[akroy]

Hotstuff, once again great informative travelogue (specially the Melkote part for me as I have not done that).
Some pics like the jaggery factory, Barso Re Location (frankly I didnot know that the unit came all the way to Melkote from Hampi to shoot this, I thought it must be somehwere in Hampi itself).

Abhi

[hotstuff]

Originally Posted by BomBatt

... But you missed one thing in Melkote. Iyengari Puliogare ! It was very hot in the afternoon, and we were hungry. We went to a small hotel somewhere near the temple and had puliogare for lunch. It was yummy and tasted awesome.

Also, famous Kannada poet Pu Ti Na (Purohita Tirunarayana Narasimhachar) belongs to Melkote and we did see his house there.

- Thanks BomBatt. Will remember these for the next time I head there. [Probably a couple of months into the rainy season...]

Originally Posted by BomBatt

... One more interesting fact for you to know would be, I have also spent a lot of time in Davangere ! 3 years as a kid and again later 3 years of my college life ! So many sweet memories.

All in all, nice travelogue. Great stuff from you hotstuff

- Dvg is a nice place... everything is within a couple of Kms and the place is small enough for almost everyone to know everyone else...

Originally Posted by snaronikar

Nice stuff hotstuff. It sure looks more attractive after seeing your pics. This will surely lure many bhpians to visit here (if they re interested in religious places).

- Thanks snaronikar. The place is certainly worth a visit or two... as I mentioned earlier. If the scenery is your primary motive for visiting Melkote, Sept-Oct-Nov are the ideal months.

Originally Posted by akroy

Hotstuff, once again great informative travelogue (specially the Melkote part for me as I have not done that).
Some pics like the jaggery factory, Barso Re Location (frankly I didnot know that the unit came all the way to Melkote from Hampi to shoot this, I thought it must be somehwere in Hampi itself).

Abhi

- Looks like the Guru unit travelled all over south India for each song. Apparently the waterfall scene from the same 'Barso re' song was shot in the Athirapally falls in Kerala.

[ravibhat]

Both of your travelogue should get 5 star rating, very well written excellant work.

Ravi.

[kaushik_s]

Originally Posted by hotstuff

Thanks kaushik!

True, if you are visiting places like Melkote / Shivagange etc. for religious purposes, then any time is good time. However if you want to enjoy the scenic beauty, the best time is probably a couple of months after the monsoon starts - all the way till end of November.

I'm not that religious so for me visiting some place is mostly for it's beauty(either natural or architectural). Normally I love to do my trips during or after monsoon. Otherwise the brownish hues present allover nowadays is a big turn-off for me.

[hotstuff]

Originally Posted by ravibhat

Both of your travelogue should get 5 star rating, very well written excellant work.
Ravi.

- Thanks Ravi!

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

I'm not that religious so for me visiting some place is mostly for it's beauty(either natural or architectural). Normally I love to do my trips during or after monsoon. Otherwise the brownish hues present allover nowadays is a big turn-off for me.

- I am waiting for the rains too. Probably the best time to drive into the ghats. [Before the roads deteriorate]

[kaushik_s]

Originally Posted by hotstuff

-
- I am waiting for the rains too. Probably the best time to drive into the ghats. [Before the roads deteriorate]

Aah, that reminds me of a drive via Sakleshpur to Mangalore when roads were comparatively better. It was a awesome vista during the rains, green all over and sudden small waterfalls by the side of the road. Things does turn magical in the hills after the rains.

[ampere]

Thanks to Roameo, I just saw this thread now. Very well informed thread. I was look for a weekend outing. Thanks for finding out the next one for me .

[srb]

Hi ,

I made a trip to Melukote and surrounding areas on Dec 12th , 2010 . Some info :-
1) Starting from my house at around 7AM and reached Melukote at around 10.30AM . Had a breakfast stop at Adiga's resturant which is after Maddur)
2) Toke the Bangalore-Mysore highway and the right turn after Mandya to reach Melukote . There is enough directions enroute hence it is not easy to miss the directions .
3)Visited Cheluvanarayana Swamy temple , Akka-Tanki Kola , Kalyani ,Yoganarasimha Swamy temple at Melukote .
4) The Cheluvanarayana Swamy temple is a very old temple and we can spend around 30-45 mins in the temple .
5) Akka-Tanki Kola are 2 ponds situated near by with a ancient tale surrounding it .
6) Yoganarasimha Swamy temple is on a hilllock and it would take around 15-20 mins to walk by the stairs . The steps are very uneven and sometime steep and one needs to be bit careful while climbing down:-) .
7)Temple is very good , the scenic surrounding around the temple is worth the climb . Can stay here for 30-45 mins .
8) THere are multiple eating points in Melukote ,but I visited the Subbanna mess for some puligore and Sweet Pongal . Subbanna mess also provides full meals to pilgrims (at a cost) .Took some curd rice from a Iyengar mess nearby . I got the food parceled and moved out of Melukote to another a visiting point nearby
9) Visited TonuruKere on the way back . This is a big lake which is situated on Mysore-Pandavapura-Melukote Road. It is about 14 kms from Melukote . One needs to take a right turn after Maheshwarapura to reach this place .Local people are very helpful .
10) Can spend around 15-20 mins around the lake . There is a channel water gushing down enroute to the lake and one a take quick dip in this water .
11) After visting this lake , took a break under the shade of a tree for some lunch(which was packed from Melukote) and a quick nap . Started from this place towards Kokarebellur at aroun 4.15 PM .
12) Reached Kokarebellur at around 6PM and watched multiple birds , crane on the trees . The place is very good to visit early in the mornings or in the evening . Enroute there is a good scenic view of the sunset which is awesome .
13) Started back to Bangalore from Kokarebellur at around 6.45PM .
14) Had a small coffee break in between before reaching my house at 8.45PM . Being a sunday evening , the Mysore road was very crowded and had a curtail my speed very frequently .

[Fauji]

Very Good stuff!! It is unfortunate that Melkote is not given a prominent place in the Karnataka tourism map. It has history, heritage, architecture and religion. It is best visited after rains when the valley is green. When you visit Melkote, don't forget to visist an excellent Hoysala temple in Hosaholalu which is two 2 KMs from KR Pet which is at a distance of 15 KMs from Melkote. Another place worth visiting is Hemagiri and the barrage across river Hemavathi which is again close by.

[DigitalOne]

Update on road condition:
We made a quick visit to Melkote today. We took the right turn after Mandya. The road is only two lane or narrower at most places. We could see a lot of road stretches recently patched up, so the condition is decent. We could easily maintain an average speed of 50-60 kmph in this stretch. So my advice is, there is no need to go till Srirangapatna and take the Pandavapura route.

Our trip coincided with CM Mr. Yeddiyurappa's visit to the temples. We had to park quite a distance away from the temple and walk a considerable distance :-(.

We had an easy trip, thanks for the travel advice given in this and other threads about Melkote. Did have a sense of deja vu sometimes :-).