It was winter in Bangalore. The months from December to March are the best times to go trekking up hills. One of the treks we did in this period was to the Sri Shiva Nanjundeshwera Temple. And the temple is located on top of a hill.
The temple is located around 60 kms from our home. The drive took us around 1 hour and we reached around 7:30am. We parked our car and scanned around. There were only a few motorcycles parked. This was a good sign as it meant there would hardly be any people around. The temple is also only open on Saturdays, if I am not wrong. And since we were not there on a Saturday, this also meant we could expect lesser number of visitors.
Looking around, immediately in front of the vehicle parking area, we could see the path to go up the hill.
And the climb looked reasonably steep. Well, we were here to climb 🙂 . So off we went.
We soon reached an area where we were beginning to get above the tree cover. Here we got our first aerial views of the area.
You can see that there were railings put on the rock that we were climbing. And they helped. Some portions were pretty steep. So using the railing to pull oneself up was necessary.
Heading on from this section and we soon reached a portion, looking up from which, we could see a statue of the Lord Shiva and his consort. The statue is under the covered area in the pictures below.
Soon we reached there. Here is a clearly view of it.
And here is the view when looking down from there.
We headed on upwards to the top of the hill.
And we finally reached the top of the hill and got our first view of the temple.
We decided to explore the area around the temple. Here are some images from there.
We could hear a few youngsters as we walked around. But they soon headed back down. So it was eventually just us 😀 . And with such a brilliant weather, we had to stick around for more time.
After spending around 45 minutes soaking in the environment, we too decided to head back down. Here are some photos from the trek back down.
As we reached mid way, it started to slightly drizzle. And by the time we neared the bottom, it became a strong drizzle. Thankfully we were able to get into our car soon after.
Recommendations
This is a gem of a location to get a bit of a workout, especially on a winter morning. So any one interested in hiking at a place not too far from Bangalore should definitely consider doing it. Here are some tips based on our experience:
- Start the trek early morning. Most of the hike up is on a rock. So if it is sunny, I am fairly sure that it will get hot pretty fast.
- I would say that, if you have a choice, do it in the winter months, like we did. You would also get a misty morning, the way we did. And that adds to the overall experience.
- The climb up is pretty steep. One has to pull oneself up using the railing in some sections, to some extend. So consider your fitness level before you to attempt this trek up.
- Wear proper shoes.
- Take some water and maybe a small snack with you. We did not see any shops in the vicinity. You should however be able to find a few some distance away.
- It is a religiously place. So please be mindful and respectful of this.
- If you wish to visit when the temple is open, then I think Saturday would be the best day.
Directions
Below is the starting point of the hike up the hill. You can easily find parking for your vehicle here.
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