Road Trip to Kukke Subramanya, Dharmasthala, Kudremukh, Kalasa, Horanadu - December 24th to 26th 2021

 

Road trip from Bangalore to Kukke, Dharmasthala, Kudremukh(enroute), Kalasa(Overnight stay), Horanadu, Sringeri, Bangalore- 2th December 2021 to 26^th December 2021)

 

Pre-Requisite

Good condition vehicle(good tyres and good braking system in brake shoes in condition for ghat driving, some snacks, fruits etc for binge(especially you have kids), preloaded Fast tag wallet, confirmed hotel bookings, some first aid medical kits,  travel sick bags or plastic covers if you are not used to ghats driving.

 

First place was – From Bangalore to Kukke Subramanya

 

We are a family of 5 and with our XUV(self driving) it was a calculated risk for me to leave Bangalore at 2 PM IST(afternoon), moreover it was my first visit to the temple.

Route – Bangalore – Neelamangala – Kunigal- Yediyur – Hassan – Shakleshpur – Gundiya(take a left at Gundiya from the Mangalore highway after Shakleshpur) – Kukke

Road condition

Silk roads 4 lane road till Hassan. We reached Hassan in 2.5 hours which is approximately 190 kms. We took a break for 20 minutes for eating our lunch(we packed in order to save time). Road after Hassan to Shakleshpura is not so great and with XUV it was manageable but with a smaller car or a sedan with less ground clearance you might need to be little slow. There are lot of potholes with heavy trucks and containers you cannot overtake easily on the single lane section stretch from Hassan to Gundiya.

The left detour from Gundiya to Kukke (21 kms), the road is a single lane silk road like a racing track but with bends. It was pitch dark and driving on this stretch looked like driving in a haunted village with just one or two vehicles seen. WE reached Kukke at 7.05 pm

Advise – If you can drive fast then plan your trip post lunch otherwise the ghats from Shakleshpur  has only truck traffic and not much of cars after 6.30 or 7 pm and you might not get any help if you suffer a flat tyre or any vehicle problems and no one will stop or can help since it a ghat  without any shops not even tea shops and it would be pitch dark with lot of bends. Take care to drive through in day time especially you are with family people, kids and infants.

Our place of Stay

We were 5 of us with 2 kids and one senior citizen(my mom). We had booked a family room for 5 of us with 5 beds at SLR Residency at Kukke. The rooms were excellent very big and clean and very close to the temple. You can walk in 5 minutes to the temple. One disadvantage is the 5 bedded rooms has only one bathroom for bathing and pooping. Tariff doesn’t include even breakfast. They have a very good decent vegetarian restaurant right in their ground floor where you can quench your hunger pangs. If you go after 8 pm for dinner then you might have less choices of food since they might run out depending on the ground but a good decent vegetarian place.

Temple Visit

If you don’t have any sevas’s planned or booked ones and wanted to have a normal darshan of the deity, then you can plan your visit at 6.15 am in the morning. Climate was cold and full of mist but manageable. The temple is 5 minutes’ walk from SLR residency.

Slipper stand -  You can walk with slippers till the entrance and on the right when you face the gopuram you have a slipper stand on a token basis. It cost 3rs per pair.

Darshan

 

Dress code - In case of Male you have to remove your shirts and banians. Trousers are allowed Avoid modern dress for women(Salwar and Sarees are allowed)

For Sevas there are allotted timings which you can check while booking or you can buy seva tickets at the entrance of the gopuram. We didn’t have any plans of any sevas, so we went and stood in the Queue which was less since it was 6.30 am IST. We wanted to avoid waiting for even 20 minutes due to Omicron/Covid scare and fear(the third wave cult which was the talk of the town and countries across the globe).

Once you enter the Gopuram on your left is the seva counter where you can buy 100 rs ticker per head.  For kids below 10 years of age it is free otherwise it is 100 rs per head. We had completed Darshan in 5 minutes. Once you come out of the main deity there are other sannidhis/sanctorium which you should not miss. Once you exit the main gopuram take your slippers and walk straight cross the gopuram(left side when you face the gopuram from the road before entering the gopuram), you have to walk 5 minutes for the ADI Subramanya darshan.

Once you are done with darshan walk back to the gopuram check for Kumara Krupa hotel for your breakfast, it was decent place to have food.

 

Our next place was Dharmasthala

 

Kukke to Dharmasthala

 

Route – The road is very good, you can reach Dharmasthala in 75 minutes. It is at a distance of 53 kms from Kukke

There is a small circle to Noojibalthila enroute to Dharmasthala. We met a known persona nd procured some pure forest honey, black pepper and some coconuts. You get lot of pure coconut oil unless you know people to buy. If you want to buy pepper or honey or coconut oil from a genuine person you can ping me at Subramanian.babu@gmail.com, I can provide the contact for purchasing.

 

Once you reach Dharmasthala, you have good parking facility which is very organized. Park your car walk with your slippers.

Slipper stand –

Once you walk towards the temple, there is a park to you right hand side, after you cross the park on the right hand side there is a sign post for slipper stand, they charge 3 Rs per pair.  the next door to the slipper place is the special entrance ticket(200 Rs per head)

Tips – If you reach Dharmasthala by 11 am IST, then it is the neivedya timing for the deity between 11 am – 12 noon and the Darshan is closed for an hour. But you can wait in the Queue since they open for darshan once again 12.05 pm.

For the 200 Rs ticket they give a small sweet packet as prasadam after you come out of the sanctum sanctorum

 We completed our darshan in an hours’ time and when you come out to your right is the place for food for brahmins. You must ask explicitly if you are a brahmin to have food separately. It is the same food served to all but in a separate place for doing rituals like pariseshanam before eating the food which is done by Brahmins who wear the holy thread.

At the brahmins place for food/prasadam( you have to check with the authorities for guidance to reach the place) you have to sit on the floor with folded legs to eat. If you are old or cannot eat sitting down then there are very few single wooden table and chair which they provide but not for all. Lunch is served from 12 noon till 3 PM.

We complete our visit at Dharmasthala  by 2 PM and started to Kalasa

 

Our next place – Kalasa via Kudremukh for couple of night stay

 

Dharmasthala to Kalasa – 150 KMS(Via Kanyadi, Ujire, Belthangady,kapinadka, Bajagoly, Kudremukh, Samse and finally kalasa)

One of the best routes to reach kalasa rather than taking the Charmadi ghat which is full of traffic. Roads are decent and bad at very few places but definitely worth the drive . Beautiful serene picturesque drive for 3 hours to reach Kalasa via Kudremukh which you should not miss. Even though this route takes 30 kms 30 minutes more than the Charmadi ghat route, you should definitely drive through Kudremukh to reach Kalasa otherwise you are missing many beautiful country side of the ghats.

Protocols to be followed before entering the Kudremukh section

You have a forest check post where you have to get down to register your vehicle number and contact details. They will give a bar coded tag with your vehicle details which needs to be handed over when you exit the other side of Kudremukh

You cannot go more than 40 kms speed if you try also you cannot go and it is a single lane through the dense forest area. Please do not stop your vehicle or get down since it is a single lane and not safe as well for other drivers. Enjoy the ride through the labyrinth roads which you will not regret for the scenery you witnessed for an hour in that route. At the exit check post you have to handover the bar coded tag. There are no charges for entering and exiting and even if someone asks you should not pay.

First sign of stoppage

After you cross the dilapidated building which are at the center point of kudremukh forest, on the left side of the road you will see two shops(tea shops like) the place is called jambala (if  I am  not wrong). You can see a hanging bridge across the river across which some 6 families live. It is a nice spot to have tea/Coffee buy cashews(probably negotiate on the price by 50 to 75 rs per kg). This Jamabala is some 17 kms before Kalasa. From that point you will hot a place called SAMSE full fo tea estate and photo point. We didn’t bother to stop so we reached Kalasa around 4.30 PM.

About our Place of Stay in Kalasa -  MUDRA Mid Town

This property is in the middle of the town/Kalasa village . Outside look gives you a feeling of commercial building but once you get in the apartments are awesome posh and nicely decorated by the owner Mr Vikram. He is a doctor by profession and runs this property as well. He is a nice person who will guide you to the point where you won’t feel left out

This property has 7 rooms/apartment type for families and bachelors to stay.The apartment where we stayed has washing machine kitchen, micro wave oven. It is a big two bedroom house which is aesthetically renovated for tourist people like us. They serve vegetarian food, and it is a very homely food which you have to tell in advance. For example dinner consisted of Akki roti or Roti/Chappathii you can chose both or either based on the quantity you tell them in advance, 2 gravies, one vegetable or palya for rasam and sambar rice, one pulav type rice and a sweet(vermicelli payasam) along with curd rice They serve complimentary Breakfast. Dinner is charged 250 rs per plate per person. You should not miss staying here. There are a bunch of places to see in Kalasa withing 5 kms which you should not be missing.

About the Kalasa, the place/town

This was my first visit to kalasa and a stay as well. I had my own set of premonitions and doubts about this place but later ended changing my opinion and thoughts.

According to me this town or so called a big village is alike a typical Agraharam of Tamil Nadu where you have temple on two ends of a street. Place where this property is situated resembled the same. It has the Kaalaseshwara temple, a traditional Hindu temple(which once again resembles temple of Tamil nadu architecture) on one end and another temple(which I could not visit) on the other side of the road. People as well looked conservative.

The temple rituals and religious slokas like Rudrama and Chamakam provides you the wakeup call alarm at 5.30 am in the morning especially since it was a Dhanur masa(December 15^th onwards) and devotees start thronging the Kalaseshwara and Horanadu temple in traditional dhoti and saree

I always like to explore the place by foot to understand the people, business, and their way of life. No doubt I can say this place is a hustling and bustling place to buy and sell Arecanut(Bettlenut), Spices like pepper, clove, Bay leaves(Brinji leaf), kadal paasi as called in tamil (kal uvaa in kannada and Marine algae in English). No doubt this this belt of entire ghats with has lot of areca nut farms enroute to all the places substantiate the fact that this place should be the supplier of areca nut to the entire world.

Another example of this place was coffee and tea plantations due to its hilly climate . One road had almost 4 to 5 big coffee whole seller cum retailers from whom you can buy tea and coffee. I can guide(Subramanian.babu@gmail.com)  or you can check with Mr Vikram if you are staying at MUDRA midtown for guidance on purchase of spices and other local products

The place too had lot of saloons and ladies beauty parlors which puzzled me a lot considering the small nature of the place. Looks like there are no bigger towns than Kalasa in the vicinity for 40 kms and this is a business place or the happening place for many near by villages. Probably the proximity to Horanadu temple and other sigh seeing places speaks volumes for the business that happens in Kalasa.

 

Places to See – Which we saw without any preplan based on the guidance from Mr Vikram

The next day we all woke up at 7 am after a long drive from kukke and Dharmasthala. We had a nice breakfast at  MUDRA. Our breakfast included Paddu (uppu appam), Neer dosai, Onion dosa or uthappam with coconut chutney. You can order your coffee tea or coffee along with your break fast.

All food is served in the third floor of the building which has a nice ambience and some antique collection of crockeries, typewriters, radios and other stuff providing reminiscence of your childhood days seeing which you grew up.

 

Kyatanamakki

We hired a Jeep(a 4 wheel drive experience) to Kyantanamakki. It is a 20 minute drive from Kalasa. Must for people who wants real adventure feeling of driving in rocks where there are no roads. You cannot drive your vehicle nor even drive without experience even if you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle. It is a must visit if you want some wake up/rejuvenation for your sleepy bones. The jeep person will leave you at a place to trek and come back in 45 minutes to one hour. You have to climb a small hill which won’t take more than 15 minutes. Once you reach the pinnacle you can see the breathtaking view of the mountains and its beauty. Serenity of the top speak volumes and even a whole day is not enough to keep gazing at the picturesque scenic spot. With a  heavy heart we came down(since we are time bound).

 

Kyatanamakki is also Sunrise and a sun set point. So there are jeep rides which start as early as 5.30 am facilitating tourist to witness sunrise.

There are lot of private operators who offer one day trekking itineraries as well which starts at 6.30 am. We never planned for trekking nor sunrise since our itinerary was only temples.

Tips/Advice – Just carry a water bottle and if you have shoes it is fine if not you can even climb with sandals and slippers. Don’t go the side of the top as it is little unsafe and there are no barricades. Don’t get excited about taking selfies by standing on the brim of the top.

Also stick to your same route to climb down, you can walk to another hill from this but you might get lost after going for a round since all tops have same type of ascend and descend

Horanadu Annapoorneshwari temple

This is a famous temple which is a must visit. The temple is open from 6 am in the morning till 8.30 pm in the night. Since it was a Saturday it was relatively crowded than other places. This is at a distance of 5 kms from Kalasa and it takes just 15 minutes to reach the temple from our hotel.

Slipper stand – There is a free slipper stand/designated foot wear place just opposite to the temple entrance which would be on your right when you walk towards the temple. There are no caretakers you have to just leave it and remember where you left if at all you want to pick back your footwear.

About Darshan

There are no special tickets as far as I know so you must stand in a queue which keeps moving and you can come out in 45 minutes depending on the crowd. Luckily Mr Vikram who runs the property where we stayed is the doctor of the temple so he ensured a VIP darshan for us.

Here also they serve lunch which is free for all and there is a separate place to eat for brahmins as well which you need to ask for if you are a brahmin.

After finishing our darshan we retired to our room for a  break.

 

Amba theertham

This place is 15 minutes from the hotel and a must visit. You can enjoy the flowing Bhadra river. You can driuve yourself and you don’t need any Jeep service. It is a 2 minute walk to the river bank from the parking place. You get in to the flowing river and keep gazing at the water front. You can have bath or keep your legs in the stream flow. You can also play stone skipping or skimming in the flowing water to see how it bounces off the surface of the water. You can easily spend an hour taking photos.

Another importance of this place is that Pandavas stayed here for sometime and they worshipped gods. There are rocks depicting this but we could not figure it out but the place looks very ancient and there are signs of some old steps or idols which looks eroded due to time and floods

Soormane Falls

Our next visit from Amba Teertha was this fall which is 10 minutes from Amba Teertha. You have to maintain timing here since the forest guard or so called local people at the entry point don’t allow vehicles after 5 pm. You have reach before 5 PM. We reached the place at 5.01 pm and the guy refused to make us drive to the closest point to the falls. Instead, he made us to go by a Jeep which is once again a 4 wheel drive experience. He charged us 400 Rs for the last 2 km jeep drive and 150 Rs (30rs per person) for the entrance ticket.

 

Tips/Advice

Even if you go before 5 pm, park your car at a place where other tourist vehicle like Tempo travelers is parked. Get a jeep for your drive to the falls. Couple of reasons the last 2 kms is very rugged without roads and your vehicle won’t take a toll. You need not drive in those rocks and jeep takes you to the closest point from where you can walk just 500 meters to the falls

Also don’t hire a jeep from Kalasa. They might charge 1500rs instead take your vehicle till the parking place which is just 3 or 4 kms and you need not waste 1000 rs from a wallet factor.

About the falls

You have to trek down for 500 meters to reach the falls and it is worth the trek. It looks like a safe place. It is a small falls where you can bathe and have fun. The water pool where it falls is not deep as well. Please take spare clothes if you really want to get wet and enjoy

After this we returned to our room by 6 pm.

 

Our Shopping in Kalasa

If you are a coffee aficionado or a coffee addict this would be an ideal place to buy coffee. You should also know how the top-grade of coffee seeds look. Plantation A and Pea berry. Plantation is the top-quality flat seeds while Pea berry would be oval and rounded not flat as Plantation A. Both cost 600 Rs/Kg(Rates are seasonal) the good quality first grade ones. Robusta is a low-quality seed which we don’t buy and what you get in shops as ready made coffee powder for 300 or 400rs or 500rs would be having a combination of Plantation A, pea berry and Robusta with Robusta the cheap quality seeds constituting the major percentage otherwise cost wise it won’t work out for coffee sellers. If you are particular about coffee and want to have pure coffee without chicory use the above information to decide for yourself.

We also bought some high-quality turmeric powder. If you are a tea drinking person you get lot of good quality tea leaves which you can buy as well.

You can buy coffee and tea from Padmambhija coffee shop which is 10 building from the hotel MUDRA midtown

We bought some spices as well which you get everywhere so I am not specific about it

 

Kaalaseshwara temple Darshan

Based on my initial note this temple is to your right side when you exit the hotel, and it is a 3 minute walk. You must climb some 40 steps to reach the temple.

We planned to visit the temple at 8pm IST since the Mangala arati happens as well as the closing ceremony of the temple for the day

It is a ancient temple with Shiva as the main deity and goddess as well. We went

The closing ritual includes the head priest or the designated priest carrying the urchava murthi on his head along with people beating the drums(damaru) and taal/Manjira/karatalas. We also walked along with closing ceremony team before retiring to our hotel.

Our Dinner at the Hotel on the second day

Dinner included Akki roti or Chappathi, with two subzi, rasam, sambar, one rice type(more like a spicy Pongal, curd rice and carrot halwa

About the Hospitality at the hotel

The service boys to be specific the service ladies are great. The hotel IMO depends are 3 ladies who work in shifts for room cleaning, cooking and checking in and checking our procedures. These ladies by name Sumana, Pavithra and Shantha have been of immense help. Their smiles even when you call them umpteen times speaks volumes about the service they render and definitely the personal rapport they might(if you open up or talk) really makes you to understand everyone better. Their energy levels is an epitome of hard work and commitment. They must walk 2 levels down to receive guest and one level up to cook and serve you anything you order. Amazing people who create an deep impression among guest.

 

Our last place of Visit – Sringeri

Our initial plan was to visit Sringeri on the penultimate day of our trip but based on the guidance from Mr Vikram we planned to do it on the last day so that we could save lot on time and distance if you are returning to Bangalore from Kalasa so that with a minimum detour you can complete Sringeri

We started from Kalasa at 10 am IST, and there are multiple routes to Sringeri the best one would be as follows

Kalasa - >Haluvalli - >Balehole ->Magundi -Jayepura - > Sringeri

The above route is the best with lot of hair pin bends. Distance is 60 kms and you would need 2 hours to reach Sringeri. Follow google maps with the places above so that you can reach Sringeri without any confusion.

Once you reach you have a big parking on the left and since it was a Sunday it was heavily crowded, and it took some time to park. Parking fees is 60 Rs.

Slipper stand – As you walk towards the main gopura of the temple you can see footwear stand to your right where they charge 2rs per pair .

Darshan

There are no special entrance or entry tickets to the temple. You have to stand in the general queue which were organized on two sides to the Sharadamba sannidhi. We had darshan in 15 minutes. We also visited other sannidhis before having our lunch. Once again free lunch is provided between 12 and 3 pm for every visitor to the temple. There is a separate place for Brahmins to have food which you have to ask and go. You can ask some purohit or priest for guidance to place where they server to only brahmins.

 

Return Journey to Bangalore

The return journey from Sringeri to Bangalore is about 350 kms and takes 7 hours due to ghats. The route you have to take is

 

Sringeri - >vijaypura- > Balehonnur - >Chickmagalur road- Belur-Hassan-Kunigal ->yediyur-Bangalore

Please follow google maps you won’t be lost

If you need any more information, you can reach out to me @subramanian.babu@gmail.com