Sankara had planned for a birding trip to Hoskote lake. It was on the other end of the world (pun intended!!) and hence I felt we need to utilize the effort spent on crossing KR Puram by visiting other places. Avani in Mulabagil taluk was in my backlog for sometime and we decided to visit it too.
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| View from the top of the hill |
It rained heavily on the previous night in my area. It was still pouring when I got up at 5:30 in the morning. I messaged Sankara about the rains and slept again. After sometime the message from Sankara woke me up. Apparently it was not raining at his place in North Bengaluru. Reluctantly, I got up. Since it was still raining, my mother was not very happy with my travel.
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| Start of the climb to Avani hill |
Rains indeed subsided a bit when I reached Sankara’s home in HMT layout but only to increase after we crossed KR Puram. It was drizzling when we reached Hoskote lake. We decided not to open our camera and just watch the birds at the lake. We spent couple of hours at the lake. We promised ourselves to come back after few months. It was a good place for birding.
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| Steps to Avani hill |
By then, the sky was clear and we decided to visit Avani. With breakfast at Kamath hotel near Kolar, we headed towards Avani. A deviation before Mulabagal and 6 km of ride on village road brought us to Avani. The Ramalingeshwara tempe welcomed us at Avani but we decided to first climb the hill and visit Sita temple on the top.
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| Green fields seen from Avani |
A local lad Sreenath came to us and offered his service as a guide. He looked like a nice guy. We felt that having a local is beneficial even though the path to the top of the hill was clear.
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| Rocks |
It was an easy climb with steps being laid. The steps were recent addition, Sreenath told. It appeared so, as we could spot many quarrying places on the way to the top.
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| View of Sita temple |
At couple of places which required to go over the rocks, railings were provided. In that way, it was possible for anyone with basic fitness to climb this hill.
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| Rocky path |
We reached a place which was called Valmiki temple. We learnt that the entire hill was filled with places linking to Ramayana. It is said that Valmiki stayed at this place. Sita also lived after being abandoned by Rama. Places where Lava and Kusha were born and raised can also be seen. Interesting!!
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| Inside a cave |
Very soon, we reached a plain land with a pond. It was a beautiful place to spend some time. The serene atmosphere added to the mystical feeling to that place. We spent some time photographing while Sreenath was trying his luck with fishing!!
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| A small pond on the way |
It was a short steep climb and we were at the temple. It was a beautiful place with nice scenery all around. We spent some time cooling down. Since no one was present at that time, priest also came out and talked with us for some time. He said that the temple was the place where Sita went into the earth.
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| Sita temple at the top |
We visited few places that claimed mythological importance before starting down. A huge rock with hollow base provided some shade for us to rest and relax.
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| Time to rest!! |
While coming down, Sreenath took us through an alternate route avoiding steps. It turned out to be bit adventurous when we had to walk down the rocks. The recent rains had made it slippery and we had to be very careful. I removed my shoes and walked barefoot as it provided more grip on the rock!!
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| Ramalingeshwara temple seen while climbing down |
It was time to visit Ramalingeshwara temple at the base of the hill.
Arun
Beautiful Place indeed
Yogi Saraswat
We learnt that the entire hill was filled with places linking to Ramayana. It is said that Valmiki stayed at this place. Sita also lived after being abandoned by Rama. Places where Lava and Kusha were born and raised can also be seen. Interesting!! Very interesting place and you narrate it beautifully . I was expecting some more technical data of this place as what is the distance from Bengaluru or any other major city ? How much height and distance to be covered in this trek ?
themaphopper.com
Kudos for making it there even after facing rain. Enjoyed the post. Keep traveling and have a great day!
Shrinidhi Hande
nice..
aravindgj
Arun,
Thanks.
Yogi Saraswat,
Thanks for your comment. Sometimes, I miss to add the technical information!! The place is about 100 km from Bengaluru. It takes about 45 minutes to one hour to climb. Anyone with good fitness can walk.
themaphooper,
Thanks for your comment.
Shrinidhi,
Thanks.
Aananda
A good information for tour purpose…we have a travel agency for tour and travel purpose.
Vidyasagar H
There is no count how many times I visited this wonderful holy place. I have taken many time family too. This is favorite place to my children. Your excellent pics say entire trail and story.
aravindgj
Vidyasagar,
That's true. Thanks for your comment.