On January 7th morning, we had nice breakfast (pongal, chutney, idli, sambar and grape juice), took some pictures of the camp and then headed towards Gopalaswamy temple at around 11am.
On the way, we were lucky to spot an elephant near the river.
If you can't locate the elephant in the above picture, don't stress your eyes. Here is the zoom-in view:
And then deers grazing with no fear....
This Langoor seems to be too worried about the bottle next to it... of course, it is a plastic-free zone :-)
Village view from camera....
While we were busy taking snaps of nature, we were reminded that we were actually heading towards the temple...
After reaching the hill top, we parked the vehicle in front of the temple, washed our feet and then climbed the stairs for Gopalaswamy Darshan.
Inside Garbha gudi, Krishna idol is beautiful with Krishna in dark complexion, with flute in his hands, glowing eyes (actually diamonds) and surrounded by Gopis. While we were praying God, Pujari sprinkled water droplets on us ..very nice experience.
Pujari told that there are no crows on the hill and water forms on the top of garbha gudi entrance. To know more facts about the temple, read for yourself... http://www.mysorepraje.com/mysore-excursion/himavad-gopalaswamy-betta-gopala-swamy-temple-mysore
That's Joseph posing for the camera...
After Darshan, we headed back to board Bandipur Safari van and spotted this Amla tree and some ponds built by Maharaja around the hill.
At around 2.30pm we sat under a big Banyan tree to have our lunch (rice, sambhar, rasam, sweet, papad, roti and mutter curry). After that we had some fun time with Banyan tree roots....
On the way, we were lucky to spot an elephant near the river.
If you can't locate the elephant in the above picture, don't stress your eyes. Here is the zoom-in view:
And then deers grazing with no fear....
This Langoor seems to be too worried about the bottle next to it... of course, it is a plastic-free zone :-)
Village view from camera....
While we were busy taking snaps of nature, we were reminded that we were actually heading towards the temple...
At last, view of Gopalaswamy hill from far.....
Wikipedia can tell facts of the hill better than me....."Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta, is a hill (betta in Kannada) located in the Chamarajanagar district of the state of Karnataka, at a height of 1450m India and is extensively wooded. It is also the highest peak in the Bandipur National Park. It lies in the core area of the Bandipur National Park and is frequented by wild life including elephants.."
Felt happy to see the fields of beans which make our evening snack most of the time...
More pictures of the hill and its surroundings....
Before climbing the hill via road, we had to pay entry fee. The drive up the hill for the next 7 km is an adventure as the roads are steep and narrow and not maintained well. Our driver had to ride the vehicle like a bullock cart. Anyways we were happy listening to stories of elephant herds, elephants sliding down the hill out of fear and heavy weight :-).
OK you can see the temple peaking out of lush green forest....we are almost there...
After reaching the hill top, we parked the vehicle in front of the temple, washed our feet and then climbed the stairs for Gopalaswamy Darshan.
The temple atmosphere was filled with Sabarimalai Ayyappa swamy songs...
Inside Garbha gudi, Krishna idol is beautiful with Krishna in dark complexion, with flute in his hands, glowing eyes (actually diamonds) and surrounded by Gopis. While we were praying God, Pujari sprinkled water droplets on us ..very nice experience.
Pujari told that there are no crows on the hill and water forms on the top of garbha gudi entrance. To know more facts about the temple, read for yourself... http://www.mysorepraje.com/mysore-excursion/himavad-gopalaswamy-betta-gopala-swamy-temple-mysore
"...Throughout the year, dew formation can be seen on top of the entrance of garbha gudi and on the left shoulders of Gopalaswamy – hence the name ‘Himavad’. The temperature inside the temple is also relatively cool.....
According to chief priest Lakshmipathi Bhat, there are 77 theerthas or springs along the slopes of the hills within 25 km radius of the temple. The saying is that the crows, which took bath in these springs, turned into swans and hence there are no crows in Bandipur..."And some pictures taken behind the temple....
That's Joseph posing for the camera...
After Darshan, we headed back to board Bandipur Safari van and spotted this Amla tree and some ponds built by Maharaja around the hill.
At around 2.30pm we sat under a big Banyan tree to have our lunch (rice, sambhar, rasam, sweet, papad, roti and mutter curry). After that we had some fun time with Banyan tree roots....
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