[swsumit]

Yana – The Medieval World

1. Most of the weekdays, when I have some spare time which has been retrieved from the unending schedules of the daily life, I open google maps and just start browsing the surrounding area on a magnified scale and this is how I stumbled upon Yana. The name sounded so different that I decided to do a bit more research and hence out of this was born my visit to Yana – The medieval world.

2. Yana is a small village located deep in the forests of Uttara Karnataka as stated by Wikipedia and partly this is true as I drove one fine early morning on the magnificent vital Kochi Panvel Highway. The direction was southwards as I motored early in the morning with the monsoon right across the corner, the outriders could be easily seen as the earth held breath in anticipation while the sky was heavily laden with grey clouds just waiting to unleash their load onto the parched earth that had been waiting patiently for them over the entire summer.

3. Soon I was crossing small villages and towns aptly named Arga , Aversa , Ankola . As one neared a small town called Kumta adiversion has to be taken from the National Highway and one turns into SH 69 which bore me deeper into the forested lands and villages that inhabited these parts. The road was narrow and spectacular with greenery all around. I thoroughly enjoyed this stretch and moved at a sedate pace. Eventually i decided that this was the apt time to have some hot piping tea and hence my eyes started searching for the same. After a few kms I came to a kind of plateau or highland and there stood a small tea shop next to a broken down bust stop. The morning was still young and the earthen landscape was open and wide, what more can a man want in a moment like this as I sipped the tea savoring the moment in. The path stretched ahead of me, unknown in its element but with the destination assured. Well this is what is I guess meant by travelling on unknown paths.

4. Soon it was time to get moving again into the forested lands that came up inviting me into their midst. Yana was reached after an hour or so covering a distance of around 100 kms, it was fairly early in the day by the time I reached. There was a sign which directed me onto the trail through the jungle which would lead me to what I had come to see !!!

5. So what had I come to see out here, this morning … well I had been drawn here by the two massive rock outcrops known in the local folklore that is associated with places like these as Bhairaveshwara Shikhara and Mohini Shikhara. When I said massive I meant it, for they were both having an average height of 100 mts stretching high up into the air towering over everything else in the near vicinity.

6. So after a small trek of around 2 kms I reached these rocks and marveled at their existence. There is a small temple dedicated to Lord Shiva at the base of the Bhairveshwara Shikhara. Also there exists a passage through the base of the rocky outcrop that leads one into the very depths and if one persists he comes out onto the other side of the outcrop.

7. I spend some time out there seeing, feeling and clicking pics prior to departing from the place. The government is trying to develop the place as a tourist center and activities for the same are in progress. I guess this place is quite well known among the local folks for as I was returning I could see people coming in to visit the place.

8. Overall worth a visit owing to the uniqueness of the place and the lovely drive.



BHAIRAVA SHIKAARA




























































MOHINI SHIKAARA

[bblost]

Wow.

Thanks for the beautiful pictures.
My first thought on seeing them was Harrenhal from the TV Series, game of thrones.


This place looks like a delight for nature lovers and photographers.

[ajmat]

Wow, this is amazing and so near.

How far is this from Mangalore

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by swsumit

Yana – The Medieval World

Beautiful, beautiful photos there! A trip to Yana really is an experience to cherish.

Your travelogue reminded me of my trip to Yana back in late 2010. Of course, the road from Kumta to Yana was nowhere near the quality that's shown in one of your photos above. Hope you don't mind me sharing some of my old pics (taken with a humble p & s camera) for nostalgia's sake







Cheers,
Vikram

[ampere]

You seem to be covering KA section by section! Slowly coming up onto North KA? Yana is an awesome place and the rocks stand out beautifully! Did not visit any other waterfalls nearby?

[nimbleguru]

This is awesome @swsumit.
Not to highjack your thread but here's an aerial shot of Yana someone took.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njUVeu2p8uU

[NPV]

Amazing pictures, thanks for sharing
Brought back some nostalgic memories of my 2 earlier visits there, first in 1997 and then in 2000. Between those 2 visits, I saw a lot of "development"/changes there so I guess it's more easily accessible now (in 2000 I think they were constructing a stone stairway to reduce the trekking distance to the top where the temple is). In 1997 the road up the hill was quite decent and we were in a Sumo Taxi so no issues with the climb, but in 2000 there was some metalling/road widening work in progress but it did not deter us from going uphill in the Esteem

This place became a popular tourist spot after a famous Kannada movie Nammoora Mandara Hoove was shot here and around the forests near Sirsi.

[mallumowgli]

Lovely place, lovely travelogue and lovely photos.

Originally Posted by swsumit

3. Soon I was crossing small villages and towns aptly named Arga , Aversa , Ankola . As one neared a small town called Kumta adiversion has to be taken from the National Highway and one turns into SH 69 which bore me deeper into the forested lands and villages that inhabited these parts. The road was narrow and spectacular with greenery all around. I thoroughly enjoyed this stretch and moved at a sedate pace. Eventually i decided that this was the apt time to have some hot piping tea and hence my eyes started searching for the same. After a few kms I came to a kind of plateau or highland and there stood a small tea shop next to a broken down bust stop. The morning was still young and the earthen landscape was open and wide, what more can a man want in a moment like this as I sipped the tea savoring the moment in. The path stretched ahead of me, unknown in its element but with the destination assured. Well this is what is I guess meant by travelling on unknown paths.

This pretty much sums what a driving destination is, eh?

The rock looks like a gnarled trunk of a dead tree!!May be the Gods threw a withered tree from heaven and it fell there

[swsumit]

Originally Posted by ampere

You seem to be covering KA section by section! Slowly coming up onto North KA? Yana is an awesome place and the rocks stand out beautifully! Did not visit any other waterfalls nearby?

hii

thank you , yes the waterfalls will be coming up subsequently

regards

[Doc_nikhil]

Beautiful pictures bro! How was the traffic on the roads? It looks like a good place to ride.

[i20ian]

Beautiful pictures. Keep going..
What gear do you use? I'm planning to buy a DSLR. Do you have any suggestions? Looking at your pics, your outdoor photographs are really good. I'm also more interested in outdoor landscape photography.

[swsumit]

Originally Posted by Doc_nikhil

Beautiful pictures bro..!! How was the traffic on the roads? It looks like a good place to ride...!!

hii ,

thanks , hardly any traffic as i had started in the morning

regards

Originally Posted by i20ian

Beautiful pictures. Keep going..
What gear do you use? I'm planning to buy a DSLR. Do you have any suggestions? Looking at your pics, your outdoor photographs are really good. I'm also more interested in outdoor landscape photography.

hii,

if you are a beginner as i am my suggestion is to go for a medium range dslr , which is just below a full frame professional version but the trick is to have great lenses

regards

[i20ian]

Originally Posted by swsumit

hii,

if you are a beginner as i am my suggestion is to go for a medium range dslr , which is just below a full frame professional version but the trick is to have great lenses

regards

Yes.. I'm a beginner. Do you suggest any specific brand in the medium range? Which one do you use? Don't know much about this but heard that certain brands are good for outdoor shooting while some others are good indoors.

[King_pin09]

Wonderful travelogue swsumit,

As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, your images do full justification to the location.

From the images I can see your ride as the Logan. Can you please elaborate as which model, fuel type, year of purchase etc. I believe Logan should not have caused any issues with GC and torque while negotiating the hilly terrains.

Thanks once again for sharing.

[LoneRidder]

Beautiful place and beautiful pictures!

Yana opened its doors to outside world after a Kannada movie, Nammoora Mandara Hoove, was short at that place. With beautiful songs by Ilaiyaraaja and Cinematography by Sundaranath Suvarna it brought out the magical world!

This place receives good rainfall, I guess travelling during monsoon would not be a good idea?