[dadu]

Travellers: 6 adults + 1 kid and moderate luggage.
Ride: TATA Safari
Total trip distance covered: apprx 650 Kms
Number of days: 3

I had some guest for the christmas/ New year week and we decided to cover Hassan and the surrounding areas. Bookings were
done at Hotel Suvarna Regency for this trip.


Shravanabelagola

We started on the 27th from Bangalore in the morning and reached Shravanabelagola at around 11:30 AM, the road from Bangalore
to Shravanabelagola was good but took around 1 hr 15 min to reach neelamangala intersection.

The detour from NH to Shravanabelagola was quite picturesque.


The herd.............................................. ......The Roads

Its a long climb up, 650 steps but worth the efforts once you reach the Gomteshwara monolith, its the tallest in the world



The View from a distance...............................A Devotee climbing


Gomteshwara


The ancient inscriptions on the rocks



and you get to see the whole town below and the surrounding areas.



had lunch at Raghu hotel, which was quite good and then moved further, took the road to join the NH at channarayapatna instead of going back, caught a fisherman on the way.



We reached Hassan at around 4:00PM and checked into the hotel. It was almost evening so decided to rest for the day and settle down.


Halebidu

Next morning, ordered breakfast and then started at around 9:00AM towards belur but due to some roadwork got caught in the traffic jam on the B.M. Road.

Decided to come back and take another road, I asked a policeman, and he told me to take the Halebid-Belur road, although this road is single lane, but less traffic and is quite motorable.

We found a hidden goodie on the way, a small temple being renovated at a slight detour. I dont even remember the name but its a Lord Vishnu temple.



The Idol is very very old and protected by the ASI.

On the drive from hassan to halebidu, we also caught these






Contd....

[dadu]

Reached halebidu and saw the Huge temple and the amazing stone carvings, these temples were damaged during the Moghul rule and you will find all hands and fingers outside of the statues broken/ damaged.




Bought some stone statues etc from halebidu and then moved onto belur.


Belur

The Belur temple has remained untouched from these Moghul dynasty damage but some of the damage was done by the locals unknowingly during the british rule. The design and structure of both halebidu and Belur temples is the same.



The dancers had the most perfect and supertoned bodies at those times, they were like the apsara's as you can see. The mohini inside the temple is said to rule everyones heart.



The Mohini

Finished the guided tour of the temple in about an hour and had lunch in Belur itself before moving back to hassan, reached hassan at around 3:30 Pm and then decided to visit the church and back waters of the Gorur dam engulfing it. Its a 30 min drive into the interior of hassan.





Reached back into the hotel at around 6 PM and decided to have dinner at Hoysala Village resort on belur road. The ambience and food is at its best.




Sakleshpur

Next day we decided to go upto the Manzarabad fort after Sakleshpur town, got a little ahead since the directional board got hidden by a truck standing in front of it. Its around 55-60Kms from Hassan towards Mangalore.



On the way back from the fort towards Hassan also visited a Coffee plantation, they were growing both coffee and pepper.



Had lunch at Kamats after hassan and touched neelamangala at around 5:15PM, then got stuck in the slow moving traffic, reached home only by 7:00 PM.

Hotel Ratings : **

Food : Bad
Service : Bad
Rooms : Spacious and clean
Verdict: Stay if you need the bare basic services only.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Fantastic pics!!! Looking at the various pics Tbhpians post in the travelogues section, it is strange that such beauty does not come out in pics from professionals.

[Samurai]

Nice report Dadu, I was at Belur last week, during Christmas.

Originally Posted by dadu

Reached halebidu and saw the Huge temple and the amazing stone carvings, these temples were damaged during the Moghul rule and you will find all hands and fingers outside of the statues broken/ damaged.

I don't think it was the Moguls, they never penetrated this much south. It was the earlier guys like Tughlaq and Khilji you have to thank.

[dadu]

The guide did not say who exactly, but quoted the muslim rulers/Moghuls, but perhaps you are right.

Originally Posted by Samurai

Nice report Dadu, I was at Belur last week, during Christmas.

I don't think it was the Moguls, they never penetrated this much south. It was the earlier guys like Tughlaq and Khilji you have to thank.

[akroy]

Nice pics and report dadu,

During Jan2006, I did a bike trip to Mangalore and stopped by at Sakleshpur...I was told that coffee and pepper has some symbiotic relationship, don't have much knowledge though...
the travelogue is here, the first travelogue that I posted here http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...conquered.html

Abhi

[HappyWheels]

Good one dadu. Nice pics.

for 6 adults to travel comfortably, guess you cant get a better vehicle than the BULL!

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by akroy

...I was told that coffee and pepper has some symbiotic relationship, don't have much knowledge though...

Pepper creepers are grown in a manner that provides shade to the coffee plants.

[rkg]

belur,halebidu and somanathpur are famous for intricate sculptures.in belur it is madanika's + stone piller which is practically in air.it does not have any foundation.it just stands like that . one can pass a paper through and through the base of the stone piller.
"Jakkanna" the famous sculpture is associated with these temples. (esp Belur)

[PAVAN KADAM]

Right time you've posted this travelogue.

This is the planned tirp before this month end,

Travel mode is Safari Dicor 3L 4x2.(6+1)

Pls let me know about accomodation near Belur and Halebidu.

[dadu]

You dont have to stay in Belur/halebidu, stay in hassan and drive down to Belur and halebidu both are quite close. Its like a triangle.

if you start in the morning you can be back in hassan by afternoon covering both places.

For hotel stay have a look here, I would suggest exclude Suvarna for yourself and look at others.

Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM

Right time you've posted this travelogue.

This is the planned tirp before this month end,

Travel mode is Safari Dicor 3L 4x2.(6+1)

Pls let me know about accomodation near Belur and Halebidu.

[sushrutha]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Nice report Dadu, I was at Belur last week, during Christmas.

.

Sir,
We are still waiting for your Ckm, Belur pics n report :-)

[snaronikar]

Hey, nics pics and report...Post some more pics of Belur and other places..

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by sushrutha

Sir,
We are still waiting for your Ckm, Belur pics n report :-)

It will happen soon...

[gypsyFreak]

The guide did not say who exactly, but quoted the muslim rulers/Moghuls, but perhaps you are right.

I guess this was the handiwork of the Bahamani Sultans (from Bijapur... Gol Gumbaz fame) who desecrated Hampi