Adi-Chunchanagiri mutt is the spiritual headquarters of the Natha Parampara and Jogi Cult of Hindus of Karnataka. My dad, who had earlier visited this place with his friends, happened to insist on going there again with his family. His intention was not to take us on the spiritual path but rather to introduce us to a hiking path which he found picturesque after having ascended.

One Saturday morning, our family set forth to enjoy this day trip towards Adi-Chunchanagiri. We drove towards Hassan, along an excellent highway until Bellur cross from where we had to take a deviation towards Adi-Chunchanagiri betta (hill) as indicated on google-maps. There on, we enjoyed our drive through the countryside, with traditional homes scattered between vegetable farms, coconut groves, and forest patches of brown boulders and green trees. Google is not always right and that’s why we deviated from the course a little more than necessary until we found the correct track again. But it was the deviation which we enjoyed. We realized that the region is declared as Adi-Chunchanagiri peacock sanctuary. It was no surprise that dozens of peacocks were grazing freely on every other farm, moving around at every turn of the road and everywhere else along our way right until we reached the parking lot at the base of the Adi-Chunchanagiri hill.

The initial approach towards the mutt premises starts with an ascent of about 100 steps leading to the welcome gate/ arch giving a visitor the first glimpse of the main temple. The large doors of the main temple opened into an ambience that felt divine and calm. It is entirely built with stones, and it gives a feeling of being in one of the ancient Dravidian temples though this one was built in modern times. The deities believed to be residing inside and revered highly by the pilgrims here are Sri Kalabhairaveshwara Swamy and Sri Stambhambika (Kambadamma).

After sitting there for some time, we began our ascent towards the peak of the hill. Just after coming out of the main temple, there is a large Ganesha idol sculpted out of the rocky wall of the surrounding. We continued our climb by passing by some smaller temples with a look around offering beautiful views of the green cover.

Scores of people were seen climbing up and down for pilgrimage purposes. The climb to the hilltop is done to see the Panchalingas comprising Gangadhareshwara, Malleshwara, Katthale Someshwara, Gavisiddeshwara and Chandramouleshwara, whose temples or shrines are scattered along the trail leading to the summit. But we were there to hike that hill as a recreational activity for the weekend. We climbed up the steep stairs right up to the top with the trail splitting at random places. My family ended up getting lost from each other’s’ sight and then picked whatever trail lied ahead of us and met each other again at the top. Well, not the peak exactly, but just beneath it.

That’s where I gave up any further climb. The peak point of the hillock is known as Akasha Bhairava. It can be reached by climbing the last bit of the rocky hill which had no stairs but only with the aid of a big, suspended metal chain. It was a straight climb (almost 90 deg. gradient) which included a small jump from one rock to an another. I doubted my ability to descend safely even if I were able to reach the peak. My brother, on the other hand, climbed it up and down with so much ease (and grace) demonstrating that he still possessed his ancestors’ (apes) strongest traits.

After he returned, we all came down towards the main temple where we were guided towards the dining hall. We devoured the delicious temple food before heading back towards Bangalore.

We started back just after lunch to avoid the weekend traffic at Bangalore. But, if you are interested to cover more places in this day, you can google for some of the Hoysala temples along your way and add it into your itinerary.