Around Udupi: Kunjarugiri & Pajaka
0 Comments Published by Prashanth M on July 22, 2008 at 11:19 AM.
From Udyavara we headed towards our next destination - Kunjarugiri, a hillock (giri = hill, mountain) with temple of Goddess Durga atop. One can reach the top either by steps (a hundred or so) or by road. Though we wanted to climb the hills, we didn't want to risk our luggage on the bikes with so many monkeys around. There were so many monkeys near the temple, I stood gaurd near our bikes while Srik went inside the temple. And later we switched. To the west of Kunjarugiri, there is another smaller hillock. And there is a temple of Parashurama.
From there we visited Pajaka, the birth place of Sri Madhvacharya, the founder of the Dvaita school of philosophy. He is the one who installed the deity of Sri Krishna at Udupi. A priest volunteered and took us on a guided tour. It is said that Sri Madhvacharya used to visit the Durga temple everyday & worshipped the goddess. Listening to the stories and the legends, took me to my childhood days of reading books and comics. And how we tried enact or immitate the mythological heroes.
After traveling 500+KMs in todays and visiting many places, we were tired. We reached Srikanth's Aunt's house in Surtakal. Before calling it a day, we met another fellow blogger Venu Vinod. At the end of day two, our trip meter read 540 KMs & distance for the day 100KMs.
Day Two:
Udupi - Malpe - Bengre - Udupi - Udyavara - Kunjarugiri - Pajaka - Kaup - Surthkal
Day One:
Bangalore - Kunigal - Hassan - Belur - Yagachi - Chikkamagalur - Balehonnur - Jayapura - Sringeri - Agumbe - Hebri - Udupi
Labels: Bike Trip, Karnataka, Pilgrimage, Udupi, West Coast
Our second half of the day started after a sumptuous food. And this time we went in search of 'Udyavara beach', one more beautiful place suggested by Rajesh Naik. If you have been to Maravathe & like the place, here is the miniature version but more beautiful & pristine of Maravante.
A narrow stretch of land (of about 200-300 meters width) is sandwitched bwtween Arabian sea on the west & a river on east. Starting somewhere near Kaup, the stretch suddenly hits a dead end very close to Malpe, where the river joins the might sea.
The place is very close to Udupi & yet less known to the world. Udyavara town is 3 KMs from Udupi & another 3 KMs from there takes you to Pithrodi village. A boatman awaits for people to take them to & fro the main land & the other side. One has to cross the river in a narrow boat which can accomodate 5-6 people.
It's pretty difficult to find a beach in India which is clean & also no one around. But this was an exception. It was clean & untouched, not even foot marks of people. We were there around 3PM, definitely not a suitable time to be at the beach & for photography. But we had no other choice. I want to go there again to witness the Sunset, before the place get stormed by people & turns into just another beach in the world.
Continuing the West coast ride story
Route day two:
Udupi - Malpe - Bengre - Udupi - Udyavara - Kunjarugiri - Pajaka - Kaup - Surthkal
Route day one:
Bangalore - Kunigal - Hassan - Belur - Yagachi - Chikkamagalur - Balehonnur - Jayapura - Sringeri - Agumbe - Hebri - Udupi
Labels: Beach, Bike Trip, Karnataka, Udupi, West Coast
Continuing the West coast ride story
Day two started slowly and the day started at 7AM, still early on a Sunday morning :). On second day we travelled less in terms of distance but managed to visit quite a few places. It was more of chicken run - run here & there visit a place & next moment back to square one. Our first visit was to Udupi Sri Krishna temple. The temple was not much crowded. We roamed around the premises. From there we headed towards Malpe beach.
Before going to the beach, we paid a quick visit to Malpe port. It was a busy time at hte port. Lots of boats coming in with loads of freshly caught fishes. We had to leave early as the smell was unbearable. From there we hit the beach. Sat on the beach for few moments, looking at the endless number of waves. And the brought down the bike onto the beach. Getting onto the beach was easy, but pulling it back on road was the big problem. We went on and on in the lonely beach for few KMs. And then we managed to pull our bikes back on the road with the help of locals.
As per recommendation from Rajesh Naik, from Malpe we went in search of a less known place called Bengre. Bengre in Tulu (a dialect of Kannada language) means the place where river joins the sea. It was not so difficult to find the place. It was a great sight watching the slowly getting into the sea. We could even make out the difference in color of the water. I sat there on the beach mesmerized while Srik played in water. We returned from the place reluctantly as the Sun was going up every minute & we were getting late for the wedding.
Route day two:
Udupi - Malpe - Bengre - Udupi - Udyavara - Kunjarugiri - Pajaka - Kaup - Surthkal
Route taken on day one:
Bangalore - Kunigal - Hassan - Belur - Yagachi - Chikkamagalur - Balehonnur - Jayapura - Sringeri - Agumbe - Hebri - Udupi
Labels: Beach, Bike Trip, Karnataka, Udupi, West Coast
Continuing the West coast ride story
"Is there a temple up there?", the old lady asked pointing towards the bunch of college students who were running up & down the stairs which takes one to the Sunset view point at Agumbe.
"Oh! Yes. There is one. And he is the God', Srikanth pointed towards the late afternoon Sun. The old lady was bewildered. We both exchanged smiles & went towards the view point.
We were at Agumbe, the Chirapunji of South India, the Malgudi of Swamy & his friends. En route view point we briefly stopped at the Agumbe town trying to find the school which Swamy attended in the Malgudi days series.
It was 4.30 in the evening and we had another hour & forty five minutes for the Sunset (6.15 PM) as per the guy at the handicrafts shop. It was too late for us to reach Udupi to catch sunset at the beach. Hence we decided to witness the Sunset. We parked our bikes & roamed around. The place was bit noisy because of the two groups of tourists, both being college students. Their chatters, pranks took us back to our college days. We climbed up to the view point & back couple of times. And then we tried to explore the dense trees above the viewpoint for a better view of Sunset, but had to come back as there was no visibility. We walked up & down the road, sat on the roadside discussing on the plans for next three days, and then sat silently enjoying the surroundings.
Some 15-20 minutes before the sunset we moved to the viewpoint. It was an amazing experience watching the Sun changing colors every moment. I tried to capture the sunset in my camera & then I realized that I was missing the live action. I decided to give a break to the camera & enjoy the view to the fullest. We sat silently watching the Sun going down inch by inch. Those moments, though of shorter period, are impossible to describe in words. We said good bye to the Sun and were back on the saddles.
Daylight was reducing quickly & we had another 50+KMs to ride. It was fun riding down the narrow Agumbe ghat road. Though of shorter distance, it has 14 hair pin curves within a distance of 7-8 KMs & the height drastically reduces. By the time one covers 8-10KMs from the viewpoint, he will be at almost sea level from a height of 826 meters above sea level.
With Sun down, darkness glooming, tired souls, droopy eyes, we rode down the narrow roads towards Udupi. After 75 minutes; by 8PM, we were roaming in the alleys of Udupi, lost searching for the Udupi bus stand. Due to construction work, we had to detour, ride around aimlessly just following the flowing traffic. Next was the tough task to search for a hotel, then Rajesh Naik (a fellow travel blogger, an avid traveler & an amazing personality - more details on him in a separate post :)) came to our rescue. We dumped our luggage, freshened up & had a lazy dinner (stretching 3.5 hrs) with Rajesh & Srikanth (Srikanth #2, another fellow blogger).
And so was our day one, covering 440KMs, visiting couple of heritage & pilgrimage centers, spending time at a water reservoir & an unforgettable sunset.
Route taken on day one:
Bangalore - Kunigal - Hassan - Belur - Yagachi - Chikkamagalur - Balehonnur - Jayapura - Sringeri - Agumbe - Hebri - Udupi
Labels: Bike Trip, Karnataka, Shivamogga, Western ghats
Continuing the West coast ride story
It was few minutes over 2.30PM when we reached Sringeri, my second visit in a month's span. Late enough to miss the darshana at the temple. We rode up & down the main road of the temple town before settling down for lunch in a small hotel. We spent an hour's time having food & discussing the next plans for the day. We thought of visiting either Hariharapura or Kigga, but decided to visit those two places during our next visit & headed towards Agumbe.
The journey from Yagachi to Sringeri tooks approximatey 2 hours. It was around 12.30 when we started from Yagachi dam & our next stop was any place on the way, we had plan of stopping when hungry. Till Belur we had enjoyed the wide, straight, well laid roads. From Belur onwards it was narrow, not-so-good, but scenic, twisty roads. We crossed Chikkamagalur & then Aldur and lo we were amidst the mountain range of western ghats. It was pleasant riding throught the high mountains & the ghat sections.
Soon we were in Balehonnur and were hungry. Searched for a hotel for lunch. After riding down up & down without finding one, we went ahead. Next big town is Jayapura. Since we were very near to Sringeri, we decided have to have lunch there itself. After 15-20 minutes along the narrow road, we reached Sringeri.
We left Sringeri around 3.30-3.45 with stomachs filled. By 4.30 we were at Agumbe, the same Malgudi town which Shankarnag introduced to the world, the same place also called as Chirapunji of South India. I was there at Agumbe after more than 14 years. It took me 14 years for the second visit, hence we decided to kill 2 hours time & catch the beautiful sunset and then head towards Udupi.
The ride: Start - Belur - Yagachi dam - Sringeri - Agumbe - Udupi
Labels: Bike Trip, Chikkamagalur, Karnataka, Western ghats
Continuing the West coast ride story
Just less than 10 KMs from Belur while going towards Chikkamagalur comes a huge water body on the left side of the road. In my previous journeys in that route, I had assumed this place as just another lake, a huge one. Very recently I came to know that it's Yagachi dam (or reservoir) built across river Yagachi (one of the important tributaries of river Kaveri).
Yagachi dam is relatively new to the list of reservoirs in India, which was dedicated to the nation in 2004. The main purposes of the dam are irrigation for thousand's of acres of land in Hassan & Chikkamagalur district and source of drinking water for Belur & Chikkamagalur cities.
We parked our bikes near the front gate only to see couple of policemen sitting in the shade & the words on a board which said 'No entry to visitors'. While we were contemplating whether to continue with the ride or to speak to them, one of them waved at us. They were bit curious looking at us, our bikes & the luggage. Like it happens most of the times, they were surprised to hear our ride plan. When we inquired about entry to the dam, we were told that due to security reasons no one is allowed to enter the dam premises, but can go till a place where they had placed barricades. We were more than happy to listen to that. We roamed around the place looking at the blue water collected in the reservoir. View was amazing. After spending almost half an hour, we bid adieu to the cops & caretakers of the reservoir and were back on the saddles.
While we were there couple of tourist vehicles stopped by. They also paid a visit to the dam & were gone in 5 minutes. Wonder, why to visit a place if you don't have time to enjoy the place for few moments!
The ride: Start - Belur - Yagachi dam - Sringeri - Agumbe - Udupi
Nowadays when you visit a well known tourist place; even if it's you first visit, every nook & corner looks familiar. That's what happened to me when I was in Belur (though it was second visit for me, after a long gap of 13 years). Thanks to the amount of information & photos available on the internet.
It was 10.30AM when we reached Belur & had an hour's time. Hence decided not to take a guide. Instead roamed around the temple premises aimlessly. One hour we spent there is not at all sufficient. I plan to go there some time soon - visit both Belur & Halebidu.
Few places nearby places which I've not yet visited & plan to visit when time permits -
Halebidu
Halmidi - place where Kannada's oldest shaasana was found (kannada script on a stone)
Hanuma Devara gudda - a small hillock between Hassan and Belur
The ride: Start - Belur - Yagachi dam - Sringeri - Agumbe - Udupi
One fine day, a friend called & announced he is getting married in March first week, that too in Udupi. And I had a reason to ride. Amidst busy schedule, I managed to take 2 days off & so was Srik. On a Saturday morning at 5.30AM (an hour's delay as per the planned start time), we took off towards Udupi. We had 4 days in hand, a wedding to attend and also on the agenda was to meet 2 bloggers from Udupi & Mangalore.
After 14 hours and 40 minutes & travelling 440 KMs, we were in Udupi. While I waited outside the hotel guarding our luggages, Srik was enquiring for the rooms. The initial leg of the journey was in a fast lane. We rode non-stop till Channarayapatna, a distance of 150KMs. We had covered more than 30% of the distance in first 2.5 hours. We had all the time in the world to reach Udupi.
A lazy breakfast at Kamath & then back on the saddles. From there onwards we made progress slowly as compared to initial leg. Another two hours & we were near Belur by 10.30AM. As we had plenty of time we decided to spend some time in Belur, which was not in the initial plan.
Route taken on day one:
Bangalore - Hassan - Belur - Chikkamagalur - Sringeri - Agumbe - Hebri - Udupi
Next: Belur - Yagachi dam - Sringeri - Agumbe - Udupi
Related links:
Labels: Bike Trip, Karnataka, Western ghats
It was fun filled rain ride, covering a distance of little over 700 KMs in two days.
- Bangalore to Gonikoppa: A rainy start
- Irpu falls
- Bhagamandala and Talakaveri
- Visits to Lord Igguttappa temples
- Bylukuppe: The Golden Temple
Route taken-
Day 1: Bangalore - Maddur - Srirangapatna - Hunasur - Gonikoppa - Srimangala - Irpu - Srimangala - Gonikoppa - Virajapet
Day 2: Virajapet - Murnadu - Bhagamandaal - Talakaveri - Bhagamandala - Nelija - Kakkabbe - Virajapet - Gonikoppa - Hunusur - Srirangapatna - Bangalore.
PS: It's been a busy schedule at work. Though I managed to travel over weekends, finding it tough to update payaniga. Hope everything comes back to normal soon. :(
Labels: Bike Trip, Coorg, Karnataka, Water falls, Weekend Getaway
Images from Golden Temple, Bylukuppe
5 Comments Published by Prashanth M on April 19, 2008 at 10:01 PM.
Two months after my bike trip to Coorg, I was back in that beautiful district. But this time the visit was for half day & restricted to Namdroling Monastery at Bylukuppe. Being Saturday Monastery was buzzing with activity, but inside the Golden Temple it was complete silent and peaceful.
A student monk. He was more interested looking out of the class room instead of listening to the lectures.
Paintings inside the temple are huge, beautiful and very nicely done.
My visit was of very short duration. Just touch and go. This place is still there in my list of places to be visited :)
Also read:
Labels: Coorg, Karnataka, One day outing, Travel
River Tunga. We had to cross the river. And we had three options -
1. By bus over the bridge.And we chose the last option.
2. Using a hanging bridge which was half a kilometer away.
3. By walk through knee deep water
Place: Hariharapura, 15 KMs from Sringeri in Chikkamagalur district.
People were busy washing their clothes, bathing.
He saw me. Stopped his work for a moment. Smiled at me & continued with his chores.
Crossing the river was quite an adventure. Trying not to get our clothes wet & along with carrying the camera. Though it was knee deep, currents were pretty strong.
Labels: Chikkamagalur, Karnataka, Summer, Travel, Weekend Getaway
After lunch at Bhagamandala, we headed towards Nelija where one of Lord Igguttappa temples is located. Lord Igguttappa, the snake god, commonly known as Subrahmanya is the main deity worshipped by the Kodavas. We reached Nelija around 3.30PM & the temple was closed. We had to be content by roaming around the temple premises & enjoying the nature.
From Nelija, we rode towards Kakkabbe where another Igguthappa temple at Paadi is situated. Again here the temple was closed due to renovation. After spending some time roaming around the place, we started our journey back home, to Bangalore.
From Gonikoppa, we took the same route back home via Hunsur and Srirangapatna. As soon as we crossed Hunsur, rain god gave us company during the ride. We had to stop quite frequently and duration of the breaks was longer as the rain was lashing. When I reached home, it was well past midnight & the bike’s trip meter was just above 700KMs.
During our visit over 2 dyas, we managed to see few places. But still there are plenty of places that I've to visit - Tadiyandamol, Brahmagiri, Nalknaadu aramane, Abbi falls, Dubbaare - the list is endless.
Labels: Bike Trip, Coorg, Karnataka, Pilgrimage, Weekend Getaway
Our journey commenced next day along with rain. We headed towards Bhagamandala on wet 7 slushy roads. From Virajpet, we reached Bhagamandala via Moornadu. Some info about Bhagamandala from Wiki -
Bhagamandala is a pilgrimage place in Kodagu, Karnataka, in India. It is situated on the river Kaveri in its upstream stretches. At this place, the Kaveri is joined by two tributaries, the Kannika and Sujyoti rivers. It is considered sacred as a river confluence (kudala or sangama, in Kannada and Sanskrit respectively).
It is a common practice for pilgrims to take a dip in the sangama and perform rituals to their ancestors before proceeding to Talakaveri, the birthplace of Kaveri. During Tula Sankramana which falls on October 17th or 18th, pilgrims assemble here in large numbers.
After spending sometime there & a quick visit to Bhagundeshwara temple, we headed to Talakaveri, the birth place of river Kaveri located at Brahmagiri hill. Quick bits from Wiki –
Talakaveri, is the place that is generally considered to be the source of the Kaveri River. It is located in the Brahmagiri hill (not to be confused with the Brahmagiri range further South) near Bhagamandala in Kodagu district, Karnataka, 1,276 m. above sea level. However, there is not a permanent visible flow from this place to the main river course.
Continued - Lord Igguttappa temples
Related links:
Labels: Bike Trip, Coorg, Karnataka, Pilgrimage, Weekend Getaway
Irpu falls (or Iruppu falls) is situated at outskirts of Brahmagiri mountain range of Kodagu district. The falls is formed by Lakshmana theertha river when it jumps down in two tiers from a height of 52 mtrs (approximately 170 ft).
By the time we reached there it was close to noon & raining had stopped. And the place was filled with tourists. Sandeep & Ganesh decided to take a dip while Nithin guarded luggage. I roamed around for sometime taking few photos & then sat silently enjoying the beauty of the nature.
Legend says that, this falls was formed when Lakshamana shot an arrow to fetch some drinking water for his elder brother Rama, during their visit while searching for Seeta. Lakshamana theertha flows westwards & later joins river Kaveri. There is also a temple of Lord Rama.
We spent a good 2 hours at the falls. And then a nice lunch at the only hotel near the temple at Irpu. As we started our journey back towards Gonikoppa, within five minutes it started raining again. Our initial plan was to reach Madikeri before dusk & watch sunset at Raja seat. But rain played spoilsport which hampered our progress & we halted at Virajpet for the day instead.
How to reach:
Gonikoppa – 25KMs - Srimangala - continue towards Kutta - 7KMs - turn right - 3KMs – Irpu.Continued – Bhagamandala and Talakaveri
Related links:
Labels: Bike Trip, Coorg, Karnataka, Water falls, Weekend Getaway, Western ghats
4.40 AM, Oct 20, 2007. I was waiting for other riders at the scheduled meeting place – near Mysore road – NICE road junction at Kengeri. When rest three reached the place in a span of 15 minutes, all of us were wet to the innermost layer of the clothes. It was pouring heavily. For a moment I thought of turning back home, but made up my mind and decided to continue with the ride.
For the next two days it was fun filled & rain filled ride. Where ever we went rain followed us. From Kengeri it was a non-stop ride till Srirangapatna. By the time we reached Srirangapatna, rain eased out. And when we stopped next at Hunsur for breakfast, we were almost dry. After the breakfast Srik turned back towards Bangalore as he had office. Rest three (Ganesh, Sandeep & I) continued. En route Irpu falls, we tried our luck of passing through Nagarahole. But we came to know by people at Hunsur that two wheelers are not allowed in Nagarahole. So we took different route to reach Gonikoppa. Nitin, Ganesh’s friend was waiting for us at Srimangala who acted as a guide for two days. And all of us were happy that we were completely dry. But by the time we reached Irpu falls, we were wet again.
Highlight of the day was riding through Rajiv Gandhi Wild Sanctuary between Hunsur & Gonikoppa. Animals sighted - few common deer & Pea fowls.
Continued – Irpu falls
Related links:
Labels: Bike Trip, Coorg, Karnataka, Weekend Getaway
It's been a long while since I rode out of town on a long ride. It's time to hit the road. Last time it was a two day ride to Madikeri.
Now I'm heading west, towards Mangalore. I've four days in hand and a wedding to attend on Sunday. The plan is wide open. As of now probably it's going to be riding around Udupi, Mangalore & if possible Kasaragod. And looks like I'll be taking the same route which we took while riding to Goa 15 months ago.
Also on the agenda is to meet couple of bloggers and one of them is a travel blogger.
Previous bike rides:
Photos from my recent visit to Sringeri, Goddess Sharada's abode. Nothing much to say from my side, enjoy the photos :)
More details about Sringeri & it's history -
Labels: Chikkamagalur, Karnataka, Pilgrimage, Travel, Western ghats
Just back from Sharavathi valley after a two day adventerous exploratory trek, from Kanoor to Nagavalli. Though Kanoor - Doctor mane (Doctor's house) - Kanoor Kote (Kanoor Fort) is a known explored trek path, we kept Kanoor as starting point and end point Nagavalli via Doctor's house & decided to explore a new route with the help of Ganapati of Sharavathi Adventure Trails.
If you ask me which was the best moment of the trek, it's very difficult to pick one from the below list -
- Traveling in a luggage carrier for 10+ KMs after a bus journey of 10 hours
- Getting scratched by thorns as we trek. And you look ahead to find no path, all you can see is thorny bushes
- You reach stream after 4 hours of trek or rather say exploration, and jump into it immedeatly
- Lunch is ready & served, you are hungry, but you can't eat because it's steaming hot :)
- Everyone volunteers to help for preparing dinner. Menu: Chapathis, Rice, Sambar & Moong dal Kheer (hesaru bELe paayasa)
- No lights around and you have moonlight dinner
- After a sumptuous dinner, you go on a night trek for a KM
- And to top it all, journey of 40KMs sitting/lying down on the bus top
- You duck/bend every time when someone shouts to avoid tree branches & electric wires
Labels: Adventure, Karnataka, Trek, Weekend Getaway, Western ghats
Virupapura: A tale from Ramayana
3 Comments Published by Prashanth M on February 06, 2008 at 5:58 PM.
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.
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.
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).
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
Labels: Karnataka, One day outing, Travel, Trek
Last journey of year 2007 & my first visit to Nandi hills. Travel plan to Nandi was decided on the previous day at 9.30 PM. And our plan was to reach the top by 6-6.15 to catch glimpse of Sunrise. But we were late in starting reached Nandi only at 7.45. End result along with Sunrise, we missed the misty moring.
As soon as we got down, all four of us split and roamed around aimlessly for almost an hour before regrouping for breakfast. After filling our stomach it was time for us to explore the place - Yoganandeeshwara temple, Tippu drop, Nellikayi basavanna & then a quick nap at the view point ;)
How to reach:
There are different routes to reach Nandi hills - via Doddaballapur & Devanahalli. Suggest you to go via Devanahalli as the road conditions are better.
Similar One Day Outings from Bangalore:
Labels: Karnataka, One day outing, Photoshoot, Travel
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