Exactly one year back on 19th of January my blog post on my trip to Shivagange Betta was published as an article in Bangalore Mirror newspaper. For those you missed reading/seeing it you can read it at On Top of Shivagange. Or if you would like to see the actual representation of the article as it appear in the newspaper with all the photos, view the pdf On Top of Shivagange (PDF).

Do write your comments below.

Shivagange or Shivaganga is hillok where trekking and religion comes together to offer you instant weekend getaway. Located just 60 Kms from Bangalore and being well connected by road makes it an ideal tourist attraction. It is said that the hills looks like a ‘Shiva Linga’ when seen from one of the sides. Also it is said that the spring water found here is from the sacred water of ‘Ganga’.

From the religious point of view there are several temples and holy locations like ‘Patalagange’, Olakala teertha, Nandi and Veerabhadreshwara temple in Shivagange. Shivagange is also known as Kaashi of the South. One of the marvelous points to note here is that in Shivagange if you do an Ghee abhisheka in the temple it turns into Butter.

From the trekking point of view, though it not as demanding as Savanadurga it is still tough and is a good 2+ kms from the bottom to the top of the hill. Most of the way till the middle or the starting point of the main climb is easy, after which the climb becomes a bit tough with the steps carved out of the hill being narrow at places.

I am my friend Harish started off from Banashankari Bus stop and made our way to KR Market in a BMTC bus. We were told we would get direct bus to Shivagange from the Kalasipalya, when we reached there around 8:30 we were told the bus had already left and we had to take a bus which would take us till Dabbaspete. From Dabbaspete we were told there are enough number of buses which would take us to Shivagange.Before boarding a bus we had tender coconut (Rs. 12/person) and hesitantantly took our seat in the private bus (charge till Dabbaspet Rs.30/person) (this was the first time we went in a private bus in Bangalore). From minute one the speakers and the woofers in the bus made our ears plead for mercy.

We left Kalasipalya at around 8:45am moving slowly and in about 20 mins into the journey and still in Bangalore the driver decides to have food that to for a whole 20 mins!! As we began moving again we were in a bigger shock, he put on a film, and guess which??? AK-47, such a nice film to put which speakers on high volume level. Continuing we reached Yeswantpur around 9:45am, and left it at 10:20am!!! Wow this was turning out to be quite a nice experience something we had not yet experience in our own KSRTC buses.

There was nothing much to say regarding the remaining journey, just heard lots of shouting and bullet shooting in the film. We arrived at Dabbaspete at around 11:40am. It took us almost 180 minutes to travel 60Kms!! We got down from the bus and were immediately surrounded by Autorickshaw people who offered to take us till the Temple for just Rs.20 /person.We just ignored them ate (Rs.5/person) something from the bakery and at the same moment enquired about the transportation. Based on this info we found that the distance from here was around 8 Kms and that auto generally take only around max Rs.10 and the number of buses were very less.

As we were deciding about the transportation, a Tata Sumo variant arrived shouting they were going to Shivagange when enquired they told the charge would be Rs. 5/person, we immediately jumped on. It turned out to a press vehicle which was returning from Bangalore after delivering the paper. At around 12:20pm we finally reached the footsteps of Shivagange.

A bit late than we expected but as people say it is never too late for anything. We quickly started climbing the steps and immediately reached the footsteps of two temples one of them is ‘Gangadhareshwara’ and the other one I cannot recall at the moment.

The Gangadhareshwara temple is known for what people call a miracle where in if we do a Ghee abhisheka it turns into Butter!! One more interesting point about this is that there was a board and an entrance which mentioned ‘Kempegowda’s Treasury’. Kempegowda is known as the architect who helped the region florish with his planning. This place is thought to be the place where all the treasury was kept.

There is also a tunnel which is believed to be connect Shivagange to the ‘Gavigangadhareshwaraswamy Temple’ in Bangalore. Imagine going down the tunnel in Bangalore and appearing in Shivagange, but alas there is no much scope for investigation as at both the places it is kept closed as it is very risky to undertake this journey through the tunnel as the air/oxygen would be very low also since it has not been used for a long long time it may not actually be very easy to go also.

We quickly visited both the temples and continued further, we would see wonderful carvings on the walls and we could also see remains of the fort walls. We first passed the giant entrance above which a bull (nandi) statue was placed, then after much climbing/walking on the steps we reached another temple which is known as ‘Olakala teertha’ at around 1:30pm. Before moving in we had Sauttekayi (don’t known what it is called in English)(@Rs.7/person).

‘Olakala Teertha’ has its own significance, there is a small hole inside here and when someone puts their hand inside and if that person finds water then he/she has done good deeds and is a good person and vice versa. Knowning this and then giving this a try is always a mental game. I put it my hand, could not find water, then when I looked inside did I realise the trick, it was a bit deep so one had to put the hand inside fully. Since I had not removed my hand and it was still inside I bent and as my hand went more deep finally got water. What is the learing you say? If at first you dont succeed try again Since this temple is carved inside the hill, it gets pretty hot inside, infact we came out sweating.

Now came the interesting part as we continued we finally came to the starting point of the main hill, it was already 2:20 pm by now. Here is a small place where you can rest and buy some snacks. Before proceeding we had a decision to make, it was getting cloudy and the climb was steep and the rock steps were not the best option when climbing down if it rains. We decided to proceed.

Now we came to the most adventurous part of the trip. We were cut off by our now old friends whom we meet in all our trips, who??? Introducing for the first time in this writeup…the Monkeys…whereever you go outside Bangalore you will find them!! The different thing about the other Monkeys we encountered before and these were that these were WILD monkeys.

Just as we started our climb, Harish was attached by a monkey. Now this was all our mistake itself, we had made two big blunders (1) Even after knowning that the place is monkey infected we took along a bag in which we were carrying water and biscuits (Rs.15). (2) the main mistake being we had kept an empty buiscuit cover in the side pouch (we are environment friendly and do not throw plastic covers here and there, we just bring them back and then dispose).

The monkey on seeing the buiscuit packet wanted to remove it, Harish stayed calm, the monkey was hanging on the bag. It took out the cover, noticed it was empty. We would have expected it to jump off now, no this monkey meant business it tried to open the bag zip. To defend ourself we had two sticks which would not have even scared a housefly, it was more like a straw. Soon we were joined by another family and seeing that it was getting out numbered it finally jumped away.

The rest of the journey to the top was like a James Bond movie, we had to be on the look out for the monkeys, as they would be anywhere left/right/above!!. We stuck with the family we had met and reached the top of the hill at 2:50pm.

At the top on one side is a giant Nandi statue, though there are steps and barricades, it was very frightining as there were far too many people here than I though it would hold. Regardless we took a quick round and proceeded to the other side. Must mention one thing there, the views from the top of the hill is just fantastic and mindblowing. The clouds were a welcome addition to the scene and we felt like on top of the world.

There were two more temples on the top of the hill, we went about took quite a few snaps before heading down. We did not like the idea of being outnumbered by the monkey as most of the other people had already started moving down and only a handful of us were left at the top.

The descent was more fast and we reached the bottom of the hill at 4:30pm, we had stopped in between for rest and to have some soft drinks (Rs.12/person), before moving away we noticed another place which is to the immediate right just before the entrace of the first two temples. This place is called ‘Patalaganga’, it is said the water which flows is connected to Antargange which is quite far from here. We had to descend one by one inside the cave to reach the water as the place narrows down as we go down.

Finally, we came to the streets and it was already 4:45pm, we had not had our lunch till now and we were very hungry. We had some food at a small hotel (spent Rs 8/person which included tea also!!) and took an auto for Rs. 10/person and reach Dabbaspete around 5:20pm.

Finding a bus from Dabbaspete to Bangalore was quite a difficult task as most of the buses were full and we did not want to have another wonderful expericence in the private bus. Finally around 6:15pm we got a KSTRC bus (charge from Dabbaspete Rs.34/person) and though thee were no seats we had no other option, after all the climbing we were really tired, but we managed. We got seats when we reached Satellite town bus stand. The best part of the whole bus journey was that the return journey took us only 80 minutes!! compare than with over 170 minutes it took for us in the morning in a private bus!!!

In a whole it was the best trip we had till now, it had everything one would expect – some good experiences, some bad, some exciting. All in all a memorable expirience. The total charges for the whole trip came out to be Rs. 277 for two of us, so individually Rs.138!!

Tips and Suggestions:
1. Do not carry any bags, monkey are wild and will snatch at anything they can put their hands on. Ladies need to be careful about their handbags and should avoid taking it along as far as possible. If you would like to take a bag see that you have a should bag, do not carry items in plastic, not even bottles, Unless you are like us and would like a bit of adventure

2. There are two small hotels in Shivagange, so carry your own food and eat it before/after you reach the bottom, do not carry it to the top.

3. If you do not have a private vehicle, bargain with the autowallahs, wait till the auto is full and they will take you on minimum rate of Rs.10.

Omkar Hills also known as Omkara betta is situated about 4 to 5 Kms off the Mysore Road and is one of the lesser known places for weekend hangout. Situated at an altitude of 2,800 ft it is one of the highest points in the city of Bangalore and offers an magnificent view of southern Bangalore. Another attraction of this place is the very huge clock built by HMT, more about this later.

Coming back to the complete details, I started off to Omkara hills by getting on a route 225 BMTC bus from KR Market (Next to Tipu’s fort) at 12:10 pm, I am compelled to believe all the #225 and #222 route buses go till very close to the Omkara hills, but it is always best to confirm with the conductor/driver before getting in. As most of the people may not be aware of the place, the next best identification of this place is Rajarajeshwari Nagar and JSS college.

The bus continued on the Mysore road (halting for a brief while at satellite bus stand) till the huge arch leading to Rajarajeshwari Nagar and then turned left to reach Rajarajeshwari Nagar and continued on, I am not sure which place the bus was going, but I got down at the JSS college stop and after a short walk reached the JSS college at around 12:55 pm.

Once on top hill there are a couple of things that caught my eye, the first is the very huge clock whose dial has a diameter of 24 ft. This clock was made by HMT and is assumed to be the second biggest clock (I would not bet on that…) and is told to be bigger than the Big Ben….yes the world famous clock situated in UK.

The other aspect of the clock which makes it unique is: (quoted from http://omkarhills.org/) :

At the commencement of every hour, the clock chimes the sound of couch (Shankanada) followed by “Om” five times. The Shankanada is meant to awaken the consciousness of everyone to the great truth which is revealed by five Omkara to follow. Om which is a combination of three syllables A, U and M – represents the three states of life (the waking, the dreaming and the deep sleep state), creation, existence and dissolution, etc. It is the hub of the wheel which represents all the gamut’s of our life.

Second thing that caught my eye was the beautiful view of Bangalore, though the new temple coming up in the premises blocks us getting the complete view, it is still a very good experience, the cold breeze blowing about….no one around to bother you…..this is a true untapped bliss.

May be the time I reached was the reason not many people being around, but there was sure a huge platoon of the special task force (police) ready for action. But sure had a great time spending a good hour and a half here.

Another attraction is the area surrounded by the banyan tree which is named the ‘Sarvadharma Samanvaya Peetha’ which means seat of equality for all religions. The tree is surrounded by eight mini shrines of different religions.

The hill is known for the beautiful view it offers of the sunset, but alas I could not wait for another 4-5 odd hours waiting for the sun to set. So I set off to another location near by called ‘Shidhar Gudda’, I took a bus from near the JSS college and got down two stops later, walked for a good quarter kilometer only to see the place closed. It had visiting hours 8am-1pm and 5pm-8pm. So seeing no point in waiting around there I headed back to the bus stop. On reaching the bus stop I asked a person about the bus frequency, on knowing that I wanted to go to Kengeri bus stop he told it is better to walk as it is just half a kilometer away,

So I quickly walked to the bus stop and got into #227 bus back to the city. This is when I realised, If one starts early around 9am, one can go to not only the above two places but also to other two places I had already been namely ‘Dodda Alada Mara’ (read about it at http://nithinkamath.info/archives/2008/03/dodda-aalada-mara-big-banyan-tree-trip/ and ‘Muktinaga temple’ by boarding the #227 bus from Kengeri. And if one has a vehicle one can go till the Menchibele dam also.

All in all had a great mini trip and enjoyed every moment of it.

Antarganga also known as Dakshin Kashi (or Kashi of the South) is a popular pilgrimage place close to the city of Kolar. Kashi Vishweshwara Temple is also one of the main attractions of Antarganga. One more attraction is the Bull (Basava) carved out of stone which has water flowing out of its mouth, the water is considered to be from the Ganges, and no one knows the source or origin of this water source.

Since my friend has already posted the details of the trip in his blog with all the details I would not want to rewrite it.

Below is his writeup….copied from top to bottom from his blog:

Last weekend I visited a place called Antaragange, popularly known as Kashi of South India. This post gives a briefing of the wonderful and adventurous trip. Antergange is situated in Kolar district of Karnataka state. It is just about 4 Kilometer from Kolar Bus Stand, and 70 Kilometers from Bengaluru.

How to Reach

There are plenty of Buses which connect Kolara, district headquarter with Bengaluru. Both KSRTC and private buses will go to Kolara. Private buses, will depart from Majestic as well as from KR Market. It will take one and half or maximum of two hours to reach Kolar depending on the bus. From Kolara, the destination is near. It is approximately 4 kilometers. You can go by walking by enjoying the side scenes and nice environment (just like me) or you also have an option to opt for a auto rickshaw. The fair is Rs.30/-. But before getting into the rickshaw, please clarify about the fair with the driver. This route won’t go to the top of the hill. From the enter ace you have to climb approximately 350-500 steps. There is another way which is constructed recently, which will take you to the top of the hill.

Its Rocky

The hills of Antergange provide an ideal location for Outbound Training and Excursions. Scattered thorn scrub forests amidst volcanic rocks and boulders present an irresistible landscape, where different adventure activities can be undertaken. Activities include · Nature study, · Trekking & rock climbing, Over night camping, Night navigation, Cave exploration.

Main Attractions

Kashi Vishweshwara Temple is also one of the main attractions of Antargange. The name ‘Antaragange’ means “Ganges from deep” in Kannada language. There is Basava (bull) made out of stone, water streaming out from the mouth of a stone bull Nobody knows the source of water or the place from where it originates. Water is seen streaming out throughout the year. It is been said that the source of this stream is from the holy river Gangaa. There is small Kalyani (pond) near the temple. The main deity of the temple is Kashi Vishveshawra(Lord Shiva). The temple is made out of rock. There main Shiva Lingam in the temple. Along with the Main Lingam, there are around 4 to 5 Lingam in the side of the main mantapa.

Trekking

Behind the temple there is way to the forest. From this point you can start the trekking. You will find some stairs at the beginning of the trekking, but it will disappear as you go further. The path is full of stone, scattered cactus, thrones and Bushes. Ideal place for adventure. If you follow the pylons (power cables), it would be very easy to climb the hill. There are a lot of trees such as Nilagiri, Akeshiya, Amla. There are various spicies of cactus are available in this region. As you go to the top, you will find a nice view of Kolara city. There are volcanic rocks of various size. Some rocks are laid in such passion that it appear like natural caves.

Antergange is overpopulated by monkeys. They are wild monkeyss. They literally grab anything from the visitors. It is very dangerous to leave our belongings from our hand. Some monkeys are so clever that they grab the things from our hands. One should be very careful while transacting with the monkeys.

This has been the easiest post to write…..thanks to Harish…..keep up the good work…..

Located just about 30 Kms from Bangalore is a popular tourist location ‘Dodda Alada Mara’ which in English is the ‘Big Banyan Tree’ (BBT). It is spread over three acres and is over 400 years old.

This place was chosen since I was in no mood for another long travel this weekend. So since BBT is just 30 Kms away it was a short trip. Started reasonably late and reached the boarding point ‘K R Market’ bus stand (the one near the Fort). From this point there are plenty of BMTC buses on route 227 which go to BBT. The nearest village is ‘Ramohalli’ which is about 2Kms from BBT.

Reached BBT around 10AM and there was no one there. The tree is really huge and the place is being maintained quite nicely under the aegis of ‘Bank of Maharastra’. There is a small temple in the vicinity of the BBT. While we were there we were able to about 6 cute little puppies play around and have fun fighting with each other. Since there was nothing much to see here, we wanted to head towards ‘Manchanabele Dam’ which was about 8+ Kms from the BBT.

We asked the people who were in charge of the place for details like the transportation facilities available to get to the Dam. We found out that there was only a couple of KSRTC buses which while going to Magadi go via the dam. We were also told that the area is not safe when in a small group as robberies are quite common. Also it would be best to go by private vehicle like a bike rather than bus, since they are quite un-dependable. Since only two of us were there, we heeded to their advice and skipped going to the dam.

The only place nearby which we would visit was the ‘Mukti Naga Temple’ which was just 1km from ‘Ramohalli’ and about 3kms from BBT. So we took one of the 227 route buses which were heading back to Bangalore and got down at Ramohalli. From here we walked till the temple. Located in the temple is world’s largest monolithic statue of Lord Naaga, about 16 feet tall and 36 tons of weight. After offering our prayers, while coming out we could see a lake quite near by.

So off we went to it, but as we came nearer we found that there was no actual point where we would sit and enjoy, since all the properties around the lake were fenced. We were not the ones to give up so easily so we trespassed into one of the large properties and tried to get close to the lake, but alas there was no place where we could sit and take rest. After spending some time here we headed back.

When we reached back at BBT around 2:30 pm, we were quite surprised as the place that was quite in the morning was now buzzing with people. And our good old friends whom we have meet on all our trips in and around Bangalore were here too. In case you were wondering who it is……the Monkeys of course….

This time the monkeys were in some mood for adventure, they snatched a lady’s handbag and clicked up the tree. Every trip in the book like giving groundnuts, tying a plastic bag on another branch with some eatables etc by the lady and her family to convince the monkey to drop the bag failed. After much playing around, the first object to come down was a mobile phone, and much to our amazement the phone did not break and it was working…..so much for the Classic Old Nokia models. Soon the bag came down, but fully torn in all the place….the handbag was now useless, so they threw it away.

So much for the fun we had watching all this happen….but it was time to head back…..we took the BMTC bus and headed back and reached Bangalore quite soon.

Talking about the expenses….it was quite low…..a Rs30/- daily BMTC pass took me right from the nearest bus stand to my room and back.