Visit to Sringeri

A sudden change in weather forced us to make plans to leave the city, which later led to an exciting travel trip that we would cherish for years to come. Coincidentally, we had a function to attend at Sringeri the following week and so we decided to spend our long weekend there. We began the following morning after relishing our breakfast, taking the Bangalore-Pune expressway.

While there are three routes that lead to Sringeri, we chose the expressway out of convenience and the ease of driving. Other options that others may want to consider are the Dharwad-Hubli-Haveri-Hariharapura- highway and the Shivamogga-Narasingapuram highway. The  roads are fairly well-made and half the journey is covered on the highway itself. After Hariharapura though, the road situation changes slightly and it converges into a one lane road until Sringeri.

Whilst driving by, you will notice many natural scenes like enthralling forest lands, small and big hills and the ghats – which will only add to the beauty of your journey.

On our way from Shivamogga, we took a detour and visited Mattur, also known as Sanskrit village. To our surprise, we could hardly  see anyone speak Sanskrit. So we decided to find out what the mystery behind the naming of this village was. After speaking to some locals it was revealed that they speak Sankethi while communicating daily and Sanskrit is only used in schools, colleges and at official institutions.

A small lunch stop later, we resumed our journey to Sringeri. Our road journey throughout was very pleasant and full of lush green fields, beautiful farm houses and very little traffic. Despite this, the single lane and speed limits restrict and add to the travel time.

It took us seven hours to reach, but everything about the journey felt worth- it once we began our sight-seeing and temple visits. We were there for two days, during which time we visited the sharadamba temple, the shiva temple and enjoyed the pleasant and pure environment thoroughly. Looking back, it was one of my most memorable trips…