This entry is part of the series, In Search of the Elusive Tiger.»
This series captures the essence of my travels with my folks across Mysore» , Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta» , Bandipur» , Mudumalai» , Masinagudi» and Ooty» .
For me, it was the hope of spotting a tiger in the wild and some good photographs, apart from showing my folks this particular part of South India. For my folks, it was a break from the routine and the hustle bustle of Bangalore.
I hope you enjoy the journey that I will take you through.
After whatever little the guard at the dhaba» in Mysore told me about the mysterious samadhi» (read about it here »), we hit the road that would take us through Nanjangud» , Gundlupet» and Hangala» , where we had to take a right turn to climb Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta. After driving through a bad road (which was good in places) and innumerable, badly-designed road humps (speedbreakers they call them; backbreakers is what I call them!) we found a handicrafts shop with interesting curios that also sold spices. This served as a perfect break.
We then carried on to Hangala and took a right turn. Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta was 11 km away. The scene at the foothills was beautiful, with shepherds taking their sheep and cattle out to graze. We moved on further where we saw the forest gate.
“Sir, don’t worry, you’ll see elephants!”
This was what the guard manning the forest gate told me after I paid him the mandatory Rs.50 for the entry ticket. With the forest gate behind us and our eagerness to sight elephants, we drove uphill amidst debris of rocks that had fallen on the road due to the rains. Though we didn’t sight any elephants, we did see some day-old elephant dung.
We then arrived at the peak, which was crowded, milling with people who had come there to offer their prayers to Lord Krishna at the Venugopalaswamy Temple. We noticed that the Temple had undergone a paint job with yellow highlights that contrasted well with the blue sky above. There was a private pooja» going on in the Temple and the priest there told us that the Temple would open only after an hour or so.
With nothing much to do, I took a few pictures of the temple and of the adjoining hills. I soaked in the beauty of nature and felt the wind blowing. It was noticeably cooler here at the peak than at the foothills below. After spending some time here, we decided that we would carry on to Masinagudi and proceeded to drive down the hill towards Hangala.
Driving Experience: 6/10
- The highway from Mysore is relatively calm until Gundlupet.
- The road is bad with good stretches in between.
- There are innumerable road humps along the highway.
Watch Out For:
- Road humps (they creep up at the most unexpected moments)
- Motorists heading towards you from the other direction. Use the horn extensively.
- Cattle, sheep and humans trying to cross the highway at undesignated places
Look Out For:
- The handicrafts shop after Gundlupet
- Elephants while climbing the hill
Route Map
More From Vivek Dhage's Portfolio and Photoblog
- Leg 3: Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta to Masinagudi
- Leg 1: Bangalore to Mysore | Vivek Dhage's Portfolio and Photoblog
- Leg 2: Bandipur, Mudumalai, Masinagudi and Ooty
- Leg 4: Masinagudi to Ooty and back to Bangalore | Vivek Dhage's Portfolio and Photoblog
- Leg 4: Ooty to Bangalore | Vivek Dhage's Portfolio and Photoblog
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Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta, is a hill (betta in Kannada) located in the Chamarajanagar district of the state of Karnataka,at a height of 1454 m India and is extensively wooded. It is also the highest peak in the Bandipur National Park. It lies in the core area of the Bandipur National Park and is frequented by wildlife including elephants. Dense fog predominates and covers the hills round the year and thus gets the prefix Himavad(in the native language of Kannada) and the temple of Venugopalaswamy (Lord Krishna) gives the full name of Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta.
It is approximately 220 km from Bangalore and 75 km from Mysore on the Mysore Ooty road -10 km away from Gundlupet,which is 60 km away from Mysore. There is a motorable road all the way to the top of the hill. Entry fee is collected at the forest depeartment checkpost at foot of the hill. Visitors are allowed from around 6am till 5pm. Overnight stay on top is not allowed.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himavad_Gopalaswamy_Betta
Bandipur National Park is one of India’s best known sanctuaries, and is an important Project Tiger reserve. It is located in the Chamarajanagar district of southern Karnataka in South India, and is contiguous with the Mudumalai National Park in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu, the Wynad Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala, and the Nagarhole National Park to the northwest. It is home to around seventy tigers and over three thousand Asian elephants (as per the 1997 census), along with leopards, dholes, gaur and sloth bears. Bandipur is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandipur_National_Park
The Mudumalai National Park (currently, Mudumalai Tiger Reserve) lies on the northwestern side of the Nilgiri Hills (Blue Mountains), in Nilgiri District, about 80 km north-west of Coimbatore in the westernmost part of Tamil Nadu, on the interstate boundaries with Karnataka and Kerala states in South India.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudumalai_National_Park
Ooty, short for Ootacamund (officially, Udhagamandalam, sometimes abbreviated to Udhagai), is a town, a municipality and the district capital of the Nilgiris district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
It is a popular hill station located in the Nilgiri Hills and stands at an approximate height of 9,080 feet (2,767 m) above sea level.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ooty
In India and Pakistan, highways are dotted with local restaurants popularly known as dhabas (singular: dhaba). They generally serve local cuisine, and also serve as truck stops.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhaba
Nanjangud is a town in Mysore district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is a temple town and is on the banks of the river Kapila (a.k.a Kabini). It is at a distance of 23 km from the city of Mysore.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanjangud
Gundlupet is a town in Chamarajanagar district in the Indian state of Karnataka. This small town is about 56 km from the Mysore-Ooty / Mysore-Calicut(NH 212) road and about 200 km from Bangalore. It is the last town in Karnataka enroute to Ooty or Calicut.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gundlupet
Yes, they're my own pictures.
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Love the colours. Crisp! And the first pic is my fave.
You do seem to find the coolest places to shoot, evident by your shots! I love the first one as well, and the sheep on the bend. I think the perspective shot might be my fave here