Kyarkoppa Basavanna Gudi

 October 28, 2021

Having ridden daily for a month the regular routes were getting monotonous. So I decided to check out a new trail. I'd driven towards Kyapkoppa but not up to the village. Kyarkoppa village is situated in the hills & valleys between Dharwad-Haliyal road and Dharwad-Goa road. Dharwad-Kyarkoppa road is more or less flats with gentle slopes. At the entrance of the village is a hillock, atop the hillock is a shrine dedicated to Basavanna.

This is the arch at the base of the hill. For those who wish to go by stairs, this is the way.

At the side of the hill is a dirt track which goes right up to the temple. I pedaled up the 100+ meters slope which gets steeper towards the top. These pictures were shot between 6-40 and 7-00 AM. The shrine is ancient but the structure is a recent construction. Morning Pooje was in progress when I reached the place.

That's my Montra hybrid bike. The ride was pretty comfortable for this route- mostly tarred roads.

As you see this shrine too is an east-facing one. The hill top is a small plateau. There's space enough for a small fair or a wedding. Most of the open space is on the temple's side where the slope is less steeper.

Behind the temple, right at the base of the hillock is a pond fed by rainwater. The road passing next to the pond goes towards Kalkeri village which is deeper into the ghats.

Panning to the right, we are looking towards west i.e. towards Mugad village. The waterbody seen in the distance is Mugad Kere, a manmade water tank. In between its mostly farmlands... mostly mango orchards, paddy fields.

Paddy is almost ready for harvest. Reaping will start as soon the thunderstorms stop. The trees seen in the foreground are plantations done on the slope of the hillock consisting of eucalyptus, cashew and other trees. 

The beauty of the place is breathtaking. During the few minutes I spent here I saw a number of groups of herons take flight from their nesting trees. Peacocks are aplenty here, you may not see them often but you'll hear their melodious cry. I was eager to come here again for our Sunday morning rides.

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