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I realised that. Finally went to Mysore. Mysore was sizzling. I made a bad choice.

Went on a drive to this holy place which is known for a centuries old Ganesha deity and his endeavors!! A small temple, but yet with a tall and impressive idol located in Kurudumale in Mulbagal Taluk of Kolar district.

More than a destination, it was a drive that I was eagerly wanting for. Exhausted with most of the options around for a breakfast drive, this temple place came up as an idea to drive down to. It is about 100 Kms from Bangalore.

We started quite early; I mean not that early – at 7:30am. Getting out of the city was not that difficult on a Sunday morning and the sign boards like these as you exit the city gets the driver in you a wide grin.



We had a break at Maiyas restaurant which is after Kolar, for a breakfast. While the place is really good with ample facilities and ambiance, to be honest - we did not like the food there.

Moved on - The temple is located in a remote village of Kurudumale, but no worries - NH75 covers most part of the drive except the last few kilometers after exiting at Mulbagal town.



Cyclists on a marathon. Albeit on a hot day.



The cool stretch once after you exit the highway at Mulbagal and drive towards Kurudumale. The roads are in excellent condition and the google map is pretty accurate.




The entrance is very simple and the temple is surrounded by rocky hills.








The lord Ganesha statue is unique here. The 13ft idol of Ganapathy is said to be carved out of a single stone by the artisans of Chola Period but the legends also have something else to say:-

• There are no other saligrama Ganesha idol as big as this anywhere on this earth!
• This idol is being worshiped from past four yugas
• Thirteen and a half feet Ganesha idol is said to be growing in size.
• This is the same idol lord Rama first worshiped in treta yuga before fighting Ravana
• The monolithic idol of Ganapathy was installed by the Great Trinities - Brahma, Vishu and Maheshwara
• The basic belief here is anyone who comes to this temple and worship with clean heart before beginning any work; he is sure to taste success in all his endeavors

[courtesy to various sources on the internet]

Aren’t these some interesting facts alluring you to drive up to Kurudumale?

So, If you have a new job to start, exams to write, business to flourish, starting a new venture or just want to have a pleasant short drive – Drive on and get the blessings.

There is one another temple situated just next and at a walk able distance - The Someshwara temple which is said to be even older than the Ganesha temple. This temple was built by the Chola rulers. And has some aesthetic architectural elements and intricate carvings.








Started back at about 12:30pm and headed back home. One can either drive back on this same village road or climb those hills and get down on to the other side to reach Mulbagal. lol:



Got back on to the highway and a generous speed limit is permitted on this road. :Cheering:




Meanwhile, the Japanese horse touched a milestone enroute - Pulled over to capture the ODO reading clocked at 1.5L Kms.

Last weekend, made a short visit to Dhondeling and B.R. Hills.
Started from my home near Bellandur at 4.30 AM and took NICE road - Mysore Road till Maddur. From there, turned left towards Malavalli. Reached Kollegala and turned left towards Dhondeling. Kollegela to Dhondeling is sparsely populated. There are solar panel fields of the Adani group on both sides of the road once you cross Kollegala. It took me an hour from Kollegala to reach Dhondeling. Spent the morning there with my family, witnessed the Saturday prayers (the prayer song was hypnotic!). After 11 AM, returned to Kollagala and started for B.R.Hills. Spent that night at Hotel Giridarshini (near the temple). Enjoyed a jeep safari in K.Gudi.
Next morning, decided to make a short detour to Gundal dam on our way back. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised! Instead of going to the dam, climbed the small hillock (which has a small park atop). The road to the top is very narrow, only 1 car can pass. But the view of the dam from the top is breathtaking. Spent a lot of time taking in the scenery, finally returned to Bangalore via Kanakpura road.

Visiting Bengaluru on Aug 3 & 4th. Want suggestions for a one day trip(Sunday-4th Aug) to a place nearby, preferably with some greenery and a river nearby and good non veg food(not more than 200 kms to & fro from BLR).

You can consider Bheemeswari JLR
https://www.junglelodges.com/activit...d-nature-camp/

-Ravi

Gundal Dam !!! ... reminds me of the trips we used to do when my in-laws were staying in Kollegala, the STF to catch the forest brigand Veerapan was HQ'ed there in the office near the dam. The dam itself is rain fed and bang in the elephant corridor if I remember the forest guards words. Also, if you reach to the far end of the dam, you can see the tracks of the elephants as they move up-hill :)

Visited Mekedatu Sangama yesterday. The place is scenic as ever, with good flow of water. The facilities, even toilets, are very basic. Good for a day picnic. Get your own food; and be careful with the monkeys. :). Wear light clothes/shorts. The temptation to get drenched in the flowing water is just too much :).

The Kanakapura road is being widened with lots of deviations. So lots of wrong side driving also happens. Drive safe.

Visited Thottikallu waterfalls off Kanakpura road last weekend with family. On the way, stopped at Gulakamale lake. The lake is very serene and we spent some time near the water. After that, headed to Thottikalu waterfalls. Asked around for directions and the villagers were very helpful. There was ample water in the falls to enjoy. Heard that this falls come to 'life' only after heavy rain, so seemed lucky 😀.
A few photos.

Nandi Hills trek

Location


Nandi hills used to be a favourite half day location, some 15+ years back. Those days NH 7 road widening was in progress, you were allowed to take the Nandi hills climb in dark and we were a bunch of college going / jobless kids.

I stopped visiting Nandi hills some 13 years back after it started getting crowded. Was very much happy seeing Nandi hills just in pics shared on forum and elsewhere.

However yesterday a friend of mine mentioned about a plan of doing the trek route to Nandi hills since he is preparing for a himalayan trek coming up next week. Decided to join him, so 4 of us parked at the location shared above and started the trek.

It is around 1500 steps approximately and will take around 50 mins to reach the top. Though we got delayed by around 40 mins from the planned trek commencement time of 06.00 AM, thanks to misty climate it wasnt tiring.

There is parking space for around 20 cars at varied locations just near start of trek. Also, this route is not crowded. I guess we came across around 50 other trekkers though it was a sunday morning. However, there were few marathon runners on the way down.

On reaching the top it was the circus we all have read about. Thick smell of burnt clutch and hooligan tourists visited us there.

Turned back and started the climb down which took around 40 minutes.



On way back stopped for breakfast at Nandakokula restaurant near Devanahalli town exit. Good food, clean rest rooms.

Location


Trek start point



Steps like this is present all way till top





Parking lot covered in mist on top of the hill




Overall, this is a much peaceful thing to do. You don't encounter the weekend rush at any place, since if you take the turn off after Nandi hill turn from NH 7, you have an empty road till Boganandeshwara temple (which can be a place of interest if you haven't visited there before)

Very true. The temple makes for a nice weekend visit.

Me too have done this trek. Need to be fit to some extent to climb all those stairs. Anyway was a great experience. :D

FundaG

#Half_day_outing_from_Bangalore

Last Sunday, I was sitting idle post-lunch, so decided to look for a destination for a short drive. Zeroed on Rayakottai fort in TN. We started from my home near Bellandur at 2.00 PM with family and friends. Reached silk board and turned left on Hosur road. Being a Sunday afternoon, we did not see much traffic and soon crossed Attibele toll. Fastag worked perfectly. After reaching Hosur, exited NH and took right towards Rayakottai. Encountered a little bit of traffic while crossing Hosur town. The road to Rayakottai passes through the beautiful agricultural landscape. We found a lot of Chrysanthemum flower cultivation along our way. A brief forest crossing (Sanamavu forest) and a few hillocks on the way made the drive beautiful. Followed google maps till the hill and parked my car at the base.
There is a small cave temple and ruins of a fort-like structure on the top of the hill. The trekking is very easy and child-friendly. At the base, there are few stone steps. After that, the steps gradually disappear and the trek path becomes more and more rocky. As our group ( including my son, 3.5 yrs old) climbed up, we could see the Melagiri range of hills from the top. It was a clear day, we could even see what seemed the Krishnagiri reservoir backwaters. There was no other soul at sight as if we were the king of the hill and as far as our eyesight can reach. Enjoyed the calm surrounding for sometimes, then started our descent. We got back to the base quickly and started for Bangalore. All of us were longing for afternoon tea and snacks. So I deviated towards Shoolagiri and stopped for refreshments on a restaurant on Salem - Blr highway. Post that, it was a smooth drive back home.

Not a 'drive location', however mentioning it here since I am aware that there are few Kenneth Anderson fans on the forum.

As many would be aware, KA's grave is located at St Patrick's cemetery off Hosur road. I been thinking visiting the grave since a while, ever since I visited few places mentioned in his book.

So, last weekend went there. His tombstone location mentioned on Google maps is roughly same. Mentioning it here for fellow KA fans.

Location

Last weekend, we went for a short drive to Dandigenahalli dam which is around 100 Km from our home. Went via Chikballapur and returned via Doddaballapur. A brief video on the drive:

https://youtu.be/Tq5HgDHuS1k

When I read that 50K cusesc of water was released from Kabini, I decided to drive to Gaganchukki :D Did that today morning and it was totally worth it!
Note: Chances of more water being released from KRS is high, hence might make sense to drive down tomorrow morning.

Gaganchukki in all glory



https://youtu.be/EDtHm9O3JQE

Onward: Kanakpura - Gaganchukki. The first 60 odd kms to Kanakpura is still WIP and hence not a pleasant experience. Post Kanakpura, its a much better drive.

Return: Malavalli - Maddur - NICE road. I usually avoid mysore road on weekends but this time it was good experience. Probably because i was driving in the opposite direction. Traffic was nowhere close to pre-covid weekend levels but still there was some traffic. 6 Laning work is on full swing and was pleasantly surprised to see that a lot of sections already have 2.5-3 lanes on either side.

Last weekend drove down to mavanur windmills near Hassan. Details here.