We had barely returned from a trip to Tirupati, and the sad part was that my family did not approve me driving my own car, or even a Zoomcar for the trip. So we had hired an Innova and made the trip.
My hands were itching to hold the steering wheel on a long drive. I was finding and reading every other Travelogue here.
One fine day, wife said that there was some ceremony at her colleague's house in Hasaan and they (the team) would travel in a group.
I felt a silver lining here. I said let your friends travel in group. We will make it a long drive and visit famous tourists spots nearby.
We logged onto Google and found out famous tourist spots - Belur, Halebidu, Shravanbelagola and Shettihalli church ruins.
Sounded perfect and we started looking for hotels, road directions, eateries, climate, etc etc.
Finally we 3 (Me, Wife, 1.5yr Kid) embarked upon the journey on 29th Nov at about 7 AM from our South-Bangalore residence.
Roads were straight to Hassan. No confusion, no detours. We were super exicted.
Route:
NICE Road > Neelamangala > NH 48 > Hassan
Let me begin with some pictures of the brilliant Bangalore - Mangalore Highway (NH48).
The roads were super smooth with almost nil undulations.
It is maintained by L&T and must say that I was very impressed with the fact that the tolls that I paid were put to good maintenance.
NICE Road is a shame to drive on. Horrible road condition with roobery in the name of toll.
NH 48 - Bangalore Mangalore Highway.
We reached Hassan in 4.5hrs with a 30 mins break for food for all 3 of us.
I tried to cover maximum distance when the kid was sleeping. Hence did not stop at the famous Swathi Delicacy or Kamath Upachar.
Instead, when the kid woke up, I found a CCD nearby and stopped there.
Continued to Hassan after a 30 mins break.
Our earlier Google results for hotels had yielded a very nice hotel named "Mallige Residency".
I drove directly to the hotel and checked out the rooms. We got a very agressive pricing upon the mention of Team-BHP.
Luckily the owner was present and asked me if I knew any specifc members. I named a few including Parag who is from Belur. We were very happy and checked in.
The only sad part remained was that the attached restaurant was a vegetarian one. Never mind.
After a hearty veg lunch, we took a short nap and headed out to see the Shettihalli church ruins.
ROSARY CHURCH RUINS, SHETTIHALLI
Read More about Rosary Church, Shettihalli
HERE and
HERE
We started from Hassan at 4PM and the 26 Kms ride to this place was in excruciating pain.
There was absolutely no tar on the road. It was full of potholes. Best called as moon surface !!
Buses were running on this route in full speed. There were many blind turnings and at one such turning, a speeding on a blind turn KSRTC bus almost mowed us down !!
The 26 kms took close to an hour of spine-breaking ride.
By the time we reached, it was already sunset.
The Church was submerged in water. The approach roads, either by walk or drive, were covered in rough bushes and the soil was muddy and soft.
Evaluating all these conditions, we decided to enjoy the view from distance on the bridge.
Once on the bridge we witnessed a beautiful sunset and spent sometime clicking pictures and enjoying the fresh breeze.
Here are some pictures from Shettihalli.
We return back to our hotel with serious bodyache. Retire for the night.
Woke up early the next morning. Itinerary follows:
- Have breakfast and leave for Belur at 9 AM.
- Leave Belur to Halebidu at 12 Noon
- Leave Halebidu to Bangalore by 3 PM.
You may ask, what happened to Shravanbelagola ? We ditched the plan.
Google said that there are about 600+ steps that one has to climb.
With a 1.5yr super naughty kid we didn't feel the urge to see it.
We parked the plan to visit Sharavanbelagola sometime later with friends and no kids.
BELUR - CHENNAKESAVA TEMPLE:
You can read more about Belur,
HERE.
The road from Hassan to Belur is a winding, beautifully tarred double lane road (with no dividers).
While leaving Hassan, once can spot a small bunch of Windmills. Beautiful scenery all the way till Belur.
We hired a guide for Rs.250/- to explain us the history of the temple and the detailing of the carvings / engravings on the temple.
The temple compound. On the left you can see a long pole.
This is a lamp post. The architecture is such that one of the side of the base of the pole isn't touching the ground. One can pass a paper beneath it !
The pole is just kept there. It is not affixed to the ground.
That is a double storyed house with balcony.
One thing to note. From the base:
- Elephants - For stability
- Lions - For power
- Horses - For agility
(Something of this sort, the guide told us)
The temple has 9 corners like this. It is like a 9 cornered star.
Garuda - Carrier of Lord Vishnu (this is a Vishnu temple).
The is the center ceiling of the temple. I was managing the kid, so didn't listen to what the guide was saying.
Engravings. Each one of these dancers has a different pose.
In this one, the dancer is combing her hair.
This pillar was rotation-enabled during its times.
People watching the center roof carvings
The Hoysala symbol.
Hoy means Boy
Sala means Kill.
The boy killed the lion. So the name Hoysala.
Some more carving and ancient age architecture.