My husband and I went to this hill on 19th, August 2020 on our bike. It was 82 kms from my house, so it's about 2 hour drive away from Bangalore. We started at 7:30 AM from our house and reached by 9:30 AM.
Location:
Tumkur, easily accessible through Maps.
Known for: A betta or hill with earmarked steps for climbing, a quaint beautiful lake behind the main hill, Jain Mahaveer temple.
We parked our bike near the temple, visited the tall Mahaveer statue and the unique architecture of the peacock temple. Mandaragiri hill is situated just near this temple and we started the small hike towards the top. Steps to the top are well earmarked and quite easy. Views while climbing this hill are breathtaking. It could be the dry spell of travel and trekking that made this trip even more beautiful.
We got down the hill, made our way to the calm, serene lake just by the hill towards right and found the entire lake to ourselves. We spread out our picnic basket and enjoyed home made Puliyogere. It was quite surreal when two peahens just casually strolled away at a distance.
Post meal, we changed bases to a spot much closer to the lake. We sat by the serene lake, watched ducks diving in and out of waters, heard colorful birds singing tunes and noone around to disturb this beautiful moment.
It was quite rejuvenating to travel after five months and Mandaragiri betta is a perfect place to resume traveling.
