Trip to South-West Karnataka: Belur, Chikmangalur, Halebid, Shravanbelagola

Chikmangalur: around 250 kms from Bangalore, NH4 till Tumkur, NH 48 via Channarayanpatna, Hassan. Via Belur to Chikmangalur.


The thought of a long weekend always brings about this question in my mind - "Where would be our destination this time?" Since IPL season is on, Supratim was not much interested to go out of the house, leave alone a 3- day tour to any vacation spot. Finally, to keep me from cribbing about, we had decided to go to Ranganathittu bird sanctuary for a day trip on Saturday - 2 May 09.
On Wednesday, I heard from a friend that they were going to go a place called as Mullayangiri peak in Chikmangalur district and were going to stay at a homestay. Last year also, we had planned this trip to Chikmangalur but it had not materialized. So once again, I tried convincing Supratim to check if we can get a homestay in Chikmangalur and visit that place. We tried at some homestay but being a long weekend, all of them were booked up. Finally after a lot of search, we came across a name "Eco Tours" - after calling them up, they mentioned they had a room free and could accommodate us on the weekend.

Day 1
We left Bangalore at 6 am to avoid all the traffic en route and were off on the NH4. The road till Tumkur was under construction and very congested with all the trucks and Lorries on the highway. We had to follow the NH4 till Neelmangala – which is about 27 km from Bangalore. From the highway, we took a turn to the left for the NH48 – it is a very big turn and hence impossible to miss (at least till now when there is no construction on that road). And followed NH48 till Channarayanpatna. The road condition was pretty good so we did not face any problems. We had our breakfast at “Kamat Upchar” a few kms on NH48 just after crossing CRPatna. The restaurant is pretty good and one can enjoy their hot dosa/idli/vada with a nice cup of tea/coffee. The restaurant was packed with all Bangalore public making their getaway to vacation destinations.
After crossing CRPatna, there would a major left turn just after an Indian Oil petrol pump and Govt Polytechnic board, which one would need to take, and since there is no signboard mentioned it is confusing. In case of confusion, you can ask around. We followed the highway till Hassan, from which we need to take a detour to Chikmangalur via Belur.
Belur temple is definitely worth a visit while going to Chikmangalur. It is only 2 kms away from the main road and thanks to Karnataka Tourism has proper signboards guiding the travelers.

Belur – Chenna Keshava temple

This magnificent shrine built of stone is a creation of Hoysala Dynasty and is dedicated to Lord Vijanarayan. The temple construction had commenced in 1116 AD by King Vishuvardhana and later his son and grandson. It took about 103 years to complete the masterpiece of Hoysala architecture. The temple is carved out of soap stone (steatite) quarried from Tumkur, about 200 kms away. This stone is extremely easy to chisel but attains iron-like firmness when exposed to atmosphere. To maintain the shine of the temple, the stone is treated with a chemical wash and then wax polished once in ten years. The main temple enshrines an image of Chenna Keshava. This is the only functional Hoysala temple with pujas being performed. The main shrine is surrounded by smaller shrines – Veer Narayana temple to the west and Saumyanaki temple to south west. in the surrounding. The temple is beautiful and definitely worth a visit.
From Belur, it is around 1/2 hour drive to Chikmangalur.
We were staying at a place called as “Avathi”. The rent of this place is 1600 per night per person. The place is pretty new and around 35 kms from Chikmangalur. The road leading to the place is not very good – do not expect a proper tar road in some places, but it was manageable. It was a 40 minutes drive to the homestay.
We had lunch here, and in the evening a short walk in the coffee estates.

Day 2
We left for Mulliayangiri at about 9 the next morning from the homestay. In order to reach Mulliayangiri peak – about 18 kms from Chikmangalur, one is required to travel towards Kaimala for about 8 km, and then from Kaimala take a left turn and after about 6 kms, there is a U turn to reach towards the peak. Karnataka tourism boards guide the tourists all the way. The road for some distance is very good, but gets bad as we progress upwards. The last 2-3 kms road, I would rather not call it a road. I would not recommend a novice driver to travel there. At some places, when you have to give way to oncoming vehicles, I was very scared since we were on the edge on the cliff. The last stretch is pure mud where the road is very uneven. Finally after the scary ride to the top, we found a proper parking place for the vehicles at the bottom of the peak.

Mullaiyanagiri

This is the highest peak in Karnataka.Its 6000+ feet height is mostly used to watch sunsets. We had to climb up a lot many stairs to reach the top of the peak. The scene from the peak was amazing. We could see the whole mountain range from atop. There is a small temple also located here.
The climb down is equally challenging for the drivers.

Bababudangiri
From Mulliayangiri, we proceeded forward towards Bababudangiri peak. Look out for Dattatreya peeth on the tourism boards to proceed to Bababudangiri. The road to this peak is comparatively better. Atop there is shrine dedicated to
Bababudan and one can enjoy the scenic beauty. 3 kms ahead is Manikdhara falls. The road to this is distance wise less, but very winding and takes forever to reach. The view looks similar, only difference being a fall located. We saw a lot of people taking bath there, but did not have the patience to climb down stairs to reach the fall. People who had visited it and were walking back up were very discouraging. In my opinion, once if you have seen Mullayangiri peak and the scenery from there, Bababudangiri can be avoided.

Kemanagundi
From Bababudangiri, we started off towards Kemanagundi. The road towards Kemanagundi from Mullayangiri is very bad and I would recommend no one use this road. In Kemanagundi, one can visit Hebbe falls, which is 13 km away from the main road, Z point and Raj bhavan. By the time we reached Kemanagundi through that winding so-called road, it was already sunset, and we wanted to reach a flat land before dark, so we could not visit these places.
After visiting these places and travelling via these roads, I would recommend everyone to split their tour into two parts – Mullayangiri & Bababudangiri, and Kemanagundi. If you wish to leave out Bababudangiri, then leave early in the morning, visit Mullayangiri, climb down to flat land and then take a proper road to Kemanagundi. If you can split your visits into two days, then there is an another road which leads to Kemanagundi via highway. Proceed towards Lingadahalli from Chikmangalur which would be around 42 km away. Near Lingadahalli, there is a petrol pump, turn left towards Kemanagundi (or ask the road at the pump). This road is in a very good condition, and you would get only a 3-4 km bad stretch once you start reaching Kemanagundi. Hebbe falls road is complete mud road; there is not even a slight trace of tar on this road. Supratim had visited Hebbe falls sometime before, and he mentions it is worth a visit.
By the time we reached our home stay it was 9 pm and it was our good luck that we could reach the house properly. All the home stays are in remote locations, situated amidst coffee estates, which al look the same. So whenever you visit, keep a note of all the turns that you need to take – maybe note down the km readings and you can use these to get back anytime. It definitely worked for us.

Day 3
We wanted to avoid the Bangalore Neelmanagala traffic and so decided to leave early from the home stay. So after having a hearty breakfast, we left for Habelid, Shravanbelagola.

Halebid



Halebid is 37 km from Chikmangalur. We went along the Chikmangalur highway towards the Capital of Hoysala empire. While travelling towards Bangalore, you might be likely to miss the Halebid turn. There are Karanatak tourism boards at a lot of places before, but just when you have to take the turn, the signboard is actually in the opposite direction – so that people coming from Bangalore can see it, but not the ones from Chikmangalur. We had seen this while going to Chikmangalur and were on the lookout for the turn. But for others, I would like to mention that make a note of the signboard which mentions Halebid 37 kms. The left turn comes at around 22 kms from the signboard. From the turn, Halebid is 15 kms on the inside and the view towards the place is magnificent. The road has gulmohar trees on both sides. This time of the year they were all flowering with the petals falling on the road giving it a divine look. The temple is still incomplete but you would not notice this in front of the beautiful carvings.
This shrine is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is the largest of Hoysala temples. The construction of this temple was during the 1121 – 1207 AD period, and is very similar to the Belur temple. The temple complex consists of two identical temples with shivalinga and nandi mandaps facing the lord. The nandi mandaps have huge nandis carved equally beautifully. Outside the shrine are intricately carved figures from mythological epics – Ramayan, Mahabharata and puranic legends of beasts. The carvings on the outside consist of – elephants, Hoysala royal emblem of a man killing a tiger,lions, charging horsemen, epics sculptures and mythical beasts (from bottom up).
Outside the shrine, locals sell stone sculptures and panchdhatu handiwork. They try to con you by selling the crafts work at huge prices. Beaware of these, even though you would agree that the people are doing so much work for these sitting in the sun and polishing the stone to give them the required shape, shelling out your hard earned money and being conned is still not agreeable. Hence for these people – small Ganapati stone idol – 20 Rs, medium Buddha head piece – 50 Rs, Sitting lamps medium size – 10 Rs. Panchadhatu murtis – 40 Rs each. If you can bargain and get for less, well good luck.

Shravanbelagola
From Halebid, take the road further on to reach the highway again, it is not required to go back the same away again to reach the highway. Ask the locals for the road to Hassan and they would guide you. As you progress towards the highway, far off into the left you would be able to see the windmills of Hassan. Keep going on the highway till you see the signboard which mentions Shravanbelagola 18 km to the left. From the left turn it is a straight road, till you reach the town. You would be able to see the temple from far off to guide you to the base. This visit is not for the weak of the hearts. When you reach, you would realize the magnitude of what is required by you to visit the place.
Shravanbelagola is located between Indragiri and Chandragiri hills and is one of the oldest and important Jain pilgrimages. Shravanbelagola means “monk of the white pond” and is named after a belagola – white pond – which was created in the heart of the town by the milk used for the first mahamastakhabbhiseka of the giant statue of Gomateshwara or Lord Bahubali. The mahamastakhabhiseka ceremony is held once in 12 years. . The sacred shrine atop the hill is accessible via a flight of 641 stone steps. The climb is very steep and you have to climb without your shoes, though socks are allowed. Make sure that you do not sit down while climbing up, else it would be difficult to get up. Instead if you get breathless, stand for some time just breathing loudly, once your heart racing has slowed down proceed forward. Also make sure that you don’t drink water. However the climb is worth it when you view the tall statue.
The statue stands tall at 58 feet and 8 inches and is regarded the tallest monolith in Asia. The amazing part of the statue is that it has been carved out of a single block of granite. The figure has 26 feet wide shoulders and arms stretching down.
After visiting Shravanbelagola, we proceeded back to home sweet home, Bangalore. The road till Neelmangala is good, but later gets worse when you reach Neelmangala.


If you are planning to visit these places,
Day 1 – Drive from Bangalore early in the morning, visit Belur on the way, reach Chikmangalur, have lunch and visit Mullaiangiri
Day 2 – Visit Kemmanagundi and places around.
Day 3 – Leave from Chikmangalur, visit Halebid, Sharavanbelagola and back to Bangalore.
The total trip is around 800 km.
Have a safe trip ahead.