The real Eywa !! Rock Climbing !! Folk Art !! Wooden Toys !!
Ramanagara - Rock Climbing and Sri Rama Temple
Whether you are a adventurer or nature lover or just want to get out of Bangalore for a day , Ramanagara is a good option to consider. A small diversion of 3 kms from the Mysore highway leads you to Ramanagara temple rock climbing area. You can reach this place with ease , and also there are several restaurants on the way to Ramanagara for breakfast.
You can leave your vehicles at the foot of the hill and start your trek.
The trek takes you up around 400 steps , the steps are not steep so its a enjoyable climb up the hill with unpolluted air , lush green trees and the sound of birds chirping.
At the end of these steps you will find two temples , one for Lord Rama and one for Lord Shiva , a bell tower near the cliff of the hill and a small pond formed naturally between the rocks called Rama Thirtha pond.
Further a small walk from the temple leads you to the view points , as you go up the trial you will find splendid panoramic views. The trial lead to a steep rock with stairs carved out of the Rock.
They had railings on either side but the rock itself seemed very steep and dangerous. When we tried to climb the rock , we were stopped by the police. We and several other groups failed to persuade him in allowing us to climb :(
He had strictly informed us it was restricted to trek beyond the point , as a couple of illfated incidents had taken place recently. It was quite disappointing to have gone this far and not able to go up the peak , but still the views were good from the cliff where we were allowed to and safety first so yeah we enjoyed the view and came down to the temple to offer our prayers.
Sometimes we often take so many things we have in life for granted !!! A lean old priest doing his duty diligently even though it was very clear that he was not earning anything out of it. As we sat there , he came up to us and very hesitantly asked if we could lend our phone for him to speak to his sister who lived somewhere far. We did help him with that , and left with a heavy heart.
Ramanagara is known for vultures but we were not lucky enough to encounter them during our visit.
Janapada Loka - Karnataka Folk Art
Janapada Loka , a small place which highlights the Karnataka folk art and culture.
Its a open place covered with trees , as you walk around here you would find sculptures and houses each depicting the life style of Karnataka.
The sculptures are life like and its quite an experience to see ways of life which was lead decades back , the huts , the houses.
You will also find small museum inside with artifacts related to day to day life used years back in the southern part of the country and artifacts related to folk dance , puppetry from Karnataka region Togalu gombeyaata - "a play of leather dolls".
It would have been a great place if there was proper maintenance.
I would not say it was magnificent but its worth a visit with the kids , to give them a glimpse of the culture and heritage !!
There is the Kamat restaurant in the premises of Janapada Loka , you can find the employees serving traditional Karnataka food dressed in traditional attire. The food was average , considering the taste , hygiene and over priced bill !! There were restaurants on the other side of the Highway as well.
Channapatna - Wooden Toys
This place has some beautiful wooden toys , wooden kids walkers , rocking horses.
Well usually toys are for kids , of course if you have kids at home this is a very good place
to buy some exquisite wooden toys in unimaginably less cost , but there are many things which would also attract the grown ups.
Home decors , wooden tables , wooden wall hangings , paintings , swings and many more.
If you are visiting Ramanagara or on your way to Mysore , stopping by one of these shops is indeed worth while.
Doddalada Mare - The Real Eywa
Doddaladamare means "The Big Banyan tree" in Kannada. A small diversion from the Mysore Highway takes you to this old soul. The tree has been standing here for about 400 years !!!
Its indeed a majestic tree covering a large area with its roots spread across , you can find the roots going into the ground and regrown again from the ground.
Looking at this majestic Banyan tree only reminded us of the Eywa from Avathar , if preserved and taken care of well this could have been so much like the Eywa , but its sad
that there is no proper maintenance and people have tried to carve out names on the tree branches. It is quite sad to see people being so inconsiderate.
If you are visiting any nearby places , a stop here is worth while. Its like a small picnic spot where you can bring your meal or snacks and picnic with your family here.
Doddalada Mare , Ramanagara , Janapada loka , Channapatna humble yet beautiful in their own way. Combining these places can be a good one day trip which is easily doable with family , kids and friends. Good roads , easy access and less distance makes this a effortless day trip from Bangalore.
Want to plan your road trip , here's all that you need to know
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