I was on a day trip to Bangalore this Sunday and stopped by small-town ‘Chintamani’ which is about 80K from Bangalore city, for a family event.  Chintamani happens to be the hometown of Keerthana’s grandparents, hence many childhood memories for Keerthana here in this town.  Keerthana gave me a tour of this town, post the family event.  One of the popular attractions in this town is Kailasagiri Hills, which is popular for a man-made Cave Temple.

The magnitude of the cave and the efforts made to construct the temple is very impressive. To reach the temple, one needs to walk on a stoned path for around 500 meters. Though it is not a long path, it is a steep one and is on an uneven cobblestone path. The Pandavas from Mahabharata are believed to have lived here during their exile. The hill is also called the Bhima Bakasura betta where Bhima is believed to have slain Bakasura (Source: Wiki)

There are three shrines inside the Kailasagiri Temple, which are dedicated to Lord Shiva, referred to here as Chathurmukhalingeshwara  (which means four-faced, and Lord Shiva’s face is etched on the four sides and is one of a kind), Sri Jagadambe  (Goddess Parvathi) and Sri Vallabha Ganapathy  (Lord Ganesha). It was both a fun and a spiritual visit to this place, along with the Keerthana and extended family.  Here are a few pics from our experience.