Bucesvara Temple - Koravangala

There are plenty of temples build by Hoysala's around Hassan, but not all the temples are famous as Belur & Halebeedu. One of such temples is situated at Koravangala. When we planned for a trip around Chikkamagaluru, decided to visit 2 temples one while going to Chikkamagaluru (Doddagaddavalli Lakshmi Devi Temple) and the other one while coming back. 

Bucesvara Temple is located in Koravangala, a small village about 12 KMs of Hassan. The most sophisticated historical temple in the village, it is the flag-bearer of Hoysala architecture. Koravangala Temple(Bucesvara Temple), is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It was built by Buchiraja to celebrate the coronation of Veer Ballala II of the Hoysala Dynasty in the 12th century. 

Out of three Shiva temples in the place, two were dilapidated and the biggest of them called Bhooteshwar or Bucheshwara has survived to this day. Inscriptions around the temple site give us an idea of the temple's construction and the various grants it received. One of them specifies the name of Bhutanatha Raja or Buchi Raja, a Brahmin officer from the family that serves Hoysala king Narasimha I, as the man who constructed it.

Architecture: The Bucesvara temple (also spelt Bucheshwara or Bucheshvara) is a simple yet elegant specimen of 12th century of Hoysala architecture. The temple has two shrines that face each other. The western shrine facing the east, contains an image of Surya Bhagvan. The eastern shrine is of Lord Bucesvara. These shrines are connected by a closed mantapa and an open mantapa. At the eastern end of the complex is a small shrine of Bhairava.

Its open for visitors from 9.00 AM to 5.00 PM. There is no entry fee to visit this temple. We can explore this temple within 1 hour.

Hirekolale Lake

Hirekolale Lake is one of the most wonderful places to visit in Chikkamagaluru, it’s surrounded by the beauty of mountains in the Western Ghats,. This beautiful man-made lake is good for every spectator in Chikkamagaluru and must not be missed while visiting Chikkamagaluru tourist places. 

It was built as a source to supply water for drinking and irrigation purposes to the town of Chikkamagaluru. The lake is included by gorgeous surroundings and offers a wonderful place to spend some quality time with family & friends.

Hirekolale Lake offers the most wonderful views of the landscape at the time of evening when the huge number of travelers gather here. It is a delight for photography lovers who are looking to add an idyllic sunset shot to their travel albums. One can also appreciate the exceptional views of Mullayanagiri Hills from Hirekolale Lake.

Hirekolale lake, is around 10 KMs from Chikkamagaluru Town and hardly takes 20 minutes’ drive. Hirekolale lake can be visited throughout the year. However, its famous to witness sunset at this place.

There is no entry fees for this lake as of now and its open for visitors throughout the day. 

Doddagaddavalli - Lakshmi Devi Temple

The beautiful Lakshmi Devi Temple, Doddagaddavalli is situated around 20 KMs from Hassan, about 16 KMs from Halebidu, and about 25 KMs from Belur (NH 373). The lies in between Hassan - Belur Highway. From main road we need to travel for 3 KMs to reach this beautiful temple. The Lakshmi Devi temple, was built by a wealthy merchant Kullahana Rahuta and his wife Sahaj Devi during the reign of Vishnuvardhana.

About Lakshmi Devi Temple: The Lakshmi Devi temple is an early 12th-century Hindu temples. The main temple consists of four-shrines that share a common mandapa (hall), each sanctum being a square and aligned to a cardinal direction. The eastern shrine has Goddess Lakshmi, the northern shrine is dedicated to Kali-Durga, the western to Shiva, and the southern is empty and likely Vishnu. 

The complex has a separate Bhairava shrine to the northeast of the main temple, and four small shrines at the corners inside a nearly square prakara (compound). All nine temples are notable for its pyramidal north Indian style Nagara shikhara – likely an influence from Maharashtra and an evidence of active flow of ideas between the southern, central and northern India. 

This temple is one of the oldest surviving Hoysala temples, having been completed in 1113 CE during the reign of King Vishnuvardhana. It is another hidden gem about which not much is known. It is a live temple i.e. daily puja is performed in the temple, and it is under the protection of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Since its not crowded like Belur and Halebeedu, there is plenty of space for parking. There is a small lake next to temple compound which adds more beauty to temple.  

Temple is open for visitors from 9.00 AM to 5.00 PM. As of now there is no charges for parking or to enter the temple. 

We can cover this place within 1 hour, worth visiting place. 

Someshwara Temple - Kolar

Visited Someshwara Temple while coming back from Kotilingeshwara Temple (around 30 KMS & If someone is traveling from Bengaluru, then Kolar is around 65 Kms). 

Heard about this temple many times, thought of covering this place while coming back from Kotilingeshwara Temple.

About Someshwara Temple: The temple was built by the Cholas who ruled this region in the 11th century who were then dethroned by the Chalukyas. The temple was later expanded by the Vijayanagara Empire and is a fine example of the Vijayanagara style of architecture. The carvings on the inner pillars of the temple have an international connection which depicts the importance and value of trade to the King.

The temple is every architect’s delight considering the beauty of Dravidian architecture. The huge gopura on the entrance stands testimony to the hand of the Cholas in the construction of this temple. The temple has heavy Prakara walls, a Kalyana Mantapa (Wedding Hall), a Mukha Mandapa with massive pillars, a Vasantha Mantapa (Marriage Podium) and a shrine for goddess Parvati Devi. The Kalyana Mandapa has 64 – 16 sided pillars, a few depicting men, riding horses and others represent mythological stories.

The temple remains open for the devotees from morning to evening. Taking picture inside the temple is restricted.

We can explore this place within an Hour, temple is also not crowded much.

Kotilingeshwara Temple

The Kotilingeshwara Temple is situated in a small village named Kammasandra in the Kolar district. Its around 95 Kms from Bengaluru (Around 30 Kms from Kolar).

When i was in Chintamani visited this place, which is around 70 Kms from Chintamani. On the way stopped near Mulubagalu for famous Mulubagalu Malsala Dose.

The temple is extremely famous because of the largest and the tallest Shivalinga present in Asia. More than 2 lac devotees visit this temple every year.

About Kotilingeshwara Temple: ‘Koti’ in Kannada means a crore and Kotilingeshwara is 1 crore Shivalingas. The temple with the tallest Shivalinga in the world is installed here along with 90+ lakhs of other Shivalingas of different sizes. The 33 mts high Shivalinga and 11 mts high Lord Nandi, the Bull are the main attractions of the temple. The temple is open for donations of Shivalingas of various sizes which can be installed with the name of the donor embedded on it.

In the year 1980, the temple was initiated and constructed by Swami Sambha Shiva Murthy. The road to the temple is easily approachable and is located in Kammasanadra, a small village in Kolar District. Even though there are a lot of devotees who visit the temple every day, the temple attracts millions of tourists on Maha Shivaratri. Shivaratri is a festival dedicated to Lord Shiva and usually appears in the the month of February- March.

Temple is open for visitors from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM, Entry fee is Rs.20/- per person. They will charge Rs.100/- for cameras (we can take pics in mobile for free as of now).

After exploring this place headed towards Someshwara Temple in Kolar.

Mulbagalu Masala Dose

I was hearing about this from quite a long and while driving towards Kotilingeshwara from Chintamani got a chance to stop and taste the most delicious Masala Dose in a while.

Mulbagalu is around 95 Kms from Bengaluru and around 40 Kms from Chintamani. We planned to drive to Kotilingeshwara and started around 7.30 AM from Chintamani. Plan was to stop for breakfast near Mulbagalu, found out that Prasad hotel is famous for serving delicious Masala Dose. They are in business since 1979!

We cant go near the hotel in cars, because of narrow roads. We need to park our cars near main road and walk for around 100 meters. You feel all this circus is worth after having Dose from here 😄

Don’t expect any luxury around this place, during weekends its quite difficult to get chairs to sit and eat.

Timings of the Hotel is morning 7.30 AM to 11.30 AM and evening 6.00 PM to 8.00 PM. 

They provide few varieties of Dose and rice bath is also equally famous here. Rate also very reasonable compared to Bengaluru.

If you are foodie, then this place should be in your bucket list.