We were planning for Sathuragiri Hills from last year. Public
are allowed only 6 days in a month, 3 days each during New Moon & Full moon
Days (i.e Day before & Day after with full moon or new moon days). We were
waiting for that to fall on some Sunday to avoid taking leave. Also the hills are under protected category.
The plan was to start from Bangalore by noon and reach
Srivilliputhur (~500 Kms) for night stay. Then start early in the morning,
drive to Sathuragiri base for trekking up the hill. And get down by evening & return
back by Sunday night around 12 'O clock.
The journey started around 12:30 PM on 25-8-18 from my home
after a good lunch. Me & my friend Velumani were only the team.
As usual the city traffic slowed us down as we reached Hosur
GRT junction by 2 PM. We took a tea & fuel break near Kariamangalam and
resumed our journey. We reached Salem in 3.5 hours. The weather was good for
the drive & it also rained in between.
With another tea break at Thirumangalam around 6:40 PM
before some 50 Kms from our destination, we started our journey in the single
road to reach Krishnan Kovil by 7:30 PM. We enquired about the rooms in that place &
luckily there were a few of them. We enquired & got a room in a private Boys
Hostel nearby, took the keys & rushed to Srivilliputhur Andal Temple (~8
Kms).
We reached the temple entrance by 8:30 PM to see a huge
Gopuram which was a fascinating sight. We finished the darshan in Vatapathrasayee
Temple & proceeded to Andal Temple where the security guard stopped me to
say that people in shorts are not allowed inside. (Normally I used to wear
shorts during drive/travel). With 10-15 mins left for the closing time, I got a
dhoti from a nearby shop & finished our darshan. The architecture of the
temple was nice with huge pillars & carvings in it. After a nice dinner in
a nearby roadside hotel, we retired to our room by 10:00 PM.
Srivilliputhur Andal Temple Gopuram at night...
FYI: Srivilliputhur temple gopuram is the one that is seen
in the Tamil Nadu State Emblem.
The next day started at 4:30 AM as we didn’t have a good
night’s sleep because of mosquitoes, even with fan ON in full speed. We got
ready by 5:15 AM & left to Thanipaarai which was 20 Kms from Krishnan Kovil.
The road took us into some villages with good roads. We reached there around
5:45 AM & squeezed my car at the only available slot. The parking was full,
may be because of the crowd that had arrived last night. People are allowed to
climb the previous evening, night stay at the hilltop, have darshan &
return in the morning.
Entrance at 6 AM.
As we were waiting for the gates to open by 6:00AM, we had
some tea in a local shop. When enquired about duration to climb up, the shop
keeper told that it will take minimum 3 Hrs depending upon climbing experience.
We estimated that we will return back by 4 PM only.
This was the scene when gates opened...
After a long wait, the gates opened by 6:30 AM. The initial
path was made of concrete steps. As we walked, we saw some blood marks on the
steps for almost 400-500 mts. It was then we came to know that there was a bear
attack early in the morning (around 4:30 AM) because of which the gates were
opened late. Some 2 men climbed down the hill early in the morning, which was
not allowed & got attacked by the animal. We heard that the bear hurt the
guy’s face & dragged him for a while. Luckily this happened near the
entrance & the other guy brought some help at the right time.
Initial path...
All the devotees were cursing that guys as why they have to
get down at that time. With this interesting topic to talk, we continued our
walk past the concrete steps to reach the Ganesh temple. Devotees performed
pooja there & we continued our walk past the Karuppanna Swamy Temple &
Pechiamman Temple.
Ganesha Temple...
Now started the actual trek with only stones & rocks. We
came across many devotees coming down. Then came the Irettai Lingam temple (2
Lingams insame sanctum) after some distance. The path was full of big stones
& rocks some of which was also path for rain water during rains. No wonder
many people lost their lives in the flood during 2015.
But this time it was dry & no sign of water nearby but there was greenery.
But this time it was dry & no sign of water nearby but there was greenery.
The trek path was dotted with many shops with all local
refreshments at regular intervals. We hardly had 2 breaks for butter milk &
juice as we walked non-stop to reach a place where there was provision to take
bath. We understood that we are almost near the temple seeing the bathing
place. In few minutes we were at the temple arch and for our surprise, we reached
there it in 2 hours.
Bathing place while going up...
We entered the Sundara Mahalingam Temple arch, took some
pics & walked through to the temple. On the way we say many mutts who do
“Annadana” for the devotees. One such mutt person invited us to have food
& go to the temple. We assured him that we will finish the darshan &
come there. Many Sadhus were seated on the way to the temple. We entered the
temple finished the darshan, posed for some pics & headed for the mutt as
we were damn hungry.
Temple Entrance Arch...
Sathuragiri Temple Open Dates 2018...
The Sundara Mahalingam Temple...
"Annadanam" place
From there we headed to Santhana Mahalingam Temple, which
was half a KM from there & we had to climb a little bit. After darshan,
we relaxed a bit there as many other devotees did. We started the descent by 10
AM through the same path.
Path to Santhana Mahalingam Temple...
Bathing place while coming down...
On the way back we took a detour to Korakkar cave.
Korakkar cave...
Sad scene to see the monkeys' thirst...
Finally crossing all the temples & rocky paths, we
reached the base by 12 PM. The blood marks of the attacked person were still
seen that time. After having some refreshment we left the place in joy as we
were 4 hours before our schedule.
At the Ganesha temple...
Target reached... at the entrance
As I had to take some photos of Srivilliputhur gopuram in
day time, we reached Srivilliputhur by 1 PM. We took some pics, finished a
decent lunch in a hotel nearby the temple & started to Bangalore by 2 PM.
Srivilliputhur Andal Temple Gopuram...
The drive was awesome till Salem after which traffic started. With some 2 tea breaks & a fuel break, we reached home
at 9 PM.
My mobile app showed our activities as below...
As a conclusion, It was great to visit this place where 18 Siddhas were said to live here (This is also called as "Siddargal boomi"). Every trek is a different experience, with its unique identity.
I can surely say that this trek was much easier than our Parvathamalai Trek. Will plan to stay overnight on top the next time.
As for the facilities, drinking water is available at many places. Proper facilities/amenities are available at the top for a night stay and its safe for ladies too.
I can surely say that this trek was much easier than our Parvathamalai Trek. Will plan to stay overnight on top the next time.
As for the facilities, drinking water is available at many places. Proper facilities/amenities are available at the top for a night stay and its safe for ladies too.
Route Taken:
Bangalore-Hosur-Salem-Karur-Dindigul-Thirumangalam-Krishnan kovil-Srivilliputhur:
500 Kms
Krishnan kovil-Thaaniparai-Srivilliputhur:
50 Kms
Srivilliputhur-Krishnan kovil-Thirumangalam-Dindigul-Karur-Salem-Hosur-Bangalore:
500 Kms
