Coconut trees and lush green paddy fields.. Ahh! So peaceful 🙂

Avalabetta – A quick day trip from Bengaluru

The coconut trees swaying in harmony to gentle breeze, perfectly compliment the lush green paddy fields, which welcome you into the world away from the busy life of Bengaluru – The World of Avalabetta. Fascinating views, melodic serenity, unpretentious beauty and much more make a lovely drive to Avalabetta. Now don’t be fooled into thinking that you need to travel hundreds of kilometers to dwell into this charmness – it’s just next door! Less than a hundred kilometers with one and half hour travel time from Bengaluru. Just 20 mins off NH7 near Peresandra, Avalabetta is the new Nandi hills aka favorite short getaway of Bengalureans. So, if you visiting Bangalore, then this is definitely one of the things to do.

Though Avalabetta is picking up fame as a quick day trip from Bengaluru, many people are still unaware of it. From the day we got to know about Avalabetta, it drifted in and out of our minds many times, but couldn’t quite gather moss. So, it had to be on Neetan’s birthday(Read about the best gift I ever gave him on his birthday) when we finally decided to give Avalabetta the privilege of hosting us!

What to expect in Avalabetta?

You will love this drive to Avalabetta from the start. NH7, as usual, is a breeze. Once you enter into the rural roads, only a small patch of 3-4 km is bad, the rest of the route is good. Coconut trees and rich paddy cultivation will give you company for some time. Once you enter inside the arch that leads you to the hilltop, the rolling hills, beautifully laid tarmac with uniformly coloured pegs excite you for the treat lying ahead.

Once at the top of Avalabetta, you can see the stairs to the temple to your right and to your left is a road which ends at the Forest Department guest house. You can park your car near the temple entrance and walk around.

Stairs that take you to the temple

I would like to divide the vantage viewpoints in Avalabetta into 3 main sections:

1. Go till the dead end, where the road ends at Forest Department guest house. Park your car and take a walk around to witness a lake that reflects rolling hills stacked diligently one behind the other. Go half way down the mountain, sit comfortably on a boulder, forget all your worries and sink into the stunning views of Avalabetta.
   

   View from Forest guest house

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2. The second vantage point is the one opposite to the stairs that lead to the temple. There is a beautiful mantapa where you can take shelter from the scorching heat or pouring rain. The road that snakes up to the hilltop is a view to watch out for from this place. Also, don’t forget to spot these tiny camouflaged crawlies which are a plenty and might surprise you by sneaking out next to you!
   

   Camouflaged Crawly.. Spot it!

   

   Road that snakes up to the top of Avalabetta

   

   The beautiful Manatapa

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3. The last one and the best one is the one behind the temple. Climb up the stairs to meet Lord Lakshmi Narasimha in his small yet beautiful abode where you can either request or demand your wants and wishes and assume that he has taken note of it, like we always do when we pray!
   

   Temple as seen from the Forest Guest house

There is a path behind the temple that climbs up to the most famous vantage point of Avalabetta. The temple priest diligently informed us that the path has been closed by the Forest department for safety reasons. Nonetheless, we sneaked in like everyone else did! After all, what is a trip to Avalabetta, without seeing its famous ‘frog head’ viewpoint 🙂

Neetan inspired by Ambedkar and the little one holds him tight!

Another view from this vantage point

How reach Avalabetta from Bangalore? A Detailed Route:

• Distance: 90kms from Majestic
• Toll fare: 80 – One way ; 120 – Two-way
• Take Bengaluru – Hyderabad NH7 road, go past Nandi cross and head towards Chikballapura.
• Approx 15 km after Chikballapura bypass, look out for the Peresandra exit into the service road on your left. If you miss this, then there is a long roundabout ahead of you. So, why sweat? Just be watchful, remember the golden words ‘Peresandra exit’ 😀
• Once you figure out this exit, you drive straight to encounter a busy town. Appreciate your efforts in switching on your thinking button to rightly guess that the town is Peresandra. (Yes, yes, this is still your Golden word!). Take a LEFT here. You are 16kms or 30 mins away from Avalabetta.
• The next 3 km is a rough patch, take a LEFT after this at a T-Junction.
• Drive straight for another 3 kms, this time around, the roads that will take you to Mandikal will be better. Just when you are approaching Mandikal, you can see a bus stop on the left, an auto stand on the right. Take a RIGHT here and take an immediate LEFT from there.
• Road gets smaller here, continue to drive on the main road for 3 km, cross Thirumaladevaradinne village. Keep going STRAIGHT and look out for signboards for Avalabetta towards your LEFT.
• After taking LEFT, after another kilometer, there is a Y fork, where you can find a huge arch, which is difficult to miss.
  

  Entrance Arch to Avalabetta

• The road ahead is cement road of 1.6 km with a few hairpin bends and Congrats, Avalabetta is conquered!!
  

  Beautifully pegged hairpin bends

• Google Coordinates : Search for ‘Avalabetta hilltop’ or 13.577436, 77.674359

When to Visit Avalabetta:

All around the year. In summers, the temperature is easily dropped down by a couple or more centigrade on the hill top.

For the rumbling stomachs:

The main reason for Avalabetta to stay almost litter free is the lack of shacks or shops, which is a blessing in disguise. I really really hope, many years down the line, it stays the same. So, you have to be well prepared if butterflies play kabaddi in your stomach!

NH 7, now has a lot of restaurants and eateries, so you do not have to go far scouting for food. Last year, when we drove to Hyderabad for our anniversary, there was only one decent restaurant near the foothills of Nandi hills after which there was a dry spell for eateries and we had to search very hard for a decent food joint. It was like searching for an oasis in a desert!

Kid alert in Avalabetta:

The place is not dangerous as such but can’t be told as kid friendly too. After all, kids have a reputation for getting into trouble even in safest of the places!! So, when in Avalabetta, have an eye on your kid, not on the smartphone, you can ‘check in’ on Facebook even after you get into the car 🙂

Bring your child’s favorite snacks to keep them engaged and happy, so you can be at peace 🙂 My son loves everything dry fruits, especially, dry fruits like ‘Almonds’. I always keep some snacks in my bag, as I don’t know when he’ll get hungry!

And as I always say, if you throw that wrapper around, Modi is going to hunt you down and haunt you in your dreams!!

Road trips are what we love and this one goes straight on the favorite list for its vicinity and serenity. We would definitely come back to Avalabetta again and again, until it becomes another Nandi Hills (hope it doesn’t!). No Offense! We love Nandi hills too, but only on weekdays. Weekend crowd is regretful there.

For now, plan your day out to Avalabetta for the lovely drive and take solace in nature.

P.S : NH7 might be tempting enough to rev up the RPM, but be cautioned – the speed limit is 80 and the last thing you want is, to end your fabulous day out with a hefty fine!

Been to Avalabetta? Or planning to go there? Or haven’t heard about it till now?? Let us know in the comment box below 🙂

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