Hassanamba!

Time: 31st Oct to 3rd Nov, 2024

Place: Hassan, Sakleshpur, Kukke Subrahmanya

Company: Wife & Daughter

Highlights: 

Day 1 - Hassan: 

7 am train from Yesvantpur to Hassan. Wife and Daughter were not keeping well. Still went ahead with the plan. Reached Hassan at about 11 am. Took an auto to the temple. It was just a few days for the famed Hassanambe temple to close for the year. It is open only for 1-2 weeks prior to Deepavali. We were expecting a huge crowd but the queue was far more than what we thought we'd see. And that queue was for Rs 1000 per person! Hardly any amenities in the line either. Rain or sunshine, one had to just stand on the road. With wifey almost feeling like fainting, we were wondering if it was indeed the right decision to visit at that point of time. Thought we will give it a shot anyways. Thankfully the line was moving slowly but surely. After about 2.5 hours, we reached the sanctum sanctorum and the pushing and shoving reached its climax. Since we were carrying luggages (for 4 days), it was one heck of an experience! Not recommedned! I had two backpacks - one on my back and one on my front, and I was getting squeezed like a lemonade in front of Goddess Hassanambe! By 2 pm, we were done with Darshan, and were extremely relieved. 

We got prasadam and then it started raining heavily. Thankfully, our slippers on the road had not got washed off in the rain water (like so many others). Took an auto to the bus stand where we immediately got a bus to Sakleshpur. One hour of drive, and another auto to our home stay. It was a simple yet nice home stay with good balcony overlooking the mountain terrain and the railways tracks. The owner was friendly, and we had nice tea looking at the dusk and the migratory birds. Slept after ordering food from a nearby restaurant. 

Day 2 - Sakleshpur: 

Had booked the local sightseeing with the same auto guy who dropped us off at home stay. Had ordered breakfast from same restaurant and after a long wait time, we were on our way. Our first stop was the Manjarabad Fort which was quite close. Had to walk few steps and it was humid and hot too. Strange star-like shaped fort with good views all around. Wifey was not feeling that great, so took it easy here. Started raining on our way down.

Next stop was Betta Byraveshwara Temple. This was a long distance away. Road was not that great either. Finally reached the temple spot. It was closed but the place where it was located was really great, with towering mountains although we ourselves felt we were in the clouds. Took some great snaps, and even had our lunch here - maggi! 

On the way back to Sakleshpur, we stopped at Magajahalli Abbi Falls. This was a wonderful place with just enough water to enjoy without fear. There are various points here where you can choose how much wet you want to become, and the steps lead right beside the flowing water. We went all the way down and spent some time knee-deep in the water and soaked it all in - quite literally! After some time, we got back to the road, had some nice boiled corn and masala cucumber. Then back in the auto all the way to the Sakleshpur restaurant near our home stay where we had dinner, and back to home stay and retired for the night after packing up.

Day 3 - Kukke Subrahmanya: 

Walked to the railway station which was just 10 mins away. Nice cozy little railway station. Our train was on time. Took our seats and the two hour scenic journey started. Sakleshpur to Kukke is one of the most scenic and popular train routes. I remember going through this route when perhaps I was in my early teens or less. There was a train called Mangala express which used to leave BLR at late night and start from Sakleshpur at about 5.30 am when there was dawn break. The sight was mesmerizing. For some reason, they stopped that train. Anyways, felt good to be back! Our train was at 11ish, so we had enough time in the morning to relax and freshen up. 

The two hour journey was indeed mesmerizing with many tunnels and bridges. It even stopped right beside a falls, and many people ventured out to get wet! The view of the western Ghats was great too, with mountains everywhere. Truly a great engineering marvel to construct the railway tracks on this terrain. Finally, we reached our destination. Took an auto to our hotel - Sheshnaag Aashraya. It was pleasantly very good hotel - very clean, very spacy, extremely budget-friendly, good food at the ground floor (although service was slow), etc.. Relaxed for some time, since it was raining heavily by that time. 

In the dusk, we made our way to the Kukke Subrahmanya temple. Thankfully the line was not too much, so darshan was done in less than an hour. There were other rituals (including an elephant being paraded) going on all around, so we just stayed in the vicinity. And then we walked to another temple called Aadi Subrahmanya temple which was right beside a stream of water. We entered when they were just about to close. Got good darshan there too and returned back to the main temple. Spent some more time and then when we felt we were done, headed back to the room. Packed up and slept.

Day 4 - Back to Bangalore:

Our train was at 9ish in the morning, so got up early and reached the station. We had booked the Vista Dome train - our first time. We had seen this before and heard about it but never went in it. With the picturesque western ghats between Kukke and Sakleshpur stations, Vista Dome was ideal. This was more like the entire coach was made up of glass, so we had 360 degrees view. Truly unique experience. But it lacked the usual warmth of a non-AC compartment with many vendors selling their stuff - food or otherwise. In fact, here it was very silent and hardly any hawker selling us anything - not even water. The IRCTC attendant also was very haughty and hardly served us anything. In fact, we went without lunch the whole day as the only thing he had was noodles, and we did not want that! Other than the service, the views were great. At Shravanabelagola, we could even see the Gomateshwar right from our seats! The other issue with the rotating seats was that unless you are four in a group, the rotations is not convenient. Because if you turn towards the window, there is a legroom issue for the neighbouring row. That apart, we enjoyed the Vista Dome. Reached on time at about 4 pm, and rest of the journey home was uneventful.

Highlights:

A trip to Sakleshpur was on the cards for a very long time considering the scenic beauty of the Western Ghats. I was also repenting not having visited it during my bachelorhood days as part of any trekking activity. And then the previous year, my mother-in-law came across a news video about Hassanambe temple which is open only during this Deepavali season, and she did visit with my mother, and explained how crowded it was. So we thought we should club Sakleshpur with Hassanambe temple visit this year, and I am glad we could accomplish it despite health issues. The crowd is increasing day by day, year by year and facilities for managing such a large crowd is not easy nor forthcoming like TTD temples. And after Sakleshpur and Hassan, the Vista Dome was like a Cherry on the top. This was a simple trip comprising of the Divine temples, Natural scenic beauty and Man-made Glass-train - a combination that filled us with lot of good memories. Until next time...!