Melukote Again

In a month, I have made two trips to Melukote. First, with family and second, with friends. For more details on Melukote, visit my travel page.

Both the trips were fun. There is so much to see and do in and around Melukote that it always turns out to be a great one-day trip from Bangalore. During my first visit with my family, we stopped at Mysore for some personal work and then proceeded to Melukote. We visited the main temples and the attractions. Had tasty Puliyogre (Tamarind rice) served outside the temple. On our way back, we stopped at a village to buy some fresh cow milk; something we never miss when we are visiting a village. 

On my second trip, my friends, Sangita, Jatin and Manohar joined me. We first visited Ankegowda's pusthakalya - Anke Gowda has gathered lakhs of books over the years. We took some time to go through his collection and discussed with him about his passion for books. He showed us some of his rare collections. 

We stopped on our way to Melukote to have some tasty lunch packed by Sangita - Thepla and Mango chutney. 

Since we had stopped by a Jaggery making unit, we bought some organic jaggery and sugarcane juice as well. 

We made a quick stop at Sri Venugopal swamy temple. The temple was previously submerged in dam backwaters but later was renovated by Khoday group. But it was closed for visitors. So we headed to Melukote. 

At Melukote, we visited the Raja Dwara, Akka-Thangi Kola and the two main temples.

We stopped at Subbanna mess to have some tasty Puliyogre and special Sweet Pongal that the owner himself served us. It is made of thickened milk and lot of ghee, therefore he holds the rights to serve this expensive delicacy. 

On our way back, we stopped at Thonnur lake to relax by the water body and end the day on a peaceful note.