Chamarajanagar District
Chamarajanagara is the southern-most district in the state of Karnataka , India . It was carved out of the original larger Mysooru District in the year 1998. Chamarajanagara town is the headquarters of this district. More »
Places to see
Religious sites
Chamarajeshwara Temple : The biggest temple in Chamarajanagara, which was built during end of 19th Century. Temple resembles Nanjanagudu Srikanteswara temple and has a very big gopura.
MM Hills : Malai Mahadeshwara Hills (short form: MM Hills), is an important Shaiva pilgrimage centre in the Kollegala Taluk. The yearly chariot festival (locally called 'jatre') at the MM Hills brings many devotees. The temple is situated within the MM Hills Reserve Forest , not very far from where the river Kaveri flows into Tamil Nadu.
BR Hills : Biligiri Rangana Betta (short form: BR Hills), refers to a cliff in the BR Hills range which is a North-South range in the Yelandur Taluk. It is famous for the Ranganathaswamy temple.
Kanakagiri : Kanakagiri in Chamarajanagara Taluk is a famous Jain pilgrim centre. It is described as Hemanga Desha in ancient works and is said that Bhagwan Sri Mahavira visited this place during his visit to South India .
GS Betta : Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta (short form: GS Betta is a hill near the Bandipura Wildlife Sanctuary in the Gundlupete Taluk. It is famous for the Gopalaswamy temple which is atop the hill. Gopalaswamy is an incarnation of the Hindu God Krishna.
Dodda Sampige Mara: Located 4 km from BR Hills, Dodda Sampige Mara is the location where a large Champaka tree, 34 mts in height and 20 mts of girth is present. Near its trunk, there are many Shiva Lingas (around 100) which are worshipped by the pilgrims who come here. Near the tree flows the stream Bhargavi which is a tributary of Kaveri. This stream is supposed to be an incarnation of Renuka, the wife of the revered Hindu sage, Jamadagni.
Mudukuthore
How to reach
Mudukuthore is located at a distance of 60 km from Mysore , 25 km from Somnathapur, 5 km from T.Narsipur and is close to Talakad. The place is known for the temple of Lord Mallikarjuna . During January-February, every year, a big festival fair is organized for a week where cattle and agricultural items are traded.
Lord Mallikarjuna temple
It is one of the five temples that are part of the Panchalingadarshana held at Talakd once every 12 years. The five temples viz., Sri Kshethra Vaideshwara, Sri Pathaleshwara, Sri Maruleshwara, Sri Arakeshwara and Sri Mudukuthore Mallikarjuneshwara are believed to be Panchalingas and thus have become famous.
The festival takes place simultaneously at the above five temples of Shiva. The temples are decorated with plantain stalks and flowers and the pilgrims undertaking Panchalinga Darshana offer their Pooja to the God.
The uniqueness of this festival is that the poojas at the five temples begin at the same time following the ancient tradition for obtaining blessings for devotees and rulers of the country
Wildlife Sanctuaries
Bandipura : Bandipura is a well known National Park in the Gundlupete Taluk straddling the state's border with Tamil Nadu. It is also a tiger reserve and part of the Project Tiger initiative. Apart from tiger, the other animals found here include gaur, elephant, leopard and wild dogs. It is contiguous with the Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary which is across the state border in Tamil Nadu.
BR Hills : Apart from being a religious centre, BR Hills is also the location of the BR Hills Wildlife Sanctuary. It is spread over an area of 539.52 sq. km. Some of the important animals found here are tigers, sloth bears, elephants and gaurs.
Waterfalls
Hogenakal : Hogenakal is a famous waterfall where the river Kaveri cascades down a gorge to give a breathtaking view. It is in the Kollegala Taluk and right on the border between the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Trekking
The Forest Department of Karnataka has come up with an initiative called Mystery Trails to promte eco-tourism by organising treks through the rich forests of Chamarajanagara district. Some of the trekking routes are:
Bedaguli to Jodigere to Bylore
BR Hills to Chenni Halla
MM Hills to Naaga Male
Bheemeshwari to Chellure Hill
Elephant Camp to Muthathi
Yerekem Halla to Gopinatham
Distance:- |
By Road From the state capital Bangalore , one can take the State Highway 17 which goes to Mysore and then proceed to Chamarajanagar (65 km from Mysore ). The total distance from Bangalore to Chamarajanagar is around 185 km. Alternatively for a more scenic drive, one can take the Bangalore - Kanakapura - Kollegal - Chamarajanagar road. The latter however can be a difficult drive because of unpaved roads. The distance however is more or less the same.
By Rail Chamarajanagar has a railway station but the railway line is not yet broad gauge (the standard gauge followed by Indian Railways). It lies on the metre gauge line which runs from Mysore to Chamarajanagar. Mysore being an important location is well connected by rail to major cities in India and hence passengers can stop over at Mysore and take another train to reach Chamarajanagar. Conversion of the existing metre gauge line in Chamarajanagar to broad gauge is in progress. There has also been a proposal for more than 2 decades to connect the railway line at Chamarajanagar to the railway line at Mettupalayam in Tamil Nadu which will provide connectivity to Nanjangud to other cities in the south of India .
By Air The nearest airport is the one at Bangalore . Alternatively one can use the airports at Coimbatore or Calicut for reaching Chamarajanagar. However, the airport at Mysore is being upgraded which can then be used to reach Chamarajanagar.
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When to go:- |
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| Tourist offices:- |
KSTDC (bookings and info) Badami House, NR Square, Bangalore Tel: 080-2275869, Fax: 2352626 Email: kstdc@vsnl.in |
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