Places to visit nearby destination - Hassan
Chikmagloor
 Barely 60 km from Hassan, Chikmagloor (literally,
younger daughter/’s town) is carved against a mountainous
canvas of lofty peaks, delightful dales, racing rivers
and sparkling streams. This hilly district situated
in south-western part of Karnataka also has some exciting
trekking routes in the Western Ghats. Chikmagloor town is a centre of education, trade
and commerce and has some interesting monuments belonging
to all religions. The Kodandarama Temple (which shows
influences of both Hoysala and Dravidian styles of
architecture), the Jamia Masjid, and the St. Joseph/’s
Cathedral are some of the important monuments not
to be missed. Another place worth visiting is Hiremagloor
(now a part of Chikmagloor town) that has an Ishwara
Temple with a 1.22-metre-high image of Jademuni.
Shravanbelagola
 The Monk of the
White Pond or Shravanbelagola is the oldest and the
most important pilgrimage centre for the Jains in
the country. The town is famous for being the home
to the world/’s tallest monolithic, the Gommateshwara
statute. The 17-metre-high statue representing the
saintly prince Bahubali was erected some time between
AD 980 and 983. To reach the site of the statue, which
stands on the hill, you need to climb a flight of
about 700 steps carved in the steep granite slope.
The path starts near the village and as you go up
you can have an excellent view of the surrounding
areas. Several small shrines dot the path up to the
statue. The carved statue is nude and captures the
tranquillity typical to the Buddhist and Jain art .Shravanbelagola becomes a hub of activity during
Mahamastakabhisheka or the ritualistic head-anointing
ceremony of the statue of Gommateshwara. About 200 metres to the left of the path leading
to the statue lies the Bhandari basti. Believed to
have been built in AD 1159, it houses 24 images of
Tirthankaras in a spacious sanctuary.
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