Tough to imagine that we now need an escape from Bangalore
weather but that has been my case the past few days…an escape from the
Bangalore heat. We picked Chikmagalur for its nearness and the various sights
around it as well as the great places to stay!
Chikmagalur did not disappoint!
Left Bangalore on a Sunday morning, took the Magadi road in
order to avoid the Tumkur rush and tolls. Route goes thus:
Magadi>Bangalore-Mangalore highway>Hassan>Chikmagalur
Our place of stay was an hour after Chikmagalur on the way
to Sringeri. Reached the place (Shanthi kunnj) on Sunday afternoon to find a
fantastic cottage and an amazing view waiting just for us beside the Bhadra
river!!
View from the cottage
Relaxed a bit (this was the easiest and best part) and
continued on the highway to Sringeri which was around 45 kms from Shanthi
kunnj. Reached there in time to catch the sunset and the beautiful effects of
the same on the temple.
Sringeri temple during sunset
Carvings of Godess Sharadha
A little bit on this temple: An abode of Sharadhamba (Godess
Saraswati) Sringeri temple and matha (started by Adi Shankaracharya) is located
on the banks of river Tunga.
Evening procession of the Godess
Day 2 was sketched exclusively for Mullayanagiri which is
about half an hour’s drive from Chikamagalur. Said to be the highest peak in
Karnataka, this is a part of the Bababudangiri range of Western Ghats. The
drive upto the peak had breathtaking view and daunting curves. The last stretch
of the road was narrow and had us on the edge of our seats! But once we reached
the peak and actually felt the cool breeze, we were really happy that we had
this as our main itinerary of Chikmagalur trip! There is a climb of some
400 steps to reach a temple of Lord Shiva. This also proved to be a great view
point!! We then climbed back down to take a more scenic route around the
mountain. The breeze was so cool that we dint realize that we were tanning so
much!!!
Mulliangiri range
Mulliangiri in a phrase was ‘breathtaking and cool’!!
Mulliangiri
Returned to the home stay to enjoy the evening roaming
around a coffee estate and sitting by the river!
Next day found us again by the Bhadra river to trek around
it. It was abundant with rocks and sand and Nilgiri trees!
beautiful rocks by the Bhadra river
Reluctant to leave the view, we made our way back to
Chikmagalur to continue on to Belur and Halebidu temples located in the Hassan
district. It was sight to the eyes though our feet got almost burnt which left
us dancing our way around the temples!
Carvings of lion
Belur temple
A little about the temples: though Belur and Halebidu are
situated around 15 kms away from each other they are generally referred
together. Both were built by the Hoysala dynasty and have beautiful figures
carved on the walls. The walls of the temple are covered with an endless
variety of depictions from Hindu mythology, animals, birds and Shilabalikas
or dancing figures. The pillars are
also carved so beautifully that the entire ambience inside the temple takes you
into another world.
Belur temple gopura
intricately carved pillar
Halebidu temple
Nandi
