Amruteshvara Temple, Amruthapura

At 35kms from Shimoga, this temple is a Hoysala treasure. It is well maintained. It was a delight to spend almost an hour there, observing these details. 

As I entered the temple, the priest requested me to walk to the dining hall after my darshan to have the food offered to the devotees. 

I shall leave you with some more images of this wonder called Amrutesvara temple. The sculptures around the temple narrate stories of lord Krishna and depicts other events from Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Nageshvara & Chennakeshava Temple, Mosale

While driving to Surathkal this time, I decided to take a deviation to visit a few places along the way. 

Mosale (10km from Hassan) - The twin temples of Nageshvara and Chennakeshava is an elegant example of Hoysala architecture of 12th Century.  Most of the structure is intact except for the idols on the outside which are worn out. It is currently being well maintained. The villagers came to the temple and explained to me and the only other visitor, the details about the temples. I could spend hours viewing these intricately designed sculptors. 

Shettihali Rosary Church - A church (Gothic Architecture) built by French missionaries in the 1860s is now now submerged in the Hemavathi dam backwaters. I often visit this place during different seasons. Here are the links to the posts from my previous visits -

May 2011 Here  & August 2011 Here 

I took an interior route from Shettihalli to Sakleshpura. I could have taken the Bisale ghat to reach South Canara but since it takes slightly longer, I chose to take the usual Shiradi ghat.

Shivagange Cleanup

The extent and exemples of Man's irresponsibility is shamelessly out there for display. Despite being aware of the effects of plastic waste that would take ages to decompose, many seem to be conveniently neglecting it and thus the plastic pollution refuses to reduce. Not only do we pollute our cities but we have now begun to contaminate trekking sites and remote locations while we visit them for a few days or few hours. 

When my friend Dipali trekked to Shivagange in November, she was taken aback by the amount of plastic waste that has been slowly covering this beautiful location. She returned back disheartened but also with a determination to do something about it. Soon, like minded people got together and "Trekkers for a cause" was formed. 

A couple of us trekked on the 22nd of December 2018, to do the first phase of cleaning. A few national level rock climbers participated in reaching difficult locations at the summit, where plastic waste resides in abundance. I don't think, we cleaned even 10% of the waste that is up there. It was not everything, but it surely was something! 

It would be great if we can totally stop using Polymer but being practical here, I understand that plastic has integrated itself so deeply into our lives that it would seem nearly impossible to back up at this stage. Hence what we can do as a common man, as a first step, is atleast be responsible enough to dispose them appropriately. 

Below are some of the pictures and the details of the group. If this interests you and if you do believe in such a cause, do feel free to be part of the group and participate in the awareness and clean up programs planned. 

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Gingee Fort - Krishnagiri

Gingee is a small town located 35kms away from Tiruvannamalai, in the direction of Chennai. The fortification of Gingee or Senji runs in a triangular form over three prominent hillocks - Rajagiri, Krishnagiri (Queen fort) and Chakklidurg (Or Chandrayandurga). During my previous visit, I had trekked the Rajagiri fort. So this time, I decided to trek the Krishnagiri fort. It is an easy and quick climb. I am glad that this fort is well protected by armed guards and hence it is safe to trek here. Unfortunately, this is a need even today. In olden days,  people feared foreign conquerors, but today, we fear muggers and rogues. 

The monuments at the summit of the Queen’s fort are amazing works of architecture left behind for us to explore and admire. Instead, it is saddening to see that some of our citizens convert such heritage sites that merit respect, into a venue to satisfy their lust. Moreover, as if it wasn’t damaged enough in the past by the attackers, today, the visitors carelessly ruin it further by declaring their infatuations in the form of graffiti. Apart from that nuisance, everything else about this place is simply amazing!

Trek Video -