Saturday, 2 August 2014

Bangalore Darshan Part - 1

Bangalore has grown in very fast in terms of technology, width and breath too. Its called as garden city!!. Moreover in recent years its IT capital of India. But few of a charm of old bangalore or ruins and few drops of Empire province still being maintained or taken care by all of us. Its very much needed to understand how it existed in their times. Hope everything will be taken care by next generation too. It was Half cloudy-sunny day we decided to to roam around by our own by using bus pass facility of Govt of karnataka. I think its was the day where I used bus pass to the maximum usage. Places we covered as part - 1.
 
Bangalore Palace



Bangalore Palace: 
The construction of the palace was started in 1862 and completed in 1944. In 1884, it was bought by the then Maharaja of Mysore HH Chamarajendra Wadiyar X. Now owned by the Mysore royal family, the palace has recently undergone a renovation.
It is mistakenly believed to be a replica of the Windsor Castle in England. The audio tour at the Bangalore palace evidently says that there was no allusion to the Windsor Castle.
The palace was built in Tudor style architecture, the interiors were decorated with elegant wood carvings, floral motifs, mysterious collection of paintings on the walls, cornices and relief paintings on the ceiling. One side of the hall contains stained glass windows in Gothic style. The yellow color is used copiously and the walls and the sofa set in the hall are in yellow. A screen on one end separates the area where the ladies used to sit and watch the assembly proceedings in relative privacy. Some paintings of Raja Ravi Verma are also displayed here.

Entry Fee
225 per person for Indians
450 per person for foreign tourists
675 per still camera
1,000 per camcorder
100 per mobile camera

Timings
All days of the week
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Visit Duration
2 Hrs


Mavalli Tiffin Rooms:
The year was 1920 when three brothers Parameshwara Maiya, Ganappayya Maiya and Yagnanarayana Maiya left a small, sleepy hamlet near Udupi in South Kanara (a region in the state of Karnataka, India) in search of greener pastures and found their way to Bangalore. Being proficient in cooking, they found employment as cooks in the homes of some prominent people of those times. Globally it’s carrying heirloom of the taste.


Lal Bagh:
Lal Bagh or Lal Bagh Botanical Gardens, meaning The Red Garden in English, is a well known botanical garden in southern Bangalore, India. The garden was originally commissioned by Hyder Ali, the ruler of Mysore, and later finished by his son Tipu Sultan. It has a famous glass house which hosts an annual flower show. Lal Bagh houses India's largest collection of tropical plants, has an aquarium and a lake, and is one of the main tourist attractions in Bangalore. The Lal Bagh Gardens were commissioned by the 18th century and over the years it acquired India's first lawn-clock and the subcontinent's largest collection of rare plants. Lal Bagh remains open daily from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. throughout the year. For the benefit of joggers, tourists and fitness enthusiasts, entry is free from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. At other times, a fee of Rs.10/- is charged. Entry for school children and the disabled is free all day. Flower shows are conducted every year during the week of Republic day and Independence day, to educate people about the variety of flora and develop public interest in plant conservation and cultivation. Entry fee for adults is Rs. 40 (On weekends and Public holidays - Rs. 50/-) and for children below 12 years, Rs. 10.

Lalbagh

Tippu Sultan Palace: 
Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace, in Bangalore, India, is an example of Indo-Islamic architecture and was the summer residence of the Mysorean ruler Tipu Sultan. Hyder Ali commenced its construction within the walls of the Bangalore Fort, and it was completed during the reign of Tipu Sultan in 1791. After Tipu Sultan's death in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, the British Administration used the palace for its Secretariat before moving to Attara Kacheri in 1868. Today the government of Karnataka maintains the palace, which is located at the center of Old Bangalore near the Kalasipalyam bus stand, as a tourist spot.The structure was built entirely of teak and stands adorned with pillars, arches and balconies. It is believed that Tipu Sultan used to conduct his durbar (court) from the eastern and western balconies of the upper floor. The palace is open to public daily from 10am to 6pm (except on Sundays), and there is an entry fee of ₹5 per person for Indians and ₹100 per person for foreigners. Photography is allowed and there is no special fee for use of a camera.
 
 



Bull Temple:
A symbol of strength and fertility in cultures all over the world, the bull has been a part of Indian religious thought right since the age of the Indus Valley Civilization. South India boasts of several large statues of the Nandi as a result of an increased presence of Saivism in the region.This Nandi has an interesting legend associated with it. Installed by Kempegowda in 1537, it was supposed to ward off a particularly nasty bull which was responsible for ruining the groundnut crop in the area. Every year since, a groundnut fair of sorts called Kadalekayi Parishe is held close to the temple. An inscription here informs that a river called Vrishabhavati, now unfortunately a stinking mass of sewage, springs out from underneath the Nandi.


Bugle Rock garden:
The Bugle Rock garden is behind the Dodda Ganesha temple and adjacent to the Bull temple. The garden gets its name from a bugle call made on top of a very large rock formation to alert the nearby dwellers. It is densely covered with trees and one can usually see and hear a number of bats perched on the trees.

Dodda Ganesha Temple:


Dodda Ganesha Temple at Basavanagudi was constructed by Kempegowda I, the founder of Bangalore. Once upon a time while he was strolling, he found a number of rocks and one of the boulders had a shape of Ganesha engraved on them. Kempegowda, therefore ordered his sculptors to convert the shape into a massive as well as fantastic single stone idol of Lord Ganesha.The huge Ganesha of this popular temple is 18 ft tall in height and 16 ft wide. The lord is also generally known as Shakthi Ganapathi or Satya Ganapthi. It is usually believed that the idol of Dodda Ganesha Temple at Basavanagudi is growing on its right side.
The Dodda Ganesha Temple at Basavanagudi attracts devotees from different localities of Bangalore. Devotees come here to get blessings of Lord Ganapathi. What make this Ganapathi idol more eye-catching to the people is, the different sorts of decorations which are done during the week. One of the most famous decorations is the butter coating (Benne Alankara) to the idol. Over 100 KGs of butter (Benne) is needed for to apply to the idol of Dodda Ganesha Temple.

Timings:
Morning 7 AM to 12.30 PM
Evening: 5.30 PM to 8.30 PM.
 
Inside Bangalore Palace



Painting inside palace






















"Open your eyes there is beauty everywhere"

Sunday, 27 July 2014

Its Nandi Hills Once Again






 
 
 

Saturday, 19 July 2014

Nagala Trekking


The first few Google results throws up the instances of an student drowning and such morose newscast. But not everybody been there had bad experience.After performing ground work from blogs as well as Nambi Loyola. So finally on July 18th we started from Bangalore reached tirupathi bus stand at 5.30AM, it was tri state friends meet in tirupathi Bus stand. Freshened up & had breakfast at tirupathi and packed food, resumed our journey to nagalapuram.

How we Traveled :
a. Rajahamsa from Shanthingar Bustand to Tirupathi.
b. Tirupathi to Nagalapuram town in Local Bus.
c. Nagalapuram town to Trek Base by Auto.

Where we Freshed up in tirupathi :
 Public Toilets of bus stand.

Auto Charge from Nagalapuram town to Trek Base:
250 per auto.7 guys in a auto.

Distance of Nagalapuram town to Trek Base:
13Km

Survivals:
1st day:
a. Breakfast at tirupathi
b. Packed lunch from tirupathi for 1st day.
c. Tetra pack milk/Biscuits for Evening Tea
d. Ready to eat chapathi,Palak panner,soup for dinner.
e. 2 litres of water each for 2 days.
2nd Day:
a. Corn flakes with milk, Bread,Jam,Tea for morning breakfast
b. Ready to eat chapathi,Palak panner,soup for Lunch.


Camping can be done? :
wherever we find flat surface.

Campfire is allowed? :
 Yes

Animals around?:
Yes, but we found only dogs.

Flowing water good for drinking?:
Yes/No, its all in your mind.

Is trek trial clear?:
Yes, if you follow water stream.which we dint follow and we were lost.

Difficulty Level :
Easy to Moderate

Things to Carry:
a. Back-Pack
b. Trekking shoes
c. Blankets or sleeping bags,Tents,Ropes
d. Full length pants-recommended- to protect from snake/insect bites.
e. Torches
Since there was shortage of water as planned we used flowing water for rest of the trek.
  
Reminiscene:
We had covered around 380 kms of bus journey till nagala. last 20 kms to the trek start point by auto.
The common trek protocol, distribute the food luggage , instructions and simple rule. follow the lead ,dont fall behind the sweep.

Steam of water on the trek route flowing all the way from the peak to the lake at the starting point and there is a temple right next to this stream.


First pool on the trek route. trek was for 8kms , first pool we saw after covering around 2 kms . we just enjoyed the view and kept moving.



Non swimmers pool , water was clear. small fishes were biting- fish spa. there was a small falls on the one end and and the depth was around 8 feet , other side max depth was 5 feet. we spent lot of time in this pool on both the days.


Sliding pool , we made our way up till the peak of the hill. The sliding pool is a natural amusement park-like structure of a rock slide lubricated with moss, that you can use to slide into a pool.
Magic Pool, a 75 foot cliff with small water fall. below which there is a deep pool of water. some of us took a jump from clip.


                        Front view of magic pool, we used the rocks next the the falls to reach the base.


This is the 3rd pool after sliding and magic pool. that's a natural bathtub and pool:). non swimmers spent most of the time in this pool where as our expert swimmers were enjoying clip jumping into magic pool.


' It's Good to Get Lost Sometimes' We took wrong trail on day one and it was too late to trek back to explore. luckily we found a nice flat surface where we pitched tent , set campfire, cooked food and lots of fun. on day two we realized that the only one option we had for camping site.We had good time around campfire, dog was our pet for the trek followed us all the way for two days.


“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world”- Gustave Flaubert

Saturday, 21 June 2014

Nijagal Betta Trekking


Guide Pins:-
1.Nijagal Betta is situated on Tumkur Road; approximately 55 Km from Bangalore.

2. Drive unto the Dabbaspet flyover and then take the road by the left side of the flyover, drive a short distance and then turn to the left if you are approaching from Bangalore.
3. Drive on Tumkur Road till Dabbaspet (50kms).
4. Dont get confused of 1st Kamat Upachar before dabbaspet flyover.
5. After 2nd Kamat Uppahar (On left) from bangalore, you will see small entrance below railway track.     Pass underneath it which goes to base of Nijagal betta
6. Follow the trail through the electric poles which takes you to top

Carvings on the rocks way to hill
Ruined Temple

Ruined temple top view

Dont's: Please don't walkin to Hotel Sri Vrindavan. Its too costly, 1 plate Idly vada costs=50rs & A cup coffee costs=25rs.

Ruined Temple
Temple Wall carving


Temple Wall Carving
 Nijagalbetta is a rocky hill lying close to Dobbaspet town in Karnataka.The hill lies very near to the Bangalore Pune National highway (NH4).Nijagal betta has ruins of ancient temples and fort built by Chickadevaraya Wodeyar. The hill has excellent rock formations and many monkeys. There is a carved idol of Hindu deity Lord Hanuman near to the fort entrance where people come and feed the monkeys as a sign of worship. There is a Muslim Dargah (Sri darga hajrath sayyed pashah & hajrath sayyed karim 2 brothers lived year.) inside the fort. There are some ponds inside the fort formed by water trapped between the gaps of rocks. There are big rocks inside the fort and walkable paths through them at Nijagal betta. There are many unexplored archeological ruins near Nijagal betta.
The path has many sculptors from the Hoysala period and also has rock etchings that appear to be pre-historic, but this hasn’t been authenticated.

What to look for:
1. The ruined temple at the middle of fort.
2. A dargah middle of fort.
3. Carvings on the rocks.
4. Cave temple at the top of hill.
5. Cave dargah at the top of
6. Ruins of fort at top
7. Carvings around the temples.

Dargah

On the Way
Inside Ruined Temple

The Cave shot


          Weekend is not a weekend if its not travelled - Sandesh Mavinakuli


Saturday, 14 June 2014

Huthridurga Trekking - A Navadurga

               HUTRIDURGA is Ruined fortifications are still visible on the two hillocks surrounding the village.
It was seven tiered fort. Its one among the Nine Durgas around Bangalore (Nava Durgas). It has a small temple dedicated to Shiva and Nandi.


Distance from Bangalore : 2*85Kms

Best time to Trek: Not Monsoon & Not Night

Difficulty Level: Easy

Time to Reach from Base: Max 1 Hrs.

Parking: Near Village 

Things to Carry: Food, Water, Good Shoes

Explore: Caves, Ragi grinding stone (Ragi biso kallu),temple at the top, 7 dwara's, Anjaneya temple,Nandi Statue.

Route Map: Bangalore ----> Nelamangala -----> Huliyur ----> A small Ghat section (3 hair pin bend)----> Huthridurga Fort Base.
Can be accessible via kunigal and magadi road 

Note : Huliyur fort & Huthridurga Fort are different its not same.
1st Entrance of fort
On the way pose
Heading up
Another Entrance
Shiva Temple
Another Pose
Chota Ghat Road
The Sarathi's
Huthridurga Fort
“Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe.” –Anatole France

Saturday, 31 May 2014

Maribetta Night Camping

                          Maribetta is situated close to Kanakpura on Bangalore-Kanakpura highway. Around 60km ride from Bangalore, on a state highway. It’s locally known as Karadibetta because here one can see lots of bear’s. The peak is not that high compared to other popular trekking spots around bangalore but the way to the top is fairly thorny and confusing at places.

 How to Reach: Bangalore --> Kanakpura --> Maribetta  Only Own/Hired vehicle

        1. The right from NH 209, just after Kanakpura
             2. The arch where we need to take a right toward Kuthnahalli.
                  3. After the village one can find temple at the base of the hill.       
 

Is Camping Safe at peak : Not safe in Monsoon/Risky
Animals Around : Yes
Camping Time : Summer, Provided Take care of animals




               “A wise traveler never despises his own country.” – Carlo Goldoni