Basavanagudi Bombat | Self Guided walking Tour!

Basavanagudi is bombat (“bombat” in Kannada slang means “Fantastic”) There is no doubt about it. We invite you to explore its wide and tree canopied streets. Lovely parks, iconic eating places. The Vibrant and colourful market in Gandhi Bazar is a photographers’ paradise. And of course it has some well-known temples as well.

All this make Basavanagudi a great place for a walking tour. This is nothing but Bangalore of the yore! Incidentally, Basavanagudi is the second planned suburb of Bangalore along with Malleswaram.

So what are you waiting for? Put on your walking shoes and let’s go……

The Plan

Circuit – Lalbagh Botanical Garden – Gandhi Bazar –Ramakrishna Math – Gavi Gangadhareshwara cave temple – Big Bull Temple/Dodda Ganeshana Gudi – Bugle Rock Park – MTR – Lalbagh Botanical garden

Total distance – 4.7 KMs

Total Time required – 6 Hours

Google walking Map – https://goo.gl/maps/buwrnGjT1is

The Itinerary

6.30 AM – Leave home and arrive at Lalbagh Botanical garden. Park your vehicle in the parking area near the hillock. The entrance to this gate is either from Hosur Road or Double Road.

7 AM – Arrive at Lalbagh. Explore the lovely botanical garden for an hour. Take this route in Lalbagh for easy exploration.

Kempegowda tower on top of the hill – Glass House – Lotus Pond – The Lake – Band Stand – Maharajah Statue – Topiary Garden – Heritage tree ( Big Silk Cotton tree) – West Gate (Exit)

8 AM – Exit at West gate. Cross to the other side and walk along M N Krishna Rao road (You will find Hotel Meera on the left). Walk under the shaded canopy of beautiful trees. After half an hour of leisurely walk you will arrive at Gandhi Bazar. We know you are hungry by now.

8.30 AM – Breakfast Time. You have option to eat in either of the two iconic restaurants of Bangalore – Vidyarthi Bhavan or Udupi Sri Krishna Bhavan. Both are famous for Masala Dosa. On weekends you will find a heavy crowd in front of these restaurants and waiting time will range from 15 minutes to half hour.

9.30 AM – Explore Gandhi Bazar market. The colourful flowers and fruits makes this place a photographers’ paradise.

10 AM – Walk along the Gandhi Bazar main road to Ramakrishna Math. A serene place spread over acres in the heart of the city. Visit the main shrine and the rock where Mata Sharada Devi (Holy Mother) meditated. Enjoy the quietude in the middle of chaos.

11 AM – Depart Ramakrishna Math and walk to the Cave temple of Gavi Gangadhareshwara. Built during the reign of Vijayanagar dynasty, this is a fascinating temple.

12 Noon – After taking the blessings of Lord Shiva, walk towards Dodda Ganeshana Gudi (Big Ganesha temple) and Dodda Basavavagudi (Big Bull temple) which are next to each other. After taking the blessings of mammoth Lord Ganesha, walk up the steps to the Big Bull Temple. Appreciate the stone sculpture of Nandi or big bull. From the Bull temple walk across to Bugle rock Garden. A small hillock with large boulders and beautiful Java rain trees, it is a lovely place. Climb up to small mantapa on top of raised encampment.

1.45 PM – Time to head for lunch. We recommend you to take Auto rickshaw and proceed to the iconic MTR for lunch. The South Indian Thali meals is the best you can get anywhere in the country.

If you are not game for this, then you have many options in Gandhi Bazar to have lunch and light snacks. Udupi Sri Krishna Bhavan has excellent south indian thali lunch. SLV Corner which is opposite Ramakrishna Math is one of the well-known eating places.

3 PM After lunch in MTR, take a nice walk of ten minutes to your vehicle which is parked in Lalbagh. If you had lunch in Gandhi Bazar then take an auto rickshaw to the parking place in Lalbagh

Tips

1. A good shoe and hat is helpful.
2. Carry a bottle of water along..
3. If you have seen Lalbagh, then you can start the tour from Dodda Ganesha Temple. Park your vehicle in front of the temple and follow this circuit – Dodda Ganesha temple – Bull temple – Bugle Rock Park – Gandhi Bazar (Breakfast) – Ramakrishna Math – Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple – Dodda Ganesha temple. In this circuit you can add Ramanjaneya Hill after Gavi Gangadhareshwara temple. Located on a small hill, it has a tall statue of Lord Rama and Lord Hanuman embracing each other.
4. Check out the links provided in this post to know more about the places you are visiting in Basavanagudi.
5. This only covers sixty percent of Basavanagudi. The other places to see are
   1. Hanuma Gudda – Another small hill with a temple for Lord Hanuman
   2. Shankar Math which houses Sharadamba temple.
   3. Brahmins’ Coffee Bar for best Idli and Vada in the world!
   4. Mount Joy – A small hillock with lovely temple for Lord Subramanya.
   5. Karanji Anjaneya Swamy temple
   6. Ankita Book stall – Iconic bookshop for Kannada books
   7. Indian Institute of World culture – Another great place which house fantastic library and also has a event centre which host many events.

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