Karnataka, a state of great history and tourist places (Part IV)

Contd. from Pàrt III

Karnataka: 

Beaches

Karwar has a number of beaches like Blue Lagoon Beach, Ladies Beach around it and Rabindranath Tagoredescribed his experiences at Karwar beach in his poetry. Om beach,Murdeshwara are other beaches ofUttara Kannada Dist. The Nethrani Island near Murdeshwara. Basavaraja Durga near Honavar is an island fort raised by the Keladi Rulers during 16th and 17th centuries. It is surrounded by a strong fortification raised by gigantic laterite blocks and the hill has a flat top. Devagad and Kurmagad are two islands near Karwar. {Nirvana beach} at Kagal village of Kumta is a 5 km long beach in one stretch with white sand and transparent water in the month of December till March. The entire beach coast line is covered by Casuarina and coconut trees, unparallel to any beach of India, and has the big potential to develop beach tourism like the Baga-Calangute-Candolim beach of Goa. Government of Karnataka and tourism department has failed in tapping this potential, where as Goa has left Karnataka much behind in beach tourism. There is an urgent need to do something in this direction to allow beach tourism on the same model of Goa in the months of September to may.

South Karnataka

South Karnataka is a unique combination of spectacular vesara styleHoysala architecture, colossal Jain monuments, colonial buildings and palaces of the Kingdom of Mysore, impregnable fort at Chitradurga and densely forested wildlife sanctuaries that offer some of the best eco-tourism available in the country. Belur, Halebiduin Hassan District, Somnathpura inMysore District, Belavadi, Kalasa andAmrithapura in Chikmagalur District,Balligavi in Shimoga District offer some of the best of Hoysala architecturedating from the 11th to 13th centuries, while Shravanabelagola in Hassandistrict and Kambadahalli in Mandya District have well known 10th-centuryJain monuments. Scenic forests and the high density of wild animals of this region are a popular attraction for those interested in the wilder side of life.Bandipur National Park, Nagarahole,Biligirirangan Hills, Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary and Bannerghatta national parks are a few popular places for jungle safaris.

The river Kaveri flows east from Kodagu District and along its way one finds important tourist destinations likeShivanasamudra and nearbySivasamudram Falls,

Srirangapattana and Melkote etc.Mysuru, the cultural capital of the state is home to palaces, colonial buildings and cultural activities including Carnatic music, theatre. Bengaluru the capital is a cosmopilitian city with parks, pubs, restaurants, shopping and fast paced technology rich lifestyle.

• Bengaluru: the capital of Karnataka has many tourist attractions.
• Belur: Home to the Hoysala temple complex. The Chennakeshava temple here was completed in 1116 by Hoysala Vishnuvardhana. The image is 3.7 mtr tall and the temple standing on a platform has exquisite plastic art work on its outer walls and bracket figures of dancing girls in various poses in perfect proportion. There are shrines of Kappe Chenniga Andal, Saumya Nayaki etc. The temple here is a classic example of Hoysala art, and Belur was one of the Hoysala Capitals.
• Halebidu: It is 27 km from Hassan, was capital of Hoysala and it was formerly called as Dwarasamudra. It has one of the finest Hoysala temples said to have been started by Ketamalla, a commander of Vishnuvardhana in 1121. The twin Shiva Temples with a common platform and two garbhagrihas, one houses for Vishnuvardhana Hoysaleshwara Linga and the other for Shanthaleshwara Linga. In front of Hoysaleshwara is the Nandimantapa and behind that is shrine of Surya with a two-meter-tall image. Outer walls have rows of intricate figures narrating episodes from epics like Ramyana, Mahabartha, and Bhagavata.
• Arasikere: It is 41 km from Hassan and 176 km from Bangalore. It has coconut gardens. There is a Kattameshwara temple here which is also called Chandramoulishwara and referred to as Kalmeshwara in the records. It is a fine Hoysala monument with a rare polygonal frontal Mantapa with special design. There is a fine Haluvokkalu Temple and also a Sahasrakuta Jinalaya. Malekal Tirupathi near Arasikere has a venkataramana temple visited by many devotees.
• Aralaguppe: There is a Kalleshwara temple in the Ganga-Nalamba style of the 9th century. Its ceiling has a dancing Shiva sculpture with musical accompanists and eight Dikpalas surrounding him with all their paraphernalia. There is a Chennakeshava temple of the Hoysala style. An image of Vishnu lies in the garbhagriha. There are four Ganga temples.
• Madhugiri: It is 43 km from Tumkur and has a large hill fort. The ancient name of the place is Maddagiri. It has a temples of Venkataramana and Malleshwara built by Vijayanagara feudatories. There is also a Mallinatha basadi. The fort has gateways called Antaralada Bagilu, Diddibagilu, Mysore Gate etc. 19 km from here is another hill fort called Midigeshi.
• Sira: It is 52 km from Tumkur. The town called Siriya was founded by Rangappa Nayaka of Ratnagiri. The Jumma masjid here is a fine monument built in 1896 and the Malik Rihan's tomb is another impressive structure. The Gopalakrishna temple here has no image, and it is said to be housed in Narayana temple. 24 km from south of Sira there is a place called Seebi, which was called as Sibburu and there is aNarasimhaswamy temple built in the 18th century by Nallappa an officer under Haider Ali. The temple is painted with themes of Ramayana, Mahabharatha and Dashavatara themes.
• Ramanathapura: This is place in Hassan district around 50 km from Hassn. It is on the bank of Kaveri river. It is home to the Rameshwara, Aghastheshwara, Subramanya and Pattabi Rama temples.
• Yediyur:It is 30 km from Kunigal. It has a samadhi matha of Tontada Siddhalingahwara Yati, a Veerashaiva saint who lived during 16th century. Pilgrims who visit the place in hundreds daily are fed free, and there are rest houses. The matha has fine wooden chariot with some interesting sculptures. The place has a Varadarja temple and two Veerashaiva mathas. The matha's building has some old paintings on walls.
• Madikeri / Mercara: Known as Scotland of India, Mercara has enchanted millions of travellers with its misty hills lush forests, coffee plantations and breath taking views. It is also known for its lovely climate. It has many places of attraction such as Tala Cauvery, Nagarahole National Park, Abbe Water Falls, Bagamandala, Cauvery Nisargadhama, Belegiri Hills, Thadiyanda Murali Kund, IgguthappaTemple, Irupu Falls And Coffee & Tea Estates.
• Srirangapattana: It is 14 km from Mysore & it is an island in between two branches of the Cauvery. It was also the capital of the mysore rulers. There is a Ranganath temple here. The fort here was built in 1454. The Mysore rules made it their capital in 1610 in the days of Raja Wodeyar, who took it from the Vijayanagara Governor. The Ranganatha temple is called Adi Ranga. Ganjam has Dariya Daulat palace of Tipu and Gumbaz, the mausoleum of Haider and Tipu. Both are impressive structures of Indo-Saracenic style. The palace has paintings, fine wood work and it houses a museum.
• Melukote: It is a religious centre which attracts lakhs of people during its annual feast Vairamudi. The temple was reconstructed in the Hoysala style by Visnuvardhana with the guidance of Ramanujacharya, a Visistadvaitist, in the 11th century. There are Cheluvanarayanaswamy temple, Kalyani, Hill shrine of Lord Narasimha, Thottilamadu, Dhanuskoti, Academy of Sanskrit Research and many more to visit. The nearest tourist places are Thondanur, Srirangapatna, Karigatta, Nagamangala etc.,
• Maddur: It is 20 km from Mandya and it is headquarters of this district. It is described in records as "Arjunapuri agrahara", the institution being ascribed to epic hero Arjuna. Madduramma is the village goddess of the place. The Narasimha Swamy Temple here of the Hoysalas has the figure of Narasimha, which is seven feet in height. The Varadaraja temple is a Chola structure with a 12 feet tall Varadaraja image.
• Mahadeshwara Betta: It is 220 km from Bangalore and 142 km from Mysore. It is very close to eastern Ghats. It is said that a saint called Mahadeshwara, who could ride a tiger, lived and had his gadduge here during the 14th and 15th centuries. The hill is full of thick forests and thousands of pilgrims visit the place.
• Talakadu: A Holy place on the banks of the Cauvery. It is full of sands, carried by the wind from the dried bed of the river. It was the second capital of the Gangas. They built the Pataleshwara and the Maruleshwara templeshere. Hoysala Vishnuvardhana built Kirti Narayana temple.

Temple complex on Chandragiri hill, Shravanabelagola

• Bhadravathi: It is an industrial town in Shimoga district 256 km away from Bangalore, which was earlier known as "Benkipura". There is a 13th-century Lakshminarayan Temple in Hoysala style. An iron and steel works, a cement factory and a paper factory are located on the banks of Bhadra river.
• Ikkeri: It was a capital town of the Keladi Nayakas from 1512, and a place is 2km from Sagara City. The Aghoreshwara temple is a 16th-century monument of great attraction. There is also a Paravathi temple nearby. Keladi is another place nearby, the original capital. It has the Rameshwara and Veerabhadra temples. There is also a museum.
• Sravanabelgola: It has a statue of Lord Bahubali. The place is an important Jain pilgrimage center and has a long history. The 17 meter high statue of Bahubali is said to be the tallest monolithic structure in the world. It overlooks the small town of Shravanbelgola from the top of the rocky hill known as Indragiri. One can reach this hill after ascending 614 rock-cut steps.
• Somnathpura: It is the home to one of the best examples of Hoysala temple architecture, the Kesava Temple.

Chennakesava Temple (Rear view),Somanathapura

Contd. .... Part V