After ages and ages of dreaming and lusting finally I got my new Thunderbird on Friday, the 8th of July, 2011. The condition of my previous bike was very poor and a 20km ride to office was enough to kill its engine. On top of that for the last 2 months I'm going through a phase when I'm staying at least 14 hrs a day in office. Getting my new bike in a midst of this was like a bliss for me. I was itching to get on my new bike and go out somewhere. But where?? I cant put too much strain on the bike before its first service. So I was looking for some place about 50-60km away from Bangalore, where I can spend some quality time away from office and ride my bike too.
On Saturday (yet another office day) I came to know about a place named Shivagange. This looked like a good place to go to. After a quick inquiry on the net I decided to go to Shivagange on Sunday.
Normally we'll find all the old temples on hilltops, where people view God being placed on top of all in the midst of nature. The steps to reach the top are carefully carved on rocky hills as most of the hard stone mountains rocks contain water. Shivagange in Karnataka is a very fine example of such a place.
This is a hillock which looks like the shape of the Shiva Linga from one of its sides. There are spring water spots found on this hillock, it is believed that the water is "Gange". Hence the name "Shivagange". Just about 60kms from Bangalore, near Dobbspet, Tumkur district this hillock is ideal location for a one day trek. Also it is a holy place which is known as "Dakshina Kashi".
The hillock has few temples atop and a statue of Nandi carved out of single stone is a beauty. It is about 2km from the bottom of the hillock and there are many temples all along the way. The place being a huge collection of boulders and solid granite rock structures, it invites not just pilgrims but rock climbers and adventure lovers as well, and sometimes just frustrated office goers like me looking for a small getaway from office. Though there are no bolted routes, there is plenty of climbing. Unlike other trekking places where one has to put a lot of strain on the body, this is more of a step climbing pursuit.
The places is mostly crowded all the time, thanks to the temples. At the same time its because of this crowd that one can find the place very dirty and full of garbage, plastic being thrown everywhere.
But once you reach the top its worth the effort. The view from the top is just awesome, something that one cannot capture in a photograph. This was my first trip with my new DSLR too, so I ended up taking loads of photograph, mostly panoramic. Though I screwed up most of the pics it was a good learning experience for me.
Trip Details
Bangalore to ShivagangeBike - Thunderbird
Rider/Photographer - Alok
Route - Took the Outer Ring Road to Tumkur Road, where I took a left towards Nelamangala. After that there are two ways to go to Shivagange. You can either go straight on NH4 and take a left near Ramanagar Main Road to Shivagange (around 5 km village area), or you can take a diversion at Nelamangala and go through the village area (around 20km). I took the second route and it was a wise decision if you're out to enjoy the beauty of the road.
Total Distance covered - Approx 120 km
Date of Trip - 10 Jul, 2011
Road Condition - Not bad considering I was on village road. Most of the road was well paved with occasional pot holes. But the surroundings kind of made up for the road.
Near Nelamangala, on the way to Shivagange
I had crossed Nelamangala around 7am. Well the route from Nelamangala to Shivagange was very picturesque, and I ended up stopping every five minutes to take a photograph. It took me around 2 hours to cover the 20 km route, not because the road was bad or anything like that, but because I just didnt want to leave that road. Even though the sky was clear the sun was still not very hot and the weather was cool. This added to the riding experience on that road.
I ended up taking a few pano pics of the area, though I dont think I've done enough justice to the beauty of the place.
After sometime I remembered that I was headed towards Shivagange. When I saw the time it was already around 9 am. The first thought that came to my mind was that I'm lost. It cant take me 2 hours to cover such short distance. I saw a villager coming towards me and tried to ask him the way to Shivagange. Well I don't know Kannada and he didn't knew Hindi, and it seems he himself had a lot of questions about me and my bike. He kept pointing towards my bike and saying something in Kannada. After a lot of animated discussion it seemed to me he was praising my love. I could make out one word that he said - sundara. In the end he too understood what I was asking and told me (rather showed me) to go straight. After shaking hands with him I moved forward.
Still looking for the way to Sivagange I came across this sign. I recognized it as I had seen on the net and knew instantly that I've reached the place.
Like most other tourist spots this "VILLEGE" also has an entrance fees for the outsiders. I parked my bike outside the temple and went up the stairs. Thus began my ascent.
On your way up you'll find lots of small beautifully carved temples and ruins.
After leaving the main temple it was more of climbing up the stairs. After sometime when I looked back was just amazed by the greenery of the place. Took yet another pano over there.
While climbing you'll encounter all kinds of stairs
Plain rocks with hand rails
Uneven Stairs
No Stairs and no support
Crooked rocks with no support
As you climb up you'll see that the area is infested by monkeys.
Halfway through the climb you'll find a very big open air statue of Shiva and Parvati.
Few more pano from there
From there when I looked up I still had to climb these.
The climb was really steep, and I was really very tired by then.
My heart said - "Lets do it"
Mind said - "Will be tough, but the experience will be good"
Body said - "Damn you Alok, if you even think about doing it"
Ultimately in the battle between mind and body, mind won and I moved forward (rather upward).
After climbing for some more time I reached the Nandi statue.
View from the top
Nandi at the top
From there when I look down this much distance I had climbed. Circle marked 1 is the point where Shiva-Parvati's idol was and the circle marked 2 is the main stop where I had parked my bike. After crossing the Shiva-Parvati idol the climb is very steep and more exciting.
After staying onthe top for sometime it was time to bid good-bye to the view and climb down. Climbing down was more difficult, though it was much faster and it was time for me to keep my camera back in my bag.
Overall Experience:
Very tiring, but its worth the effort. Try to go there early morning to avoid sun and keep some water and food with you. Some people were climbing with their shoes on, but most were bare footed like me. If you want to visit the temple at the base of the hill then you'll have to leave your footwear down only. So carry some thick socks with you, to protect your feet.
I wouldn't recommend the climb for people with heart problem or those afraid of height. Otherwise I saw many old people (both men and women) climbing all the way to the top. Guess thats the kind of energy one get out of faith and belief in god.
If you love trekking or climbing, this is one good place to be around Bangalore, irrespective of your religious belief.
Thanks for going through this log. Happy touring to all.
Cheers.
Alok
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