Places to be seen in and around Savandurga - 1

Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple

Manchanbele Dam

Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple

This post is continuation to my previous post "Treck to the Asia's largest monolithic hill - Savandurga" and read the above post for the details of location, distance, travel time etc. We got down from bus near Tirumala Gate on the Magadi Road and went towards Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple which is about one kilometer from the Tirumala Gate.

Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple:

The Ranganatha Swamy Temple Comple has shrines of Rama, Sita, Anjaneya, Krishna and Ranganatha Swamy. This temple was constructed by Cholas in the early 12th Century and the same was subjected to additions/renovations over time. The main deity in the temple is standing image of beautiful "Narayana" and is believed to be installed by "Mandavya Rishi". The flower decoration on the deity makes it much beautiful. If any one wants to do "Abhisheka" to the god, they can pay the amount to the priest and inform him the the name of the person in whose name and the day on which "Abhisheka" has to be done.  

Deity of  Narayana 

Apart from this main beautiful deity, this temple has a great wonder. On the back side of the temple, the deity of Sri Ranganatha Swamy is developing on its own from the Rock Wall. No one Knows how the deity is developing. However, the priest in the temple said that it is a miracle of God and now the shapes of jewels are developing on the deity. As the deity is developing on its own, its called as "Udbhava Ranganatha Swamy". This is definitely a miracle in the modern world and a challenge to the science to prove how the deity is developing on its own in the exact shape of Sri Ranganatha Swamy. The priest also said that it may take another few centuries for the complete development of the deity.

Udbhava Ranganatha Swamy

It took about twenty minutes for us to see and pray all the deities and we came out of the temple with an unanswered question. Outside the temple there are few very old people sitting in front of the temple waiting for the help from the people who come to visit the temple. Please carry some money with you to give to the old people and you can definitely see the smile in their face and well wishes from them in their eyes. There is a good parking space for parking your vehicle.

Parking Place in front of the temple 

Nandi

Anjaneya

Outside the temple, small shops are available where we had some snacks and cool drinks. From here we left for trekking to Savandurga. But on the way, we found another temple Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple.


Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple:

Just opposite to the Savandurga Hill is the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple. I was very happy as I am going to the temple of my home god. We were very hungry at that time and after seeing the Narasimha Deity we came out and to our surprise we received tasty lemon rice and Sweet Pongal being distributed as prasadam by some people. There was quite a good crowd on that day. It is believed that the deity in this temple is being worshiped by many generations.

Dwajasthambham

Entrance to the Main Temple

Narasimha Deity

After praying here we then went for trekking to the Savandurga Hill which consists of two parts namely Karigudda and Biligudda. The trek to Savandurga was quite tiresome and  when we came down, we had no other choice than having food in a small hut. The hygienic conditions in the hut was very poor. However as we were very tired,  we had some food there. There are no good hotels near Savandurga Hill. So, its better to carry your own food. From here, we hired a seven-seater auto to Manchanbele Dam at a price of One Hundred and Twenty Five rupees.


Manchanbele Dam:

Manchanbele Dam is about 17 kilometers from Savandurga and it took half an hour to reach the place as the route is not so good. Many places of the road is filled with lot of holes and the road is also very narrow. Near the gate to the dam, narrow canals for passing the water can be seen.

Canals for transportation of water from Dam

As we went in summer, the water level in the dam was less. However the view of the stored water in the dam is worth seeing. The construction of Manchanbele Dam was completed in the Year 1993 and it has "3 spillway gates" with a total water storage capacity of 662.51 TCM. It is not advisable to go in water as over 200 people died in the reservoir after going for swimming in the water.


It takes about 45 Kilometers to go to Manchanbele Dam from Bangalore if you are planning to visit the Dam. The route for this is Bangalore (Majestic)-Mysore Road - Take Right on the road where Rajarajeshwari Dental College is there - From here travel for another 20 kilometers to reach Manchanbele dam.

Stored water in the Dam

One of the Spillway Gates

Canal for movement of Water

Back Waters

Road on the Dam 

After spending about forty minutes here, we started to go back to Bangalore. We waited for half an hour to catch a bus to Bangalore. At last we got into a BMTC Bus and we were so tired that we had deep sleep in the journey and the bus conductor woke us up saying that the last destination point in Bangalore is reached. We got down the bus and took auto to go back to home in the night and had deep sleep till morning.