PAYANIGA

Virupapura hillock & the stone mantapa
Virupapura, one of the few places that I have visited countless number of times, is a tiny village which has a story linked to Ramayana. Situated around 75 KMs from Bangalore and a stone’s throw way from my native, the place gets the name from Rama. Previously known as Virupakshapura and along with the time, name got changed to Virupapura.

Shivagange as seen from the hill-top
Main reason for me to visit this place repeatedly is the small hillock to the north east of the village & the panoramic view it offers from the top. My usual routine used to be – climb up the hill which doesn’t take more than 15-20 minutes, reach the lone stone mantapa, sit & ponder for hours.

Temple of Lord Siddarameshwara
Link to Ramayana – As per the local stories, when Ravana kidnapped Sita, Rama & Lakshamana in search of her reached this place. And Rama built a temple of Lord Shiva (called as Siddarameshwara temple by villagers) here on the hillock. And there are plenty Custard Apple trees (Sitaphala or Sita’s fruit).

Present sorry state of the hillock
I visited the place after a long gap of 8-9 years. And I could see lot of changes. One main change that bothered me was stone-quarrying. Almost 25-30% of the hillock is missing when compared to old days. Take another 3-4 years, that good old small hillock which inspired me into treks and hikes will disappear forever. It’s hard to digest but that’s the sad truth.

How to reach there –

B’lore – Nelamangala – NH48 – Marur handpost – turn left – Kudur – Sugganahalli – turn left – Virupapura

Or B’lore – Nelamangala – NH48 – Tippasandra handpost – Sankigatta – Mayasandra (my native village :) – Virupapura.

Distnace approx 75 to 80 KMs

Update: Republished as photos were missing :)
Update 2: added route details

Previous: Kumara Parvatha

We woke up to witness a beautiful & peaceful morning. Rain God was in a good mood & we were spared from getting drenched. We repacked our backpacks, thanked our hosts & started back towards Beedalli. We were bit late to reach the place & we missed the bus again. Luckily a jeep was available and owner of the jeep agreed to take us to Mallalli falls & then drop us at Somavarpet.

To reach Mallalli falls, one has to take a deviation at Hanchinalli. Hanchinalli comes 2 KMs before Beedalli when travelling from Somavarpet towards Beedalli. From Hanchinalli it’s a bumpy jeep track for 2 to 3 KMs. And then a walk for almost a kilometer. It was completely misty even at 11 in the morning. End of wonderful walk brought us to the view point which gives us a majestic view of the falls. Though we had lots of time, we decided not to go down to the foot of the falls as it was very slippery on the rocks.

We spent a quality time over there enjoying the roaring waterfalls. And then headed back home. A jeep journey till Somavarpet, a quick lunch & then back to Bangalore by bus. End of another wonderful weekend & still Kumara Parvatha peak unconquered.

Waterfalls of Karnataka:

• Dabbe falls
• Somavathi falls
• Soochippara falls
• Jog

My third visit to Western Ghats in less than two months period. First one to Sharavathi valley & next one to Kudremukha range. This time we were heading towards Kumara Parvatha or Pushpagiri, which marks as a boundary to Kodagu (Coorg) & Dakshina Kannada districts of Karnataka. But this time we started on a wrong foot.

Our plan was to start trek from Somawarapet side, camp near the summit on day one & then get down towards Kukke Subrahmanya on day two. But instead of booking bus tickets to Somawarapet, we landed in Virajpet on that Saturday morning at 4.15 AM. From Virajpet we changed two busses to reach Somawarapet via Madikeri. By the time we reached Somawarapet, the only direct bus to take us to starting point had already left. After breakfast at Somawarapet, we took a bus till Kannahalli Katte & the conductor of the bus arranged for a jeep to take us to Beedahalli or Beedalli – trek starting point.

It was cloudy & started drizzling when we started our trek. Initial 3 KMs is along well laid road till the village ‘Heggade Mane’. There is a temple in Heggade Mane where one can pitch camp there. We were still discussion our options whether to go ahead to the peak or camp near the temple as it was already 2 PM. Finally we decided to trek further. After getting permission from the forest office (a small one room office further down from the temple), we marched ahead. As it was monsoon, there were plenty of water streams which we had to cross during our ascent. With every step, leeches started attacking us. Initial half an hour we stopped here and there to rub tobacco leaves & snuff powder to get rid of them. And later we got tired of it & let them suck our blood.

Race began between us & the Sun. Initial stretch from the forest office is a gradual gradient. We moved quickly through the thick forest. Sunlight was a rare commodity as it was cloudy & rain pouring. After two and half hours of trek rain gave away & we were halfway to the peak. At 5, we stopped for lunch. By the time we finished lunch, it started raining again. That’s when we had to take the hard decision – of turning back. We decided to return to Heggade mane & camp instead of trying to pitch tents in the dark on a windy, rainy night & donate half of our blood to leeches.

It was around 7 by the time we reached Heggade mane & spent the night at priest’s house. Slowly one by one drifted to sleep with determination of hiking Kumara Parvatha post monsoon & plans of visiting Mallalli waterfalls next day. It’s time for me to complete this unfinished task :)

Next: A visit to Mallalli Falls

The story dates back to Aug 2006, when I came across some nice photos of this small hillock Achalu betta (or Achchalu) on DKM’s blog. Collected information from DKM on how to reach the place & four of us started in a car. It was nice drive on the country-side & we took our own time to reach the place. We had a small pit-stop en-route near a village where SJ got busy shooting birds. Rest of us had a nice time talking to the village kids who were helping their parents in the farm. And then we packed breakfast at Kanakapura & proceeded towards Achalu.

Achalu is a small sleepy village just 15 KMs after Kanakapura. Just as we enter the village, there is a small pond; but there was no water when we were there. TO reach the foot of the hill one need to cross the village along a narrow lane. When we asked an elderly villager for directions, he called a small kid to show us the way. Two of his friends joined him and they were our guides for the whole day.

We parked the car at the foot of the hill. Finished our breakfast & started the climb. To reach the peak it takes around 1.5 to 2 hours. Achalu betta is a rocky hill covered mostly of shrubs. There is a Muneshwara temple & a Nandi statue at the top & hilltop offers a panoramic view of the landscape. On the way up, we stopped many times for taking snaps & spent an hour at the top listening to the stories told by our little guides about the village & festival that happens every year at the top.

Getting down was easier & took less time. Bid adieu to the three musketeers & in less than 2 hours time we were back stuck in a traffic jam in Bangalore.