Mandaragiri hill was in our list from quite long time. The beautiful rock hill situated near Tumkur is pilgrimage centre of Jainism. The lake overlooking from hill is yet another attraction. This Good Friday, we planned to visit this well-known place and it turned out to be Good Travel Friday despite initial hiccups.
One of my son complained of stomach pain early in morning which slowed our plans for a while. Initially, we were sceptical of travelling under hot sun which would dehydrate and aggravate stomach ache. Fortunately, he soon recovered in couple of hours. The travel plan remained unabated. Our actual schedule was 8AM but due to hiccups, it got delayed by 2hrs. It was 10:15AM when we started. Being holiday, the city traffic was relatively sparse. Barring the traffic jam at Jalahalli cross, we had smooth drive till Bangalore-Pune National Highway. The toll gates too were relatively less crowded which enabled us to sail through within shorter time. Complete journey was smooth despite the radiating Summer Sun. Weather was dry and temperatures are soaring. Even before reaching destination, we had guzzled nearly a litre of water.
The last 1.5kms deviation from highway was also nicely laid but narrow. There are no clear road signs to reach the place. The map is bang on target. It was 11:45AM when we reached the Mandaragiri hills. We were excited to see the stairs leading to the Jain temple and hoped to start as early as possible. The designated parking area comes with an entry cost of Rs.40/-.
We walked till the stairs from parking area. It is also possible to park near stairs and start climbing. We were not aware of that fact due to which an additional 300mts had to be walked. The other scepticism was if our 4 years toddlers would make it to summit or not. Those apprehensions were eventually wiped out by enthusiastic kids! It was exactly 12:00PM when we outset our climb. The steps are carved out in granite hill are not even. Few places have lesser height while few steps are steep. At few locations, the stairs are steep. We took intermittent breaks to enjoy the nature surrounding the hill and also to rest for a while. Within 15-20 time-frame, we had climbed those 420 steps and ready to explore.
The hilltop primarily consists of multiple Jain temples which are worshipped on daily basis. The priest everyday climbs the hill at morning and descends during 5PM. The hill looks to be operation till 6PM. The temples are being renovated from community donations which includes assistance from Dharmastala temple chief Dr.Veerendra Haggade. Even the temple outskirts are being beautified with traditional Jain architecture. 3 shrines located atop rock Hill. The primary shrine sees a traditional temple pillar. The shrine has fabulous carvings at the ceiling of navagraha deities. The wooden pillars inside the shrine echoes the antique traditional houses of landlord. The interiors of shrine now has fresh glossy look smeared with touch-wood and oil paints. The other two shrines are simple and well maintained.
The major attraction from summit is none other than lake which overlooks from hill. I was surprised to view the lake filled with considerable capacity during summer. Priest informed that check dams helped to increase retention capacity of lake. We descended the hill from the other side of climb to have closer look. A mud road leads to the lake which we planned to explore later.
Apart from lake, the mystical boulders standing over the hill was mesmerising sight. After a brief exploration of surroundings, we guzzled yet another litre of water. The kids were extremely thirsty which resulted in finishing additional litre of water. It was sweating as well. Due to continuous blow of cool wind, the midday hike at 12PM did not seem to be as strenuous as predicted. The radiating Sun was still unbearable. We had carried cap for kids to offset the might of Sun. On the other hand, me and wife, had no protective cover to beat the blistering Sun.
The descent was extremely easy. Make sure you do not loose control. Hardly 10 minutes if I calculated.
We walked towards snack shop nearby and savoured tasty Madhur-Vada and Dry-Jamoon to temporarily douse the hunger. The details of snack shop are at the bottom of post.
Once done, we visited the temple near parking area which hosts statue of Jain Teerthankara. The temple needs to be visited with bare foot. We were not interested to visit the temple since path was infested with sharp stones and intense heat made it impossible to walk bare foot. The other attraction was dome shaped structure which the clerk mentioned as house of chairman.
The next destination was the lake itself. A drive for nearly 1km through bumpy muddy road, we reached the lake shore. That was truly majestic view. The view would be extraordinary during Sunrise. I expected to spot few aquatic birds here but was disappointed. The intense heat would have prompted birds to stay in their nests. I saw couple of egrets but not much apart from them. The lake front is not secure for playing due to lack of protective guards. We just stepped on the water for a moment to feel the coolness amidst bristling heat. After relaxing at lake shore for few minutes it was time to leave for Bangalore.
On the way, we had ordinary meal at Namasthe-Bengaluru restaurant. The restaurant is grand in look but meals was not up to hotel's physical appearance. The menu also looks expensive. The meal feedback is ordinary which is priced at Rs.105/-. We resumed our journey to Bangalore with dissatisfied tummy. One more hour of drive, we reached home tired.
The place and visit:
The place is excellent and worth the visit. Please visit during early mornings to enjoy the Sun raising over the lake. The summers should be avoided due to intense heat and parched vegetation. The rock hill does not get heated due to its implicit property. Similar phenomenon we saw during Lepakshi visit. The monsoon season around August-September would be best to enjoy the verdant nature. The place does not receive rainfall like coastal areas. Hence no need to worry about slippery path. The winter season also worth the visit due to reduced radiation. The marble flooring atop the hill is nasty. It is example of flawed engineering I feel. The marble floor gets heated up quickly due to Sun heat. It was impossible to walk over the marble flooring. The presence of carpet at isolated locations are bit relief but still not perfect. Hopefully the renovation committee has additional plans to construct roof or cover area with non heating elements.
Food option:
A small vegetarian snack shop called Chandrakanta canteen is located near parking area. They serve cool-drinks, ice-creams and selected eateries. The selected eateries during our visit was rice-sambar, chitranna, madhur-vada, idly-vada. Sweets include badushah, dry/syrup jamoon and holige. Apart from routine food option, the shop also offered spicy snacks made up of puffed rice like churmuri, tomato masala etc.. Note that this shop is open only during weekends or government holidays when visitor count is high. If you have plans to visit during working days, please plan your food. The prices are also reasonable. We paid Rs.10/- each for Dry-Jamoon and Madhur-Vada.
Small vendors also sell heat saviours like cucumber, cane juice, tender coconut and seasonal raw mangoes.
Reaching the place:
Google maps should be enough. Quite easy to reach from deviation at Bangalore-Tumkur highway.
Toilet:
A public toilet is constructed at the base which is ill-maintained. There are no additional charges but ill-maintenance renders it completely useless. Bank upon the toilets adjacent to petrol bunks or restaurants!
To conclude, please to do not trash the place and maintain cleanliness near throughout especially lake area. Respect the religious sentiments.
A short video as usual at end of post
