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-   -   Davanagere (Karnataka): An offbeat & overlooked Heritage destination (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/203550-davanagere-karnataka-offbeat-overlooked-heritage-destination.html)

Like everybody else, we thought we would be celebrating Diwali holidays at home by lighting diyas and launching solid-fueled rockets. However, my wife remembered that last 2 Diwali holidays aftermath was not exactly a great experience. Thanks to all the smoke, my son suffered from bronchitis (cough/ phlegm) that lasted for atleast a week on both the occasions. So at the last moment, we decided to flee Bangalore city.

Problem with last minute bookings (for Bangalore folks) on public holidays is that all good hotels and resorts at typical holiday destinations are booked. Even if you do find a hotel, prices of what is worth Rs. 1,000 per night is jacked up to Rs. 4,000 per night. So I looked up Karnataka's District map to see if there is a destination not frequented by tourists and book a hotel there:



DAVANAGERE district is one place we have never been to. Not just us - pretty much everybody bypasses the city, and moves on to Hubli on the way to Goa or Pune/Mumbai. Since this was a short holiday, we were looking for a destination in 400 km radius and Davanagere fit the bill. Next step was to see if there were any decent places to stay in Davanagere. These days, my favorite travel booking site is Trivago.in. This guy is super-irriating but he is actually right - Trivago somehow manages to find "your ideal hotel" at the lowest price.



We managed to snag a 3-star hotel for Rs. 2,500 per night. And since Davanagere is a city nobody ever goes to, we had the entire hotel for ourselves:





But before booking the hotel, I did a quick Google search to see if there was anything interesting to see in Davanagere. Initial impressions were not too good:



But it's only when you dig deeper into the search results, you find that Davanagere district has pretty much everything that a typical tourist loves - lakes, historical monuments, forts, parks etc

Name: MUSAFIRKHANA HONDA / KARANJI MANTAPA / SANTHEBENNUR PUSHKARNI
Distance from Davanagere: 38 kms
Road conditions: Wide smooth single lane state highway, sparse traffic, 45 minutes driving time
Google Maps location: https://goo.gl/maps/e2si2nLuQXu

Finding the exact location of this historical monument was quite a task primarily because it has different names: Archaeological Society of India calls it Musafirkhana Honda (pronounced Honn-Dah, not Hoan-Daa).



But when you type the name in Google, this is what you get - a list of Honda two wheeler dealers from Musafirkhana, a town in Uttar Pradesh :)



Meanwhile, the locals at Santhebennur village know this place as Karanji Mantapa (fountain temple). To make things worse, somebody has marked this place on Google Maps as Santhebennur Pushkarni. It took a while for us to figure it all out, but finally, we found the elusive place.

2 year old Honda parked next to 400 year old Honda:



The site is well maintained by ASI - lots of greenery and clean pathways for kids to run around:





Karanji Mantapa was built by a local ruler from Vijaynagar empire (of Hampi fame) in the 16th century. It has a Lord Rama temple at the center, surrounded by a large pond (Honn-Daa in Kannada):



A view of the monument from different angles:







Close look at the towers - note that they are capped by a dome (Indo Islamic architecture)





There are 50 steps on all sides. At the base, you will have pond fishes (and a couple of large turtles) for company:





This is the Musafirkhana or rest house. This was built in the 17th century by a Bijapur Sultanate king:

Name: KALLESHWARA SWAMY TEMPLE, BAGALI
Distance from Davanagere: 52 kms
Road conditions: Single lane highway, moderate 2W/3W traffic, occasional bad stretches, 1 hour 15 minutes driving time
Google Maps location: https://goo.gl/maps/szhXdQxnYhk
Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalles...Temple,_Bagali

Road to Bagali from Davanagere is an enjoyable 60 kmph cruise, but your drive will be occasionally interrupted by alloy wheel busting ruts and potholes. It's best not to let your eyes wander:



When you arrive at the destination, you will wonder if Google Maps made a mistake. Because, you will see green foliage on your left and a lake on your right:



The road is actually elevated like a causeway. But when you get down from the car, this sight awaits you:



This temple was built by a King from Chalukya Dynasty (around 1000 AD), much before the Hoysala Dynasty (of Belur/Halebid fame):



A small shrine (with Halegannada inscriptions) for Surya God at the entrance:



A quick walk around the temple:











Inside the Shiva temple:





Added attraction for kids - there is a pet kitten inside the temple:



Note that inside the temple complex, there is an old Well (for drawing water) with no boundary wall around it. If you have small kids with you, it is best to keep them in sight all the time.

Name: HARIHARESHWAR TEMPLE, HARIHAR
Distance from Davanagere: 15 kms
Road conditions: Mostly city traffic, alternative route via National Highway has heavy traffic truck/bus on narrow highway, 30 mins drive time
Google Maps location: https://goo.gl/maps/H2VFqnbfc8n
Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harihareshwara_Temple

We arrived at Harihareshwar Temple through the Eastern entrance via awfully narrow roads:



Harihareshwar is an 800 year old temple built during the Hoysala rule. Note that the shrine's tower has been reconstructed in recent times. View from the eastern entrance:



Smaller vishnu temple with old Kannada inscriptions:



A walk around the temple complex:







Sthamba (pillar) at the entrance:



Inside the temple, Hari (Vishnu) Hara (Shiva) God inside the sanctum:





She finally mustered enough courage to touch the "black cow" (not my words):

Since we did not have much time on our hands, we missed out on some of the other historical monuments near Davanagere:

BHEEMESHWARA TEMPLE, NEELAGUNDA
40 kms from Davanagere
https://goo.gl/maps/kzywwZSZhNB2



KATTE BASAVESHWARA TEMPLE, HALE HADAGALI
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalles..._Hire_Hadagali
65 kms from Davanagere
https://goo.gl/maps/UCjA9Xo1Brp



CHITRADURGA FORT
Distance from Davanagere: 60 kms
Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chitradurga_Fort
Google Maps location: https://goo.gl/maps/LLAiuUgNjn12



For those outside Karnataka, Davanagere is about 600 kms from Pune, Kochi, Chennai and Hyderabad. Bangalore is the nearest airport (4.5 hrs drive)

And I thought you were going to a Service centre for your vehicle.:uncontrol

Nice short travelogue. Interseting places.

Superb pictures and details. Now one more destination added in my to go list.

@smartcat - Thanks for sharing a short, neat and crisp travelogue with nice pictures and interesting places of historical interest :thumbs up

Nice way to escape the air pollution in Bangalore caused by Diwali cracker smoke - another worthwhile reason for a road trip! :)

Where did you stay at Davangere (the 3-star property at Rs.2500 mentioned in your opening post) ? Asking since I've seen posts on our forum about newish hotels in Davanagere like Sankama The Boutique hotel and Southern Star convention hotel.

Apparently, Davanagere is a "textile city" - so I guess there are a couple of nice business hotels there. And yes, we stayed at Southern Star.
https://www.hotelsouthernstar.com/davangere/

If you prefer staying at resorts, this is probably the only option:
http://www.apoorvaresortsdavangere.in/

Hilarious Crispy travelogue, very nice pictures. You think different, it is a great idea to get out of metropolis during Diwali. Although a short log, you have given ample information and written keeping the reader’s perspective, something many of us do not pay much attention. For example, it is very clear what is the season, what are the attractions, approach options, distance to destination, road conditions, history of the place etc.,

:uncontrol

The Bheemeshwara temple at Neelagunda is a great find. Looks beautiful. Excellent travelogue with good information. As they say your.own backyard remains unexplored. Thanks.

My Hometown ! Nice pictures.
It used to be a textile city. Unions screwed up the entire thing and there are not many left now. Now its mostly education thats the main business. Good thing is most of the roads inside city are of concrete. Guess you didnt try Khara Mandakki, Masale Mandakki and Mirchi plus the common Benne Dose?

Glad you noticed and liked it!

There are couple of other places we went to on our holiday:

SULEKERE

Sulekere is a massive lake, about 50 kms from Davanagere. It is supposed to be Asia's second largest irrigation tank, constructed over 700 years ago. You can even see small tiny waves on the lake surface. Sulekere lake literally means 'prostitute lake' in Kannada. There is some story about it on Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanti_Sagara
Google Maps location: https://goo.gl/maps/cWhGiJyJ3f42
Distance from Davanagere: 54 kms (but close to Karanji Mantapa near Santhebennur)





DWEETIYA MANTRALAYA, HONNALI

Honnali has a Raghavendra Swamy temple on the banks of river Tungabhadra. It is called the 'Second Mantralaya'. The original Mantralaya is a famous religious destination for South Indians. We even have a 20 page thread on route to original Mantralaya from Bangalore
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route...e-queries.html

Blog info: https://raghavendraswamy.wordpress.c...egory/honnali/
Google Maps location: https://goo.gl/maps/3A1Kbo8TbnQ2
Distance from Davanagere: 52 kms
Road conditions: Single lane state highway with heavy truck traffic, 10 kms bad stretch where you have to crawl at 20 kmph, driving time 1 hour 15 minutes.







Just did a Google Image Search - this Mandakki looks like Churmuri !

Ah, Davanagere!

The erstwhile textile town often referred to as the Manchester of Karnataka.

A place that is almost at the centre of the state and hence, according to many, the place fit to replace Bengaluru as the capital of the state.

Well connected by road and rail; the abundant and economical travel options making the city a purchaser's paradise. Even today, there are villagers who join hands, hire a mini goods carrier and visit the markets to purchase a year's supply of grocery. The trip is of course not complete without a mandatory visit to one of the BSC textile outlets spread across the city.

It would be a travesty not to mention food and Davanagere in the same breath and line. Although non vegetarians might find the city a little lacking in its offerings, it is indeed a paradise for vegetarians. Let's forget about the Benne Dosa offered by various Sagars and hotels; they are no longer what they used to be and therefore clearly overrated. Even the famous Kottureshwara hotel has a new clone just next to its outlet, with the taste of dosas and alu palya not much different.

The food scene of Davanagere is perhaps a direct result as well as beneficiary of the numerous educational institutes that dot the town. This, combined with a large, daily floating population acts as a lifeline for the eateries. And as srishiva reminds us (at 10.30pm, with no means of procuring any of them!) Khara Mandakki, Masale Mandakki and Mirchi are the real energy boosters for tired bodies.

Eating out is a major activity here; the presence of the fairer sex unaccompanied by the not so fairer ones at the hotels and snackeries being a singular character specific to this town. Davanagere is also famous for its semolina vermicelli and of course innumerable Khanavalis serving unlimited vegetarian meals.

Sadly, even with crores of rupees being poured in to make it smart, the town is still trying hard to hold on to its past. Posh buildings housing branded shops are located on dusty roads; monstrous pigs lay claim to the same piece of pavement that you would be trying to walk on.

For an auto enthusiast, Davanagere is remarkable for its affinity towards TATA cars and for the opportunity to experience the thrills of F1, Dakar Rally and Extreme Off Road Challenge - all while sitting inside an autorikshaw holding the roof rods in one hand and your dear life in the other. Such, dear friends, is the beauty of the land.

On a serious note, if you are ever put up in Davanagere, wake up at 5AM and take a stroll through the private bus stand and reach the railway station. The flower market spread over the area is a photographer's wet dream. While there, don't miss that steamy hot plate of idli-vada sold in a bylane, so early in the morning.

But if you are from the south and prefer to keep your tongue and its associates from the department of digestion happy, do remember to drink a tender coconut/day. It will keep you cool, while giving you the liberty to bite into that atrociously hot but extremely addictive Mirchi.

In conclusion, it wouldn't be too far fetched to borrow the tagline of a FM radio station and say - in all its connotations - of Davanagere:

Sakhath Hot Maga

@smartcat, thank you for rekindling my memory with your report.
How wrong google is! It is like saying a cat is the same as a tiger because they both belong to the feline family. Churmuri is Johnny English. Mandakki is, well, THE BOND :uncontrol.