Yathiraja Swamy Betta

About Yathiraja Swamy Betta

I have been climbing hills and forts near Bengaluru for the past several years. I have rarely climbed any hill twice, but I have never faced a shortage of the places to trek!! The list in my backlog is long!! Yathiraja Swamy Betta was one such place that I climbed recently.

Chaya wanted to go on a day trek, and Yathiraja Swamy Betta looked perfect for a short hike. From the information on the internet, it looked like a fairly simple trek. So, we started on a Saturday morning. It just took an hour from our home to reach the base of the hill. Google Maps suggested an interior route bypassing Ramanagara, and the countryside was nice to drive. The winding road went through some villages, mango orchards and fields.

The climb

An arch welcomed us to the place. We parked our vehicle next to the arch and started walking. The hill looked bald devoid of any trees or shade but the rock-cut steps made it easy for us to climb. A local group had arrived with chickens to sacrifice. While they were busy performing rituals at the base of the hill, we quickly passed them hoping not to see any gruesome act on the living creatures.

We quickly gained altitude, and the surrounding hills started to appear. We could see a small pond below with few people busy washing clothes. A lone rock attracted our attention, but we decided to visit it while climbing down.

Soon, we were at the top of the hill. Unlike other hills in the area, the top was empty except for the remains of a small structure. We saw a whitewashed building on the other side and climbed down towards that place. It was an oasis kind of setting with a spring and trees surrounding the place.

Further down, we saw a cave temple. It looked small but beautiful. The plumeria tree opposite the temple added to the beauty of the place. Next to the temple was a small spring with water. It was fenced to prevent people from getting into the water. We spent some time enjoying the beauty of the surrounding.

Information

• Yathiraja Swamy betta is about 10 km from Ramanagara and 50 km from Bengaluru.
• It is an easy hill to climb, and it does not take more than 30 minutes to reach the temple.
• Rock cut steps make it easy for anyone with reasonable fitness to ascend.
• This place is frequented by locals, and they have ensured to keep it filthy. Traces of picnic and booze parties are visible at the base, temple and cooking area.