Hulukadi Betta, one of the many places pinned in my Google Maps gets its due today to hike. Not so known place, it is said to be famous for its sunrise/sunset views. We decided to witness the sunrise this time.
Me & my daughter left home by 4:45 AM, picked up my friend on the way & followed Google Maps to Hulukadi Betta.
As we were approaching the hill, we could see the bright shades of orange & yellow behind us.
We reached the Kalyana Mantapa at the base by 6:30 to find it decorated for a wedding. The entry arch was hidden by the decorations. Parking our car under a small tree, we started climbing he steps immediately. We could feel the sun rising from behind the hill but could not see that while climbing.
The weather was nice for a climb. The path has neatly laid steps with a hand rail all along the path. There is also some shed for shelter at a couple of places which was not needed at that time of the day.
We reached the first temple with Shiva Linga carved on a stone that was locked. On gaining height, we could see the beautiful surroundings still covered
with fog. We could see some huge rocks with a lot the honeycomb under
them. My friend’s rough count was at least 40.
Crossing that on climbing further, there were newly etched steps on the rock. As we had our shoes ON, we didn’t bother about that. Later at a point, we reached a small pond with a changing room nearby for the devotees. So we assumed that devotees would take a dip here before reaching the temples further at the top.
We didn’t spent much time there as we were late for the sunrise. From there a small path in between some old construction led us to the firm steps to climb. In no time we reached the first temple, which was not opened yet. We proceeded further to the second temple and found the same there.
Wasting no time there, we proceeded further to reach the top of the hill. With no steps to the top, we are on our own to follow some muddy trail that was visible/taken by other hikers. With all these happening in the west side of the hill, we couldn’t get a glimpse of the sun. After some 10 minutes of adventures walk, we reached the top by 7:15 to see the sun shining way above the sunrise point. We were late by half an hour.
The hike/walk was adventurous because the path was full of thorny plants. The thorns were so dried up & strong that it will at least leave a scratch in your exposed skin. Better to wear a full length top & bottom. We could see the plants having burnt at the top recently for some reason and the place was full of ash. So it would be difficult to reach the top without footwear at least from the temple.
We climbed up on a couple of rocks & then settled on one facing the sun to relax and for some Vitamin-D. The weather was awesome at the top with mild sunlight & the required amount of wind. With peacocks singing in the background, we took our own time to finish our snacks that we packed from home. We spent around 2 hrs on the top.
By 9:15, we started feeling the heat of the sun & realized that it is the right time to leave. As we were about to leave, we saw a drone passing above us. Till now we were only 3 & now we thought we have company, but no one came to the (best) spot where we were relaxing.
We traced our path backwards to the one of the 2 temples and found no one in opposite direction to reach the top. The temple was open & we found some 2 families in the temple. The main sanctum of the Veerabhadra Swamy temple was under a huge rock, a sort of cave. There were 2/3 entrances to go through it, one of the entrance measuring 3 feet height by 2 feet wide. We managed to go through it to have a look inside.
Later, we could see more devotees in the opposite direction near the other temple and a lot more at the pond. One couple was struggling to take a dip into it as there was no proper path & was slippery.
While climbing down the newly etched steps, we could feel the pain of the sharp edges in our feet, but somehow managed. Forgot to mention that we were barefoot starting from the temple top. We normally follow this routine to climb the steps of a temple if we already know the terrain. The oncoming people gave me a strange look hanging the shoes at either side of my bag. One can easily climb up/down the path till the 2 temples barefoot, but beyond that, it is recommended to wear footwear to reach the sunrise point.
The temperature started to increase that the hand rails exposed to the sun was so hot. Luckily the steps were still not so hot. The timing we started walking down was perfect. The devotees climbing up were looking exhausted due to the heat. We now felt the purpose of the shelters.
Finally, we reached the base by 10:30 to the see the wedding rituals happen. On the other side, the wedding feast was in full swing in the canteen hall. It was after a while we understood that half of the people climbing up were the wedding guests.
From scorching sun, we entered into the burning furnace (our car), & started our journey back to Bangalore. We reached home for lunch after a break for some fresh sugarcane juice on the way.
Distance:
Bangalore (Home) to Hulukadi Betta base: 70 Kms
Location:
“Hulukadi Betta”
For more of my travel stories, do visit “My Wanderlust Experiences”
Bonus Pictures ...
Shadow Photography Titled: "On the Rocks"
