Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta

Date: 9-Nov-14

This was the first time I was visiting Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta. Thilak had been there twice before. This was a family trip with my sister-in-law’s family. Their 4 months old little prince also was coming with us. Thilak had told me earlier that, it would be very cold at the hilltop because of the cold wind. We wondered how the little one would feel, but my sister-in-law and her husband were confident that he would enjoy the weather.

Reaching Gopalswamy Betta

Gopalaswamy hills is around 75 km from my SIL’s home (Vijaya Nagar, Mysore). We started from home at 7.30 AM after a family photo session. The road leading to Gopalaswamy Hills was broad and was well maintained. All of us were having fun in the car pulling each other’s legs. Ayush’s innocent talks made the conversation even more interesting. The baby slept off as soon as we got into the car. We had breakfast at one of the hotels in Gundlupet. After breakfast, on the way, we stopped at a beautiful place where there were green fields on both sides of the road and we spent some time taking photos. After that, we proceeded towards Gopalaswamy Hills without break.

Gopala Swamy Hills is the highest peak of the Bandipur forest range. There was a check post at the base of the hill. The security guards at the check post were very strict. They did not allow food items and plastic materials to take. We surrendered the food items and juice bottles that we carried with us. Thilak collected the entrance pass which was 50 Rs/car and we started ascending the hill in the car. It was written there that, we should be back within one and half hours. Since the temple was in dense Bandeepur forest, because of wildlife, they were not allowing the tourists to stay atop the hill for a long time. The road after the check post was very narrow and was very very bad. Also, it was steep in some places. My BIL drove very carefully and we reached the top of the hill at around 10.45 AM. We could see the temple from far and it was looking amazing.

On the Hill

The weather was too hot and unfortunately, it was not at all windy. The view from the top of the hill was amazing. The temple is sculpturally not that rich. But, because of its religious significance, it attracted many devotees. The area inside the temple is not very big. The sanctuary of the temple has a beautiful Krishna idol with a flute in his hand. We went to the prayer hall which was outside the sanctuary. The priest conducted the pooja and served us the Prasada. He was telling the history of the place which was not clearly audible to any of us. I was surprised when Thilak told me that, often there will be icicles hanging from the intel of the doorpost of the sanctuary. That’s why the place is called Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta (Hima means ice).

Since there was not much to see inside the temple, we came out after the pooja. Outside the temple, the view was spectacular. The huge Bandeepur Forest Mountains had surrounded the place from all sides. It was looking very similar to the green mountains in Chikamagalur. We spent some time there enjoying the beauty and taking photos. We decided to return from there at around 11.45 AM. On the way back, Ayush and I slept off after a few kms. Rest everyone was talking and having fun. We reached Mysore at around 2.30 PM, had an awesome lunch at Green Leaf hotel, and returned home.

• Route Travelled: Mysore Home > Nanjanagoodu > Gundlupet > Gopala Swamy Hills.
• Total Distance (To & Fro): 150 km
• Photos: Gopala Swamy Hills Photos

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