[procrj]

Originally Posted by NPV

The places look awesome, thanks for sharing the lovely pictures

The pics dont do justice. Need to experience it

Any specific reason why you did not continue on SH121 as shown with Red Arrows in the attached image?

SH121 is actually not as indicated on gmaps. If you keep driving on SH121, it takes the route I have taken till it intersects SH102

[NPV]

Originally Posted by procrj

SH121 is actually not as indicated on gmaps. If you keep driving on SH121, it takes the route I have taken till it intersects SH102

Thanks for sharing your earlier experience on your drive in the i20
A friend was visiting and we did exactly the same circuit and it was beautiful.
Our first stop was for breakfast at our tried and tested place - Swathi Delicacy, Yediyur.
Next, we took the beautiful SH 121 (I'd heard first about this from a friend who is from Shanivarasanthe and had posted on the Kabini thread and few folks like @guyfromblr had tried it and posted their experiences, but ironically I'd never driven on this road!), visited the Mavinakere temple, followed by a quick stop at the Sreeramadavara katte, then drove to the Rosary church at Shettihalli and drove back to Bangalore via Hassan. Amazingly well spent day!

While driving on the SH 121, before you realize you'd have merged onto SH 102, that diversion/continuation of SH 121 is missed easily since you generally feel you're going straight on the same road.
This is the reason we end up at the junction of SH 57 and turn right.
Further up on this road, before Halekote I saw a road to the right which I believe is the SH 121. Also, the ghat road of the temple has an entry from SH 57 and also on the other side which I believe is the one going towards SH 121

And, there is a Mavinakere Venkatramana Swami temple (Ranganatha Swami Temple board on the left side of the SH 57) inside the village which is a smaller temple and on opposite side of the road. The hilltop one was built in 2009 and is referred to locally as the temple on the 'Gudda' (hill). Beautiful place, thanks for this find and the Sreeramadavara katte.

[procrj]

Originally Posted by NPV

followed by a quick stop at the Sreeramadavara katte

Do post a few pics. Hope they had released water from gourur dam and katte was overflowing.

Also, the ghat road of the temple has an entry from SH 57 and also on the other side which I believe is the one going towards SH 121

Yes that is correct. You take SH121, turn right onto SH102 and then get onto SH121 again to hit the ghat road to the the temple. And from the other side, you will pass SH121 and then take the right onto the temple road.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by procrj

Do post a few pics. Hope they had released water from gourur dam and katte was overflowing.

Coming up soon, too long since I posted about a Dizzy Drive®
The Katte had a lot of water, was a beautiful sight.

Yes that is correct. You take SH121, turn right onto SH102 and then get onto SH121 again to hit the ghat road to the the temple. And from the other side, you will pass SH121 and then take the right onto the temple road.

Did you try this road as well ?
I don't mind going there one more time to try this route

[procrj]

Originally Posted by NPV

The Katte had a lot of water, was a beautiful sight.

That is good news. Driving to Mallalli falls next weekend and was planning to visit Katte on the way

Did you try this road as well ?
I don't mind going there one more time to try this route

Yep we did. It gets a little narrow as it passes through a small village but road conditions are good.

[kavensri]

Originally Posted by procrj

Hope they had released water from gorur dam and katte was overflowing.

We are planning to visit Gorur dam this weekend, any idea whether the gates are open now? We will postpone our visit if they are not.

[procrj]

Originally Posted by kavensri

We are planning to visit Gorur dam this weekend, any idea whether the gates are open now? We will postpone our visit if they are not.

Not sure. No recent pics to confirm but based on the below info + NPV's confirmation that katte is in full flow, I would say some of the gates are open if not all.


Source: http://dmc.kar.nic.in/RL.pdf

[guyfrmblr]

Nice report! That part of the state has some wonderful roads. You may also want to explore SH-102 section which to the right side of NH-75 at Shantigrama towards Dudda - Haranahalli - Arasikere. Some sections of SH-102 were under repair two years back but hopefully should be completed by now. That section too has lots of small beautiful temples, kalyanis, etc.

[kavensri]

Originally Posted by procrj

Not sure. No recent pics to confirm but based on the below info + NPV's confirmation that katte is in full flow, I would say some of the gates are open if not all.

Thanks for the info. Due to some personal reasons, I am not going this weekend. I will try to plan it for next Sunday.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by procrj

Not sure. No recent pics to confirm but based on the below info + NPV's confirmation that katte is in full flow, I would say some of the gates are open if not all.

Yes, though the Sreeramadavara Katte/Dam had quite a lot of water flowing, the Hemavathi Reservoir (Gorur Dam ?) did not have much water so skipped it. It also involves a very long walk from the gate as vehicles are not allowed inside so you will have to park outside the gate. We were short on time as we were heading to the Shettihalli church so when the security guy said there's not much water, we just took a picture near the gardens at the entrance and proceeded to Shettihalli.

Originally Posted by kavensri

Thanks for the info. Due to some personal reasons, I am not going this weekend. I will try to plan it for next Sunday.

Take a chance, there may be water. You can still visit Sreeramadavara Katte (near Holenarasipura) and the Shettihalli Church and enjoy the sights around the catchment area of the dam.

[procrj]

Yesterday was a good day. Now that is an understatement. Yesterday was a great day! Nothing can beat driving to offbeat places with like minded folks.



I had signed up for the HVK Monsoon drive in Karnataka and the rules of the drive were simple:

• be on time
• drive as a convoy
• dont ask where we are going

Big shout out to HVK, Paragsachania, Addyhemmige, Poorna aka Fauji & the rest of the organizing team for managing 50+ cars/families and ensuring that everyone gets to enjoy the drive to the fullest.

Quick chronological summary:

• 5.30 am - start from home to reach base camp
• 6.30 am - reached base camp outside Hotel Mayura - Bellur cross
• 7.15 am - head out with the first convoy lead by addyhemmige
• 9:00 am - Photo-shoot & snack break near Shettihall church
• 12:30 pm - Lunch stop just before Hettur at eka resort
• 2:00 pm - post lunch drive towards hanbal
• 4:30 pm - a much needed break after driving on broken roads which do not exist on gmaps
• 5:00 pm - God's abode - Devaramane
• 6:00 pm - Coffee @ Fresh Bean caffee - Banakal. KA MD ends
• 6:45 pm - Head back home via Belur - Hassan
• 8.45 pm - Dinner break at A2B udayapura
• 11.30 pm - Home again

Total distance driven - 630 km

Route taken - To usual places like shettihalli is known. To interesting places like Devaramane - I dont have a clue! As a part of the MD,we covered a total distance of about 260 kms and it would be fair to say that almost 80% of that was roads that a normal traveler would not even give a second thought to.

Most of the route was easy to drive State highways with impeccable tarmac, estate roads with beautiful rolling hillsides as company, patched up local roads but the second half of the day was meant for some light offroading

broken roads to aid digestion followed by some gravel/stone lined stretches which kept you awake. And then we began the climb to the top of devarmane - think of kalhatty ghat and reduce the size of the road by 25% and keep the steep gradient. Thankfully it did not have a lot of hairpins but the broken roads ensured that you crawl in 2nd gear. But once you reach the top, you quickly forget the arduous journey!

Teaser pic - at the top of Devaramane


Enough said. Now pics can do the talking.

[procrj]

Phase 1: Criss crossing Hemavathy river - 7.15 am - 10.30 am

Tank posing on one of the many many bridges that we crossed


Hemavathy flows peacefuly


lets roll


Shetihalli bridge from the less traversed side


Shetihalli bridge from river shores


Squeaky clean


Church - yet again


Convoy 1 of KA MD

Note: Red XUV is our own wanderlust traveller mpksuhas

The lone rider in our convoy


Leaving the shores & heading to the hills


last man standing


Upstream from the church


Graveyard of uprooted trees


Step farming


Chasing the monsoon


All set to roll


Phase 2: Meadows & meadowlands - 10.30 am - 3.00 pm

Single file


Lofty welcome


Pitstop in the middle of nowhere


Traffic free zone


Lunch break


parking zone


Our very own private scotland



Bada hoke golf course banega!

[procrj]

Phase 3: God's abode - 3.00 pm - 6.00 pm

Warming up


Rain play


One of the many many paddy fields


final destination - right up there



open sesame


close sesame


now you see me


now you dont


Say my name!


Taking a breather


view from the top



Pale shadows


hide & seek



Adios @ Fresh Bean Cafe - Banakal

[Red Liner]

Beautiful! Wish I had known about this. Am a bit cut off from the facebook groups and the like.

Would it be possible for you to share the google map route/itinerary? Would love to do this stretch one of these days by myself.

Lovely travelogues from you about KA...am just beginning to explore this beautiful state in the monsoons!

[procrj]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Would it be possible for you to share the google map route/itinerary? Would love to do this stretch one of these days by myself.

rough estimation of route we took & its based on the names of places that we crossed and probably not the exact route we took. The last part of the drive from Hanbal to Devaramane is a maze which I just cannot remember. All I remember is that there was no mobile service, narrow lanes and the car in front of me which I had to follow so that I dont get lost

Gmaps shows this route from Fresh bean cafe to Devaramane top but I am not sure if this is the route we took. Use caution and common sense if you plan to ride. I remember you posting about biking it to such places and I would suggest that you bike along with someone as a flat tire and heavy downpour could leave you stranded. Not a lot of tarmac around here and zero traffic.

Listen to the wind

https://youtu.be/IdRnbsVz3QY

Lake on top of the hill - reminds me of Galikere

https://youtu.be/Z4JX3kV1ys8