We had to visit Davangere for personal reasons. On the way back, we thought it would be a good idea to check a few places off from our ever going list of places to visit in Karnataka.
So what would be an ideal route to take? We decided to check out Google Maps.
After considering several options, we finally decided to take the route towards Holalkere via SH47, and then to reach Arsikere from there. We decided to visit a few Hoysala temples close to Arsikere and then get back to Bangalore.
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The route seems logical, but the road condition was so bad that it increased our travel time dramatically. The road condition ranged from moderately bad to very bad.
There are vast plain fields on either sides of the roads and you can see quite a few birds. There were lots of green bea eaters sitting on the electric wire which followed us all the way.
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It was almost 1pm by the time we reached Arsikere. Our first stop was at Chandramouleshwara Temple in Arsikere. This temple is also called Shivalaya and it is a short detour from the National Highway.
The guide explained the architecture and the story behind the temple and how the place Arsikere was named after the lake(kere) of the queen(Arasi).
The statues here are defaced and I am yet to narrow down when it exactly happened. The details in the statue is stunning. You can easily spend an entire day admiring the beauty of these temples.
We then had a quick lunch and headed to Haranahalli. Haranahalli has 2 temples very close to each other. One of them is Chennakeshava temple. This temple was closed for renovation when we went there and as such you could see wild growth of grass on all the sides of the temple. There were some artists busy at work in front of the temple. This temple is close to 500 years old. The statue in the temple is visible from the road, a couple of hundred meters away, and one of the locals was praising the architectural accuracy of its construction.
Next, we visited Someshwara devalaya (temple). This temple was neither open nor maintained. Locals told us that this temple would be renovated after the renovation work at Chennakeshava temple is complete. While one of the boards suggests that this is an ASI monument, it was sad to see the plight of the temple. There were shrubs growing everywhere and there were creepers on one side of the temple.
Our next stop was at Dodda Kalleshwara Swamy temple. When we asked the locals for other interesting places around, we were asked to visit this place. The temple was closed, but there is a small tank in front of it, where water is said to flow round the year.
This entire stretch past the Hoysala temples looks secluded.
We then headed back to Bangalore and reached late night.
