Day trip: Kambadahalli and Hosaholalu

Despite having done a bike ride to and from BR Hills a few days back, having the whole week off meant that another was always on the cards. This time S signed up. I had come across the Jain Basadi of Kambadahalli from @drvivekm‘s instafeed. Googling revealed that this was one of the oldest structures standing in that area, having been built around 900-1000 AD. Most of the Hoysala temples tend to be a few centuries younger. The oldest would be the ones on top of Chandragiri in Shravanabelagola. It’s also been a while since I went there!

Anyway, the start was later than my preferred pre-7:30 AM. Winter and S having to ride all the way from beyond Indiranagar meant that an early start wouldn’t be feasible. We left from my place at 8:25 AM and rode down to Swati Delicacy near Yediyur for the breakfast stop. Despite being heavily crowded we managed to find a table, and I didn’t  have to fight for an own table as is the case when am on solo rides.

Post breakfast we rode down towards Hirisave and took a left where it said Bindiganavile. There was also another board saying “Kambadahalli 19KM.” These days when roads get widened and people end up losing the old sign boards and milestones, it was a welcome sight! The road alternated between awesome, ok, okayish, to watch-out for potholes without ever degenerating to a bone rattler. We reached the road from Belagola to Nagamangala and took a right there. A road went to the right which announced Kambadahalli at 1 KM, but we did not take that. The next right had an arch with Jain insignia and icons all over it. This was our turn. Within a Km of this turn, the Jain structure loomed on our right.

The first structure you see is the pillar. There were inscriptions on it, but we could not date it. This might have been a later addition too. Later meaning from the Hoysala period.

Day trip: Kikkeri and Hosaholalu

One of the things I like about twitter is that it brings obscure places that are right there in your backyard to your notice. Among the places that have been put on my list are the Lepakshi temple and Hosaholalu. While checking on Hosaholalu I also came across a couple of Hoysala temples near Kikkeri. Given this, and being a big fan of the region around Shravanabelagola-Belur-Halebid, it wasn’t too long before I planned a bike ride to Kikkeri and Hosaholalu.

The plan was to leave early in the morning by 7:30 and get back by 4-ish. Trouble with this region is that you need to get most things done between breakfast and lunch due to the lack of good food options there. This usually means that you’re always home by 4 or 4:30 PM. Anand, as always, signed up to the plan and we set the date for Sunday, 26th April. By Saturday evening, thanks to the rains every evening and feeling guilty about the general lack of usage on the car, I suggested driving down in my car. It had done around 900 Kms in the last 4 months, and I really wanted to put some usage on it. Of course, it also ensured calmer minds and less resistance at both homes.

I left promptly after 7 and was at Anand’s place by 7:15. After saying hello to his 2mo sleeping nephews, we left at close to 7:30 AM. The NICE road was discussed and decided against and the normal ORR-Tumkur road was chosen. Helps that I like driving so close to the Metro line on Tumkur Road. The first change I noticed from the usual bike rides was the need to stand in long queues at toll booths. You also have to deal with assorted vendors(much smaller problem) and eunuchs(bigger problem). The toll booths were done with, the left taken at Nelamangala and we were promptly on our way, buying a 2-way ticket only near Yediyur as the plan was to return via Nagamangala and Magadi, hitting the Highway only near Bellur Cross for lunch.

Breakfast was had at the ever-reliable and every-time-more-expensive Swati Delicacy right after Kunigal. We reached Shravanabelagola before 10 and had found the road to Kikkeri soon after. Now, this was the tricky part as we didn’t know how good the road would be. Turned out that it was wide enough for 2 vehicles with a nice black finish. So we happily cruised the 13 Kms to get to Kikkeri. Google maps and a couple of questions to locals helped us get to the Brahmeshwara temple which was nestled away behind a nice village with houses that have wooden pillars and the sitting platform in front.

Entrance- Brahmeshwara Temple, Kikkeri

From Kikkeri Hosaholalu – April 2015