We started on 25th Morning at 5.30 AM. It was foggy and visibility was very low. Drove towards Nelamangala and then towards Hassan. Stopped at Kamath, Udayapura for breakfast. This restaurant was serving good food once upon a time. Now the 'good food' part is history, but still it’s one of the best available hotels in that stretch. After reaching Hassan we drove straight towards Chikamagalur via Belur. You don’t have to enter Hassan city, take a bypass which joins Beluru road.
From Chikamagalur, Horanadu is around 96 kms. And the roads are not really in good shape. Reserve at least 2.5 hours for this journey. Ask for the directions whenever you have any doubt and then proceed as the roads are somewhat confusing. The roads take you through dense forests, curvy roads and Blue Mountains. It’s a wonderful drive.
We reached Horanadu temple at 2.20 PM after a drive of nearly 350 kms. This 'Annapoorneshwari' temple is famous for the 'prasada' available there - The stupendous and steaming hot lunch.
We took the 'darshana' and had lunch. It was the one among the tastiest lunch I ever had. After spending sometime there we started driving towards Sringeri. Sringeri is 66 kms from Horanadu. The roads have directions at some places. Take advice of locals on direction even at the slightest doubt. We reached Sringeri around 6 PM. One of our relative had booked a room for us. Washed ourselves and went to the 'Sharadamba' temple by 8 PM. The pooja gets over around 8.30 PM.
After the pooja is over, we had dinner in the temple and then proceeded towards 'Jagadguru's' residence on the other bank of river Tunga to see the pooja he offers to the goddess. This pooja will be continued till 10 PM. It’s a wonderful and peaceful sight to see, try not to miss this. Came back to the hotel and slept immediately.
Got up at 5.30 AM on 26th morning and went to the temple after freshening up. It’s a beautiful sight to see the temple shining to the early morning rays of sun. Had the darshana and went to 'Malahanikeshwara' temple which is located on top of a hill near the main temple.
We came back to the temple for the noon pooja, had lunch, packed our bags, loaded them in the car and left towards Dharmasthala at 3.30 PM. Dharmasthala is 105 kms from Sringeri. The road takes you through beautiful dense forests of 'Kuduremukha' range. The single road has sharp edges and huge potholes. To add to that the attitude of Bangalore registered vehicles coming from Dharmasthala was sad, they continued the same 'Bangalore attitude drive' and did not want to get down from the road to make way for other vehicles, if it is a Mangalore (KA 19) or Udupi (KA 20) registered vehicle, you will be amazed to see their road manners.
We reached Ujire (10 kms before Dharmasthala) by 6.30 PM and stayed at my Uncle's house nearby. Next (26th Dec) afternoon we went to the temple, stood in the queue for 4 hours, had darshana, had lunch and drove to our native place near Puttur at 5 PM.
It was 7.30 PM when we reached home.
We drove back to Bangalore on 4th Jan. Started from Sullya at 2 PM and reached Bangalore at 10 PM with 2 short breaks of 10 mins each and a 40 mins dinner break at Kamath, Ramanagara.
That’s all about travel now.
Some inputs on Indica Vista and I10 :
* Drove Indica Vista Quadrajet for 70 - 80 Kms. Vehicle is hardly 2 months and 2500 kms old. Observations : Rattles from somewhere behind the dashboard, Wiper not working, notchy gearshifts, wonderful engine, good pickup, great response, less cabin noise, road presence, space enough for a kabaddi court inside and a steering with good feedback.
* Drove I10 same day for 80 kms. Its 1.1 L fully loads with ABS, Airbags and even a sunroof. Observations: Need to take a lot of care in highways, with 4 people on board and AC on it needs proper planning to overtake even a bicycle, nice interiors, no rattling noises and a good City Car.
Route Taken:
Day 1:
Bangalore -> Hassan (190 Kms) -> Chikamagalur (140 kms) -> Horanadu (94 Kms) -> Sringeri (66 Kms)
Day 2:
Sringeri -> Ujire (105 Kms)
Day 3:
Dharmasthala -> Puttur (~50 kms) -> Native (~15 kms)
Drive Back to Bangalore:
Puttur -> Sullya -> Madikeri -> Kushala Nagara -> Ilavala -> Srirangapattana -> Mandya -> Bangalore
Vehicle: Innova
Photos:
Sringeri Temple : View 1
Sringeri Temple : View 2
A Crane at my home :
Spider Web :
