A short trip to Big Banyan Tree and "The Village Resort"

[DieselFan]

This morning we were wondering where to go for a Sunday outing. We live in Bangalore so there are quite a few options. We chose Big Banyan Tree and " The Village Resort". The big Banyan tree is one of the biggest banyan tree in Asia and is 400 years old. It is in a village called Ramohalli about 6-7 km on the road that links Mysore Road with Magadi Road. This road is on the right about 5 km from Kengeri next to Rajarajeshwari Dental College.

Mysore road is great and it is Fun to Drive but once you reach The link road that takes you to Ramohalli the story is altogether different. That road is a nightmare. You can take your car about 20 KMPH and above gear 2 for next 6-7 km when you reach teh big Banyan tree. 3 KM beyond that you reach a resort called "The VIllage Resort". This resort is a major rip off. No good food, No good service but charges are exhorbitant. You need to pay up an entry fee of Rs. 25 per person. This is outrageous.

Big Banyan tree itself is ageing and now beign taken care off by some corporates. The entry is still free and this invites lot of Antisocial elements.

All in all the trip was a Fiasco and I would advise BHPians not to venture out to that place unless you have not seen a very big Banyan tree and want to have a one time experience of seeing it.

[v1p3r]

Too bad you didn't like this trip. There's always next Sunday (Drive to Nandi Hills)...

[gtonsing]

Originally Posted by DieselFan

This morning ... Big Banyan Tree and " The Village Resort"....All in all the trip was a Fiasco and I would advise BHPians not to venture out to that place unless you have not seen a very big Banyan tree and want to have a one time experience of seeing it.

Isnt this Big Banyan Tree near the Manchinbele Dam? group of friends and I went to the dam long time ago and though it was not allowed, we fished and caught 2 inch fishes (2 in number, haha). It was a fun, deserted and nice place (a bit hot as there was no tree cover at that time) and we ended spending most of the time in the water. You probably also have the option of trekking in Savanadurga.

[DieselFan]

No Idea where Manchinbele dam is but this BIg Banyan tree is towards mysore on mysore road and a deviation of about 5 kms after kengeri.

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by DieselFan

No Idea where Manchinbele dam is but this BIg Banyan tree is towards mysore on mysore road and a deviation of about 5 kms after kengeri.

Manchinbele dam is on the same route, around 8 to 10 kms, passing through some villages. Good place to combine with a Big Banyan tree trip, but better to be in a group since the dam and surroundings are generally deserted

[Fauji]

Originally Posted by gadadhar

Manchinbele dam is on the same route, around 8 to 10 kms, passing through some villages. Good place to combine with a Big Banyan tree trip, but better to be in a group since the dam and surroundings are generally deserted

Yes, it is a cute little resrvoir beyond Big Banyan tree. Ideally go after rains when the valley is green and the resrvoir is full. Carry Binoculars as there is good bird life here. It is a good place for camping as well.

One can also club these places with Savana Durga which is closeby.

[ampere]

I remember there were warning messages put there about not to venture into water, as there are uneven depths.
I had been there almost 8-9 years back! Let me see if I can pull up old snaps.

EDIT: I remember Addy saying that the same dam road leads to Magadi road and folks use that to save about 20Km on the way to NH48!
I think thats the same road which @fauji was referring to.

[ranjitp1]

Big Banyan tree was a regular place to celebrate birthday during my college years!Well going by the urbanisation that Bangalore is facing now a days,thank goodness the place still survives!

Also during those days,the portion of Mysore Road towards Bangalore,immediately before the Banyan Tree turn off was a treacherous portion with many accidents and many people losing their lives.The stretch was so infamous,that just that 200 meters of the road was forked along different lines with a 4 lane road.The cause of the accidents was because that stretch was just not even,and very undulating.Ofcourse with the new 4 lane highway all those things have disappeared for good.Just my two cents of history!

[MohsinRoadster]

Originally Posted by DieselFan

Big Banyan tree itself is ageing and now beign taken care off by some corporates. The entry is still free and this invites lot of Antisocial elements.

All in all the trip was a Fiasco and I would advise BHPians not to venture out to that place unless you have not seen a very big Banyan tree and want to have a one time experience of seeing it.

Thats correct, I had been here 4-5 yrs ago. No point planning a trip here.
But if somebody is driving along mysore road can pay a quick visit (ofcourse just for the sake of it).

By the way do you have any pics to share?

[raihan]

Originally Posted by ampere

I remember there were warning messages put there about not to venture into water, as there are uneven depths.
I had been there almost 8-9 years back! Let me see if I can pull up old snaps.

I remember going to the reservoir around 4 years ago with my friends post mid night. It was a surreal experience; rain water flowing over the roads leading there(rains had stopped), pitch dark & there wasn't a soul around!
but it's not recommended nowadays to go there during nights with the kind of things happening around.
Also do not plan to take ladies to the banyan tree due to the reason mentioned above plus there is a bar right opp to the banyan tree where the villagers get drunk.

[ampere]

Snaps from Old Collection.

[aeroabir]

Looks like a nice place to me though.

[MohsinRoadster]

Originally Posted by aeroabir

Looks like a nice place to me though.

Its ok for a quick one day visit to the reservoir and savandurga (The hill in the pic) which is a few KMs away from banyan tree.

A lot of people trek the hill.

This hill was visible clearly from my college on mysore road. Wanted to go there since the first day i saw it. Never made it though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savandurga

[spadix]

Originally Posted by MohsinRoadster

Its ok for a quick one day visit to the reservoir and savandurga (The hill in the pic) which is a few KMs away from banyan tree.

A lot of people trek the hill.

We trekked up Savanadurga almost exactly 3 years back (10 May 2008). It was an office outing - the usual team-building stuff. We had great fun and the trek, although not exactly easy, is fun and a good work-out. The only regret I have is that we didn't know until the last minute what to expect so I went there with my running shoes and by the time I returned they'd split in two :(.

I don't recollect if the banyan tree and dam were explicitly pointed out to us by the boss.

The road wasn't that great in patches but it was a bus, so it was alright.

Regards,
spadix

[ampere]

I have seen folks mostly going to Savandurga via Magadi as it has a closer access via Magadi road.
But this option makes a good full day fun. Even more so in winter as the day would be cool.