Badavilinga Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Here Shiva is in the form of a linga. It is a large 3 meters high monolith carved out of a single rock stone. The pedestal of the Shiva Linga always remains submerged in water. Legend has it, that Badavilinga temple was commissioned by a power women.

The Shiva Linga has a fairly large circular pedestal (yoni pitha), drawing into a pranala (outlet). The central median line (somasutra) has the three eye mark, drawn in the line carving. The sanctum chamber that houses it, is a stone, brick and mortar structure.

It looks the temple was much higher in height in its original form. Only the stone part of the temple survives today. The roof of the temple has a big whole which allows light or sunlight to fall on the beautiful Shiva Linga.

For more pictures on Hampi visit, Travelingbeats Photo Gallery.

After Sasivekalu Ganesha Mandapa we went to Krishna temple. It is located little further down the road. Krishna temple complex was built by Vijayanagara king Krishnadevaraya in 1513 after his victorious Orissa campaign. The deity here was infant avatar of Lord Krishna (Balakrishna) which was brought from Udaygiri (Orissa) subsequently.

Krishna temple in Hampi was built in panchayatana style with two enclosures, has the main shrine with the sanctum, a vestibule, a pillared pavilion and halls, a devi shrine and many sub shrines. The grand towered eastern gateway is an outstanding example of Vijaynagara architecture. The temple walls are carved with depictions of Bhagvat Gita, the puranic story of Lord Krishna and life of those times. The pillars of Mahamandapa has the sculpted depictions of the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu. It is one of the rare temple where we can find the a depiction of Kalki, said to be the lord of destruction in Kali yug. As of now there is no idol in this temple. The idol of Balakrishna is kept in state museum, Chennai.

Opposite to Krishna temple, on the other side of the road is the street Bazar (market) of Vijaynagara times and a pushkarani (pond).

Photography is allowed inside as well and no need to open shoes as there are no idols.

To view more pictures visit, Travelingbeats Photo Gallery.

From Hemakuta hill, we went to Sasivekalu (mustered seed) Ganesha, situated on the southeastern slopes of Hemakuta hillock. This 4 armed monolithic Ganesha statue is 2.4 meters high and is enclosed in a open pillared pavilion.

The statue seated in half lotus posture bears a tusk, goad, noose and bowl of sweets in its four arms. Note that the head of lord Ganesha is of an Elephant.

An inscription on a nearby rock records that this Vinayaka mantapa was built in 1506 AD by a trader from Chandragiri (near Tirupathi, Andhra Pradesh) in memory of Narashima II (1491 – 1505 AD) of the Saluva dynasty.

To view the all the pictures visit, Travelingbeats Photo Gallery.

Hemakuta hill is located besides the grand Virupaksha temple in Hampi. We need to take the left lane in front of Virupaksha temple to hike to the top of Hemkuta hill. This completely stone rock has a number of small temples scattered all over the hill.

Achuta Raya temple as seen from Hemakuta hill

Hemakuta hill is one of the best place to watch sunrise and sunset in Hampi. On the west side, we walked till the edge of the hill to watch sunset. However, one can sit on the stone structures as well. On the east facing Virupaksha temple, one can watch a a beautiful sunrise. Most of the temple here are dedicated to lord Shiva.

On top of Hemakuta hill

Toward the southern side one a can find a small Hanuman temple. Also, we can see the areal view of Sasivekalu Ganesha temple and Krishna temple. To the north we can Achuta Raya temple.

Hanuman temple

On the northern side there is a small pond which makes me think that earlier they might have been involved in rain water harvesting.

For complete set of pictures visit, Travelingbeats Photo Gallery.

Virupaksha Temple is the center of religious and tourism activity in Hampi. It is said that Virupaksha temple was erected as a small shrine in 7th century and since then people are worshiping here uninterruptedly. It is located little away from Hampi bus stand and on the southern bank of Tungabhadra river. If you take the right hand side lane of Virupaksha temple, it will lead you to Tungabhadra river.

Virupaksha is a form of Lord Shiva. The temple complex was largely built during the Vijaynagar empire. Records also point to Chalukyan and Hoysala period constructions.

Entry fee to the temple is Rs 2/person. Camera fee is Rs 50.
Timings: 6 am to 8.30 pm

Entrance to the temple is through the largest gopura(tower). Inside there are two more gopuras which are smaller in size. There is an temple elephant which blesses people on tipping. There is an optical illusion near the goddess Pampa shrine. The shadow of the largest gopura falls inverted on the wall through a hole.

Run you imagination wild by visiting the underground chambers. Here you will find the idol of Pataleswara, another form of Lord Shiva. I took a LED torch with me on this tour and it helped immensely in such dark areas. There are other shrines like Bhuvaneswari, Nava graha etc

I would suggest you to walk all around the temple to see the intricate designs on the pillars and ceilings. There is a big earthen urn completely made of stone. Also, you can see the large temple drum which is played during festivals. An annual chariot festival is celebrated in the month of February.

On the right side of the wall one can see the family lineage of the Vijayanagar empire. Hampi was destroyed by the invasion of a Muslim confederacy in 1565 but Virupaksha temple remained more or less intact.

Note:

1. Shoes need to be left outside the second gate at the shoe stand. Each pair of shoe at Rs 2.

2. Photography is not allowed inside the shrine chambers.

To view all the pictures visit, Travelingbeats Photo Gallery.

In sirsi there are few hotels to stay. I have personally visited hotel Shivani and it is quite decent for Rs 700 (double bed room). However, if you are looking for something unique like home stay then you have reached the right place. I am going to share with you some home stay options around sirsi.

1. Areca Valley Stays: Areca Valley Stays is located in midst of luch green cover. They claim to provide you standard room for Rs 1250 and Rs 850 for dormitory including food, plantation walk, forest trek, games etc. They also rent out trekking tents.

Address and contact info:

Areca valley stays
Hulgol, Yellapur Road,
Taluk Sirsi, Uttara Kannada District
Karnataka, INDIA – 581 402
Ph: +91 08384 279341
Mobile: +91 9482 040780 / +91 9481 275437
E-mail: info@arecavalley.in
Website: http://www.arecavalley.in

2. Bakula Home Stay: They offer room for upto 3 persons for Rs 1400 including food.

Address and Contact Info:

Bakula Home Stay
Kalave, Hulekal Road,
Taluk Sirsi, Uttara Kannada District
Karnataka, India – 581 402
E-mail: info@bakulahomestay.com
Ph: +91 08384 223 030
Mobile: +91 9902 043256 / +91 9481 206708
Website: http://www.bakulahomestay.com/

And if you are looking for a resort then there is :

BANANA COUNTY RESORTS
BILLI GADDE,
YELLAPUR – 581359,
DISTRICT – KARWAR,
KARNATAKA, INDIA

MOBILE : +91- 9241175326
M. G HEBBAR [MD] : +919448007751
OFFICE : 08419-262838, 08419-261438
E-MAIL : bananacountyresort@gmail.com

The cool hills of Coorg has been popular for camping. Heres one more offer for camping at very reasonable price. Evergreen County claims they offer rustic camping experience. So visit their site for more details.

Now they are having Classical Camping to go there camping for a day for Rs 749 per person. Offer valid from 08/11/2011 to 05/12/2011. Minimum 6 people required to avail these offer.

Address:

Coorg Evergreen County
Evergreen Estate
Nangala Village, Bittangala Post
Virajpet, Karnataka 571218
India
ph: 9880940198
alt: 9742368143

The visit to Medikeri has been an enchanting one. 252 kms from Bangalore and 1525 m above sea level lies Madikeri, the district headquarters of Kodagu or coorg. Away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Started the journey on 7th April 2006. There was a bit planning before that and lots of wrangling with my girl fren about the timings. I have packed my bag the day before but I forgot a couple of things. On the date of journey I was at late night shift. Reached home and hurriedly took the bag and boarded an auto and left for Majestic. Near Ulsoor bus station I remembered that I forgot to take the hotel booking receipt. Shit…lol Had to come back again. Took the recipt, ……….. and left for Majestic. In the meantime she was calling non stop. ” The bus is going to leave come soon…..” Traffic really sucks…… At last reached Majestic and started running toward platform 6 and heard she calling me. Opps I made it. Thought I will not be able to make it. The Rajhamsha buses are good. They have comfortable seats and are spacious. The bus was almost empty and the journey had been a good one although it was hot and dusty. We had our lunch at a KSTDC VEG hotel on the way to Mysore. I had a nice sleep on my gf’s lap. After crossing Mysore the landscape is very irregular. After a journey of around 8 hours fighting heat and dust reached Medikeri. The serene, small hill station. It was cold then — 8.30 PM.

On setting our foot on Medikeri , first bought a few needs like soap, paste and towel. Then hired an Auto and left for our pre-booked hotel KSTDC Valley View near Raja’s seat.

Day 2:

Last night I had put an alarm. We got up at around 7 am. Slowly got fresh, had breakfast and left for sight seeing by 9.30 AM. I was looking to hire a city taxi which was supposed to show us all the places. But that looked costly at 1600 rupees and she advised to take bus. So first we walked toward the GT circle and took an auto for abbey falls as that was only 9 KM away. We hired the auto for 150 up and down and for half n hour waiting time. It was good a drive through the narrow winding road. The Abbey falls is inside a coffee estate. On the way back the driver also shown us the Coorg raja’s tomb, where the Raja and his royal family has been cremated. Then we boarded a bus for Bhagamandala. An one way trip cost 20 rupess per person which is cheap but the quality of the bus is not bad. It was a good ride through the ups and down of the hills. At Bhagamandala we watched the sangam of three rivers viz. Kaveri, kanneri and the mythical river sujoythi. On the other side of the road there is a temple which was a collection of many deities. The architecture of the temple resembled Chinese style a lot. From there we bought Pure honey. Opps very tasy. There on we haired a van for Talcauvery for Rs 100. Talcauvery is the origin of the river cauvery. We also hiked the bhramhagiri hills. Excellent…what a view from there…also saw a couple of wind mills there. Took a couple of pictures there. On the way back we bought coffee, Elaichi. On reaching Bhagamandala, we had lunch at one KSTDC hotel. We boarded the bus for Medikeri again. In Medikeri we hurried for the Raja’s seat where also a flower show was going on. We enjoyed the enchenting view from the Raja’s seat. Took a few pictures of the flower art. Finally we headed back for to our hotel. Took rest for sometime and by 7.30 we went to see the town. Hardly we could see anything, it was almost a empty town. She asked for tea and we went for a Mallu resturent. The gobi manchurian was good. After a little stroll we we decided to have dinner there. I went for KP, alu-jeera-capsicum sabzee and she for a sea fish. With full stomach we headed back.

Day 3:

Today I did not put alarm and as a result got up late. By the time we checked out it was almost 12 noon. Then I wanted to taste coorgi food so we went to the bhramagiri hotel. We settled for pork chilly, rice roti and pork curry. Excellent food. I would like to have more. LOL! With packed stomach we finally headed toward the bus stand and found the the latest Rajhamsa has left 5 min back. Wrangled for a while for the bus and finally settled for a semi deluxe. On the bus stand I bought a bottle of sealed honey and few butter fruits. The butter fruits are not that tasty. To tell the fact honestly it is very tasty, I did not knew how to eat butter fruit then. I actually tried to eat the seed. No problem, you can have a laugh on me.

We have been lucky to see the coorg rain also. It was pleasent one and pleasing cool breezes. The bus took the Virajpet route amidst the forest, hills and coffee estates. However, the bus took a hell lot of time to reach bangalore. My goodness, the bangalore traffic which I almost forgot came to haunt me at 10.30 pm. We got down at some point near Majestic and dropped her at her hostel and reached home hurriedly.

One can book the Karnataka government owned Kstdc valley view here in Bangalore itself at the Kstdc office at Badami house near corporation. The hotel was quite good at that price(Rs 500 per 24 hours – now (2011) the price has increased many fold). Please note that the checkin and checkout time is 12 – 12 noon. Food is ok. They have a bar too and you can ask for room service if you would like. The hotel is actually on top of a hill. On the back side of the rooms there is a balcony from where one have a nice view of the surrounding hills.

My coorg tour is hardly over as I am yet to see most of the places like Irpu falls, Nisharga dhama, Nagarhole, Siddapur etc. Looking forward to another trip sometime soon.

Note: Regular buses are available from Majestic. Please check the with Ksrtc, the karnataka government run transport company. Recently Ksrtc has open many counters in various of Bangalore. So one can inquire or buy tickets from there too.

This trip was little different, as a different feat was achieved. This is the first time we went on a night trip from office and we left Bangalore in the Dark of the night, 3 am to be precise. We hired a Qualis(video coach) for Rs 6.50/km. One of irony we faced while traveling on Mysore road was, most of petrol bunk do not work at night. Though people were sleeping there, they refused to refuel. Well, we did get to refuel but the number of petrol bunk working at night is few. On way you will get tea stalls or dhabas where you can have food or tea/coffee etc. On the way we also happen to see a 24 hours Coffee day. I will divide the article in terms of my itenary:

1. Dubare Elephant Camp: After traveling for around 5 and 1/2 hours we reached Dubare. Dubare Elephant camp is situated on the other side of river Cauvery and one has to cross the river on boat to reach there. It is wise to have a booking for day visit (Rs 600) there as we did. Btw, if you have booking, you can intimate the Jungle lodge people after you reach the other side of Cauvery and they will ferry you on their coracle for free.

At Dubare, you can experience elephant at its closest. You get to bath the gentle giants in river Cauvery, feed them with your own hands, an elephant ride, an interactive session on elephant where a forest official explains about elephant and answers questions if you have any. Also, part of the day visit package you have a coracle ride on Cauvery, have lunch at the Jungle lodges and enjoy the leisure facilities. If you would like to say there, you can contact Jungle lodges to book a cottage at Rs 1900/person for 24 hours.

On the other side of Dubare Elephant camp besides Cauvery river

For more pictures, click here.

2. Cauvery Nisargadhama: After occupying our cottage, which was near to Nisargadhama, we went to this spot. Nisargadhama is little way from Kushalnagar main town. An entry fee here is Rs 10/person. This place is criss – crossed by river Cauvery and one has to cross the river though you get a hanging bridge this time. Nisargadhama is a well-maintained bamboo forest along with deer park and elephant rides. Also, you get to take bath in Cauvery along that stretch during dry seasons. Lastly, you can see local artifacts at one store near the entrance.

Mango Moments, out cottage near Nisargadhama

Note: To book this cottage you may contact, Mr. Thimmiah at – 9407797062
Mr. Thimmiah, the owner of this cottage resides behind the cottage and he will be arranging food from outside. Do ask for pork if you eat pork as Coorg is famous for pork cuisines. A free camp fire is provided. For a couple it is Rs 2000/24 hours with meals. For more people he is charging Rs 500/person without food/24 hours.

Hanging bridge on Cauvery at the entrance of Nisargadhama

For more pictures, click here.

3. Lama Camp and Golden Temple (Namdroling Monastery): After the Chinese captured Tibet in the 1950s, a large number of Tibetans crossed over to India along with their leader “His holiness the Dalai Lama”. In India they have been settled in few settlements and Bylakuppe near Kushalnagar is one of them. This is one of the best monasteries, you can find in India. Golden temple as it is popularly called is mostly wrapped in gold and the Buddha Idols are of gold. However, please do not get confused with the Golden temple of Amritsar. We visited the place at night and it was all glittering. The Lama camp is a university for Buddhist monks in Sarje. Lastly, besides the golden temple you will find market where you can buy local stuffs along with Tibetan things.

For more pictures, click here.

4. Nagarhole: We started for Nagarhole National Park next day morning and it took around 2 and half hours to reach there from Kushalnagar via Priyapatna. It derives it name from Kannada – Naga meaning snake and hole referring to streams. The area was an exclusive hunting reserve of the former rulers of Mysore.

It was set up in 1955 and is one of the best-managed parks in the country. This park is located to the northwest of Bandipur National Park. Its area stretches to 575 km². Kabini reservoir separates this park from Bandipur National Park. The climate is tropical; summer is hot and winter is pleasant. The park boasts a healthy Tiger-predator ratio. Tiger, Bison and Elephant are much denser here than in Bandipur.

Please note that if you go there on a day visit, either take food along with you or you need to have food at Kutta. There is no food there and if you decide to stay there, you can just expect simple vegetarian food at the Nagarhole tourist complex accommodations. We had our lunch at kutta and then headed for safari by late afternoon in our Qualis but as for luck our vehicle got stuck in mud and we had to walk back around 3 kms all the way in tiger country. Arguably one of the most thrilling moments but with a mix of fear. We could not go back as it was late (over 6 pm). We left for Bangalore on the jungle route via Hunsur. Some 12 kms comes inside the park and we got to see many deer’s, bison’s and amazingly a sloth bear came walking on the middle of the road but unfortunately could not click any pic.

Deers at Nagarhole National park

For more pictures, click here.

Journey was quite good and we watched Mungaru Male on the way. Had dinner at a dhaba near Mandya. Reached Bangalore around 1 am. Yes, end to our illustrious journey.

Note: This is an old post.This trip was done in the first week of December, 2007.

If it’s your Dream, it’s not worth a compromise.

Kanakpura is around 48km from Bangalore.

We provide good basic facilities, please do not expect luxury as it’s not possible in nature.

Departure (expected) from Bangalore at 7:00 am and expected arrival at 8:30 pm.

Food Vegetarian Breakfast, Vegetarian Lunch, High Tea.

TARIFF INCLUDES FOREST ENTRY CHARGES, TREKKING PERMIT CHARGES, CAMERA CHARGES, GUIDE CHARGES, FACILITY BOOKING CHARGES, TRANSPORTATION CHARGES, EQUIPMENT HIRING CHARGES AND FOOD.

Fee per Participant for including would be Rs. 650/-

Note: – Venture Adventure Club does not hold the responsibility for the delay in transportation.

Itinerary for an ADVENTURE DAY OUTING at Kanakpura. Any ways the Itinerary can be tailored to your need

07:00 am Departure from Bangalore

09:00 am Reporting at Camp site

09:10 am Breakfast + High Rope Traverse + Rappelling

11:00 am Kayaking/Jummaring

02:00 pm Lunch / Target shooting

03:30 pm Rappelling

05:30 pm Evening Tea Bye-Bye – See You Soon.

MENU

Breakfast

Uppama or Idli/Sambar, Kesribath, Pongal or Bread n Egg, Vada, Chatni, Tea/Coffee

Mid day Juice – Fresh limejuice

Lunch

Poori, Sagu, Pullao, Curd rice, Raita, Sabji, White rice, Sambar, papad, Pickle, Kheer

Evening Tea

THINGS TO BE CARRIED ALONG

Sun Cap
Sun Glasses

Shoes preferably Rubber soled
Hand Towel

Dull (for summer) / Dark (for winter) colored cotton dress (comfort fitting T-shirts and denim trousers are preferred)

Sunscreen – apply and carry.
Medicine if prescribed by the doctor for regular use only.
Minimum guts to take part in Adventure based events

PAYMENT RULES & REGULATIONS – FOR RESERVATIONS

Booking will be confirmed only on receipt of prior payment. In case of bookings made well ahead, 100% advance payment may be made on the event day. The onus is on the client to keep track of the status of the tentative bookings.

PAYMENT DETAILS
100% by cash

Event date: Sunday, 11/09/2011

Contact info:

Venture Adventure Club (Regd.)
# 107/ 7, Heritage Estate,
Puttenahalli, Yelahanka,
Bangalore-560064
Contact number: 7795163591
www.teamadventure.info