Ride to Kuvempu’s Kuppalli

I wanted to go on a long ride at least twice a year. I was not even thinking of really long rides, just a decent three or four day ride. Last year, we could ride to Gokarna in WN-05/2024 and to Valparai in WN-40/2024. But this year’s beginning was very painful due to radiculopathy. It was so bad that I thought I wouldn’t be able to ride any decent distance again. Thanks to my physiotherapists, I have recovered enough to ride another 850+ km, including some bad stretches without pain.

Most of us have read Kuvempu and have been fans of his writing. He was alive until the 1990s, but we didn’t get to meet him. So when we started talking about the destination to ride, I pitched Kuppalli and Kavishaila. And all of my friends immediately thought it was a great destination. We made it into a loop through Agumbe and Kudremukha to make the ride more fun.

Here is an interesting fact. I am visiting Kudremukha after 22 years. I was in Kudremukha in 2003 for a trek with friends, and it was the first travelogue that I wrote as an email for friends and blogged it here for strangers. Twenty-two years later, both processes are merged. I just blog now. 🔴 I have lots of pictures and two time-lapse videos. So this post is media-heavy. You have been warned.

Day 1: Bengaluru to Kuppalli/Theerthahalli

We started early, around 04:30 AM. The plan was to gather at Guraguntepalya and leave from there together at 05:00 AM. Sandeep had borrowed a C30, which we tried to connect to our group, but it failed miserably. We wasted a bunch of time on it and gave up. Finally, we left at 06:00 AM, with just Manju and me on comms.

On the way, Sandeep saw the Bhadra dam board and suggested we visit it. So we took a slight diversion to see it. It was worth it.

The Bhadra Dam or Lakkavalli Dam, which has created the Bhadra Reservoir, is located on the Bhadra River a tributary of Tungabhadra River. Bhadra Dam is located in Chikmagalur district on the border of Bhadravathi and Tarikere, in the western part of Karnataka in India.

We reached Kuppalli late around 05:45 PM. We had about 45 minutes. We went to Kavishaila first, then to Kavi Mane, and finally watched Poorna Chandra Tejasvi’s memorial. At around 7 PM, we left for our homestay. Unfortunately, Agoda botched the booking, so we had to return to Thirthahalli and check into a small hotel.

Kavishaila is a rock monument made of megalithic rocks and dedicated to Kuvempu. It is on the top of a small hill in Kuppali. Arranged in a circular fashion, the rocks have been placed to resemble the Stonehenge in England. At the centre of this rock monument is the place where Kuvempu was laid to rest after his death and a memorial has been constructed at that location. Near this monument, is a small rock where Kuvempu used to sit and discuss about literature and other topics with his other litterateur friends. A rock containing the etched signatures of Kuvempu, B. M. Srikantaiah and T S Venkannaiah is present near the monument. Poornachandra Tejaswi later engraved his signature on the same rock. Granite slabs containing engraved poems and quotes of Kuvempu have been placed near the monument.

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Day 2: To Kalasa via Agumbe and Kudremukha

The second day was a short-distance but fun ride along the ghats and through green forests. We got to ride through the Agumbe ghat section and the beautiful Kudremukha section. It was one of the most beautiful ride days. Check the timelapse videos.

Manju thought a visit to Kavaledurga would be fun, and it wasn’t a significant diversion. We got to see the backwaters of Mani Dam, built across the Varahi river, on our way to Kavaledurga fort. It was beautiful. We didn’t hike to the fort as we didn’t have time, but the ride itself was beautiful.

Kavualedurga Fort (Kannada ಕವಲೇದುರ್ಗದ ಕೋಟೆ) is a 9th-century fort 18 km (11 mi) from Thirthahalli, Shimoga. It was the fourth and last capital of Keladi kingdom.

Sandeep wanted to see Kere basadi. We quickly rode to Varanga. We just made it in time for the last boat ride before the temple closed for lunch. The basadi was as beautiful as we expected. After that, we visited Shree Neminaatha Swami Basadi, just opposite to Kere Basadi.

Kere Basadi (meaning: Lake temple) or Chaturmukha Basadi is a Jain temple located in Varanga village in Udupi district of Karnataka, India. This 12th-century temple is situated amidst of a lake giving it the name Kere Basadi (lake temple).[a] The temple is also known Chaturmukha Basadi as it houses a chaturmukha (four-faced) idol of tirthankaras. The temple is situated 26 km from Karkala, another popular Jain centre.

We couldn’t miss Karkala Gommateshwara. We paid a short visit. I remember being here a very long time ago (when I was working in Mangalore, 2003/04 era).

We arrived at our homestay around 7 PM. The last section of Kudremukha had bad roads, so we were tired. Slept early. Also, we had a long return ride to Bengaluru the next day.

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Day 3: Kalasa to Bengaluru via Hassan

The final day was just an easy ride to home. There was not much sun on the way, so it was a very comfortable ride. In fact, closer to Bengaluru, it was much colder. Thankfully, we had checked the weather, so we had worn enough warm clothing. Traffic on the approach to Bangalore was terrible, and the last 50 km were awful as well. It took all of us at least 3 hours for the last 50 km. It was tiring.

Most of the ride was unplanned; we just knew the destination for each day and a rough route. We took diversions wherever we found something interesting to see, and took breaks when we were tired. Except for a patch inside the Kudremukha forest area, almost all of the roads were good. Most of the time, our speed was 60 kmph. So it was mostly a comfortable ride with two great riding partners. All in all a memorable ride.

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