A day trip to Mandargiri Hill/Basadi Betta

A trip is not always a story, it gives you a series of event that you remember them as memorabilia. My last trip to a weekend getaway to Mandargiri Hill/ Basadi Betta near Bangalore was same. The month of March is start of summer. The intense sunlight makes you stay indoor, but I had some different plans. It was Saturday and I had planned to photograph dusk from Mandargiri Hill.
Mandargiri Hill also known sa Basadi Betta is a small hill located in Hirenahalli, 10 km, before Tumkuru, and 60 Km from Bangalore city. The foothills has a beautiful Jain temple comprising of stunning idol of Chandranatha Tirthankara, an incredible 81 feet high Guru Mandir in shape and color of peacock feather, and a serene Mydala Lake. A 435 steps of uphill walk can take you to the top of the hill which again has an ancient Jain temple and a small pond.

I started the journey at 2pm taking metro till Peenya and later a state bus till Hirenahalli towards Tumkuru. The hill lies 1.8 km from highway which can be walked down. I reached the foothills which had the Jain temple complex at 5 pm. The place nearby is quiet with less or no population. The silence and peace is the best part along with architectural marvel of the temple. The temple complex is open till 6pm every evening. As this was my first visit to the temple I sought permission from the guard to use my camera. There were fewer to no other tourist other then me. It was best to get some good photographs without any distraction. It was great shooting silhouette as the temple is east faced. After I was done in the temple I walked towards the hill which is at the right of the temple. The hill has the stairs with 435 step to climb uphill to the Mandargiri Hill. Just at the start of the hill lies a gate towards right with muddy road taking you to Mydala Lake.
The temple located up in hill is often locked whose keys can be found with the security in the temple complex. Climbing 435 steps was not much of hard work when you believe to see a beautiful dusk and sun setting in the hill of horizon. Cool breeze with orange sky will make all your efforts to reach the top pay. The Mydala Lake can be seen from the hills. The sunset was amazing with beautiful colors of dusk. The golden hours is unimaginable and make you feel like you are a part of nature's delight. The evening was perfect for me to get some decent photograph. As it was dark I got down the hill. I missed going closer to the lake as it was already dark.
Now it was the time to return to Bangalore. I had to walk till highway to get a bus till Peenya and metro from there. The difficult part started from here when I spent 30 minutes standing in highway and tried stopping bus. Finally, I had to board a small truck which dropped me till Dabaspete, from where I boarded a bus till my metro station. I reached my place at exact 10 pm.
There were few things which people should keep in mind while travelling to Mandargiri Hills. Try keeping water bottles and snacks as you won't find any shops to buy them near the temple and foothill. Yes, remember not to litter the place. If going with family or group better take own vehicle. However, the fun for me was travelling in metro, bus and in the small truck.
This was one of the many trip I did on weekend. Till the next one Bon Voyage...