Calm and mesmerizing visit to Hassan and Sakleshpur (Karnataka )

I first came to know of Sakleshpur after seeing a Karnataka tourism advertisement of a beautiful star shaped fort called the Manjarabad fort. The aerial view of an 8 pronged star looked mesmerizing and I wanted to explore it with immediate effect.

I learnt upon researching that Sakleshpur is a hill station situated in the beautiful Hassan district situated at an elevation of 3136 feet above sea level. It is flanked by the Western ghats on the western edge and washed by the Hemavati river ( a tributary of kaveri) to the east. The green hills are dotted with coffee, cardamom and pepper plantation.

Along with all these qualifications ti was a weekend getaway from Bangalore. Now is that not a complete package?

Our choice of stay during this visit was Hassan which is a mere 180 kms from Bangalore via NH75.
This is a relatively easy drive . Always advisable to leave early.

This was a lovely property managed by a very thoughtful staff. It is spread over considerable acreage
with lot of greenery around. They have a kitchen running and we ordered lunch which they delivered to the room. We sat relishing it in the lawn opposite the room with birds providing the background music and lots of greenery around us. I liked how secluded this property was , away from the hustle and bustle. That is what one needs once in a while.

After having tea the agenda for the day was to checkout the Hemavati Project/Gorur dam built across the Hemavati river and also to visit the Shettihalli rosary church which I heard get partially submerged during the monsoon when people use coracles to reach it. No such luck for me as I visited during the month of Janurary.

We took the help of google maps to reach the dam.

The guard here let us take a walk inside. The dam is visible at the end of the road.

Gorur dam is built across the Hemavati river and the project was completed in 1979. This provides drinking and irrigation water to people of this area.

This is about 25 odd kms from Hassan. I believe there are 2 temples located nearby which are popular :  Paravasudeva and Yoganarasimha which we gave a miss this time. But i do plan to visit this area in the monsoon season where I will visit all the missed out areas.

Next was the Shettihalli Rosary Church which was another 15km ahead of the dam.Again google maps helped us to the location No photograph can do justice to this derelict church.

This church was built in 1860 by the french missionaries. This church got abandoned after the completion of the Hemavathi dam around 1960. Now it lies in a derelict state which adds to its mystique and charm. During the monsoons it gets submerged in the backwater and is also called the submerged or floating church. The Gothic architecture is worth the dekko.

I could see some locals who had come to take a dip in the water. Also some people seemed to be in a doped state which deterred me from wandering inside the ruins to take a closer look.

After doing some photography of this piece of history which was nothing short of a Hollywood movie we decided to return to the hotel.

The next day was reserved for visiting the much awaited Manjarabad fort and a 600 year old Betta Byreshwara temple.

The Manjarabad fort is about 6 kms from Sakleshpur bus stand.

I could not find any board marking the entrance to Manjarabad fort. There were series of shops where the google map announced that we have reached the destination. On the side of the road we saw the entrance to the fort which was a ramp like structure culminating in a series of 250 odd steps which were a steep gradient in some areas putting pressure on the respiratory system. If you are not well exercised and feel the pressure would advise you to take frequent stops, catch the breath and then move on.

This is the aerial view of the temple and needless to say the octagonal structure is awe inspiring.
This fort was built by Tipu Sultan in 1792 when he was the ruler of Mysore fighting against the British but aligned with the French. The french engineers helped in the construction of this European style star shaped fort.

Tipu on seeing the fort engulfed in fog named it Manjara which got corrupted from the word Manju which means fog or mist in Kannada.

Ensure you carry a hat, water bottle and slather on some sun protection cream and good pair of shades. It can be quite hot with scorching sun if you visit on a sunny day as we did. Though maintained by department of Archaeology this place is not geared up for tourism as there was not even a basic board marking its entrance. It is a piece of architectural and historical marvel having stood the test of time and can bring in lots of tourists if well promoted.

This could be the depiction of the fort which is an 8 pronged star.

Why do we ruin our structured by placing our initials ? Very upsetting to see.

The external walls of structure is made of granite and lime mortar and the interiors like the storage, armoury are made out of fired bricks.

Time to move on to Betta Byreshwara temple.

This was a beautiful drive which took us through the home stay dotted area of Sakleshpur which was about 35 kms ride from Sakleshpur town. Again google maps helped but this time around we did get lost a bit and had to take help from a local chap who was very helpful.

The road around the temple was under construction . We parked the car a km short walked down to be greeted again by some steps which had to be negotiated to reach the top.

The first sight of the temple is quite mesmerizing.

This temple is about 600 years old and lies nestled in the thickly wooded forests of the Western ghats.
The place was serene and a sense of calm fell over me. I just wanted to sit here and soak in the atmosphere.

Very rarely one is so in tune with the surrounding environment. Think it was the aura of the temple and the beautiful woods around me.

This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva.and is  located atop the Pandavar Gudda Hill.

Had the hubby not nudged me to move I would have kept sitting there soaking in the heavenly atmosphere. It was time to move on and return to base.

Back to base at Hassan I kept pondering how Hassan being the ruling seat of Hoysala empire in the medeival times offered many architectural wonders in the shape of temples and other religious sites.
On the way back to Bangalore the next day we discovered another treasure trove nestled amidst a nondescript village . One could never have thought that such beauty lied amidst such rustic environs.

This is the Bucesvara temple located about 10 km away from the city in Koravangala hamlet.

The beauty of this temple will surely take your breath away.

This temple was built during the 12th century by an  officer in the Hoysala army in order to facilitate the coronation of the king.