Travel

Koodal Azhagar Perumal Temple: Temple Timings: 5:30 am to 12 noon and 4 pm to 9 pm This lovely temple is one of the 108 Divya Deshams dedicated to Lord Vishnu. This is located near by Periyar Bus stand and Madurai Railway station. As mentioned in our previous post titled Madurai - Thoonga Nagaram (the city that never sleeps), when marriage was fixed between Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswar, Lord Kallazhagar was asked to come and give as kannika dhanam. But was not able to come to the…

If planning for a day trip nearby Bangalore, then Belur and Halebidu could be good option. You have 2 route options to visit this place. One route is through Shravanabelagola (famous Jain pilgrimage center), Hassan and the another one is through Tumkur road. We took Tumkur route option. Started at about 8 am in the morning and reached Halebidu at about 12 pm. Halebidu: Also known as Dwara Samudra. It was the capital of Hoysalas. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The sculptors are all…

After our hectic work schedule, we planned to chill out at Coorg. Day 1: We started our trip on Saturday morning from Bangalore. This is our first long drive in our car. On the way we started feeling so hungry and so decided to grab a bite to eat at Kamath hotel on the highway after Ramanagaram. We relished vada and idly wrapped in banana leaf. We left Kamath hotel at 9:20 am. On the way we visited Aprameya and Navameetha Krishna temple and headed towards Kushalnagar via Srirangapatna. Roads…

We left Bangalore to Agra by Karnataka Express and it took 36 long hours of journey. From Agra we hired taxi and went to Fatehpur Sikri which is about 45 km from Agra. Then we took bus to reach the fort which is about a kilometer away from car parking. Ticket charge is Rs 5 per person. Fatehpur and Sikri are two different place opposite to each other and is at a walkable distance. The entry ticket for Sikri is Rs 20 per person except on Friday. On Friday's it is 50% less. Construction of…

Sacramento is the capital city of California State. Do you want to get the glimpse of the Sacramento history? Then visit Old Sacramento that's the right choice as history still preserved here. The road is made of cobblestone and sidewalk is made of wooden planks. Stroll the sidewalks along the Sacramento River and also along the old rail track. There are many old buildings dated back to gold rush days. A great place to hangout. Major attractions here is California State Rail Road Museum…

Cheluva Narayanaswamy Temple: We reached Cheluvanarayanaswamy temple at 4 pm. The temple main sanctum's door was not opened. Hence we first had a darshan of lord Anjaneya which is behind the main sanctum. When enquired the priest, he said it will be opened in another half an hour. No one was sure when the door will be opened and there were many people waiting. Later we came to know from the locals that it will open only after 6 pm due to festival celebration at the temple. Even though there…

Thirukostiyur (one of the 108 DivyaDesham): Temple Timings: Monday to Friday: 6.30 am - 12.30 pm and 3.45 pm - 7.30 pm Saturday and Sunday: 6.30 am -1 pm and 3.45 - 7.45 pm Do you know a place where the sacred mantra "Om Namo Narayana" was revealed? It is here at this Thirukoshtiyur which is around 70 km from Madurai. Ramanujar said to be the incarnation of Sri Adishesha, was born in Sriperumbudur. He was doing Kainkaryam (service) to Ranganathan perumal at Srirangam. In his dream Sri…

Pillar Rocks: The three pillar rocks stand straight one behind another. The height of the rock is 122 metres. One of the pillars resembles the shape of Lord Ganesha and can be viewed from the vantage point where there is a mini garden with beautiful flowers. Golf Course: It is nearer to Pillar Rocks. The entire area is about 120 acres. Golf International tournament is conducted here during the month of May. The Golf course is allowed only for the members and is not opened for the public…

Agra Fort is the one of the most important Fort in India and it is a worth to visit this place which is situated just by the river Yamuna. Now 75% of the area is occupied by military and 25% of residential palace is under archaelogical survey of India which is opened for public viewing. This was built by 4 Mughals, Akbar, Jehangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangazeeb using red sand stone and few interiors with marbles. Akbar and Jehangir prefered red sand stone, but Shah Jahan prefered marble. Hence…

Dandayudhapani Swami Temple at Pazhani is one of the six battle abode of lord Muruga. Travelled in Tuticorin express and alighted at Dindigul at about 6:30 am. From here took bus to Pazhani, reached there at about 8 am. Quickly freshened up, had breakfast and started to the the Dhandayudhapani temple. He is always known as Tamil God. We took rope car instead of winch to the hill-top. Wow! What a superb experience to travel in rope car. Our mind captured beauty of the hills and its…

Universal Studios: This is a theme park where we had lots of fun and joy. This place was crowded since it was a holiday season. Those who want to avoid long queue can go for the Express pass, if required. Click here for Riders Guide. Before going for ride (especially roller coaster type of ride) make sure to keep all the valuables and other loose objects in the digital locker. It is free for first 30 min after which you have to pay. Madasgar Crate: We were the first to be on the queue in the…

Napa Valley is one of the world famous wine growing region. It has about 400 wineries and tasting room for wine lovers. This is not only for wine lovers but it is flooded with other attractions like eye popping sceneries, imposing architecture, a beautiful winery garden with different shades all around. Monticello Dam in Napa County Napa River as seen from the City of Napa. Yummy Ice cream at Napa. Want to taste it? You are free to taste virtually... Vim bar challenge??? ;) Winery at…

Markonahalli Dam - This is a day trip from Bengaluru, it is nature lovers paradise which is combined with an engineering Marvel,

Continuation from the previous post Thirukoshtiyur. North facing Ganesha granting wealth @Pillayarpatti. Temple Timings: 6 am to 1 pm and 4 to 8:30 pm वक्रतुण्ड महाकाय सूर्यकोटि समप्रभ निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा || (Vakratunda Mahakaya Suryakoti Samaprabha Nirvighnam Kuru Me Deva Sarva-Kaaryeshu Sarvada.) Whenever we do anything we start with the invocation of Lord Ganesha and get his blessings. He is the remover off all the obstacles. Around 70 km from Madurai lies a temple…

Udupi: We started from Bangalore at 8:30 pm in Volvo a/c bus and reached Udupi the next day at 6:15 am. We took room nearby temple to save time. The rooms are maintained by temple authorities. It was cold Ekadasi morning and there was no hot water available for taking bath. On Ekadesi day, hot water or food will not be available in and around temple which are maintained by temple authorities. Devotees are thereby requested to take note of the above during Ekadasi day. We took bath in cold…

We reached Jaisalmer at around 11:30 AM by Intercity train from Jaipur. Jaisalmer is a very small city and most of the streets are narrow. The important places here could be visited by walk and occasionally need to hire autoricksaw. We visited Nathmal Ki Haveli and Pathon Ki Haveli which is few meters away from "Jaisal Palace Hotel" where we stayed. We had glimpse of the haveli from outside and enjoyed the architecture. From here we went to Gadisar Lake which is a few kilometer away and had…