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| Belur temple |
Last year, I visited Bangalore after many many years. I spent a few days in the city, exploring how it would be to live there. And then went out of town for two days, to the hillside town of Chikkamagaluru. We visited Mullayanagiri and Bhadra tiger reserve there, stopping at the Belur and Halebidu temples on the way back.
Drive to Chikkamagaluru
The drive from Bangalore to Chikkamagaluru takes about five hours, so we left early around 5:30 am to avoid the local Bangalore city traffic. The route till there was mostly a highway and fun to drive on. Even though there were no major towns on the way, and most of our drive was through rural areas, it did feel a lot more well-to-do than other places I have driven in India, as at least all the houses were
pucca.
All along the drive, we were surrounded by greenery on both sides and it already felt refreshing. As it was spring, we saw loads of roadside trees laden with yellow and pink flowers, adding to the brightness of the drive. And I saw so many women wearing bright coloured sarees, with flowers in their hair, it was lovely to just watch all the colour around. In fact, I also bought some flowers to put in my hair, first time ever since 1987 when I had lived in Tamil Nadu!
On the way, we stopped at a local
dhaba to eat dosa (I think I ate dosa daily on this trip, the benne masala dosa is so yummy)! We also had sugarcane juice at a few stops on the way, always a pleasure to have in India. Interestingly, there was a stretch of the road, where everyone was selling Adivasi hair oil, produced locally. It's made by adding local herbs to coconut oil. I bought some of it, as it looked interesting. Also buying local things on the way is such an integral part of any driving experience.
The Serai, Chikkamagaluru
We were staying at the Serai resort and once we reached it, it felt as if we had landed in heaven. The Serai was a huge property with huge bungalows spread out all around. Each of the bungalows had its own private pool. The rooms were tastefully decorated and felt luxurious, though they were very simply furnished. And the bathrooms were surrounded by so much greenery, it felt like we were almost outdoors. It felt like the place had been designed with care.
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| The Serai |
There were a few swimming pools, and access to a few sports activities at the resort. It had a nice restaurant too. The resort was surrounded by coffee farms. I walked around a bit and saw a few monkeys and some big birds on the walk. I could even hear a lot of insect and bird sounds all around. Still, there was so much calmness and serenity at the resort, as it was set in nature. I loved it.
The first day, we had Malnad lunch with fish cooked in banana leaf - it was so yum. And it was so relaxing to be in the resort (the air just made us so lazy), that we ended up cancelling all our plans for the day and just pottered around.
Mullayanagiri
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| View from Mullayanagiri peak |
The next day, we again woke up at 5:30 am and left early for Mullayanagiri peak, to avoid the hot afternoon sun. The drive through the hills was gorgeous. We drove though many lush green valleys, and the hills looked stunning in the morning fog. We crossed coffee plantations and some villages on the way but most of the drive was through remote stretches.
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| View from the peak |
We had been following Google Maps but when we reached the destination, it turned out the peak wasn’t there 😃. It took us a while before we could find someone to guide us to the right spot. Once we got the right directions, we had to drive all the way back to reach the place. And by that time, it had got hot. And crowded! We still walked up to the peak in the sun. The route was made up of stairs, and lined with shops. It was a short hike though. The views from the top were stunning though, of green valleys and a lake far beyond.
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Temples with colourful
gopurams |
When we got down, I ate maggi at one of the shops (joys of travelling in India😇) and then headed back to the Serai. On our way back, I also finally visited one of the temples I had seen so many of in Bangalore - with the colourful statues of gods on the temple gopurams. I have always found them fascinating - the colours and the statues - and was finally able to see them up close.
Bhadra tiger reserve
The same afternoon, we had booked a tiger safari at a nearby reserve, called the Bhadra tiger reserve. We drove to the reserve in the afternoon. The drive felt like it was through the Karnatakan hinterland, passing by some small home stays and coffee plantations. And there were a few lakes on the way too.
Apparently the reserve has a few tigers, so we went on the Safari to spot some. But the guide already told us to not expect to see any, as they are quite tough to spot. Still, it was nice to be out in the jungle, a different jungle this time.
We were in a jeep, driving through the forests. It was mostly a dry brown forest. The green areas were full of teak trees. And we did spot some small animals like a turtle, giant squirrels, spotted deer, barking deer, a few sambar deer, monkeys, some langurs and wild buffalo, but the tiger eluded us.
Belur and Halebidu temples
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| Entrance to Belur temple |
While driving back from Chikkamagaluru, we stopped at Belur and Halebidu to visit the ancient temples from the 12th century, built by the Hoysalas. They were such an eye-opening experience. Made of stone in the Hoysala temple architecture style, they were magnificent. And surprisingly not that well known. Spread out in a temple complex, carved intricately in stone and just an absolute pleasure to look at and explore. I could have spent so many hours there just exploring and appreciating all the handwork around the complex.
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| Belur temple |
We first went to the Belur temple, which was in the middle of the city. It is an active temple and was full of devotees, including women in bright silk sarees, even in the heat! The temple complex had a grand entrance, and many smaller temples inside, all carved in stone. Each of the temples had tens of pillars, all carved with figures and geometric designs. Some brown, some in black stones. And the stones inside the temples felt so cool in the heat, we did not feel hot inside at all.
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| Halebidu temple |
Our next stop was the Halebidu temple which is located a bit outside of town, next to a lake, surrounded by trees and gardens. They were not functioning temples, so there weren't as many crowds there. The Halebidu temple is dedicated to Shiva, while the Belur is for Vishnu. The carvings were again mind-blowing, every inch of stones was intricately carved into gods, dancers, animals and mythological scenes. The
shivling, the main deity in this temple had a divine quality to it somehow. It is a huge stone in black, decorated like most temple deities. I took one look at it and felt something. The temple also had a huge Nandi statue carved in stone.
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| Intricate carvings |
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| Intricate carvings |
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| Nandi temple |
It was extremely hot when we visited these temples, but I'm glad I did. They will remain with me for a long time, such an exquisite symbol of ancient Indian art and architectural beauty. Also, both these temples were so clean, it felt heartening to see that.
On the drive back we stopped at Hoysala Village Resort near Hassan and ate Malnad food again. It was tasty, though heavy and the spice was a lot milder. The drive back was fine though as expected, we found traffic in Bangalore and then it took us a while to get home.
Bangalore
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| Inside Cubbon park |
Before and after the visit to Chikkamagaluru, I spent a few days in Bangalore, mostly meeting friends but also exploring it a bit (for the first time actually, as I don't think people think much about exploring Bangalore when they visit, and I hadn't done much earlier either). One day we went to the central area around MG Road and visited the local parks. It was such a lovely area to drive through, with its grand old colonial buildings like the Vidhan Sabha, which charms one as you drive past them.
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| Colours of Cubbon park |
Then we went to Cubbon park and walked in the park looking for blooming spring flowers. It's a huge park but also has roads inside it. Many of the trees were full of pink and yellow and purple flowers, some of them on the ground and the rest on the trees. And as usual, we had some sugarcane juice after to deal with the heat. Then we went to Lalbagh which had a nice variety of flowers and plants too, though it was already dry (even in February!).
And after all the walks in the sun, we stopped at a local dosa point to have the benne masala dosa which was a totally new experience for me and I loved it.
Apparently there are dozens of famous silk saree shops in Bangalore, all of which have a great collection. Though I only went to one, RMKV silks. It was already so much fun for me (and exhausting), that we never managed to check out the others. They had such an elaborate collection, with many different varieties of sarees from the South Indian states. I ended up buying multiple sarees from there, leaving behind so many more. Being able to buy sarees with such a vast variety to choose from is something I miss in the North as the saree is not as common there. This saree shopping was definitely a highlight of the Bangalore visit for me.
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| Flowers of Lalbagh |
Overall I found old Bangalore to be a slow moving cute little town, with two storey houses, a lot of old educational and professional institutions, with lots of space and so many parks and greenery all around. Everywhere in the old town, there were trees lining the road, laden with yellow, pink and purple flowers, with the reds just about starting to bloom. The many lakes have mostly disappeared now though there were a few still surviving. Bangalore has very few high rises in the old parts though a lot more in the new areas.
Most of the roads are narrow, which is the reason for the traffic jams now. But still people drive slowly without aggression. The government is trying to improve that, so you can now find flyovers at random places, which aren't helping the traffic much yet.
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| Another local temple |
People seem to be relaxed and unhurried. The city still feels conservative but open too. So many women wear sarees on a daily basis and I loved seeing that. Religion is also very visible here. I saw so many temples, with their colourful statues of gods. I even went into one of them - they all look so bright, yet so simple and inviting.
In the new areas, there is a chill vibe, a founders vibe too given this is a startup city. There are tons of restaurants springing up everywhere. All the breweries are fun places to hangout too. And you can see tech being used everywhere (maybe the local startups test it all locally first!). And last but not the least, the new Bangalore airport is pretty. Created with a green and natural tinge to it - my last impression of the city was also a good one .
Overall, I was impressed. Everyone who lives there likes the city, its chill vibe and some remaining old world charm. The traffic of course is a pain but I guess the rest makes up for it. And I loved the saree shopping, and the visit to Belur and Halebidu temples. So overall, an enjoyable stay in the Garden City.
