Travelling by road from bangalore to mysore

Travelling from Bangalore to Mysore can be a pleasure, thanks to the innumerable places that one can visit. If you can get over the maddening traffic on the Bangalore-Mysore Road , there is nothing like it.  The road from either of the two cities is chock-a-block with traffic and one needs to divert himself from the traffic hassles to enjoy the sights and sounds of  the towns, villages and cities that dot the highway.

Let us take in the sights from the Bangalore side before leaving the City. Choose your place and set your trip accordingly. I have visited all the places mentioned below and this is a personal account of my tour. I have tried to cover some of the main attractions on the Bangalore-Mysore Highway and I have tried not to deviate much from the highway. (There are a few exceptions though such as Abbur, Melkote, Kabbal). So, happy journey.

It is better to leave Bangalore early to avoid the office rush. Travel early and travel light as the highway has innumerable eat outs, each outdoing the other in taste and menu.

If you are coming from Bangalore South (Jayanagar, JP Nagar, Koramangala), get on to the Mysore road (either through Chamarajpet or the Sirsi Circle flyover ) and make a quick dash to the Gali Anjaneya Temple in Byatarayanapura, which was consecrated by the great Madhwa saint Vyasa Theertha (the earlier avatar of  Raghavendra Swamy) in 1425.

This is believed to be the sixth of the 732 Hanuman temples Vyasa Theertha consecrated across India. The temple was once on the banks of Paschimavahini and Vrishabhavati. Today the rivers are long gone and it is full of sewage. This is one among the many Vyasa Prathistha Hanuman temples in and around Bangalore consecrated by Vyasa Theertha. Some other nearby temples are the Minto Hospital Hanuman, Kote Anjaneya Temple near Bangalore fort and RBI Layout in JP Nagar 7th Phase.

Raja Rajeshwari Nagar

If you have time go through the arch welcoming you to Raja Rajeshwari Nagar and visit the Raja

Rajeshwari Temple: The beautiful temple, built in Dravadian style by Sri Tiruchi Swamy is just a km from the arch and has a six foot idol of Goddess Raja Rajeshwari. Legend has it that sage Athreya and his devoted wife Anasuya lived here. Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays are crowded.

Before the temple came up and the BDA formed the Raja Rajeshwari Nagar, this area was called Kenchanahalli. Another temple worth visiting is the one dedicated to Nimishamba. The temple is near Ideal Homes Circle, 12 th Cross. It is the only temple in Bangalore dedicated to Nimishamba. The original temple is near Sangam in Srirangapatna. Chandika Homa is performed every day here.

Omkar Ashrama

This place is just a few minutes away from the Raja

Rajeshwari Temple . It is one of the highest points of Bangalore .  The Ashrama’s founder was Sri Shivapuri Swamy and there are several temples here. There is a huge clock here which can be seen for miles around. There is a banyan tree here which is surrounded by structures dedicated to deities of different religions.

Nearby is the Shrungagri Shanmukha Temple which has a six-aced deity of Shanmukha. Located near the Kengeri-Uttarahalli road, the temple is open from 6-30 a.m., to 12-30 and again in the evening from 4-30 p.m., to 9 p.m. The Hoskere halli Kere is a well-known picnic spot. The memorial to Kannada film actor Vishnuvardhan is next to Abhiman studio on the Uttarahalli road.

Kengeri

Not many know that Mahatma Gandhi visited this area twice. He spent time on both the occasions he visited here at the Kengeri Gurukula Vidyapeetha which was founded in 1926 by several freedom fighters.

A little distance away from the Bangalore-Mysore Highway is the village of  Kethohalli, which is famous for the Ramohalli Dodda Alada Mara or big banyan tree. This tree is reported to be more than 400 years old. Visit the ancient Veerabhadra temple here.

The world’s largest monolithic statue of  the Snake God, the seven-headed Naaga, called Mukti Naga temple which is 16 feet tall, is located in Ramohalli. The mammoth idol weighs 36 tons. There are special poojas on Sundays and Tuesdays.

The Bande Matha of the Veerashaivas is 800 years old. It was reportedly founded by  Channaveeraswamy, a contemporary of King Bijjala of the Kalachuri kingdom. Hit the highway again and look out for Wonderla and Innovative Film City near Bidadi. The film city is open from 10 a.m., to 7 p.m., and you can only carry water bottles. No food and the entry fee starts at Rs. 499. For details regarding entry fee and other issues, go to the website or call them up at 080-22099999.

Wonderla is 28 kms from Bangalore and it is also near Bidadi. It opens at 11 a.m.

Ramanagar

The next place to spend some time is Ramanagar, which is famous for rock climbing. During the British times, it was known as Closepet. It is known as the City of seven hills-Sidilakallu Betta, Shivaramagiri, Jalasiddeshwaram Revannasiddeshwara, Somagiri, Krishnagiri and  Yatirajagiri. The Hindi film, Sholay, and the English classic A Passage to India, was shot on the rocky terrains of Ramanagar.

Eat at Kamat Lokaruchi and take in the attractions of the adjacent Janapada Loka.

Visit Kanva reservoir which is located between Ramanagar and Chennapatna.

Ramanagar got its name from the Ramagiri hills or Ramadevara betta.  The hills finds a mention in the Ramayana of Valmiki and the Torvi Ramayana written by  Kumara Valmiki (Torvi is a small village near Bijapur, the erstwhile capital of  the Adil Shahis and home to the famous Gol Gumbaz and Ibrahim Roza). The 12th century poet Harihara in his Revanasiddeshwara Ragale refers to the hills as does Renukaradhya in his Bheemeshaadri Mahasthala Purana and Sarvagna in one of his vachana Sidilu kalinna Balagadelu Kote Ya Nagari.

Sri Ramanujacharya and the Madhwa saint Vyasa Theertha visited the area.

Kengal
On the highway is Kengal. This is famous for the Anjaneya Swamy Temple consecrated by Vyasa Theertha. Made of red stone, this is the third of  the 732 Hanuman deities Vyasa Theertha installed. The deity is five-and-half-foot tall Hanuman and it has a moustache.

Kabbal

Apart from the fort, this town is famous for the Kabbalamma Temple , which locals say houses one of the most powerful deities. Believed for several years to be the only temple for 28 villages in Ramanagar district. Devotees are expected to ask for a wish and sleep over the floor of the temple. A bull or Basava in local parlence, is then walked over the devotee. The temple is 22 kms from Chennapatna and is near Sathanur.   
Chennapatna
The land of toys, Chennapatna offers a variety of  sight seeing spots. Shop for the wooden toys of Chennapatna which were introduced centuries ago by Tipu Sultan.

A little ahead of Chennapatna and on the highway, is the Apremaya Swamy Temple (Dodda Malur). The shrine is centuries old and the Ambegalu Krishna behind the main deity is so beautiful that Purandara Dasa sang Jagadodharana. Ramanajucharya and Vyasa Theertha visited the temple. There is a Purandara Mantapa in the Srinivasa Temple in Chennapatna.  Vyasa Theertha built the Srinivasa temple as he wanted to have darshana of  Srinivasa. He had worshipped Srinivasa in Tirupathi for 12 years and then came back to Chennapatna and then to Hampi. He felt the urge to construct a similar temple to Srinivasa. A few kms from Chennapatna is Abbur on the banks of Kanva river, which is home to Bramanye Theertha, the guru of Vyasa Theertha and cousin of Sripadaraja of Mulabagal. Both Bramanye Theertha and Sripadaraja were born in Abbur. 

The Purushottama Guhe (cave) near Abbur is worth a visit. If you like the unorthodox, see the temple built for dogs in Agrahara Vagela Halli in Channapatna. It is about eight kms from the Bangalore-Mysore highway. If you are the adventurous type, get going to Makali Hosahallai, near Chennapatna. There is a temple dedicated to Krishna
which is supposed to have supernatural powers.

Maddur

Come down to the Railway station at Maddur to have the taste of  Madur vada or taste it at several eating joints on the highway. Spend some time at Kokrebellur where you can see a lot of storks.

Maddur, located on river Shimsha, has some famous temples-Ugra Narasimha and Varadaraja.

The Varadaraja temple was built by Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana so that his mother could perform pooja to recover her eye sight.

Legend says the king’s mother got her eye sight back after she performed pooja for 48 days.

Arjuna, after the Mahabharata war, wanted to see Narasimha. Lord Krishna helped him get the darshan here. Therefore, Maddur during earlier days was known as Arjunapuri. Maddur gets its name from the Madduramma temple and also from the fact that this was the place where Maddu (gunpowder) was manufactured.

If time permits visit the Vaidyanatha temple too.

Melkote

A must see for tourists, it is one of the major centres for Srivaishnavas. Melkote has the Chaluva Narayanaswamy and Yoga Narasimha temples.  Ramanajucharya stayed here for 12 years. The Kalyani is one of the most beautiful structures of its kind. 

The Melkote temple wildlife sanctuary is worth a visit. Initially formed in 1974 to provide a place for wolves, it is also home to other mammals such as the jungle cat, leopard, Bonnet macaque, langur and the pangolin. There are also 200 species of birds.

Tondanur

Twenty kms from Melkote is the temple town of Tondanur.

Ramanajucharya stayed here for some time before coming to Melkote. Legend has it that Ramanajucharya took on 12,000 Jain scholars simultaneously and defeated them in debate. All of them surrendered to him and became his disciples.

The Lakshminarayana temple is calso called the Nambinarayana temple. In front of  the Lakshminarayana temple is the Gopala Krishnaswamy temple. There is the Yoga Narasimha Temple is situated on a hillock. A little away from these two temples. Have a dip in the lake which was built in honour of Ramanujacharya. Thondanur has the distinction of being the first place in Karnataka from where Ramanajucharya preached the doctrines of Srivaishnavism.

The acharya consecrated five Narayana idols in Karnataka. The idols are at Melkote (Thiru Narayana), Thondanur (Nambi Narayana),  Talakadu near Mysore

(Kirti Narayana), Belur (Vijaya Narayana) and Gadag (Veera Narayana).

Go to Pandavapura which was known as French Rocks during the time of Tipu. The small town is associated with pandavas and look out for the Kunti Betta. Every Thursday there is a fair (santhe) where farmers sell their products directly in the market.

Srirangapatna

Is the next destination. It is just 16 kms from Mysore. A day is not enough to take in all the sights. However if you want to take in the sights in a day, start with the bridge across Cauvery, the Juma Masjid, the place where Tipu died in 1799, the water gate, Bailey dungeon and then visit the Ranganatha Swamy temple.

If time permits, visit Gumbaz where Tipu and his father Haider are buried, Daria Daulat Bagh the palace, Sangam, Nimishamba temple (3 kms from Srirangapatna) and Gosai Ghat which is a very beautiful spot.

Take a detour to Ranganathitu, the bird sanctuary just off  Srirangapatna. The sanctuary is made up of six small islands,  

Hop across to Mysore-the City of palaces. Check out the Amba Vilas (main palace), Jaganmohan Palace which houses the museum, St. Philomena’s Church, the Zoo, Chamundi hills (Chamundi temple, Big Bull or Nandi, statue of Mahishasura, the Godly Museum), KRS Dam and the dancing fountain, Cauvery emporium, Railway Museum, Museum of Natural History, Folklore Museum and the Oriental Research Library where the Arthashastra of Chanakya or Kautilya was discovered for the first time. Look at the temples scattered across Mysore city.

There are many  spots to visit around Mysore

and some of them are Nanjangud (the temple of Nanjundeshwara or Srikanteshwara and temple of Raghavendra Swamy. There is an idol of Raghavendra Swamy in the Raghavendra Swamy temple here.

The Nanjudeshwara here is believed to cure all diseases. Tipu was an ardent devotee as were the Wodeyar kings of Mysore ), Chamarajanagar (temple of Chamarajeshwara), Somanathapura (Hoysala temple).

Our first Prime Minister writes nostalgically about this place in his book Discovery of India.

Talakad (It is 44 kms from Mysore where several temples were buried under sand. Enjoy the Pancha Lingeshwara temples built by the Ganga and Chola kings. River Cauvery takes a bend here. The sands of Talakad are very famous.), T Narsipura (confluence of rivers Cauvery, Kapila and Gupta Gamini and the place where Sage Agastya meditated.

Talakad is mentioned in the Skanda Purana.), Shivanasamudra (Cauvery falls from a height of 320 feet. This is a small island and there is the temple of Ranganatha Swamy), Sosale (Vyasaraja Matha),  Nagarhole (forest), Bandipur (88kms), Krishna Raja Pet (temples), Madikeri (118 kms), MM Hills, BR Hills (90 kms from Mysore ), Bylukuppe the Tibetan settlement which has a Golden Temple (Pagoda of Buddha)  and Talacauvery (where the Cauvery originates).