Monday, April 12, 2010

Places to visit around Bangalore/ Bengaluru part-3

19 Horsely Hills 
          Type : Hill Station, Resort, Wildlife
          Nearest Town: Madanpalle
          Distance from Bangalore: 140kms
        Directions : Take the Kolar road  up  to Hoskote. Take a left towards Chintamani , keep  driving to reach Madanpalle , take a left turn and proceed further to take another left turn to Horsely Hills. On entry to Andhra Pradesh, it is very easy to reach this place as there are  sign boards for directions all along.
         About: It is an ideal place for a long  weekend getaway. There are a few cottages under the Forest Dept. and a resort run by the AP Tourism Dept. (Make sure that prior-bookings are made). The major tourist places around Horsely hills are Lake Gangotri, High View seeing point, Gaalibanda, Environmental Park and the Horsely Hills Museum.Other places include the Rishi Valley school and Mallamma Temple. Just the walk around this place is very soothing .

20. Manchinbele Dam

         Type : Dam
         Nearest Town: Kengiri
         Distance from Bangalore: 40kms
         Directions : Via Mysore road, take a right turn at RajaRajeshwari Dental college, travel about 14 kms and take a left turn  to reach Machinbele dam.
         About: Manchinbele is a small reservoir. This dam built across the river Arkavathi, mainly for  irrigation purposes,  also provides water to Magadi Town. Many adventurous activities such as Kayaking are carried out here. It also proves an excellent place for bird-watching .
Manchinbele Dam, a place to visit around Bangalore
Manchinbele Dam
21.Shravanabelagola 
          Type : Hill ,Jain temple
          Nearest Town: Shravanabelagola
          Distance from Bangalore: 150 km
          Directions : Take the Mangalore highway to reach the Hirisave, then take a left turn to reach
Shravanabelagola.
          About: This is an important Jain Pilgrimage center in Karnataka. The monolith Gomateshwara Statue (Bahubali) lies on the Indragiri Hill and  rises up to 58 feet. An inscription at the base has records of its consecration in 981 AD by Chamundaraya, a minister of one of the Ganga Kings.  Every 12 years, the great festivals of Jains, the Mahamastakabhisheka  is held here. The hill has to be climbed bare footed. There are about 700-800 granite cut steps that lead to the Statue.
Lord Gomateshwara, Shravanabelagola
     Statue of Lord Gomateshwara

        View from the top of Chandragiri Hill
22. Kabbaladurga 
          Type :Hill, Fort , Temples
          Nearest Town: Channapatna
          Distance from Bangalore:80kms
          Trek Distance: About 4kms (one way)
          Trek level: Moderately difficult
          Directions :  1. Via Kanakpura, reach Sathnur,take a right turn to reach Kabbaladurga.
                               2. Via Mysore road, take a left turn at Channapatna towards Sathnur and follow directions to reach Kabbaladurga.
          About :There is a temple dedicated to Kabbalamma  at the hill base. This is a local pilgrimage center . Ruins of the forts and some structures are visible on the way to the peak . There are two temples on the top. One dedicated to Kabbalamma and the other to Lord Shiva. Temple is  open on all days . 
Kabbaladurga fort, A place to visit around Bangalore
   Kabbaladurga Fort

Places to Visit around Bengaluru