3 DAYS TRIP FROM BANGALORE | QUICK TOUR OF COORG WITH SHRAVANABELAGOLA

About Bylakuppe Golden Temple

At a distance of 5 km from Kushalnagar, 7 km from Cauvery Nisargadhama, 34 km from Madikeri, and 87 km from Mysore, the Golden Temple or Namdroling Monastery is a beautiful Buddhist Monastery situated in Bylakuppe, Karnataka. Bylakuppe is the second-largest Tibetan settlement in India after Dharamshala and is among the most popular places to visit in Coorg.

History of Golden Temple

Bylakuppe is a Tibetan refugee settlement area established by Lugsum Samdupling in 1961 and Dickyi Larson in 1969. It was an amalgamation of about twenty villages that came together to be called the town of Bylakuppe. The main tourist attraction here is the magnificent Namdroling Monastery. Popularly called as Golden Temple, the Namdroling Monastery was established by Drubwang Padma Norbu Rinpoche in 1963. This is the largest teaching center of Nyingmapa, .....

About Cauvery Nisargadhama

At a distance of 3 km from Kushalnagar, 7 km from Bylakuppe, 12 km from Dubare Elephant Camp, and 29 km from Madikeri, Cauvery Nisargadhama is an island formed by the River Cauvery in the Kodagu district of Karnataka. It is one of the most scenic Coorg tourist places and also a famous picnic spot for the people of Coorg.

This island was developed as a tourist spot in 1988 by the Forest Department. Spread over a sprawling 64-acre land, the island is filled with thick bamboo groves, sandalwood, and teak trees. The island is accessible through a hanging rope bridge. This island also features a deer park, Rabbit Park, Peacock Park, and Orchidarium. The Island is perfect for a picnic with the children. It is also an ideal destination for those who love nature and spend time by themselves. It is .....

About Abbey Falls

At a distance of 8 km from Madikeri Bus Station, Abbey Falls, or Abbi Falls is a wonderful waterfall situated amidst the mountains of Western Ghats in Coorg. It is one of the best waterfalls near Bangalore, and among the must-include places in Coorg tour packages.

Abbey Falls is one of the top tourist places to visit in Coorg. It is situated in the middle of private coffee plantations and spice estates. It is one of the best waterfalls in the Coorg region.

Height of Abbey Falls

Numerous small streams and abundant rainfall combine to form the Abbey Waterfalls. It cascades down the rocky slopes from a height of about 70 feet into a pool. This waterfall flows to unite with the River Cauvery. A hanging bridge has been built across the .....

At a distance of 1.5 km from Madikeri Bus Station, Raja's Seat is a popular viewpoint towards the south of Madikeri Fort in the picturesque hill town of Madikeri, Coorg. This is one of the top tourist places to visit in Coorg and also a famous sunset point in Madikeri.

The Raja's Seat, which means the Seat of Kings, is a brick and mortar structure with four pillars connected by arches. It is built on a high elevation with a commanding view of the cliffs and valleys. This lovely spot was once a favorite place of recreation for the King of Coorg. He used to spend time with his queen in the garden and watching the setting sun. The spot offers a breathtaking view of towering hills, green valleys studded with paddy fields. It is fascinating to watch the road to Mangalore like a curved ribbon lying in the valley.

Raja's Seat stands inside a splendid garden of .....

At a distance of 1 km from Madikeri Bus Station, Omkareshwara Temple is an ancient and magnificent temple situated near Madikeri Fort in Madikeri. It is one of the must include places in Coorg Tour Packages.

Dedicated to Lord Shiva, Omkareshwara Temple was built by Lingarajendra in 1820 CE. It is one of the must-visit Coorg tourist places. The shivalinga inside the temple is believed to be brought from Kashi. According to the legend, the king had killed a pious Brahmin to fulfill his political ambitions. However, the king started to have nightmares for his cruel deed. To free himself from the nightmares, the King sought the advice of a few wise men and they told the king to build a temple of Lord Shiva to regain his mental peace. The king followed their advice and brought a Shiva lingam from the holy town of Kashi and installed it at a newly constructed temple. .....

About Dubare Elephant Camp

At a distance of 15 km from Kushalnagar, and 29 km from Madikeri, Dubare Elephant Camp is an elephant training center situated on the banks of the river Cauvery in the Kodagu district of Karnataka. It is one of the most famous places to visit in Coorg, and also one of the top attractions you must include in Coorg packages.

Dubare is a natural island formed by Cauvery River. It is an important base for the Karnataka Forest Department's elephants and among the must include places in India wildlife tour packages.

History of Dubare Elephant Camp

Dubare Elephant Camp is a project undertaken by the forest department and jungle lodges & resorts. This camp has plenty of elephants which are trained under naturalists. The elephants used for Mysore Dussehra .....

At a distance of 9 km from Talacauvery and 36 km from Madikeri, Bhagamandala is a sacred place situated in the Coorg district of Karnataka. Also known as Bhagundeshwara Kshetra, it is one of the famous pilgrimage sites in Karnataka and also one of the top places to experince Coorg Tourism.

Bhagamandala is situated at the confluence of two rivers, the Cauvery and the Kannike. A third river, the Sujyothi is said to join from underground. It is well known as Triveni Sangama and also considered as Dakshina Kashi. It is a common practice for pilgrims to take a dip in the sangama and perform rituals to their ancestors before proceeding to Talacauvery, the birthplace of Kaveri River. During 1785-1790, the area was occupied by Tipu Sultan and he renamed it Afesalabad. Then in 1790 King Dodda Veerarajendra took Bhagamandala back into an independent Kodagu.

A short distance .....

About Talakaveri

At a distance of 9 km from Bhagamandala & 44 km from Madikeri, Talacauvery is the origin of the Cauvery River in Karnataka. It is situated on the slopes of the Brahmagiri mountain ranges near Bhagamandala at an altitude of 1276 m. It is one of the best places to visit in Coorg and is among prime place to visit on a Coorg trip.

At Talacauvery, there is a square tank called Cauvery Kundike or Brahma Kundike, which is considered to be the birth place of River Cauvery. Here, River Cauvery emerges as a perennial spring and disappears underground. River Cauvery again emerges at Nagathirtha near Bhagamandala and joins with Kannike and Sujyoti at Triveni Sangam. Bhagamandala is the meeting of three rivers and is also referred to as Triveni Sangam.

History of Talakaveri

.....

At a distance of 700m from Shravanabelagola Bus Station, Bhandara Basadi is the largest temple built in the center of Shravanabelagola town at a distance of about 300m from the entrance of the Vindhyagiri hill which houses the famous Bahubali Gomateshwara Temple. It is one of the popular sacred places to visit in Shravanabelagola.

Built in 1159 CE, this temple was erected by Bhandari Hullamayya, a general of Hoysala King Narasimha. The temple is a large structure measuring 155 ft x 232 ft. The temple exhibits great artistic skills of Hoysala rulers. The temple has a large manasthamba and an ornate mandapa in front of the entrance. The tower on entrance of the temple is small but nicely designed. The temple tower is erected on a pillared mandapa that houses few wooden carvings of a Jain Thirthankaras.

The main shrine is a rectangular structure with a 12 pillared sanctum, a rangamandapa and another mandapa called Saraswathi .....

At a distance of 1 km from Shravanabelagola Bus Station, Odegal Basadi also known as Vadegal Basti or Trikuta Alaya is a wonderful 14th-century basadi situated on Vindhyagiri hill on the way to Bahubali Gomateshwara Temple. It is one of the prime places to visit in Shravanabelagola.

The Odegal Basadi is named so because of the stone proportions placed against its basement. It is the only trikutachala in Shravanabelagola that can be visited as part of Shravanabelagola Tour Packages. The basadi is built on a highly elevated platform supported by huge blocks of stone pillars. It is impressive for the commanding position it occupies. The temple has a small Mukha mandapa followed by a large maha mandapa with circular pillars. The maha mandapa has three sanctums facing different directions with beautiful statues of Tirthankaras housed inside.

The .....

At a distance of 1 km from Shravanabelagola Bus Station, Tyagada Kamba is a 10th century Monilithic Gateway situated on Vindhyagiri hill between Bahubali Gomateshwara Temple and Tyagada Kamba.

The doorway has a large stone carving of Gajalakshmi panel above the door. Goddess Lakshmi seated on lotus flanked by two elephants with pots in their trunks. The panel has crocodile and lion images carved on the upper part. This is one of the finest and largest Gajalakshmi reliefs in the country. It is one of the best arts that exhibit the workmapship of Ganga period.

There are two cells built on both sides of the gateway which were built in 12th century by Bharatamayya, a general of Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana. These cells are dedicated to Bahubali and his brother Bharatha.

Beside Bharatha's cell, there is a huge rock with several carvings of Jain saints with their followers flanked across the rock in three levels. The .....

At a distance of 1 km from Shravanabelagola Bus Station, Bahubali Gomateshwara Temple is a monolithic statue situated in Shravanbelagola, Karnataka. It is the tallest monolithic stone statue in the world with a height of 58 feet, and among the must include places in Shravanabelagola Tour Packages.

The temple is built on top of a Vindhyagiri Hill at an altitude of 3347 feet. A flight of 620 steps provides access to this temple from the entrance near the pond. Gomateshwara Temple is among the prime places to visit in Shravanabelagola.

This image of Bahubali was created during the period of Chamundaraya, a minister of the Ganga King Rajamalla between 982 and 983 CE. The eyes of the statue are open as if viewing with work without any detachment. The statue has an anthill behind, representing Gomatha's long penance. Creeper emerges .....

At a distance of 1 km from Shravanabelagola Bus Station, Siddhara Basadi is a 14th century basadi situated just outside the main Bahubali Gomateshwara Temple on Vindhyagiri hill.

Dedicated to Sidda Bhagavan Thirthankara, the basadi has an attractive carved granite statue of Saint Sidda in sitting posture. The basadi has two wonderful pillars erected in 14th and 15th centuries with valuable inscriptions. These pillars are dedicated to the Jain saints Panditahradhya and Srtamuni. The text on one of the pillars was composed by a famous Kannada poet called Mangaraja.

The Wodeyar mandapa on the western side has inscriptions describing the donations made by the Mysore Maharajas to the temple in 17th and 18th centuries.

Few meters ahead of Siddara Basadi, Gullekayi Ajji Mandapa situated opposite to the entrance of Gomateswara Temple is a wonderful mandapa with a mansthamba erected in 12th century with inscriptions. The mandapa also has a beautiful carving of an old lady called .....

At a distance of 1 km from Shravanabelagola Bus Station, Tyagada Kamba is a wonderful 10th century monument situated on Vindhyagiri hill on the way to Bahubali Gomateshwara Temple, past Odegal Basadi.

Tyagada Kamba is a small, open pavilion with an elaborately carved stone pillar which is an unmatched artistic beauty. Built on an elevated platform, the pillar has elaborate carvings from bottom to top. It is believed that Chavundaraya, minister of Ganga Dynasty distributed gifts to needy people from this pavilion. This pillar brings out the best workmanship of Ganga rulers.

It is believed that the original inscription at bottom of the pillar was erased by Heggade Kanna in 1200 AD. He installed an image of Yaksha at the top of the pillar and added inscriptions on the pedestal. The upper mandapa of the pavilion was built using brick and mortar in 15th century.

At a distance of 1 km from Shravanabelagola Bus Station, Tyagada Kamba is a 17th century Jain basadi situated on Vindhyagiri hill near Tyagada Kamba on the right side while going to Bahubali Gomateshwara Temple.

The basadi is a small shrine with a small pillared madapa and sanctum with a small tower over the sanctum. Built on an elevated platform, the doorway of the main structure has is accompanied by dwarapalakas. The shrine is built against a large boulder which form southern wall of the basadi. The image of Chandraprabha, 8th Jain Thirthankara is carved on the boulder attached to the temple.

There is a large open hall with 24 pillars opposite to the basadi. Also, a large 30 feet manastambha is placed near the open hall. The basadi, hall and manasthambha are built by Chennanna, son of Puttaswamy Setti in 1667 AD.

This place offers panoramic view of the other side of Shravanabelagola town.

At a distance of 0.5 km from Shravanabelagola Bus Station & 1.5 km from Bahubali Gomateshwara Temple, Chamundaraya Basadi located on Chandragiri Hill is a wonderful structure dedicated to Lord Neminatha built in Jaina architecture of Dravidian style. It was built by Chamundaraya, the minister of Ganga king Marasimha II in 982 AD. The construction of this basadi was completed in 995 AD. It is one of the prime places to visit in Shravanabelagola, the holy site of Jain pilgrimage.

Chamundaraya Basadi is the most attractive and largest structure on Chandragiri hill. This structure resembles the Dravidian two-tier temple architecture introduced by Badami Chalukyas. The basadi is a rectangular structure facing east. The complex consists of a garbhagriha, a pradakshina path, open sukanasi, navaranga and a mukhamandapa. The garbhagriha houses the image of Lord Neminatha.

There is another small structure on the first level of Chamundaraya Basadi which can be accessed by a set of narrow .....

At a distance of 0.5 km from Shravanabelagola Bus Station & 1.5 km from Bahubali Gomateshwara Temple, Chandraprabha Basadi is located on Chandragiri Hill.

It consists of an open Garbagriha, a sukhanasi, a navaranga and a porch and enshrines a seated figure of Chandraprabha, the 8th tirthankara. In the sukhanasi are placed the images of Shyama and Jwalamalini, the yaksha and yakshi. The pedestal of Jwalamalini image shows a lion with two riders seated one behind the other.

The basadi is a brick structure raised over a stone base. It is said to have been constructed by the Ganga king Sivamara II.

At a distance of 0.5 km from Shravanabelagola Bus Station & 1.5 km from Bahubali Gomateshwara Temple, Kattale Basadi is situated to the left of Parswanatha Basadi on Chandragiri. It is the biggest of all the Basadis on Chandragiri hill.

This basadi is dedicated to Adinath, the first tirthankara. An image of the Goddess Padmavathi is also found in the verandah. It was constructed by Ganga Raja, the general of Vishnuvardhana. This structure was recently renovated by the Government of Karnataka.

The basadi has garbhagriha, pradakshinapatha, an open sukanasi, a navaranga of 16 pillars, a large rangpmandapa. The garbhagriha houses the seated image of Lord Adinatha. As per the inscriptions on the pedestal of this image, the temple was funded by Pochavve, the mother of Gangaraja.

At a distance of 0.5 Km from Shravanabelagola Bus Station & 1.5 km from Bahubali Gomateshwara Temple, Parshwanatha Basadi is located on Chandragiri Hill. The basadi contains a garbagriha, a sukhanasi, a navaranga and a porch. This is a beautiful structure with decorated outer walls. The doorways are lofty and the navaranga as well as the porch have verandhas at their sides. The pillars in the navaranga are of round Ganga type with bell, vase and wheel mouldings. The image of Parshwanatha is the tallest on the hill which is 18 feet in height.

The manastambha (pillar) in front of the Parshwanatha basadi has a pavilion on the top containing standing Jain figures facing four directions. This pillar is sculptured on all the four sides of the base and contains the figure of Padmavathi on the south, Yaksha on the east, seated Kushmandini on the north and a galloping horseman on the west. It was built by a Jain merchant Puttaiya between 1672 & 1704 AD.