Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Travelogues (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/)

-   -   Trip to Hassan 18-19 Jul (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/62381-trip-hassan-18-19-jul.html)

Hi guys, here's my first travel report of my trip to Hassan last weekend. Took a bit of time to get this done, cos of a busy week!

Like it happens many a time, I had planned on a relaxed weekend, but got sorta forced to attend a family function in Hassan. What initially started as a crib, ultimately turned into a rejuvenating weekend.

My dad, me and wife left from our Vijaynagar home at 3pm on Saturday. This time to avoid the ever crazy NH4 upto Nelamangala, I took the Magadi route for the first time and was pleasantly surprised at the road condition and the traffic - the only bad stretches being some until the NICE road junction and Magadi town. The route is scenic and curvevaceous and an absolute pleasure to drive especially the 22 kms stretch from Magadi to the NH48 joining a few kms before Kunigal. Moreover, there was a gentle drizzle most of the way, which prompted us to turn off the AC and let the cool breeze in:)

The traffic increased a bit near Kunigal, but once we crossed the town, there were not too many vehicles. There is plenty of four-laning work ongoing all the way up to Belur cross, but as of now the drive is pretty much smooth all the way. The weather got a lot more pleasant and chilly once we neared Chan raya patna and by 6.15pm we were already in Hassan. Took us ~3 driving time to cover 190 kms, with a single break to answer nature's call. Nothing untoward or unpleasant in the entire journey!

The evening in Hassan was rather cold and thankfully the wollens we got along were made full use of!

Sunday we were all up early and after breakfast which we had at 9, were left wondering what to do the entire morning. This is when my cousins suggested that we drive down to Gorur dam, where apparently the crest gates had been opened, due to heavy inflow into Hemavati river. Gorur is about 17 kms from Hassan and wifey and cousin joined me. The smaller roads in some of the areas in Hassan were absolutely pathetic and it took me a good twenty-odd minutes to navigate to the Gorur-Hassan road junction. From there on, the road is much better and the scenery all through the distance is absolutely lovely! We drove at a sedate pace soaking in the gentle drizzle, occasionally turning heavy and cool breeze as also admiring the potato plantations on both sides of the road - the crop seemed to have blossomed and it was a real pleasure to see those cute lil' flowers!

In about half an hour we reached the dam. Vehicles are not allowed beyond a certain point and we had to walk for about 15 minutes. The roar of the waters as well as the mist created by the gushing water was simply awesome! The small droplets of water got carried quite some distance thanks to a strong wind and it felt very refreshing! Visitors could view the dam only from a safe distance, but it was worth the walk and the drive. Attached some pictures in the end

We spent about half an hour and enjoyed every bit of the time spent there! We started heading back when phone calls from the house began, mainly for us to be there for the main puja.

On the way back, I stopped at one of the potato farms to take a coupla pics. These farms/plantations are so close the waters that another week of heavy rains could completely take a toll on the crop! Just hope the farmers end up with a good crop and do not suffer any losses due to excessive rains!

We took the same road back and after a heavy lunch, we started back to Bangalore at 4.30 pm. The weather was great till C.R patna with a gentle drizzle, but thereafter it was pretty much dry all the way till Bangalore. The traffic was also rather thin and it was an easy drive all the way. Somehow, the traffic always picks up upon nearing Kunigal and also after that - always wondered why every time I do this route! Anyway, I took the Magadi route this time as well and it was an uneventful, but peaceful drive all the way till the Nice road junction. From there on the evening traffic of Bangalore was a bit of a pain, but I managed to keep up the rejuvenated mood from earlier that day all the way home! Reached home by 8pm..

Total distance covered in the entire trip was 432 kms and I had tanked up with ~24 ltrs (Rs900), when the fuel tank had reached the reserve mark. I still had a little over a litre or two to get to the reserve mark again. So overall FE I got in this trip was ~19-20 kmpl. Fuel used regular IOC

ps: The pics are from my cell phone cam and aint that great!

I'm sure that you meant 6:15 am...:D

The pictures of the gushing waters at the Gorur Dam were pretty good.

Yeah + 1 to gd sir, The pics of the damn is great, its an amazing sight. I am sure seeing it in 3d would have been a wonderfull experience.

gd sir, I think 6.15pm should be correct as he mentions he started at 3pm and took him 3 hrs to complete 190kms

Looks like most of the dams in Karnataka are now full and the creat gates are open. Great pics of Gorur Dam. Considering the distance, I am quite tempted to make a quick one day dash to this spot.

Nope, definitely 6.15pm, as I started at 3pm :)

I had only wished I had my camera! I was not at all willing to go and so had carried bare minimum stuff, but when I went there regretted not getting my camera

thanks.
if you are in Hyd (seen from ur profile) you can even check out Tungabhadra dam .. awesome from what i saw in the news last week!

Beautiful. Its always a great pleasure in seeing these dams in full flow. Need to visit this too before this monsoon is gone :)

Thanks for sharing.

@royalcruiser,

Were you not allowed till the wall they have put up next to the river? From your pictures, I see that you taken them from a distance. Altough, you could not probably take any pictures from that close without wetting your camera:D

Also, if you had time you could have visited a bridge behind the dam near Shettihalli (your cousins will probably tell you about this place). You can see an old church submerged in the water. When the water recedes in summer, This place sees a lot of people ranging from young couples, rowdy boys:D and many film shoots also take place here.

Nope, I guess due to security concerns, no one was allowed near the wall. Like you rightly mentioned, one could not even stand near the fencing for long without getting drenched! so, had to take the pictures from a slight distance.

Yep, have heard about Shettyhalli, but somehow never managed to go there. How do u get to that place from Gorur - or do u need to go up to Arkalgud?

From Gorur, towards Hassan you get a village called Kattaya. Take a left there and continue on that road towards Magge or Kundoor (most likely, you will find these 2 names on the milestones & signboards). Shettyhalli is a junction. Right goes to Hassan (about 20 kms) and left goes to Kundoor-Magge. Take a left here and after a kilometer, you find the church.

Note: Shettyhalli is also called 'Jyotinagar' (due to a christian settlement here). You may also want to look out for that name on signboards.:)

Nice .. I will try this during the Aug15-16 weekend. willl be off to Chikmagalur - will stop by there for a while :)
Any idea how good/bad is the road?

I don't know about the stretch from Kattaya, but the stretch from Hassan to Shettyhalli is a decent single lane road

Oops, I'm sorry. I didn't pay attention to the 3 pm bit. Assumed it was 3 am..:Frustrati