Saturday, July 13, 2013

Guide to Great Weekends : Melukote and Basaralu (near Mysore)

During our recent weekend get-away to Mysore to visit the zoo, we also made two pit-stops en-route. Around 35 kms diversion from Mandya takes you to the first temple pit-stop, Melukote. A little trek up the Yaadavagiri hill bare-feet takes you to this 12th centuary Cheluvaranarayana Swamy temple which is regarding as a holy place of worship in south India.


View of temple hill Yaadavagiri from the back-side 


Steps leading to the temple

view of the village below from the hill top
Temple Gopura


Another 25 kms from Melukote (off Mandya) lies another temple site. The Mallikarjuna temple at Basaralu was built in 13th centuary by the Hoysala kings and has an architecture adorned with emblems and themes common to the Hoysala architecture. Despite being marked a heritage site by the Archaeological Survey of India, this temple site is not very well-known. You may find yourselves alone admiring the beauty of this small temple, just like we did. 


Entrance to the Mallikarjuna Temple at Basaralu






Typical Hoysala architecture in which the temple is built
  


Whether you are a devotee or not, a visit to these temples does temporarily transfer your mind back to an era long gone.