maavo. This milk-based sweet is best when eaten hot. Most of the roadside stalls sell Maavo. The local Meghwal Community has exquisite embroideries and skillfully decorated, colorful Mud Bhungas. 

Mud-Mirror work - Lippan kam is a decorative art done by common people mainly women. Lippan kam is done inside bhungas / mud huts in villages of Kutch; sometimes you can find it on outer walls too. Generally women make birds, trees, animals, and peacock, human figures etc in lippan kam.It is done with a mixture of clay and camel dung. Then gum is used to stick mirrors. Originality of lippan kam lies in adding no color or only whites. Small round, diamond-shaped or triangle mirror pieces are essential to lippan kam.

NOTE : This is to bring your kind notice that all the tourists visiting Bhuj / Kutch area are required to Obtain the permit from the Police Office for the interior Kutch visit the villages north of Kutch, including Khavda, Bhirandiara and Dumaro,

Overnight Stay at Bhuj.

    Day 6

    Bhuj – Jamnagar (250 KM)

    drive to Jamnagar. Visit Bala Hanuman Temple 

    Bala Hanuman Temple : Bala Hanuman Temple is a pilgrim place venerated by the devotees of Lord     Rama. It is a world famous temple, known for the continous chanting of Jai Ram, Shri Ram. The             chanting is going on since 1964 and has found a place for it in the Guinness Book of World Records.     People chant the name of the Lord in shifts, 24hours a day

    Overnight at Jamnagar.

    Day 7

    Jamnagar - Dwarka ( 150 KM )

    Early morning visit Naraina Marine PArk.

    Today after breakfast proceed to Dwarka. 

    DWARKA : One of the principal piligrimages of Hinduism is at Dwarka. Legend is that Lord Krishna         moved to this coastal town to set up a capital. Marine excavations off the Dwarka coast have                 revealed important evidences of tour ancient cities, which probably includes the Dwarawati of the           Krishna Lila. Today, it is not only a major pilgrimage site but a pleasant spot for a beach holiday. The     multi pillared sabha mandapa leads to a 60 pillared sanctum sanctorum that dates back 2500 years       according to the scriptures. 

    After noon visit : 

    • Rukmani Temple The visit of Dwarka is not complete without a visit to Bet Dwarka, an island at a         distance of 30 Kms. 

    • Off the coast of Okha port, At Bet, there are temples of Vishnu (in the form of 'matsya'), Radha,           Lakshmi, Satyabhama, Jambuvanti and Devaki. A ferry ride from Dwarka to the island of Bet near         Okha makes a pleasant outing. 

    • NageshwarMandir is a temple situated towards Okha dedicated to Lord Shiva and houses one of         the 12 Jyotirlingas in an underground chamber. We will then visit Gomati Village, Gomati Talav and       Gomati Mandir.

    Overnight stay at Dwarka

    Day 8

    Dwarka - Porbandar - Somnath 250 KM

    Today after breakfast proceed to Somnath temple.Enroute visit Porbandar, Kirti MAhal and Sudama       Temple. Visit Somnath Temple in the evening, 

    Somnath - Somnath Temple for followers of both Shiva and Vishnu. The most important temple and      main highlight in Somnath is the Kailash temple with its imposing architecture, a 50-meter high              tower, intricate carvings and a number of holy idols and images. 

   Overnight Somnath.

    Day 9

    Somnath- Diu - Somnath

    After breakfast, we take a day excursion to Diu. Visit Diu Fort, Museum and Church. Later day at           leisure at Nagoa Beach. Later in the evening return back to Somnath and O.N at Somnath.

    Day 10

    Sasangir-Junagadh-- Ahmedabad 380 KM

    Today morning take breakfast at hotel and check-out and proceed to Sasangir to enjoy the safari           from 9-12 pm (Reporting time : 8.30 am) (4500 INR Extra per jeep safari at Sasangir). Later Proceed     to Junagadh.Visit Uperkot Fort, Ashok Rock Edict, Mahabat Makabara and Junagadh Museum.,             Enroute visit Jalaram Temple at Virpur and Swaminarya temple, Navlakha Palace and Vintage Car         museum at Gondal. Then proceed to Ahmedabad and Overnight stay at hotel at Ahmedabad

    Day 11

    AHMEDABAD

     Today morning take breakfast at hotel and check-out. Go for a Ahmedabad city sightseeing. Visit            Hathi singh Jain Temple,Jama Masjid,Gandhi Ashram,Kankaria Lake. Later we will drop you at             Airport/Railway Station for your onward journey.Here your trip ends with fond memories to cherish         forever

Now let me share my overall experience of Gujarat.

This trip was very important for me because of two reasons. One being an emotional attachment my family had on Dwaraka and second is that we had very less travel/tour done in this year and hence it was very important for us to get out of routine and execute the long pending Gujarat travel plan.

My wife's grandfather Mr. S R Rao was famous archaeologist. He was involved in excavations of lots of stuffs when he was working for archaeological department. One of the main excavations that he did was in Dwaraka. He was instrumental in identifying the famous Dwaraka city which was immersed deep under the sea. Dwaraka is called Devabhumi which is also a sacred place got this emotional touch which urged us to make a visit to there soon. So, we chose the state Gujarat to explore and planned our journey. Due to lots and lots of events and functions in family, we had to postpone few dates and finally planned and finalized the plan to visit in December first week. We planned December first week due to few reasons.

1. Weather will be pleasant in December. Neither too hot, nor too cold. Hence it will allow us to explore and enjoy better.

2. The Rann utsav had started at that time. Hence we will get a chance to visit famous Rann utsav.

3. We explicitly chose first week to avoid the crowd that will be there in last week during year end. Also the costs will be considerably high in year end. So, one can have a better travel experience with significant savings in wallet :)

After exploring lots of websites and travel blogs about Gujarat, we decided to visit places as per the itinerary mentioned above. The plan included blend of ancient palaces and glorious palaces, interesting museums, archaeological wonders, sacred and magnificent temples, jolly adventurous safaris etc. 

Any trip will be successful if you are comfortable. For that stay, travel, food, company everything should just fall in place. Even if one of them is missing the trip will not be memorable. Luckily we had all of them in our trip and enjoyed it thoroughly. I should seriously mention about the food in Gujarat. Me being vegetarian I wanted lots of options with Veg food only. Also for my parents who do not consume garlic or onion, they wanted food which tastes good even without that. Luckily Gujarat was able to cater to this requirement very well. The vegetarian jain meal is available there everywhere :) We had tasty fafda, dhokla, kachoris, samosas,maavo, aloo poha, masala buttermilk and lots and lots of sweets. Since we were very happy with food, we were relaxed and stayed healthy throughout the trip. Also our stay options were comfortable which gave us the proper relaxation and rest that was needed. We had the AC cab which made our journey tireless. So, overall we had a comfortable trip.

Out of all the places I visited here I am mentioning my favorites of all. Kankaria lake, Mahakalika temple ropeway at Pavagadh, Vadodara Palace, LRK wildass safari, White Rann, Dwarakadhish temple, Somnath temple and Gir. You just should not miss visiting these places for the amazing experience you carry out of it. 

Among the eatables Maavo from Bhirandiyara, Mohanthal from Kandoi sweets Ahmedabad, dhokla, samosas, pav bhaaji from local shops of Ahmedabad (Law garden). Also do not miss to try kachoris from Jamnagar. 

For complete story and reviews of all the places and hotels I visited, please go through my tripadvisor review account at MadhavaMK

Here comes the list of Do's and Dont's 

1. Book well in advance so that you will have hassle free trip
2. If you wish to book on  your own, try to gather as much information as possible from known sources.
3. Always keep your ID proof and address proof document with you. This is applicable for any travel plan that you make. Especially if you have to visit places that need your ID to allow admission, you should have your ID's handy.
4. If you are planning to visit Pavagadh, be prepared to walk 200 steep steps uphill. Even if someone takes rope way, this 200 steps is unavoidable.
5. When visiting places of architectural interests, better go prepared with getting familiarized with some information pertaining to those places.
6. When going for safari, follow all the rules that is mentioned. Do not litter around in forest areas. Respect the nature and animals and their privacy.
7. For safari bookings make bookings well in advance. Especially for Gir safari, online booking is must and that is the only way to obtain legal entry into the forest. Online bookings can be made from 48hours in advance to 1 month in advance. Do not oblige any onsite safari service without forest approvals.
8. When visiting temples, make sure to keep all your gadgets at safe place. No gadgets are allowed inside Dwaraka or Somnath or many museums also for that matter.
9. Have a look at the weather at the time of visit and carry essential thermals or clothes as needed at that time.
10. Always keep a copy of the contact numbers of your tourist operators/stake holders at 2-3 differnt places.
11. Stay safe, do not wander in unknown place at late nights. Also do not try to enter into the waters of rivers or ocean.

For any information regarding Gujarat tour or about my itinerary please contact me.

All your suggestions are welcome to improve my blogs in future.

Thanks.

ಕೆಂಗಲ್ ಮತ್ತು ಮಳೂರು

Welcome to my new blog about Kengal and Maluru which are half day tour from Bengaluru. Kengal is about 60Km from Bengaluru on the Mysore road. The place is well known for the Anjaneya temple. This is also the palce of second chief minister of Karnataka, K Hanumantaiah. One can take buses to reach this place. Express buses will not stop here. One can take settle buses from Ramnagara to reach this place. Or, one can always rely on their private vehicles.

The temple has a long history which one can find by googling about it. The temple remains open most of the day time. Local people come here with their wishes in mind and they believe that their wishes will be blessed and become fruitful after visiting the Anjaneya. They do their rituals in the temple with family and cook their food on the spot. The cleanliness can be improved in temple premises. 

After visiting this temple, we proceeded to Navaneetha Krishna temple at Doddamaluru which is near Chennapattana. This temple is about 12Km from the Kengal temple. The temple is famous for Lord Krishna. People often come here to fulfill their wish of getting a child for their family. Once their wish is fulfilled, they come back with small silver cradle and offer it to Navaneetha Krishna. The temple is maintained by Mujarai department from Government. The temple timings on normal days is from 9AM-12PM, 4PM - 7PM. But on weekends, it will be open from 9AM-1.30PM. It will reopen at 4PM and remains open till 7.30PM. 

Key take aways:

There are lot of eateries on mysore road. So, no need to worry about that. One can visit these places using public transport as well. But, it would be opt if one takes private vehicle. Better to visit in morning half of the day. 

Spotting these spots is very easy. They are beside highway only.

Divine Cheluvarayaswamy and Lakshminarayana - Melukote, Hosaholalu

This blog is about famous Melukote temple which is well known weekend getaway from Bengaluru along with legendary temple of Sri Lakshmi Narayana at Hosaholalu. In this blog I would mention about how to reach these places, what are its specialities and its timings and other details. Keep reading.

Melukote is a famous divine destination. In this blog I do not write about its history. One can google it or follow the link I have given to know about the history of Melukote and some of the importances related to it. In this blog I would concentrate on how to reach this destination, its timings, the preparation you may have to do to visit this place and what other options are available across this.
Well here it goes :)

We had planned this trip on a Sunday. The temple of Melukote is about 150Km from Bengaluru. There are multiple routes to reach this place.
1. Bengaluru-Mandya-Madduru-Melkote
2. Bengaluru-Srirangapattana-Pandavapura-Melkote
3. Bengaluru-Kunigal-Bellur Cross-Nagamangala-Melkote
4. Bengaluru-Magadiroad-Kunigal-BellurCross-Nagamangala-Melkote

Among the above set of routes, while going I took route 4. The road till Magadi is single road but its good. Also traffic will be lesser to get out via this route. We will almost reach the Kunigal highway near Kunigal. Hence its a double benefit - one on the wallet by avoiding toll charges, two on the time by going through less traffic route. We started by around 8AM in the morning. Hence we went till Yediyur and stopped at Swathi Delicacy for breakfast. This venue serves tasty breakfast and has lots of varieties of food. It is neat and not heavy on wallet as well. It also provides restroom service which is agian well maintained. Though it is beside the highway, it has ample parking space. Polar bear is also available beside this hotel for ice cream lovers. One can fill their stomach and proceed to their journey. We also had sumptuous breakfast and took a diversion at Bellur Cross towards Nagamangala. This road is also in good condition. After crossing Nagamangala and going ahead for certain distance we can spot a deviation to reach Melukote which is about 5km from this point. This place is called Jakkanahalli Cross. We reached Melukote at 12PM. Have a look at the below picture for timings of this temple.

Temple timings

If you zoom in the picture, you can see the timings mentioned for normal days and on holidays. Also you can see the timings mentioned for another famous temple on the hill - Yoga Narasimha swamy temple. Since it was on a Sunday, there was considerable amount of crowd and the queue to the darshana was a bit slow moving. We finished our darshana in about half an hour and decided to visit the famouns movie shooting spots - Akka kola and Tangi kola. Kola means pond in Kannada. Here is the picture of the same. This picture is of Tangi kola. Akka kola is besides this kola and looks similar. We have basic facilities available here. Now a days they are guarding this place against any kind of pollution or plastic which is appreciable. 

Tangi Kola

The above ponds and temple are surrounded by many math's and ashramas where in earlier days people used to stay whenever they visit this place. Now also government guest houses are available to stay here. One can plan in advance to avail booking for the same.

After visiting the Cheluvaraya temple we proceeded to the hill - Yoganarasimha swamy temple. One really needs to be strong enough to climb the steep steps to reach the temple premises. There are at the minimum 300+ steps to the temple entrance. People can take brake in between and continue to visit the hill. However people with problems in knee or leg can stay at the foothill and submit their pranamas to the almighty from there only. They can sit and enjoy the calm Kalyani pushkarini at this foothill.

Kalyani at Melukote

Another view of the same Kalyani

View from the top - Yoganarasimha swamy temple

Oh yes :) This is the same place which is seen in lots of movies. The Yoganarasimha swamy temple visit took about 1hour in total. While stepping down we had tea and started to step down. Once we went down hill we visited the Kalyani. It was calm, serene. But cleanliness of this place can improve a lot. People cook here, wash their clothes here and littered around this place. One should take care about it soon. 

After completing the Melukote visit, we had plans of visiting this less explored but arcitecturally marvelous LakshminarayanaTempleHosaholalu. Please follow the link given to know well about this place. This temple is located at a distance of 30km from Melukote and is at about 2km from KR Pete. This temple is of the same period as that of famous Hoysala kingdom. Lord Lakshminarayana swamy is residing in this temple. This place is very less explored compared to its counter parts across Karnataka. However archaeological department realized its importance and the monument is protected by them now. One can see the resemblance of  its architecture with the Belur-Halebidu temples. Since not many people know about this gem, it will be less crowded even on weekends. But if you are architecture lover and follower of Sri Lakshmi Narayana, this is a must visit place. The murthy of the god is so charming and one could not take their eyes off.  I do not want to post the pictures of its external and internal architecture here. I want you to explore it by itself and be happy about it :) 

We started from this place at 5PM and took the same route till Melukote while returning and hit the Nagamangala - Bellur Cross road. Once we reached the Bellur Cross, we headed straight in national highway and reached Bengaluru via Nelamangala. Since it was night, we felt it is better to take the highway route. Also since it was weekend, one should really find a way to avoid mysore road as well since it would be heavily crowded in weekends.

Key notes:

1. The places mentioned in this post are in Mandya district

2. One can visit the places as in this post. If this is the case, start early in the morning by 7AM

3. If you are religious and interested in architecture, I would suggest 2 days plan for this circuit

   Day 1: Bengaluru - Doddaladamara -Magadi (Fort + temple) - Melukote. Stay in Melukote

   Day 2: Melukote - Hosaholalu - Thonnurukere NambiNarayana temple- Bengaluru

4. Plan to start early in the morning.

5. Plan by private taxi/car for comfortable trip.

6. If you want to travel by bus, there are buses directly to Melukote from Bengaluru in morning. There is a bus starting from Srinagara at 6AM in the morning. 

7. Please be aware of temple timings. 

8. Keep plenty of water while travelling

9. For food, in Hassan highway there are plenty of eateries. One need not worry at all. So plan your journey accordingly so that you can have food at these places.

10. Do not forget to take camera. You will surely miss them if you dont carry them.

11. Have sun glasses as well. These places are a bit hotter and there are hillocks and rock stones on the way. So overall temperature will be high.

12. Keep fruits as supplements to suppress your hunger

13. Please do not pollute these places with plastic

14. Talk to locals for directions. Do not always depend on google. People are helpful :)

ರಾಮದೇವರ ಬೆಟ್ಟ - Sholay Hills - Ramanagara

This is the post about famous Sholay hills which is very popular as Ramadevara betta in local language. It means Hill of the God Rama. This is located at a distance of 5km from the silk town Ramanagara. Ramanagara is situated at a distance of 40km from Bengaluru in the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway. At Ramanagar, one need to take a right if one is travelling from Bengaluru side to reach this beautiful place.

I am dazzled by this place because two reasons. For people who want to explore this place in traditional way, we have temple of Rama. For people who is hungry for adventure also this place gives a very much satisfying meal :) Lets explore :)

As you enter the narrow village road, after travelling for about 4-5km, you will be welcomed by the forest gate entrance which welcomes you like below.

Ramadevarabetta entrance

This place falls under the Ranahaddu forest range. Ranadahhu means Vulture in English. Since this is a forest region, staying beyond 6PM is not allowed at this place. Once you enter this gate, you will reach the parking lot where there is forest check-post office. This is the place where the actual steps to the Rama temple begins.

Steps to the temple

The path to the temple is filled with not less than 400-500 steps. But, the path to the temple is very cool to eyes filled with greenery accompanied by strong rocks. The greenery around gives pleasant feeling to the eyes. Also, the canopy formed by trees and rocks will not allow the harsh rays of sun to pierce us.  Here is the sample of how the surrounding of the path.

Rocks and greenery

As we go up the steps, we can find couple of temples in between. We decided to come back at it during downhill. We were so excited to see the summit first. Ahhh.. finally, after climbing so many steps, here is how it looked at the beginning.

Rama temple entrance

We had decided to have breakfast at famous Bidadi tatte idli. We ate a bit extra only since we had anticipated that we may have to do a lot of adventure at this place. So, the steps and the surrounding hills justified our anticipation. This is the main temple which we entered at around 8.30AM. There is a Ganesha idol at the right side of this temple. More importantly, for nature lovers there is a very deep pond which is right beside this temple. Here is the view of the pond from the neighboring hill.

Landscape view of Pond and temple

Breathtaking view right!!!!!! Yes, this is just the beginning. No camera, no words can capture the beauty of the view at this place. One should really experience to feel the fulfillment. In the left side of this pic you can also see the small mantapam. There is one more small temple there. Its a temple of Shiva if I am right :) Oh yes!!!!!! Hold on. Ya, I remember that I told that this place is also known for its challenge to trekkers :) Now, let us explore the path to the even more taller peaks of this place. If you are not aware, this is the place where famous Sholay movie was shot.

The entrance to the peak is beside the temple and the entrance to the peak looks like below.

Way to peak

The stretch to the peak is also equally charming as the peak. We can get a chance to see the surrounding ranges like Savandurga, Shivagange etc.

Enroute to the peak

View of the pond from the peak

Hanuman at the entrance of highest peak

Trail to peak

As you can see from the above pics, you should not just assume the difficulty and challenging trail of this peak. One should really feel it :) Once you are at peak, you can find one more pond there. The view at top is awesome to the power of infinity :) I do not want to post that pic and ruin one's experience.

In a nutshell, this place is very scenic and calm place. If you want to escape from busy life and find some peace, just head here. Full satisfaction guaranteed :)

Important notes:

1. It is better to start early in morning so that one can enjoy the breeze at peak.

2. Plan for breakfast at Bidadi -  especially tatte idli

3. Car parking available at the base of the hill near forest check post.

4. Carry food, water. Hardly anything is available there.

5. Though toilet is there near temple, it is not maintained.

6. If you are scared of height, do not attempt to reach the peak.

7. Suitable for family picnic and also for adventure lovers.

8. There could be few monkeys around. Stay safe.

                                             







                                           



                                   

ಅಂತರಗಂಗೆಯ ಅಂತರಾಳದಲ್ಲಿ

It has been quite some time since I had visited this place and could not find time to express about it. All thanks to the day to day routines and other events that kept me busy these days. Finally I made up mind to express about this peaceful place which is a decent family trip for a weekend.

It was a long pending plan from me and my bestie to visit this place. We had read enough about it, which attracted us to visit this place soon. So, we planned for a bike trip on my friend's all new Avenger :) We started at around 5.30-6 AM on a saturday morning :) Well, dont get afraid that you may have to get up so early if you have to visit Antaragange. We started early to beat the heat that would turn up as the day progresses, and also to escape from evening rains of Bengaluru.

Antaragange is about 70-75km from Bengaluru towards the National Highway 75 that reaches Kolara. The road is bliss to drive from the first toll plaza. Till then you are at mercy of KR Puram traffic :) If you are starting early/feel hungry once you are out of city limits, you will get Kamat hotel on the way to Kolara, where you can have decent food. But the hotel is a bit tough to locate from the main road. So use google maps to know the exact location of the hotel. We failed to locate this place since we did not use maps. But we reached Kolara and had pretty OK OK breakfast at Hotel Sri Shanti Sagar. No, this is not the branch of famous Shanti Sagar group of Bengaluru. Still the place is fine for one time usage. From here the destination is around 5km. Check with locals for directions or depend google maps :)

We reached the spot at 7.30-8AM. We were welcomed by a group of Vanaras, monkeys to be precise :) There were a lot of them. You need to watch out for these if you are taking small kids with you. Otherwise, the place is very much calm, peaceful, away from all the pollution and stress of the capital Bengaluru.  We parked our vehicle in the parking lot, so called parking lot and started to climb the steps to the temple. The parking lot is not at all well maintained. There are lots of monkeys around and they may damage your vehicle. After all if monkeys do not do the monkey business, who should do? :). So be careful on this.

The entrance looks like this.

Entrance, Dakshina Kashi Kshetra

Enroute to the temple

As you can see from the above pictures, the place is also famous as Dakshina Kashi Kshetra, which means Kashi of south India. In fact, there are lots of places which are called Dakshina Kashi - Rameshwaram, Gokarna, Ramanathapura are popular ones to name a few.  Ok, how does it matter to us? We call it as Antaragange :). But, wait...Is that second picture is the route to the temple? Seriously? I am not seeing an end to it at all!!!!!!. Will I be able to climb so many steps to reach the temple? Oh no..not possible at all...If you think like this, then you will be the biggest loser :D You can climb them slowly, step by step. There are places to take rest in between. So, it is easily doable by all.  The environment is very good around and you wont feel tired walking in this peaceful atmosphere, unless you have some problems with your stamina ;) Once you climb these steps, you will reach the temple premises. What is interesting here is, the Pushkarini/pond that is located beside the temple. The importance of this is that, this never dries. There will be water that is coming into this place all days of the years. You can see the gange falling from the hills like this.

Gange, that never dries

Hence this place is called Antaragange. We saw this amusement and proceeded to the temple. As I said earlier, this is called Dakshina Kashi, hence the God here is Kashi Vishweshwara.

Kashi Vishweshwara temple

Well, that is not all. There is much more beyond this. Here we have a cave. In fact, recently Antaragange has been famous for cave exploration. If you already know there is a cave, what is there to explore? Isn't it? Well, the crux lies there only :) You will not be able to find out where the cave is, unless you are expert or take local's help. You will get local kids in and around temple and also on the way uphill who can help you to find cave. But if you want to get more thrill, go alone and explore :)

The uphill way starts beside the pond. On the way, you can get panoramic view of the national highway you came from, and also nearby villages. Have proper camera for different poses and different views on the way to cave.

What a view isnt it? Let us move forward to explore caves after having breathtaking views of flora and fauna of Antaragange :)

The path to the cave is very tricky. One can follow the herd instead of getting lost. So, it is tough to predict the entrance to the cave. I will just show the pic we had taken in front of the cave entrance, rest is left to your imagination until you visit and experience it.

Infront of cave

As you can see, the bright spot in the pic is the only gap available for a person to pass through the cave :) There are two more places where we literally have to squeeeeeeeze in between the huge rocks. Once you enter the cave, you need to come out of the other way only. It is very tough to return in the way you have entered. So, one should have a good stamina to explore this place hazzlefree. 

You can explore various exits of the cave. But only one exitt will put you in right path. Rest all the exits will guide you to the top of the hill from where you can have a view of surrounding villages. Overall, it will be a very nice experience to explore this beautiful cave :)

Note:

1. Start early for more benefits like you can escape from sun, you can beat the traffic, you can beat the crowd at the cave.

2. Wear cap, full sleeve to upper body, and flexible cloth to lower body. This will enable you to explore the cave a bit easily. Full sleeve will protect you from thorns and bruises from the rock.

3. In weekend, few trek groups conduct hiking and other activities there. If you are interested you can register for that.

4. Beware of monkeys. Do not open food items in front of it.

5. If you are not confident of finding path, just take a local guide with you.

6. No network will be available inside the cave. So, depend on your natural human instincts to contact people :)

7. There are hardly any food items available in and around. You can plan for proper food at Kamat before Kolar. Or carry some ready food to eat.

8. Have towels/tissues handy.

We finished entire activity in around 2-3 hours. After this, we proceeded to Kotilingeshwara. This is approximately 40km far from here. You better check with locals for directions or as usual, rely on google. As the name suggests, this places is the home for a lots and lots of Shivalingas. Hence the name Kotilingeshwara.

View of main premises

This is just one view of the temple. But, by seeing this you can imagine the scale at which Lingas are preserved at this place. This is a different temple compared to other temples around. So, it is worth a visit. If you are carrying camera, it is better to take a ticket for that as well if you plan to carry that inside temple premises. 

Daily lunch will be served at temple premises. Here you can savor the tasty prasadm if you go to this temple in between 1.30-3PM. Once you are done with this place, head back to Bengaluru with sweet memories of the trip.

I have alread given the important notes at the beginning, so not repeating again that here. If any input is needed, comment on this post :) Happy to help :)

Avalabetta - Less explored hilly region near Bangalore

Well, this blog is about the less explored hill station near Bangalore. By the time I went here and posted this blog, this place became so popular that I feel hesitated to call it as a less explored place. However, let us explore this beautiful place in this blog :)

Unlike other blogs where I went in depth explaining the stuffs, here I will directly go to the matter :)

Q:What is Avalabetta?
A: This is a beautiful hill station in Chikkaballapura district.

Q: What is the attraction in Avalabetta?
A: As the name suggests, betta means hill. There is a beautiful temple of Lord Lakshmi Narasimhaswami on top of the hill. Also, the view from the top is as beautiful as it is seen from Nandi.

Lord Lakshmi Narasimhaswami

Q:What else is there in Avalabetta?
A: As many of the Bangalureans know now, there is a cliff which looks hanging out and that cliff has been very popular because of lots of selfies taken here and uploaded on FB :)

Cliff hanging out in air :)

Q: How does the view look like from here?
A:

Q: Well, how far is it from Bengaluru?

A: Around 100KM

Q: How to reach Avalabetta?

A: Head in Chikkaballapura road (well known as Hyderabad road). Pass through Nandi cross, and travel for about 30KM ahead to reach a place called  Paresandra. There take a left turn towards Gudibande road. From this deviation it is around 15KM. After going for about 5-6KM on this road, you will get a village by name Mandikallu. You can get help from locals to reach the place, or use GPS :)

Q: What is the best time to go there?

A: Go early in the morning to avoid heat.

Q: What else we have around to cover?

A: Gudibande fort, plan to visit before sun turns up the heat.

Q: What are the options for food there?

A: You will not get anything around there apart from few fruits and tender coconuts. So carry your own food.

Q: What we should be cautious about?

A: Monkeys :)

Q: Do we need any permission to go there?

A: No

Important points:

1. Carry your own food

2. Use GPS if you are lost, or ask locals for help.

3. Plan to visit early in the morning.

4. Carry your camera and dont forget to click selfie :)

Map:

Avalabetta