Trip to Devarayanadurga, Namada Chilume, Sri Veerbhadra Shankara Swamy Temple, Siddaganga Temple and Tumkur

Me and my friend planned to leave for this trip early in the morning by 6 am. The night earlier I hardly slept. I called him up around 5.30 am, at 6 am and then again at 7.30 am – no answer. Lol! dude was fast asleep. He called up around 9 am and told lets get ready and leave now. He came and picked me up by 10 am. My longest bike trip started!

Mode of transport: Bike – Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTSi

Route: … Dr. Rajkumar road – Tumkur road – Deviation toward Shivagange – Back to Dobbaspet – below the overbridge – took left (this road leads to Madhugiri fort, Devarayanadurga, Namada Chilume, Chanarayanadurga, Siddara Betta).

As usual these days from Yeshwantpur and Vishwa Shanti Ashram traffic is very bad. Probably it will be the same until the flyover and metro rail construction is completed. It took almost an hour to cross this stretch. Once we crossed the toll gate, we were zooming on the NH 4. The bike crossed 100 km/hr three times on the way and reached a top speed of 113 km/hr. We reached a top speed of 115 km/hr on the way back from Tumkur to Bangalore.

On the way to Devarayanadurga

We took a left deviation on NH 4 and took the Shivagange route. At the junction there is yellow board of Karnataka tourism with destination names. we deliberated on Savandurga and Magadi, but went for Devarayanadurga and neighborhood destinations. This way is quite picturesque and good for photography. We went past Shivagange and went to Dobbaspet. Here, you have go under the flyover and take left and continue riding. You will see two yellow board of Karnataka tourism with destination names and distance. Keep riding until you see a green board asking you to take left for Devarayanadurga (5 km). A beautiful cement gate is under construction now. The road is little narrow but never the less, good for riding. You will reach a junction with a right turn and a straight road. Take right for Devarayanadurga. The straight road leads to Durgadahalli. Reaching Devarayanadurga is quite easy as there is a pitch road till the top. You will charged an entry fee of Rs 5 at the entrance of the foot hill. There two temples here – Yogi Narashima Swamy temple on the top of Devarayanadurga hill and Bhoga Narashima Swamy temple at the foot hill. The ride on hill road to the top is very picturesque featuring neighborhood hills, variety of flowers and beautiful scenery.

View from top of Devarayanadurga

Parking is available at the top and it is free. You can buy snacks, water, cold drinks etc from the two – three shops available here. From here, one has to climb around 50 steps to reach Yogi Narashima Swamy temple. The steps has been fitted with granite slabs – one can also sit on the way. After the steps, there is view point from where you can get a nice view. The board there claims that one can see Vidya Shankara Swamy temple at Durgadahalli. Once you come back to the entrance at the foot hill, take left to go to Bhoga Narashima Swamy temple.

Devarayanadurga is located around 65 km from Bangalore and around 20 km from Dobbaspet.

Our next destination was Sri Veerabhadra Swamy temple in Durgadahalli. It is located around 3 km from Devarayanadurga. There is another temple called Sri Veera Anjaneya Swamy temple little further from here. We did not visited this temple, as the priest of the Sri Veerabhadra Swamy temple told it was closed then. From here the road leads to Chanarayanadurga, Siddara betta and Madhugiri fort. It takes around an hour to reach Madhugiri fort from here. we did not go there as it was already over 3 pm. So that you do not miss on any destination, please start early. These are forest area and better to leave before dusk.

Veerabhadra Swamy temple

With time constrains we turned back and went to Namada Chilume which is just 3 km from Sri Veerabhadra Swamy temple. There is an entry fee of Rs 3 per person. Here from a point in the stone water oozes continuously. Hindu myth say that lord Ram during his exile visited here. He needed water and could not find any. So he got water with his bow and arrow from the stone. Apart from this there is a deer park with lots of monkey friends around them in the enclosure. One person suggested that one can trek to the top of the hills to see some temples and scenery.

Note: Be careful of monkeys.

Namada Chilume

By this time we were getting automatic reminders about food. So we quickly went to Siddaganga math located around 5 km from Namada Chilume and then to Tumkur (another 5 km) for food. We went to Blue Moon restaurant. This hotel serves decent food. Finished food and started back for Bangalore by 5.05 pm. Reached Bangalore by 6.30 pm.

To view more pictures visit, TravelingBeats Photo Gallery.

To discuss about the article visit, TravelingBeats Community.