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On the way to Talakad at Malavalli lake

Yesterday I went for the longest ride on a two wheeler driving myself. In all four of us went to Talakad. Official sources show Talakad is 130 km from Bangalore but I feel it was longer. May be because of the long driving on winding roads of country side. I started around 7 am in the morning and by the times we left Mysore road it was over 8.30 am. I suggest you leave Bangalore by 7 am, this will give you more time to spend and explore there. A little stretch between Mysore road flyover end and Vijaynagar road junction is bad and traffic infested most of the times. After Rajarajeshwari Nagar road is very good and you one can have a nice ride.

We reached Ramnagaram by 10 am and halted for breakfast at a Darshini hotel. Then rode till Muddur and took a left turn for Malavalli. The rugged country side of this region has a mystique feel. It took us over 4 hours to reach Talakad at around 1 pm.

Things to see: The panchalinga temples, Cauvery river, country side and various other temples if you have time.

Around a month ago the Panchalinga darshan festival took place. So a face lift has been given to the temples and new infrastructures created. We went there at a good time and were able to see all the five temples. I was told three of them are open through out the year. But the two which are located in the sand dunes gets inundated with sand over the years. These two temples open once in every 12 years. Talakad used to the capital of Ganga dynasty and is very rich in history.

Pathaleshwara, Maruleshwara and Vaidyanatheshwara temples is located at short distance of each other. They are located on that part of Talakad which are covered with sand dunes. These are Lord Shiva with different names. Vaidyanatheshwara temple is the first temple you will see and is located right near the entrance. You can park your vehicle besides the entrance. There is no fee for parking or keeping shoes. This temple has a very nice architecture slightly similar to the Hoysala models. There is huge Nandi on the northern side of the temple premises. From here your walk on sand trails will start but no worries it will be in shade. As tin roof as been made throughout the walkway. It is indeed strange how come such huge amount of sand came here in the middle of fertile cauvery basin. Though it is attributed to the curse of Alamelamma, a local myth. The first temple on the sand dunes is Pathaleshwara. One has to climb down around 3 meters to reach the base of the temple. Next is Maruleshwara temple. Here the base of the temple was covered with atleast few inches of sand. This two temples were small and primitive in nature. We continued our walk and on the way we saw another temple in a valley. The route brings you to the same entrance, which we entered earlier.

Our next stop was river Cauvery. From here take first right and then again first right to reach there. You will be able to see a green board with the direction. The atmosphere there was like a fair. With shops selling crafts, key chains etc. There are also few hotels where one can have food. We quickly proceeded to the bank of river Cauvery. I was totally amazed by what I saw. The bank almost resembled a sea beach. One can easily play in the water as there is atleast 2 – 3 meters of shallow of water from the bank. On the other side of the bank there seemed to be some current. You can try coracle ride on the river. I do not suggest you to go swimming as there may be whirlpool. On the way back we had egg fried rice and Katla fish fry. I have nothing much to say about the egg fried rice but the deep fried fish was awesome. One plate consist of two piece and cost Rs 40.

After food we proceeded to Mallikarjuna swamy temple located on top of a hill. One has to take left (if you are coming towards Talakad) to reach there from circle of Talakad village. You can either climb the step to reach the temple a top or you can take the road on the right hand side to reach till the middle of the hill. Here you can park you vehicle (no parking fee). However, you may have to shell Rs 2 for every pair of shoe if you keep your shoes with the shoe keeper there. From here you will have to climb little over 100 steps to reach Mallikarjuna temple on the top. From this hill one can get an astounding few of the surroundings including the Cauvery river, paddy fields and rugged hills.

View from top of Mallikarjuna swamy temple

Till then we are done with 4 temples of the Panchalinga (5 linga) temples. So we inquired about the 5th temple (Arkareshwara temple). We were told to reach there we have to take the left hand side road at the base of Mallikarjuna Swamy temple hill and the distance was supposed to be 6 km from there. But as we started to go through the inner country side and villages, we discovered it was atleast 10 km. Road condition is not good many places, however new road laying is going on. I suggest you to inquire locals for directions frequently. At last we found the temple in the middle of open space. As it was almost 4.30 pm, we hurriedly prayed and left. We were told from here there is a direct to route to Malavalli via Belakavadi village. We wanted to be on Bangalore – Mysore highway before dusk. Glad we have managed to reach there by dusk. We halted at Muddur CCD (cafe coffee day). It is on left hand side if you are coming from Mysore. It is a very nice place to refresh on long drives on this route. It is a self service outlet.

After giving rest to the vehicles and us, we headed back for Bangalore by 8 pm. We reached Bangalore by 10 pm.

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Filed under : Adventure, Karnataka, Religious Place, Weekend Getaways

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My latest trip was to Magadi, Savandurga and Manchanabele Dam. Out of this I had already visited Manchanabele dam earlier. Let me share how the idea of this tour came up. When I went to Shivaganga, on the way I found a circle with a yellow Karnataka tourism board. It says left turn takes to Magadi, Savandurga and Manchanabele dam. Promptly, I remembered seeing a board 6 km to Savandurga at Manchanadele dam. So this road joins at Manchanabele dam, which in turn join Mysore road. So one can take this detour at Tumkur road and come at Mysore road. vow! Good finding. So it was time to explore it.

We took a left turn on Tumkur road (NH4) which goes to Shivaganga. Once we reached the circle with the Karnataka Tourism board, took left turn for Magadi. The country side is very scenic – stones, hills, greenery, crops, Just awesome! For most part road is good. A little stretch towards Magadi is bad but motorable. From the circle Magadi is 29 km, Savandurga 41 km and Manchanabele dam 47 km. After riding little bit from the circle, one should be able to see the back side of Shivaganga hill. It is a good place for photography. It took us over an hour to reach Magadi from the circle. On the way we encountered couple of Banyan trees. One of them was very unique and that some its logs has been chopped is easily understandable for vehicular movement.

Magadi was the Capital of the then local ruler Kempe Gowda. Magadi is very small town with hardly any sign of urban development. At the circle there a few shops where you can have tea and snacks. At the circle if you take left, little further you will find a petrol bunk on the right hand side. Little further on the left hand side you will find the entrance to Ranganathaswamy temple. This temple is quite historical and unique in design. The main deity here is lord ranganathaswamy (Lord Vishnu). The temple had names of saints like Thiruvallar etc which are not native to Karnataka. I was curious how come Tamil names came in this temple. The mystery unrevealed when I read at the entrance that the temple had been built by the Cholas in between 11th – 12th century AD. Cholas were the rulers of Tamil Nadu. The colorful gopuram of the temple is quite similar to temples in Tamil Nadu like Madurai Meenakshi temple. The temple complex had many places of worship inside. The specialty as described by the priest is that the idol of Ranganathasway is enlarging. A note of caution, there may be a little issue of begging.

As of now we were on Magadi road which connects to Bangalore after a distance of 49 km. We wanted to go Savandurga so at the main road, we took left and came back to the Magadi main circle. From here left and you will be able to see a Karnataka tourism board saying Savandurga 12 km and Manchanabele dam 18 km. So embarked on our journey to Savandurga. From here the roads are quite good. Keep driving straight unless you feel the urge to take pictures. Around 8 km from here one will see a board asking to take left turn for Savanduraga. From here Savandurga is 4 km. This 4 km stretch is not in good condition but mortorable. At the foot of Savandurga hill, there is a forest park with good sitting arrangement and a children park. There is no animals in the park now but empty net chambers suggest there used to be animals earlier. Entry fee is Re 1. Parking is free. Savandurga is a single monolithic stone hill. This hill is not that high and steep. I was told there that climbing is not that difficult. On top there is a Basava statue. One can nice panoramic view from top. To reach the top enter the park, continue walking straight until you see a gate on the right hand side. Enter the gate, reach for the hill base and start climbing. There is no eatery around, so carry food and water as necessary. You can also go there by bus, read Nithin Kamath’s trip for details.

At the base of the hill outside there is a temple. At the hilltop there used to be a fort which was finally captured by Lord Cornwallis from Tipu Sultan in 1792. Durga in Kannada means fort, this is why it is called Savandurga.

Following this we started our journey for Manchanabele dam. From Savandurga, Manchanabele dam is 6 km. After reaching the same junction where we took left turn for Savandurga, we took left turn again. Once you reach VF Doddi, you need to take the first left to go to Manchanabele dam. From VG Doddi, its a straight single road of 5 km to Manchanabele dam. This narrow winding road is very picturesque and a treat to ride on. For sometime I though I was in a different world and forgot about Bangalore traffic altogether. There are yellow Karnataka tourism boards on the way showing the distance and direction, refer them as required. From Savandurga to Manchanabele dam took us little over 30 minutes with few stops for photography.

I have been to Manchanabele dam earlier. But this time I noticed few new developments as follows:

1. Amount water in the Manchanabele dam backwater was more and was looking more beautiful.
2. A signboard cautioning people not to go to isolated places to avoid robbery.
3. A new motorable road to reach the shore of the Manchanabele dam backwater.

I even saw more people. You can take bath here, do bird watching in early morning, little bit of hiking, photography and picnic. Eateries are not available bring your own food and water. Read more about Manchanabele dam from my earlier post. Soon we left Manchababele dam for Bangalore. At Dodda Alada Mara, give little halt for tea. At the junction with Mysore road, you will have to take left turn to reach Bangalore. Reached Bangalore by 5.30 pm. This trip was an eventful one. The biggest finding of this tip was a new direct route from Tumkur road to Mysore road without entering Bangalore city. The only other route available in this regard is NICE road. But NICE road is a paid one and this is free. This route is very good for bike rides and trips.

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Filed under : Bangalore, Karnataka, Weekend Getaways

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