Haddinakallu Visit

Shri Kshetra Haddinakallu Hanumantharayaswamy Temple.

 

Haddinakallu, meaning 'Eagle Stone' is one of the least explored places around Bangalore. I read about this place through a blog & immediately marked it in my Google maps as it was interesting.

The time had come to explore this destination as well.  My wife, daughter & me left home early in the morning as usual & picked up my friend at Yeshwantpur. Our first target was to have some hot Thatte Idli in the Bangalore-Mangalore Highway.  We then followed Google maps & took a deviation at Yadiyur which led through some villages & finally reached the hill base by 8:30 am. We parked at the limited space available and we could see only locals there. Beside the arch in the foot-hill, there is a small temple where locals were sacrificing hen.

Rewind… A few metres before the foot-hill also, we saw many groups of locals who were sacrificing goat as a part of rituals & were making arrangements for cooking the same. We thought we will be having a feast for lunch after our trek. Also toilet facilities were available at that place, just in case.

Now back to LIVE. We wanted to try climbing barefoot & enquired about the path to the locals and they gave a thumbs-up. So we left our footwear in the car & started our hike through the arch. Initially there were newly laid steps followed by some stone-steps. There were some boulders on the path as we go on & some huge rocks in a variety of shapes. A small water tank on the way will quench your thirst if at all you want to try.

As we go up, we could hear peacocks screaming out of their voice but couldn’t spot them. Also we could hear the super-bikes zooming on the Mangalore highway that seemed close by. There were many viewpoints on the way to stop & enjoy.

On the way, there was a small pond and many cool shaded places where one can sit/lie down and relax. After some time, there is a flat stretch that was full of greenery. Walking further at one point you could get a glimpse of the vehicles plying on the Mangalore Highway, the bikes too with their sweet sound. 

Finally we reached the top around 10 am to see the Anjaneya temple amidst some boulders on the way. The view from the top was awesome with some fresh air. I guess we reached there before the poojari, so we sat under a tree as he arrived & started his regular duties. There were a few monkeys but didn’t disturb us.

After spending some time on top, we took the same path down which was even easier. Now we began to see some people coming in opposite direction. It was getting hot as we could see from their faces. So starting early is the key.

As my daughter & I were taking pictures frequently, my wife overtook us & continued her walk. As she was not in our sight anywhere around, we were searching for her the whole way down. Finally we found her sitting at the foothill. The whole way down I was in mixed-feelings that we lost her in the mountains & thought of announcing that a bunch of eagles have air-lifted her. Ha ha, Just Kidding.

As we finished our trek too early (around 11 am), we missed the feast that the locals were still preparing. Of course there were more than 1 group of locals preparing the feast as they invited us. So you might be lucky during your visit next time.

On the way back we took a detour to Markonahalli dam before having a break for lunch and then headed straight to Bangalore.

On the whole, it is a place worth visiting for those who need a break from the concrete jungle & other crowded spots. However it will be an easy trek & enjoyable one for kids too.

 

Travel Tip: Don’t take the initial right at Yadiyur as shown by Google maps that runs through villages, instead drive further (~6 Kms) and take the right at the Temple Arch (see pic above) on Mangalore Road. We took that while returning which is straight forward.

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/TZNLQbPeknbFYPZM8

Distance Traveled:
Bangalore-Haddinakallu: 120 Kms
Haddinakallu- Markonahalli Dam: 20 Kms    
Markonahalli Dam-Bangalore: 115 Kms

 
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