Shri Bangaru Tirupathi Temple, Guttahalli, KGF

Yet another post from 2019. The lock-down has enabled me to post the cornered travel stories. On auspicious occasion of Akshaya Trithiya, here is post from Bangaru Tirupathi temple visit. The pre-covid era was one of the memorable ones for our travel. We miss those joyous moments. Lets pray the Lord Venkateshwara (deity of Bangaru Tirupathi) to bring back those freedom travels again and bless the people with good health & prosperity.

22 November 2019

Yet another unwinding travel which we planned for this Friday. This temple was in my hot-list from quite a long ago. Now that we own a car and kids have grown up, the time was ripe to visit the places proximity to Bangalore. We started relatively early from city and reached the destination comfortably in 2hrs.

Bangaru Tirupathi temple is located near KGF in hamlet called Guttahalli. The temple deity is none other than Lord Venkteshwara. The temple is located atop a tiny hill which can be reached with few steps.

The temple entrance hosts a large pinnacle followed by a temple pond (pushkarini). There is small shrine in middle of pond . The second pinnacle after crossing the pond is smaller than primary. From here, the steps towards the temple outsets (about 100 in number). Many Hindu Gods are carved over the pinnacle painted with striking colours. There are again shrines of many deities along the climb.

The next attraction is the Garuda statue holding snake in its toe overlooking the base of temple. The Garuda which oversees the climbers, pleasantly welcomes the devotees. Perhaps it also symbolises that only tough path leads to Supreme God.

The first shrine is of Navagraha temple and mid-way you spot Anjaneya shrine beneath huge Boulder. It feels like cave inside. One more attraction is oil painting of panchamukhi anjaneya.

The stairs post this shrine leads you to main temple where Lord Venkateshwara is housed. The last part of climb is relatively steep due to shape of hill. It may seem tad difficult for people with knee pain. We reached the temple comfortably climbing steps. The priest welcomed us and proceeded with Archane (an offering to God). The deity is viewable only through small window known as navagraha kindi. Not sure about the tradition behind such a view. The temple has unique circumambulation with separate entry and exit paths. The entry path is bit steep but exit path relatively smooth. Few souvenir shops near the tiny temple periphery. You can buy temple laddus from here as well. The view from the temple top is enchanting and photogenic :-).

After a brief stay for 1hr and feeding kids, we decided to leave for Kotilingeshwara temple nearby. It  was memorable maiden visit for us. The only moaning part was unusual overcast skies of winter. It was difficult to grab some good photograph under such uncanny weather with arid clouds.

We missed visiting the Padmavati temple nearby due to ignorance. Don't skip this temple if you plan to visit Bangaru Tirupathi.

How to reach

The place is quite easy to reach from Bangalore. Either take interior route via Kolar or travel till Mulbagal and reach Guttahalli. The path till Mulbagal is the four laned National-Highway which invites couple of toll booths. The drive though is far comfortable. I suggest you to take Mulbagal route since the interior route was not well maintained during our travel. Also, there would be continuity in journey if you plan to visit Kotilingeshwara temple.

If you are taking bus, then take KGF-Mulbagal bus (either in KGF or Mulbagal) and alight at Bangaru -Tirupati stop. A short walk of one km will lead you to temple. There may be direct buses to temple but seems to be rare.

Food

Temple serves meals only on Saturday and Sunday from 12PM to 3PM

Other than this, only tiny snack shops are located nearby which cannot be deemed as lunch alternatives. Other option is to have lunch at Kotilingeshwara temple (unfortunately lunch home was closed for renovation during our visit). Also Kotilingeshwara temple has plenty of eateries to quench hunger. Apart from mentioned options, there may be good hotels at Kolar & Mulbagal towns which I am not aware. Kamath Upachar was good option near Narasapur but permanently closed now.

Ideal time to visit

Except during annual festivals and auspicious occasions (due to crowd), the temple is good to visit throughout the year.

Temple timings

Don't remember exactly. Guess 7AM to 8PM

Here is a short video from visit