Sahasralinga
The Plan
It was day 2 of our Uttara Kannada Sirsi trip. We got up early and started early in the morning by 7-30 by checking out from the hotel we stayed in Kumta. It was a busy day ahead. Our plan was to cover as many places as possible by the end of the day. The checklist included Devimane ghat viewpoint, Sahasralinga, Sonde mutt, Magod falls, Marikamba Temple at Sirsi, and finally Madhukeshwara temple of Banavasi. A pretty long list isn’t it? Let me spoil the suspense by revealing that we successfully visited all these spots. How did we manage? Follow this series and know it yourself :-).
The route
As said before we started by 7-30am from Kumta as planned. We postponed the breakfast as it was too early and none of us felt the hunger yet. We decided to have breakfast at Sirsi town instead. Sirsi is 60 km from Kumta. It takes around 1hr 30 mins to reach the place via Devimane ghat road. It was surprising to see the sorry state of this route at a few stretches given that the road connects 2 major towns like Kumta and Sirsi.
We reached Devimane Ghat’s viewpoint at 8-30 am and spent around 10 mins enjoying the beautiful view of the lush green mountain stretch from the place. We reached Sirsi by 9-15 am and ventured inside the town to have breakfast at Hotel Meenakshi Bhavan. It is a decent vegetarian restaurant to have breakfast. We found that the food was very tasty and the staff was nice. Please be advised that this hotel is located in a narrow street and there no place for 4 wheeler parking. We parked our car by the main road and walked a minimal distance to the restaurant.
Sirsi to Sahasralinga
Sahasralinga is just 14 Km away from Sirsi town. You need to travel about 12.5 km on scenic Sirsi Yellapura road. Just before Hulagola town, you need to take a left turn. Travel further 1.5 km on the more scenic road to reach the parking spot of Sahasralinga. There is ample space for parking for both two-wheelers and four-wheelers. Please note that you can visit Sahasralinga and the hanging bridge both by parking your vehicle here.
Sahasralinga
Sahasralinga is known for its 1000 Shiva Lingas that are carved on the rocks along the banks of the Shalmala river.
According to the legend, one of the Swadi rulers, Arasappa Nayak, who ruled here from 1678-1718 AD, carved these lingas to gain successors to the throne.
Another legend says that sculptors practiced carvings before the construction of various stone temples in this area under Swadi rulers.
Shalmala River
You need to climb down a few steps (roughly around 20 -30 steps to get near the river where Shivalingas are clearly Visible. Usually, this place is less crowded. Since we visited the place during the month of November water level in the shalmala river was fairly low. We got a good view of many Shivalingas submerged in the river. After spending a good amount of time enjoying the nature beside the river filled with Shivalingas and Nandis we headed back near the parking spot and went towards the Hanging bridge.
Hanging Bridge
A hanging bridge was constructed across the Shalmala river in 2011.
This bridge connects the Bhairumbe Hulekal village from Hulagol is Sirsi Taluk
It provides a beautiful view of the Shalmala river and the Shivalingas present across the river.
This bridge connects about 14 villages of Sirsi and Bhairumbe grama panchayat. It reduces the distance to Sirsi from these villages by about 15 km. Very often you can find villagers riding bikes crossing this bridge. This place is a hot spot among young people as it is a perfect spot for portrait photography. After spending some time and crossing the hanging bridge to and fro we finally returned back to our car and set the map for our next destination: Sonde mutt.
Route we took
Live the Experience!
Best way to experience the place is by watching it yourself 🙂