Weekend getaway from Bangalore - Shravanbelagola

"Basadis(Jain temples) at Chandragiri"

I have never liked visiting monuments of religious and historical importance, I owe it to my disliking of subject "history" since the early days. I couldn't understand the importance of knowing the history or its relevance to the present no matter how vacuous  I sound.
As a kid I have visited quite a lot of historic monuments , thanks to educational school trips whatever little I know I owe to thee.

I just wanted to get out of the town , to some place , any place. I have said No multiple times whenever Shravanbelagola or any other archeological place was suggested and this time I decided to give it a try. As you grow older it becomes tougher to come out of your comfort zones ( read Beaches and mountains), Karnataka has a lot to offer when it comes to seeing historic site so i thought if I get to like it I will have so many new places to visit and if I don't , well its worth sacrificing a  weekend.

We didn't plan this trip at all, as we were still scratching each others head to shortlist a place. We had decided to leave early morning on a lovely Saturday so that we could reach Shravanbelagola by 7 am before it becomes too hot to walk up 650 Steps! The plan didn't work , given how super-not excited I was . We got up at 11 am , had our lunch ,still contemplating to go or not. Ravi managed to finally convince me (this was his 2nd time visiting the place) , we wrapped 2 pair of clothes in case we decide to stay the night.

Shravanbelagola is most famous for Lord Bahubali's monolithic statue & for the religious sentiments attached, its approximately 145 Kms from Bangalore , thus making it good enough for a day trip. Its mostly advised to visit Belur and Halebidu which is further 92 kms from Shravanbelagola and a lot of people prefer/suggest to cover this in 1 trip but we chose otherwise.
There are 2 routes from Bangalore , one via Ramnagara -Mandya , other via Yeshwanthpur-Herur
route, at the time of our departure google maps suggested the 2nd one and no regrets on that. Once you get out of Bangalore its mostly NH , some part of it is state highway the one part where Karnataka gov doesn't seem to disappoint for a change!

It took us 3 hours to reach Shravanbelagola town, it was not crowded at all ,we easily got a parking right outside the entrance of temple for 40 Rs, if you don't get parking try going further down after you have taken the right in front of the temple, parking should be free & easy!
There is a shoe stand at the bottom and you need to take off your shoes before you start the ascend , to reach the main temple 500 odd steps needs to be taken. I have gone with an open mind & my camera :)

The stairs are carved out of the hill on which the temple is situated , every few steps we had to stop catch our breaths, soak in the view & start agai , it took us some 25 minutes to climb those steps with enough breaks to reach the main temple area.

"Stairway to History"

There it was , in all its glory, standing very tall, the tallest monolithic statue of the world of Lord Bahubali, we couldn't miss the intricate tree branches ,anthills and the animals that were carved out at his feet.

"Bahubali "

Bahubali stood in standing posture in total meditation continuously for one year, without food and water. Ant – hills grew by the side of his legs and serpents made these ant hills their abode and moving around Creepers grew up entwining his legs and arms up to his shoulders. He attained Kevaljnan – a perfect and complete knowledge about the Universe. Thus, he was called as Bahubali – Kevali.

"Jain Monk offering a coconut (prasadam)"

"Devotees offering water to signify cleansing Bahubali's feet"

The views from top are beautiful , its advisable to go when its not sunny . It was a lucky day for us or the universe was making sure I love every bit of this trip. We stood there , wondering how would it be live in that era , how much did the people suffer to build this . It has lived through centuries , telling a story.
Spend some time there, breathe in the fresh air , the soothing cold stone ,close in your eyes to the vast green view & listen to the wind whispering all the secrets.

"My muse admiring Bahubali"

" Weekend View "

We touched down at 6.30pm , the temple gate closes at 5.30 pm in the evening, make sure you time yourself accordingly. We decided to stay in this sleepy town for the night, a lot of traveler's had suggested Raghu hotel, just 50mts from the temple , they offer modest rooms for Rs 600 per night, the food is decent & cheap. We finished dinner for 250 and after a stroll we called it a day.( Beware of the mosquitoes, if you plan to stay at Raghu carry an Odomos)

The next morning , we decided not to go to Belur -Halebidu , you can cover it if you ever plan to visit Saklehspur thus we kept it for another weekend ,another day. After having traditional south Indian breakfast we walked towards Chandragiri which is right opposite to Shravanbelagola, on the other side of the water tank.

"A plate of Idli-Vada - The best breakfast"

To reach Chandragiri hill, you need to climb another set of stairs ,a number of Basadis (Jain temple) can be found on this hill, it takes it name from the ruler Chandragupta Maurya who visited this place to attain religious peace.

"Chandragiri Hill"

We saw a lot of Jain devotees , offering prayers in these temples. Each temple has its own statue with history that dates back to 300BC. The views are amazing , so are these structures.  

We read a suggestion to visit Markanhali dam on the way back to Bangalore, it was indeed a good suggestion, a small detour on NH75 and you will reach this vast expanse of water , with a dedicated area for a nice stroll. The views, weather just added to the whole experience. 

"Long Walks "

"Training the husband to get that perfect click"

We both loved every bit of this trip ,it did not burn a hole in our pockets , we used the weekend to explore a new place and in the process got little closer to magnificent Indian history.