2009
26
Well, while in Bangalore, you will realize that there is nothing much to see inside the city apart from traffic and shopping malls, and it’s easy to get tired of these after a few days, months, probably a year maximum.
The Hoysaleshwara Temple at Halebidu
That’s when you get on your horse and get out, in our case, “Horse Power”
Halebidu is located in Hassan District, Karnataka, India. Halebidu (which was previously called Dorasamudra or Dwarasamudra) was the regal capital of the Hoysala Empire in the 12th century. It is home to one of the best examples of Hoysala architecture in the ornate Hoysaleswara and Kedareswara temples.
Well that’s what Wikipedia or Wiki Travel has to say about it, and they are not much off the mark when they say “best example”. It is probably The Best if not, at least one of the Top 5 Architecture pieces of India (that includes The Taj as well, mind it).
Getting to Halebidu (or Halebid, as known in english)
Its fairly simple. Get to the North of Bangalore and get on NH4 headed towards Tumkur. For this you definitely need to start really early as the road can be a pain after 7AM. Our plans to start early did not materialize with a baby in tow. Nevertheless, we were off and out passing Yashvanthpura Railway station and Metro Cash and Carry on NH4 by about 7AM. The road has a major bottle neck at the Outer Ring Road crossing near Peenya. Crossing this bottle neck takes a while even when there is no traffic on road. You an blame it on Bangalore’s town planners who managed to create a “Staggered” junction for the ORR and NH4, so that vehicles that want to continue on the ORR will have to turn right, get on to NH4 and then turn left after a 100 meters, pain.
Be careful of the ORR crossing marked in a circle, and remember to take a Left at Neelamangala
Leave that behind and you are technically out of Bangalore and headed straight towards Tumkur. But then that’s where you are not going, you are headed to Hassan on NH48, the same road that snakes through the infamous Shiradi Ghats and gets into Mangalore. To get on this road you will have to turn left at a non desrcript junction on NH4 at Neelamangala. Yes, its easy to miss, and if you do not watch out, you will hit the Toll Road to Tumkur and forget that you ever had to take a turn. Why? well the Toll Road is a picturesque one and you will love every minute that you spend on it.
We missed the junction and got on to the Toll Road.
The Toll Gate after Neelamangala, if you have reached this spot, then you have already missed the turn.
Once on this road, we were ecstatic and went on driving the next 15 Km to reach a Cafe Coffee Day. Finished with the staple dose of Cilantro Sandwich and Cappuccino, we headed off and reached Tumkur, only to realize that “Opps! We were to take a left turn somewhere!!”
The view from Cafe Coffee Day on the Tumkur Toll Road. Easily one of the best maintained roads.
Headed back, and as luck would have it, Neelamangala is about 500 meters from the start of the toll road and we got to the much awaited Left. After the left, NH48 is not as bad it is made out to be, its a perfect two way road with near perfect surface and guard rails on both sides. The road is also marked clearly for lanes and shoulder, we knew it then that even if we got delayed, driving back in the night will not be a major issue.
(Our return Path is not described in this post. Its easy to get back to Bangalore from Hassan as long as you hit the right road. Traffic is more after sunset on NH48)
Word of advice: If you are headed to Halebidu via Hassan, take a left turn at Neelamangala. If you miss that turn, wait for the Toll Gate, turn back and take the right. You can ask the chaps at the Toll Gate for direction as well.
NH48 to Hassan and Mangalore snakes though central Karnataka
After Neelamangala
NH48 is a paradise to drive on till Hassan. The road is well laid, has clear markers and turns very gently every now and then. Most parts are lined with trees and green fields. maintaining speeds north of a ton is not difficult. Although you need to be careful at places where the road climbs and then dips down. Visibility of oncoming traffic is zero at these places and any amount of Honking or Blinking will go unnoticed by even the best.
NH48 to Hassan after the left turn at Neelamangala
Green, green, green
Very soon you will pass Solur, Kunigal, Yadiyur, Hirisave (important if you want to visit Shravan Belgola), Channaraypatna, and you are in Hassan. The road rarely looses composure, except for parts where it is being constructed or widenend. But that’s minimal damage.
In Hassan
Once you are in Hassan, or little before Hassan, you have to turn right to get on the state highway to get to Halebid. This again is a nondescript turn and very easy to miss. Not to worry though as you can do the same through Hassan town as well. You won’t lose much time here. Plus, there will be a lot of tourist taxis and buses that are headed in the same direction and it’s easy to just follow them. Make sure they are approximately headed in the same direction though, chances are 90% tourist vehicles will be headed to Halebidu.
You need to be on SH57 to head to Halebidu. The roads are clearly marked on milestones, finding the right one should not be a challenge.
The road is narrow will very little scope to overtake. Take SH57 from Hassan and then SH58 from Bellur
State Highway 57
SH57 from Hassan till Bellur
A large lake / reservoir lined with Windmills
You can either take a little offroad route via village roads as shown in the Map or go a little bit around via Bellur and on NH58 till Halebidu. Both ways its fine, the road quality is nothing great but the scenery around it is. Each spot is like a Picture Postcard. The road twists and turns through villages and fields over small rivers and next to large lakes. The road is very narrow and overtaking something can become a challenge here.
If you are stuck behind a bus or a slow moving Sumo, stop and wait for sometime. Let the view clear and then continue on. This way you will have enough field of vision to enjoy the surrounding. You can also use some spare horse power and offroading capabilities of your ride to overtake the slow one, but its not recommended.
Once you reach Halebidu, its easy to find the temple. It’s just about the only thing there and finding a parking nearby is a breeze. Park the car, avoid the local salesmen and women trying to sell various replicas of the statues and get into the temple compound.
Another closeup of the Temple
More about the temple is here
Photographs: Aparajita Ghosh, Shubhodeep Das. Maps: Courtesy Google.