Mid June. Clear Sky, with scattered clouds. Rains were due in this part of the country. And we decided to pay a visit to Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta (Betta in KAnnada means 'Hill'). Four of us - Dwaraka (on his RD 350), Muruli (Shogun), Sreekanth (Pulsar 150) & Myself (Pulsar 150). We met at Mysore road very close to University junction at 5.15 in the morning and headed towards Mysore. Bangalore to Mysore was a non-stop run & we covered a distance of 130 KMs in just 90 minutes. From there we headed towards Nanjanagud and stopped there for breakfast. After gulping down extra salted Dosas & Idlis, we continued our journey. Crossed Gundlupet & we reached foot of hill by 9.15AM. And it's approximately 10 KMs to the peak.
Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta is located in Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka and is part of Bandipur National Park. The name - Himavad meaning fog, as the hill be covered with fog almost through out the year. Yes even during peak summer. And Gopalaswamy, beacause of Krishna temple. This temple was built in early fourteenth century by Cholas. And main speciality of the place is wild elephants which can be seen in herds of 60s-70s. Unluckily we were not able to sight them :(
We reached the top by 9.45 and it was completely covered by fog. Fog was so dense that we felt it's raining. Visibility reduced to 30-40 meters; we parked our bikes, went on a walk around the temple & to a view point. Wind was blowing heavily & we sat there at the top savouring the moment.
From there we walked back through fog towards the temple. It took us almost half an hour to come out ofter the darshan as the temple was crowded. When we came out, it was completely different view & a dramatic change. Fog had cleared and we had clear view. We sat there near the emple admiring the beauty. By noon we started back home.
Reached Mysore by 1.30+ & stopped there for lunch. After a heavy lunch rest of the three headed back to Bangalore & I rode towards Kunigal. Route for all of us was same till Maddur and I took a deviation near Maddur to reach home by 4.45PM
Almost 12 hours journey including breaks. A total distance of 430 KMs.
Route taken -
Bangalore - Maddur - Mysore - Gundlupet - Gopalaswamy Betta - Gundlupet - Mysore - Maddur - KunigalA fast paced, amazing ride & a well spent Saturday
Labels: Bike Trip, Karnataka, Mysore, One day outing, Pilgrimage, Travel
« Home
Ahhh how beautiful!! You know, a snap very similar to the last but one snap, which I took on our visit to Gopal's (as Mysoreans call it), adorned my desktop until very recently.
I love the first pic, amazing shot. btw how does it take to this place from Bangalore? and how are the roads??
Thanks
real treat photos are superb so also the narration enjoy guys enjoy keep updates so that we can also be part of it by reading and watching
good one PM
pranesh
I will try to make it to that place next month... thanks for writing about it.
Photos are really good!!
Nice log with super photos.
A small correction : Its called 'Himavat' Gopalaswamy since the diety at the temple will always be covered with 'hima'(a temperature drop). Even if there is no mist around the temple, Sanctum Sanctorum will have it covered. Priest will catch a bit of it and sprinkles on all the devotees.
Wow, Great job and excellent pictures!!
Thanks for letting the junta like us( who are a little far from home), know how wonderful the Indian locales are, and thank you so much for giving us that sense of nostalgia!!
Roopa
Thanks all for the comment :)
Beautiful. Love it!
wow beautifull i love the first one u used the sky very well
Hi thanks for dropping by my blog; was wondering how did you end up there! Well, you've got nice pics. I am an amateur myself.
Keep dropping by my blog.
If you don't mind, I'd like to give link to my post on my trek to Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta here.
http://raghuonlife.blogspot.com/2006/10/trek-to-himavad-gopala-swamy-betta.html
Thanks for the info.. was useful
Indeed a good weekend bike ride!!
If you have are planning to 3 day outing, you can even plan for Ooty. This is around 100km from the betta.
We ended up going to Ooty and coonor. Very enjoyable bike ride!
Remember to take Bandipur root to Ooty (Not the Gundlupet - Madhumalai route, as the roads are really bad).
Thanks for the info.. was useful
Indeed a good weekend bike ride!!
If you have are planning to 3 day outing, you can even plan for Ooty. This is around 100km from the betta.
We ended up going to Ooty and coonor. Very enjoyable bike ride!
Remember to take Bandipur root to Ooty (Not the Madhumalai route, as the roads are really bad).
Gopalaswamy betta is a nice place. if you are planning to to weekend you can go wayanad from there