Hosaholalu and Kikkeri Bramheswara

Hosaholalu has an ancient Venkteshwara temple.Dissapointment once again for me since the priest had gone to Tirupati to invite them.Spending a few moments in the garden which is quite well maintained since it is under the ASI.


I decided to head towards Kikkeri.When i reached the place,the place was locked.A person there suggested that i go and request the priest who stays in the next lane.I walked down through the village to find the priest.When i knocked on his door ,he was having his lunch ,i patiently waited for him to complete.

He came along in his cycle about 15 minutes.During our interaction i came to know that he was from Shringeri and we both were pretty much from the same place.He showed me around the place.This has to be one of the best temples i have visited till date.The carvings are pretty much intact right through the temple ,it was a delight to the eyes.




Godess Chamundeshwari



Intricately carved pillars






Lord Channakeshava

Some parts of the temple are still incomplete indicating a war or some other kind of instablity leading to the incomplete sculptures.After a brief prayer he showed me around the temple.The huge nandi is simply amazing.Besides Nandi it also houses some very intricately carved sculptures of Lord Ganesha,Godess Chamundeshwari,Lord Channakeshava besides the main idol of Shiva linga.

The dateline dates back to ,when apparently the queen wanted to build a temple for lord Brahma,apparently was later advised by the courtiers not to do so.The queen then had a dream where Lord Shiva appeared and asked her to build a temple for him.Hence the name Brameshwara.

There is also a temple of Godess Parvathy which is set to have been built about 500 years later.The location of this temple is behind a huge lake .I can only wonder the granduer of this peaceful ,amazing temple in its hay days .

Today it is just a mute witness to the past.The temple has gone through some tumultous times with it being closed for almost 2 years inbetween for want of priests.The local MLA has spent about 2 lakhs to get some repairs done.I do hope the temple is preserved for the days to come

Varahanatha Kalahalli

One has to travel from Pandavapura-Bookanekere-Varahanatha Kalahalli
to reach this place.I was impressed by this place after seeing a fellow blogger Aravind who has a knack to exploring ancient temples.



It was quite a dissapointment for me since the temple was being broken into
pieces to build a new structure.I am certainly not sure what was the need for it.Generally as a matter of rule ,one is not supposed to see the vigraha when it is under renovation.It is as a rule that they move it to a neigbouring area and offer pooja when the renovation work is being done.

But i am glad that this was not done since that would mean taking a chance with the 18 feet idol of Lord Varahanatha.I am pretty sure they would have screwed the idol for sure.The renovation work is going to take another year i was told my the priest.The vigraha is packed with sand bags and now lays among the ruins of the structure being dismantled

After paying respect at the makeshift temple which has a quite a decent picture of the main idol,i decided to have some lunch on the banks of the kabini backwaters.It was heartening to see some lovely birds on which i spent some time clicking away their pictures.I then decided that it was time to head for Hosaholalu from here.









I was in for more surprises.I also found some lovely flamingoes in one of
the small lake a little ahead.It was certainly a treat for the eyes.I would certainly love to come back to this place once again to see the vigraha of Lord Varahanatha in full splendour

Gargeshwari Ganesha,Eshwara devasthana

My main target when i set out was Gargeshwari devasthana near T-narsipura

I set out early at 5:45 am ,a quick pit-stop to fill the fuel and i was off to mysore road.I broke at bidadi for a quick breakfast consisting of thatte idli and vade.







Gargeshwari is a small village about 26 kms from mysore on the way to T-Narsipura.It is supposed to be quite old temple.The main deity is Lord shiva in the form of ardhanareshwara. The temple is known to have some divine powers


A small ganesha vigraha is kept near the main deity.A small brief about the ganesha.

On the first go ,you can lift the ganesha vigraha after making a brief prayer effortlessly
Then you can think of some work aka harike ,then you try to lift the same ganesha vigraha-this time if you are work will succeed ,the ganesha will not move from there .if it does then your work will not be done.It does have some strange power ,something which cant be explained by science and logic.Besides this there is nothing much ,except for a few more sculptures.


After spending some time i headed back.On the way back i also saw a huge lake with a small tower depicting the logo of a the erstwhile hosyala dynasty.




From here i headed towards Varahanatha Kalahalli

Shani Shingnapur ,Ranjangaon Asthavinayak and Shirdi

After an invitation from my former professor i planned to visit Pune.That is when he suggested about Shani Shignapur that i decided to visit the place

Shani Shignapur is about 250 kms from Pune.It is the oldest and most unique of Shani temples.We started at 9:30 am.At about 11 am ,we reached Ranjangaon ,one of the Ashtavinayaks.The idol is worth seeing ,although it is painted by flouroscent orange.After paying our repects to Lord Ganesha we headed towards Shani Shingnapur




As we entered Shani Shingnapur ,we noticed that none of the houses had any sort of doors.That is the unique thing about this place ,it is believed that Lord Shani guards the entire place.A person who steals is known not to have survived in this holy place.

Photography is not allowed inside the temple.The main vigraha ,is nothing but a granite stone in open air which is another unique thing about this place.Pilgrims offer gingely oil,flowers,coconut and flowers at this place.

Women are allowed inside the temple but are not allowed to climb the small pedastal where Lord Shani is installed.One has to take a bath and walk with the dhoti(no other clothes are allowed) to climb this small pedastal.After offering the oil,flowers at this place we finished the darshan of Lord Shani

True incident: A team of rationlists who apparently didnt believe that this place is guarded by Lord Shani had challenged that they would steal in this place and had even announced there stay for about 3 days in a bid to do so.However on the second day of the challenge the team mysteriously dissappered never to return back to Shani Shingnapur

There are some things that i certainly believe that Science cant explain comprehensively.From here Shirdi is about 60 kms .After paying our respect to Shirdi Sai baba,we returned back.Although this was only a 500 kms journey from pune-ranjangaon-Shanishingnapur-Shirdi-Pune,it was certainly more challenging since i had to travel as soon as i came to pune by bus and the next day evening i had to return to bangalore.

A small trip over the weekend ,a cool 2600kms journey was a bit taxing ,but was certainly satisfying

Trivial: Just love this Bajaj Advt on Shani Shingnapur

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GEHPZbtb-I

Ethina Bhuja to Ombattugudda

The weather report was not so inviting ,with incessant rain lashing in the past few days in the shiradi ghat.

After constant monitoring for the final 3 days ,me and my friend Aravind finally decided to take the chance come what to may.We set out in a volvo ,got down at Kokkada and proceeded towards Shishila.After a quick breakfast at the gokhale's house ,we decided to head towards ethina bhuja


Above : Hornbills @Shishila



Above : Wooedpecker @shishila

Our guide was ready by that time and we took an auto to the start point.The initial stretch is similar to that of amedikallu.We first hit a small stream which we had to cross.We found another group taking their breakfast at this point.

Soon we were on our way ,the path getting steeper as we moved along.I was feeling the heat as we moved ahead.After every steep ascent in our path ,i had to take a break.Water was one thing i was glad i carried in abundance.The weather was slightly overcast yet the journey was getting harder as we moved ahead.The first break was when we view the ethina bhuja peak for the first time.We decided to break at this point and had some gulps of water.


View : Amedikallu as seen from enroute to Ethina bhuja peak @Lunch point

Channappa our guide kept prodding me to move on after each stop.We decided to break after we saw the peak was very near.We emptied the packed lunch that we that we had got.One of the reasons for our slow ascent was that both of us had quite heavy backpacks.We soon hit the final grassland at 1:15 pm.We decided to keep our bags here and headed towards to the peak.Reaching the peak is a bit tricky since the final path is a bit slippery and steep.



Above : Final reach to the peak







Above : Views from the peak


As we reached the peak ,we could have views of only one side since the the peak was slowly getting engulfed by the clouds.Ten minutes later we were totally engulfed by the clouds.After spending about 25 minutes on the peak we decided that it was time to head downhill.We reached the based of the peak at about 2:15 pm.The gang we had left behind soon joined us.After a few customary exchanges ,we decided to head towards the temple ,our resting point for the day.




Above : Temple where we stayed for the night



Above : Rainbow after a brief shower at a place nearby









I was sapped and the previous treks and i was feeling exhausted after the days trek.Both of us decided to sleep.After i got up,it was time to have tea.The weather suddenly changed and it looked like it will rain anytime now.We soon decided to cook rice.After rice was done ,it was time for the recipe of the day "bendakai-alugadde huli" .Aravind overlooked the cooking of the rice.I cut the vegetables and put them to boil.Channappa as always was curious as to what was cooking for dinner.Channappa and aravind overlooked the cooking of the sambhar .Soon it was time for garnishing :) .The sambhar was now ready.Having successfully evaded the monsoon for quite a while before we had finally completed cooking dinner ,just after sunset.

We soon sat and enjoyed the moonlight.At around 7:15 pm ,we finally decided it was time for dinner.The sambhar was indeed yummy.The menu looked like -Rice-samabhar,papad and pickle.It was simply amazing having dinner in the moonlit night.


We talked for a while in front of the campfire.We heard loud noises of crackers and villagers screaming from the village nearby.We immediately knew that it was elephant on the prowl.Elephants are one thing that i am a bit wary about.We decided to be a bit more cautious on the next day.We then decided that it was time to hit the bed.We hit the bed at 8pm and i was snoring away into the night.We got up early at around 6:15 am and started getting ready.Aravind oversaw the cooking of the breakfast cum lunch -Upittu and soon we decided to hit the trail at about 8:15 am.We hit the trail which took us through some dense forests initially.


Above : Sizzling display of morning sun
Finally we hit the grasslands at about 10 am .We took a good break of about 10 minutes here savouring the dense forests of kabbinale around us.A missed oppurtunity of ombattu gudda once again reminded me that the trek was still incomplete.



We walked along the peaks and finally hit the ridge from where we could see the ombattu gudda peak.Walking along this ridge is a wonderful experience with splendid views all around us.

We soon hit the estate road in about 30 minutes and moved on towards our quest for ombattu gudda.Finally we hit the forest patch which is the final hurdle before ascending ombattu gudda.We took one final break after we hit the grassland.The views as we start ascending ombattu gudda is worth seeing.We soon were criss-crossing the hills finally making it to the Ninth and the final peak.It was a moment to cherish -finally ombattu gudda had been conquered.We relaxed a bit taking a few snaps.










The weather was a bit cloudy and we decided to bid adieu to Ombattu gudda.The walk back was a bit sapping since it was really sunny now.We finally crossed over the forest patch and hit the estate road by 1 pm.


Above : View from the final peak

We decided to have lunch .We were soon worried about getting de-hydrated since we had a good 10-12 kms from here to the end of the estate.In the next 10 minutes the weather changed dramatically it was likely that it will rain,we quickly completed our lunch.


The next couple of hours was uneventful while we walked through the jeep track ,the weather playing hide and seek.It was a lot cooler which really saved our day for both of us.Soon it started drizzling .We finally hit hosakere at 2:45 pm,our guide bid adieu ,we thanked him for accompanying us through the trek

Another interesting incident was as we walked through the estate a number of people kept asking us if we were the two guys who were lost in Ombattu gudda.We kept denying the same and had to give a patient hearing to all.Personally i have seen some dumb people from bangalore -first time trekkers attempting and getting lost in ombattu gudda.I dont have any sympathy for such people who attempt such tough treks which has a history of people getting lost.I will not be surprised if we soon hear that this route might be closed for trekkers -all due to some mindless idiotic trekkers!!!.

We finally took the bus at 4pm from hosakere and headed towards mudigere.The bus from mudigere to chikmagalur was a real pain since there was some problem in the bus .It took us 1.5 hours to cover 32 kms.We booked our tickets and lazed around at the bus stand.We had dinner and set out for bangalore by the 11 pm bus.

Valikunju peak

I was keeping in touch for a long time with dinesh holla and finally had the oppurtunity to meet the yhai mangalore folks.After completing the Aramane gadde trek i headed towards Karkala.

I reached Karkala at about 6:30 pm and headed towards Ajakaru.I was picked up at Ajakaru by the Yhai team and headed towards Andaru village our base camp for the day.Badly needing a bath i first had a open air bath behind the school.We camped at a school in andaru village,it was a wonderful experience.Dinner was arranged at a local person's place,it was hot rice and sambhar for dinner.


Above : Adike thota @Andaru village

Soon we cozied up at the school and there was some good entertainment from kamath sir ,we chatted for about 1 hour before we decied to hit the bed at 10:30 pm.Somewhere in between when i got up ,it was raining very heavily.Got up early and freshened up.We had idli for breakfast and headed towards the valikunju peak.We parked our vehicles near the forest office.basavaraj would be our guide for the day.

The trek started with steep ascent at 8:30 am.It took me a while getting adjusted to the steep ascent ,coming from a tough aramane gadde trek.At about 9:30 am we hit the first break point ,a small rock platform.An interesing anecdote was narrated at one point by our guide Basavaraj.



Above : First break point

Sometime in 1994-One foreign couple was attacked by a huge python(this forest is known to have them in plenty).The male was attacked and was eaten up almost till the hips.His companion should very good presence of mind ,hurrying down to the base where she met basavaraj and managed to take him along with a sickle.All this is 30 minutes flat from the intial attack which basavaraj says is simply a miracle considering this path up and down takes atleast an hour in the best case.She soon slit the python and freed her companion ,all the while basavaraj was just a stunned and mute spectator!!!.The man survived the attack with some very deep wounds from the python sharp teeth.



Above : Spot of the python attack


As we moved along in the next hour we deviated towards our only water stream point for the day.After filling up the water bottles we moved along further.10 minutes from here we hit the first grassland.We stopped here for sometime cleaning up the leaches which had got onto our legs.



Above : First view of Valikunju peak


Above : View on the ascent to Valikunju peppered with some excellent weather








Above : View of the shola forests enroute to Valikunju peak



From here it was a 3 peak hike ,steeper than our intial path.As we moved along we spotted fresh bear droppings.Each break meant we were greeted by some amazing landscapes allround.The weather was ideal for trekking with clouds covering ,sometimes threatening with a huge downpour but later vanishing giving us some amazing landscapes.Finally we reached the peak at 12:30 pm ,a good 4 hour trek from the base.









Above : Views from the peak Valikunju

Everyone relaxed ,munching on some titbits that they had bought along.I rested for a while.Then it was photo time with people busy clicking snaps.Soon sudhir had got some gojju which was mixed with avalakki and distributed to all.It was a good munch on.Then everybody started dozing off.By 1:30 pm it was time for descent

The descent is a bit tricky ,very very slippery.One slip might and twist an ankle or tumble down ,which one has to be quite careful.Although as intially everybody thought that the descent would be quick ,it took us about 3 hours and we were back at the base by
4:30 pm.

Soon we all went to Andaru village.A pleasant surprise was waiting for us .Idlis and alu bajjis where waiting for us :).Everybody was glad and munched on to the surprise snack.I bid goodbye to everybody and Rakesh dropped me to Ajakaru from where i took a bus to Karkala.I then took a bus to dharmasthala.I bumped into a sea of people in dharmasthala :( .Quickly ate some dosa and returned to bangalore by the 11 pm volvo.


The team of yhai mangalore is really a great team to trek with,excellent team work and great camaradarie to see.It is one of the few teams where everybody pitches in.Special thanks to Dinesh holla for this oppurtunity to trek with team Yhai.

I am waiting for my next trek with Yhai Mangalore team.