Enchanting visit to Shri Kshetra Haddinakallu | ಶ್ರೀ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರ ಹದ್ದಿನಕಲ್ಲು ಯಾತ್ರೆ

13 August 2022

The visit to Shri Kshetra Haddinakallu was planned 2 weeks back. Due to unavoidable circumstances, the plan was postponed. The plan successfully culminated on the auspicious day of Shravana Shanivara. We were pleased to seek blessings of Lord Hanuman post arduous hike.

On lethargic Saturday, the car booted up sluggishly which resulted in encountering unusual traffic jam on Bangalore-Poona highway. Our journey encountered first hurdle when massive weekend traffic slowed down the travel on Bangalore-Poona highway for nearly 45 mins. That was strange since we did not knew the source of congestion. The traffic automagically vanished after crossing the Mangalore deviation. Neither Mangalore road nor Poona road had traffic snarls. We alighted at Kamat upachar near kunigal to rest for a while and also have snacks. Alas! most of the items were emptied thanks to huge weekend rush! We had to contend with a plate of idly (vada also was over)! Biggest problem with Kamath is they provide importance to bus crowd. They have tied up with KSRTC which means most buses stop here. The hotel crew ignores normal customers and start attending bus passengers. We had to explicitly call the managers to attend our request. Due to low-priority to normal customers, it wastes lot of time for personal travelers. I have decided to skip Kamath upachar henceforth.

The second hurdle was google maps showing an unusual route to Haddinakallu from Yediyur. Maps made us to navigate through rugged village roads and sometimes dead-end. I was aware of the welcome arch situated on the Mangalore highway but still switched on maps. Alas! that was grave mistake. After consulting locals, they guided us in right path. Here we are at Haddinakallu and ready for climb.

Never knew that the Shravana Shanivara can be crowded to the bone at Haddinakallu. Large array of devotees gathered to seek blessings of Lord Hanuman on this divine day. We could see pilgrims ranging from infants till old-age climbing the hill and visiting temple.

The base of hike begins with statue of Indrajitu, the son of Ravana. People sacrifice farm animals at Indrajitu foot and later prepare feast out of it all along the pathway. Hence the temple strictly prohibits carrying  of meat from outset of trail till summit.

We also enthusiastically began the hike leaving footwears at the base of hill. Few people were seen wearing footwear till summit, but I suggest you hike barefoot if possible. Initial steps are manageable which later turns steep. We encountered human congestion intermittently due to crowd pausing hike at end of steep steps to relax. During pause, one can enjoy breathtaking views of the rural landscape which is adorned with beautiful lakes. The recent rains have flourished water bodies to the throat and farmers are happy. Rains bring lot of joy to both farming community and nature lovers. The artistic rocks are another attraction on the way up. Their balance from ancient era amazes me.

My toddlers also climbed without any complaint. In fact, they were hiking faster than us with infinite energy.  The gentle play of monsoon clouds and Sun was another plus point. The blazing midday sun did not bother us except for extreme perspiration. That did not bother us since we were well hydrated and had enough stock. People were climbing with devotion. When one of the devotee tried to bail out in midway of hike, her family cheered her up to complete the climb and have darshan. "Don't stop. Devote yourself to Lord Hanuman and he will give strength to reach him!" motivated her relatives. That was energy booster to us as well. She made it to the summit successfully too! 

I was infuriated when plan did not culminate 2 weeks back. The obstacle occurred for good reason.  Rains and wind would have made it impossible to climb due to slippery path. The shrubs and plants had mushroomed the trail. Fortunately due to shravana month, the authorities have cleared the trail. The amicable weather joined hands in our smooth visit. We thanked Lord Hanuman for making us visit at the right time. Few things happen for our own good.

The trail was tantalizing at times which apparently indicated end of hike. That was not the case when we reached the edge of deception. Had to trudge along further from the perceived summit :-).

Moving on with hike, we came across pond where devotees pull water and drench themselves before visiting the temple. Looks like it is offering to Lord Hanuman. That was natural pond along the trail.

Its short distance from pond to temple. We finally reached summit within an hour. Total distance would be perhaps 1-2kms. The apparent became reality, eventually. Amidst the stuffed temple, the darshan was not easy. The huge crowd of Shravana Shanivara was difficult to glide through. Since the area was open, no queueing system was needed.

Being auspicious day of Shravana Shanivara, Lord Anjaneya was decked-up with garland of lemon, tulsi, variety of flowers and enveloped with silver kavacha (armor). I guess the armor is installed only during auspicious days since permanent enablement would lead to security threats. The devotees were piling up more & more flowers as offering to god. With discipline, the priest was periodically performing Mangalarathi to lord.

Plenty of monkeys atop of summit but no monkeys anywhere along the trail. Monkeys do not seem to be aggressive perhaps due to Anjaneya's presence. I did not observe any monkey snatching items from visitors neither near temple nor along trail

We descended comfortably after beholding Lord Anjaneya on Shravana Shanivara. On the way back, the majestic sight of nature was worth the pause and relook. We consumed fresh cut watermelons to quench our thirst and carried trash along with us. In matter of 30mins, we were back to the base of hill and thus yet another long pending visit concluded.

Impromptu plan was made to visit Shravanabelagola which resulted in extreme disappointment. We were annoyed to see the closure of gommateshwara hill. The authorities have temporarily closed the entry to gommateshwara hill owing to landslide in recent rains. We consumed Jain meals before departing to Bangalore.

Route to Haddinakallu:

Take the arch 7.5kms post  Yediyur town. Temple arch welcomes you to the divine place. From here, 3-4kms on well surfaced road leads you to haddina kallu. Looks like the road is newly laid on occasion of Shravana Masa and google map was not aware. Whether new or old, I was surprised to see map showing maze than straight one. Never rely on maps which goofs up the rural path. Algorithms are really not good at providing proper guidance in rural roads. Seek local's help whenever you feel lost.

Mythological importance:

There was huge rush and hence could not speak to priest on mythological significance of this place

Conclusion:

Haddinakallu is worth visiting both from hiking and divinity perspective. It feels a sense of satisfaction when you have darshan of beloved Anjaneya swamy. The strenuous hike seems naught once you behold the divine lord.

Lot of vendors sell cucumber, water-melon, ice-creams, churmuri. Watermelon was great in taste. Many vendors carry the pooja related items till the summit. Do not bargain with them and honor their hard-work.

Enjoy the beautiful views from summit. The lake overlook with sky-cloud play is simply majestic sight to behold.

Even though barefoot hike is floundering, I suggest you try leaving footwear before hike to respect sanctity of religious location.

Entire trail is grossly disheveled with plastic waste. People sell water-melon, cucumber in plastic containers. Please carry the plastic waste than tossing nearby.

The vendors may not be available apart from busy days like Shravana Shanivara. Hence make sure you pack your bags with enough solid and liquid food.

Related blog on Google map goof up: ಶ್ರೀ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರ ಹದ್ದಿನಕಲ್ಲು ಯಾತ್ರೆ

Hope you enjoyed our virtual journey. Here is short glimpse of the hike and temple sightings.