Mysore, Wayanad, Belur and Halebeedu Trip

This was a long pending family trip(two sisters’ and our family) after the last one to Hampi and Gokarna. After a lot of deliberations and discussions we finalized Mysuru and Wayanad. Booked the train tickets to Bengaluru and a 12 seater vehicle from there on for the whole trip. All of us started on Friday evening by Yelahanka Express and reached Bengaluru by 9.30 am on Saturday where the vehicle was ready to pick us up. Got into it and started to Mysuru. Had breakfast on the way and hit the Begaluru-Mysuru Highway.

6 Day Itinerary of Mysuru, Wayanad, Beluru and Halebeedu:

Day 0. Boarded train to Begaluru from Hyderabad

Day 1. Bengaluru to Mysuru and local site seeing

Day 2. Mysuru to Wayanad and local site seeing

Day 3. Wayanad local site seeing

Day 4. Wayanad to Mysuru and local site seeing including Srirangapatna

Day 5. Mysuru to Beluru and Halebeedu to Bengaluru

Day 6. Bengaluru to Hyderabad

Day 1: Reached Yelahanka Railway station on Saturday morning on time around 9.30 am(it was delayed in between but covered it up by the time we reached the destination). The 12 seater vehicle that we booked was already waiting for us and we started off our journey to Mysore. Had breakfast/brunch on the way and hit the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway. Reached Mysuru around 2pm and checked in to the hotel rooms which were already booked by our cousin near to their home. Got fresh and started off for local site seeing in Mysuru. Visited Maharaja Palace first and from there, went to Sand museum and some local shopping. After that came back to Maharaja Palace for the light and sound show. The palace lights were switched on fully for the last 10 mins of the show from 7.50 pm to 8pm. Took some photos and came back to the hotel, had dinner and slept for the day after watching the IPL match between SRH and KKR which turned out to be quite close in the end.

Day 2: Started off to Wayanad around 8.45 am in the morning after breakfast in the hotel. The drive was through Bandipur Tiger reserve and we were lucky to spot two wild Elephants and few deers on the way. Reached Edakkal caves on the way to Wayanad and had lunch that was packed by our cousin for all. Started our trek up to the caves around 1.15 pm and on the way there were a few returning visitors who were discouraging saying it is a difficult trek and others saying it is not that difficult. In the end, all 15 were convinced to go ahead with the trek up to the top of the caves.

The climb up the hill had a few steep steps/rocks. It took around 20 mins to the ticket counter and from there around 20 more mins to the top. The trek was overall good and not that difficult. Went into the caves and engaged a local guide to explain about the caves. He explained about the caves and the various art on the walls of the caves which were around 6000 years old. Spent around 20 mins there and started the downward trek. Reached down in around 30 mins and started our journey towards Wayanad.

Went to Phantom rock and Lakkidi view point on the way to the resort as all the tourist spots are closed by 5pm and also it gets dark soon. Reached the resort around 5.30 pm. The resort was good with rooms spread over different levels on the hill and it was full of greenery. There was a golf cart to take the luggage and people to the rooms from reception. Got fresh and went for dinner in the resort itself. There were indoor sports which the kids played and came back to the rooms.

Day 3: In Wayanad – Next morning, went to Banasura Sagar dam which is the second largest Earthen dam in Asia and the largest Earthen dam in India. Walked across the dam for some time and went for a boating(pantoon boat) in the water. It was a 30 mins ride. After that, had lunch near the dam and went for zip lininig on the way. All the kids and adults enjoyed it alike as the path was over Tea plantation which was lush green. My younger son was very happy after the ziplining as he wanted to do it for quite some time and finally he could make it. From there, visited the Tribal village museum(En Ooru) which was an artificial village with huts, etc. One has to take their jeeps to go up to the village from the parking. From there, went to Pookode lake, spent some time there and came back to the resort. Had dinner in the resort itself.

Day 4: Wayanad to Mysuru: It was time to bid adieu to Wayanad after a short but memorable trip and we checked out from the resort around 10.30 am. On the way back to Mysuru, we passed through the Bandipur WIldlife sanctuary and this time could only spot a few deers. Both our sisters’ families continued their onward journey to Bengaluru and from there to Hyderabad. We dropped off at Mysuru for some more local visits.

Engaged a cab for visit to Srirangapatna(Ranganatha Swamy temple and Nimishamba temple) and Chamundi Hills. First, went to Nimishamba temple and then to the Ranganathaswamy temple which was built around 894 AD. Had good darshan and started to Chamundi Hills to visit the Chamundeswari temple. We were just in time for the darshan as it was going to be closed from 6pm to 7.30 pm. Chamundeswari temple is one of the 18 Sakthi Peethas and had a nice darshan as there was no crowd by the time we reached. There is also a statue of Mahishasura on the hill and visited that as well. On the way down the hill had a view of Mysuru city using a binocular and had a good view of the city. From there went to Shukha Vana complex temples and did some shopping. Spent that night at cousin’s place.

Day 5: Mysuru to Beluru and Halebeedu to Bengaluru: Started around 8 am the next morning to Beluru Chennakesava Temple which is around 3 hrs from Mysuru. A very beautiful temple with a lot of intricate carvings and very nice architecture. The presiding deity is Lord Chenna Kesava(form of Vishnu). Engaged a local guide for Beluru. From there went to Halebeedu which had the Hoysaleeswara temple with two Siva lingas and also very beautiful architecture. Had lunch at Hassan and headed towards Bengaluru where we attended an engagement function.

Day 6: Visited the ISKCON temple in Bengaluru and started back to Hyderabad by 4pm flight. It was a great relaxing trip and enjoyed for the 6 days. All in all, a must visit places for travel enthusiasts.

The roads were overall good but for a very few stretches. All the family members had a great trip and enjoyed every bit of it. Click here for more of my road trips.