[girishglg]

The Plan
We were planning this for some time and this some time was for over 2 years to do this long drive over a weekend to Bhoo Varahaswamy temple situated in Kalhalli in the banks of river Hemavati, Mandya district of Karnataka. This particular destination was chosen mainly for its exclusivity that is there is just a couple of Varahaswamy temple’s in the whole of our country and that itself is very exclusive. For starters Bhoo is Bhoodevi or Mother Earth and Varaha is the wild boar or the incarnation of Vishnu who emerged as a wild boar and held the earth in between his two tusks. In this temple Varahaswamy status is a huge 25ft tall and is seating his consort Bhoo devi on his lap which signifies Vishnu carrying the Earth on his lap. We finalized the day to visit this temple which was two Saturday s ago along with family and my wife’s cousin and their family also joined us on this long drive. Actually we were planning with them separately to do a long drive till Kamat Lokaruchi near Ramanagara for breakfast (the famous unlimited breakfast) but since this temple was in the same direction why not combine both the activities into one! Pehle peth puja then God puja right!

The drive
We set out sharp at 7 AM from our home, took the NICE road till Mysore highway and met the other gang who were already waiting for us. We were ten of us and fully packed in 2 cars (Swift and 800) waiting to hit the highway. After exchanging pleasantries we decided to waste no more time and catch up only at our first pit stop for breakfast at Kamat Lokaruchi some 50kms away. The traffic was moderately dense and we reached the place in about one hour’s time ready to tuck in whatever we could get. After some heavy eating and a strong cuppa of coffee and a leisurely break to do of course some shopping of handicrafts and stuff (didn’t I mention we had families in tow with of course wifies), we finally pushed ahead before deciding on the next meeting point just after Mandya town. Once we reached the outskirts of Mandya (Mysore side) we started looking out for signs for Pandavapura. We check with local shops for directions. Someone told us to take the next right at Baburayankoppal to reach Pandavapura 35kms from there. We took the right as suggested and travelled towards Pandavapura first crossing the railway line and station and then taking a left going another 25kms in a series of small country roads to reach the village of Kalhalli.
Actual route got clearer on the way back when we first asked for directions to Pandavapura and then to the Bangalore Mysore highway SH 17 which eliminated some detours that was taken earlier. So while going from Bangalore, take the first right to a small diagonal road just after the Mandya industrial area. This road will directly lead to Pandavapura and then proceed to Kalahalli from there onwards. Finally we reached the destination after crossing the Kalahalli village and there we saw the temple in from of us and the river banks on the right.

The temple
Wait a minute where is the temple!! There was a beehive of activities around the actual temple which we later came to understand that the whole temple was in bad shape and is being rebuilt anew around the huge monolithic statue of Bhoo Varahaswamy. At present there is a small building where the puja takes place as a temporary measure till the construction of the temple structure is completed. We went in returned back near the main temple area. The main temple was closed for general public due to the construction activity but we were told by locals to wait till 2 PM when the work would cease and temple doors would be opened up for a while for visitors to get a sight of the lord. This did happen and lo what a sight of the huge statue, something that you do not see very commonly. After the sighting God and some photo ops of us and the surroundings, we headed back towards Bangalore before deciding to pit stop at Mandya for lunch which is over 40 kms from this place. We traced back our route to Pandavapura and then towards SH17 taking a left towards Mandya. By the time we reached Mandya it was already 3 PM. It was a unanimous decision to continue and stop over at Adigas just after Maddur since it was late anyway to lunch. We quickly stopped at Maddur Tiffanys to pack some famous masala vadas and hogged at Adigas later. We all packed by 5 PM and returned to Bangalore taking the NICE road exiting at Bannerghatta road reaching home by finally before 7 PM.
What set out to be a half day get away was indeed a full day, though with right directions and leaving city quite early say by 5 AM would still make it a half day event back by lunchtime. At the end it was well worth it with the old and the young enjoying it to the fullest. I will soon post some pics and you can find more info about the temple from the link (a little dated post) - Kalhalli
Hope for all the Bangalore / Mysore souls this provides yet another option for a long weekend drive.

A few pointers-

• Leave early say by 5 – 6 AM to reach on time and get back by lunch
• Tuck in breakfast at the many options till Mandya after which you have to take the deviation
• Remember to take the first right after Mandya Industrial Area to go to Pandavapura
• While returning ask for Pandavapura and then the SH 17 or BM highway to Mandya
• Pack lunch if you would like to have near the temple site since there are no options there
• It is much closer from Mysore around 50kms who can approach it from the KRS side
• The distance from Bangalore is around 160kms one way depending on the starting point

[girishglg]

As mentioned earlier some pics of the temple and the lord-
From top to end-

• Temporary doors covering the sanctum of the lord
• Huge 25ft tall monolithic statue of Bhoo Varahaswamy
• The giant statue opened for public view for a short while
• The new temple constuction in full swing presently
• Closeup of the temple construction being built grounds up

[benzbeemers]

We were looking at weekend getaways and searched accordingly when I came across this option.

Good to know more about this place though heard about it but never seen much of it till date. Indeed such a huge statue which is quite unique.

Actually we were planning a weekend trip to Bandipur. So can this temple be covered enroute as well?

Also are there any other places to visit nearby so that we can cover them and reach Bandipur by evening? Any suggestions are welcome by all.

[girishglg]

You can cover this place enroute to Mysore from Bangalore. You can also visit Ranganthittu bird sanctuary, Srirangapatna and Melkote which are all nearby in Mandya district.

However if you are planning to reach Bandipur, you can first reach Ranganthittu bird sanctuary early in the morning and then visit Bhoo Varaha and proceed towards Bandipur.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by girishglg

However if you are planning to reach Bandipur, you can first reach Ranganthittu bird sanctuary early in the morning and then visit Bhoo Varaha and proceed towards Bandipur.

Is the reason you suggested this to cover Ranganathittu in morning itself? Since distance wise it will be more since Ranganathittu is nearer to Mysore and Bhoo Varaha is towards Mandya, so that means driving back to Mandya after Ranganathittu and then again driving towards Mysore for Bandipur.

[girishglg]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Is the reason you suggested this to cover Ranganathittu in morning itself? Since distance wise it will be more since Ranganathittu is nearer to Mysore and Bhoo Varaha is towards Mandya, so that means driving back to Mandya after Ranganathittu and then again driving towards Mysore for Bandipur.

Yes you are correct, though Ranganthittu is farther from Bhoo Varaha which is at Kalhalli near Pandavpura and the suggested time for some good bird watching is morning and evening and the best seasons are July and the winter months.

Also you can easily reach Kalahalli from the KRS side internally without hitting the Blr Mys road hence the distance would be much lesser. If you are not a bird watcher a few other suggested attractions can be covered such as Melkote or Srirangapattinam (Tippu Sultan fame) can be covered for a day trip and return to Blr or Mys the same day.

[benzbeemers]

We are planning for a weekend drive to Ranganthittu next month (also July being the best season for birds watching) hopefully when good rains would have brought in a blanket of green cover.

We will hope to cover Kalhalli Bhoo Varaha while returning back if we have time after stopping over for lunch. Any suggestions of a good eating place nearby or should we necessarily go to Mysore.

[girishglg]

It depends if you want to stop over at Mysore or not. Mysore itself has a lot of well know restaurants.

However do pack food or eatables if you have small ones in tow since there are no places to eat near Kalhalli or anywhere nearby.

If you are returning back to Bangalore then you can stop over either at Mandya or Maddur with its famous Maddur vada fame @ Maddur Tiffany's.

There are now many chains dotting the highway just after Maddur such as Adigas, Empire, McDee, KFC, CCD (guess in the same order) and further on the Kamaths. Certainly lots of options for variety of tastes.

[benzbeemers]

My cousin and their family went on the similar circuit recently. They left Bangalore early morning, had unlimited breakfast at Kamat Lokruchi, went on to visit Melkote temple. Had lunch at temple premised and then visited Kalhalli temple by 2 PM and returned to Bangalore by 6 PM with a in between coffee break at CCD.

Heard that the construction of the outer temple structure is near complete with work still going on. Posting a rough map of the route covered, will post some pics as I get from them. Also the river Hemavati flowing beside was carrying more water and lots of greenery around.