Mandaragiri - Colourful Weekend Getaway from Bangalore

Mandaragiri, located around 60kms from Bangalore is the perfect place for weekend getaway from the capital city. It's the versatility of the place that would impress any traveller the most. The place being well known amongst the localities by name Basadi Betta, is beaming its popularity with the travellers and on the social media. Here is a short blog about the place with all travel details and major attractions to catch up.

How to Reach: Travel from Bangalore via NH-47 highway towards Tumkur, to reach a small village junction by 60kms named Panditanahalli. Take right and proceed for about one kilometer through village roads. At the last stretch it's a left turn for 200mts to reach the destination. The place is accessible with all kind of vehicles with good roads and has a huge parking area as well.

If you are taking public transport, say frequently available KSRTC buses from Bangalore, Panditanahalli junction is a Stop On Request place. You can hire an auto-rikshaw from the junction.

Best time to visit: This is one such place which is good to visit throughout the year at all seasons. To make the most of your visit, I would suggest to reach the place by late afternoon.

How much time? The place has couple of more attractions apart from the hugely celebrated Peacock temple. It would take around 3-4 hours to enjoy the bliss of this location including some lovely sunset scenes.

The Classic Bahubali Statue: The first lovely sight to greet you at the destination would be a huge classical Bahubali statue on a spacious grassland. Keep in mind, this destination is predominantly a Jain religious centre & all the structures represent Jain culture and traditions. This Bahubali statue was one of the first structure to be built here. The 30ft. monolithic statue carved out with detailed executions and precision is really a sight to behold. The calmness on the face of Bahubali is really soothing.

The Fame of Peacock Temple: Right next to the Bahubali statue is the most celebrated and the colourful attraction of the place, the peacock temple. Well, it's actually a temple dedicated to a Jain Thirthankara. But the unique and marvellous architecture style of temple to represent the peacock feathers in a beautiful and colourful way, has earned itself a nickname 'Peacock Temple' with the travellers.

The Temple is a curvy pyramid structure, symmetrical throughout its circumference. The inside of the temple is almost hollow except for a beautiful, radiant, pure white statue of Jain Thirthankara right at the centre and few posters on the walls. If you wish to visit inside the temple, its open only during early morning hours and late evening hours after sunset.

For sure, it's one of the most photogenic places you can come across which can give rich dividends to your creative photography skills. Anyhow, be aware that photography is restricted inside the temple and subjected to few conditions outside the temple as well by security guards to make sure travellers behave decent and preserve the sanctity of the place while taking photos.

A short hike to top of Basadi Hills: Around 300mts from Peacock Temple, is a short and beautiful trek destination, Basadi Hills. It's a monolithic hill stretching with nearly 400 steps laid from bottom to the top. It's an easy trek for 15mins, but it's still required to wear right footwear and avoid flipflops or heels on the slippery boulders.

There are three things that would catch your attention here. Firstly, it would be the cityscape view through your course of trek. Covered with lots of greenery in the foregrounds of beautiful structures, the Bahubali statue and the Peacock temple would make your hike lot less tiring and more enjoyable. Secondly, it's the serene view of Mydala lake to other side of the hills from the top. This lake has the fame of being filled with water throughout the year across all seasons. The lake view from the top of the hills is quite breath-taking. The straight spread mountain backdrops, the clean and placid lake waters and lots of greenery makes it a pleasing sight.

Then the last and most beautiful one would be to catch those amazing sunset views from the top of the hills. If you are lucky enough to be here on a clear sky day, this is the spot to witness one of the best sunsets. The sun goes down in the direction behind to peacock temple and catching the bird's eye view of it from the top of the hills is truly magnificent.

Apart from these three, the spacious hilltop is filled with tons of peace and serenity. Its windy here on most of the days and you can feel the air carrying the calmness all around. It goes without saying, that it would be the best suited place for some romantic time with your partner😊

Serene Lake View of Mydala: This is something which most of the people would miss out here. But trust me, this place is definitely not to be skipped. This would be the same lake you can see from the top of the hills. But what's interesting is that you can actually reach to the lake bund on your vehicle. At the foothills of the Basadi Betta you will find a small muddy road to the right side, where starting point is marked with huge arch. Follow that muddy road for about a kilometer through with some real off beat driving experience to reach the Mydala Lake bund, almost the lake waters!

Reaching the lake would feel like one hell of an adventurous ride. But once you reach the lake it's again lots of peace in the surrounding. It can be a perfect place to spend time with family and enjoy some conversation & food sitting right next to lake waters. You can also take a walk on the stretch of the lake on the well laid bund. But its highly advisable to leave the place after sunset, before it gets dark and remember that lake is not suited for swimming.

Things to know before your visit:

1. The place has only one petty shop with very limited snacks available. If needed, carry food, snacks and mandatorily enough water on your own.

2. The place is safe enough for solo travelling. The Bahubali statue and Peacock temple are usually occupied with visitors all the days.

3. Though it's an offbeat village area, there is good network coverage throughout the place. If needed, you can always reach out on phone for any quick help.

4. It's a budget friendly place, costing you almost nothing, except for the parking fee of 40rs for 4 wheelers.

Nearby Attractions:

1. Shivagange Hills: Travelling from Bangalore, 10kms before you reach Mandaragiri you would come across another beautiful trekking destination, famous for its religious significance with historical background, Shivagange, popularly known as Dakshina Kashi. You can plan your visit on such a way, to visit this hill for morning hike and then reach Mandaragiri post lunch. That would surely be one of the best one day outing you can take from Bangalore.

2. NamadaChilume & Devarayanadurga: This is still the best of the attractions in Tumkur. These two places are like the whole package any traveller would look for. In the middle of lush green state reserve forest, these two places offer anything a traveller would look out for, nature, adventure, trekking, hiking, history, temples and beautiful sunset views. But covering both Mandaragiri and these two places in one day is not feasible. But if you plan to stay overnight, these places can mark perfect destinations for second day of your trip.

3. Chennakeshava Temple of Kaidala: The Chennakeshava Temple of Kaidala is real treat for any architecture and history lovers. The place is worth of a short visit of 1-2 hours if you can manage the time around. Refer my earlier Blog Post on Kaidala for complete details of this place.

Take Away: The satisfaction of a perfect weekend. Peace, tranquillity and magical scenes of sunsets.

Escape the loud traffics of the city and head towards to peaceful destination. Soak yourself in the calmness of lake waters. To top it, the place will never disappoint you to give sweetest of the pictures. Let your Instagram rock it😊