Skip to main content

Panchapalli & Bettamugilalam: Hidden getaways from Bangalore

Panchapalli & Bettamugilalam: Hidden Getaways from Bangalore

Overview:
Panchapalli Reservoir: I read about this place in Bangalore Mirror in its weekly feature on offbeat destinations around Bangalore. We decided to go biking to Panchapalli. It is around 85 kms from Bangalore and is a nice and silent place to spend a weekend. As it was a Sunday, there was not much traffic on Hosur road. We took the Anekal-Attibele road to reach Denkanikottai road. This road is really deserted but well maintained. Criss-Crossing the countryside and crossing the Karnataka-TN border we reached Denkanikottai. Its a bustling town and we enquired about Panchapalli lake from the locals and finally reached the road which leads to the lake. The roads were smooth and cool breeze blowing was great. We finally reached Panchapalli and it was very silent with not a single soul in sight. We sat by the lake for sometime and then thought of venturing into the wild following the water which was flowing steadily. We stopped at a place which had a miniature waterfall and played in the water for sometime. After a while we started our journey back towards Denkanikottai. Before reaching the town we visited the Bettarayaswami temple which is believed to be around 500 years old. The temple is clean and well maintained.
On the way to Panchapalli PanchapalliPanchapalli    Panchapalli PanchapalliPanchapalli  Panchapalli Panchapalli Bettarayaswamy temple, DenakanakottaiBettarayaswamy temple, Denakanakottai
Bettamugilalam: Our next destination was Bettamugilalam which was a place again mentioned in the Bangalore Mirror. Its around 28 kms from Denkanikottai. The route to this place is through a jungle with ghat sections. It was thrilling to ride the bike in this place. This place is also called mini 'Nilgiris' because of the hills surrounding the region. We spotted a variety of birds of different colours and was very pleasing to watch. We finally reached Bettamugilalam and went a few miles down the muddy road where we rested for a while admiring the beauty of nature. On our way back we halted at a small lake in the midst of the jungle which looked perfect for camping. Taking several pictures at this place, we started back towards Bangalore. At the end of the day we thoroughly enjoyed our biking trip.
On the way to Bettamugilalam On the way to Bettamugilalam On the way to Bettamugilalam On the way to Bettamugilalam BettamugilalamBettamugilalam Bettamugilalam Bettamugilalam Bettamugilalam Bettamugilalam
How to reach: Take NH7 towards Hosur, Turn right at Attibele towards Anekal, then turn left towards Denkanikottai (20km away). At Denkanikottai turn left to Panchapalli reservoir (18km). For Bettamugilalam, ask for directions at Denakanikottai. It should be around 28 kms from Denkanikottai.
By public transport: There are frequent buses from Bangalore to Denkanikottai and Hosur to Denkanikottai. Private taxi can be hired from Denkanikottai to Panchapalli and Bettamugilalam.
Food/Accommodation: Not many options for food once we deviate from NH7.
Map:

View Larger Map
Labels:

Comments

  1. Anonymous21 December 2011 at 10:04

    Excellent pics Arun.. Never heard of this place before.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown3 January 2012 at 11:28

    Wow! Thanks for sharing this, I am already bookmarking this for a next trip

    ReplyDelete
  3. Santosh Bs18 April 2012 at 13:35

    Wonderful place Arun, how would this be now? any idea?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Arun19 April 2012 at 01:18

      Hi Santosh, please avoid summer months.. You will not be able to enjoy..Best would be to visit this place after first showers..

      Delete
  4. Hai Baji28 February 2013 at 13:13

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Unknown20 August 2013 at 16:09

    awesome post,thanks for sharing ur views,want to spend your weekend by wildlife safari then kgudi resorts is best place
    to get good experience

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous20 October 2013 at 09:00

    We went to these places yesterday.. the forest is very good, but the panchapalli dam is disappointing.. at present there is no much water in the dam... it's time waste to go to the panchapalli dam, instead spend ur time in the forest only...
    -Harish T

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mithun12 November 2013 at 22:30

    Arun, is this a gud time to go
    Planning to this weekend so please reply sooooon as early as possible

    ReplyDelete
  8. Arun13 November 2013 at 18:30

    HI Mithun, yes it is a good time as it is post monsoon and the water will be fresh and you might find lot of beautiful birds as well to photograph. The afternoon sun might become a bit hot though.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous25 December 2013 at 12:46

    Hi Arun, Thanks for sharing this very interesting place. I am planning a trip by car. what is the road condition, can we drive the car to this place. any comment/suggestion

    ReplyDelete
  10. Raadhika11 April 2014 at 15:48

    HI
    Thanks for the information...beautiful place I guess...Me and my husband are planning for an off beat travel....
    Raadhika

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous19 July 2014 at 15:11

    hi arun, nice place & nice pics, thanks for sharing dear

    ReplyDelete
  12. Raman3 September 2014 at 13:24

    Those visiting Bettamugalalam can stay at Melur where there is private resort run by a gujrathi man. Facilities available are cottages for stay and boarding facilities on request. To melur one has to deviate at unchetty

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown1 November 2015 at 19:40

      Can you share the name of resort with contacts?

      Thanks.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous7 November 2014 at 18:43

    panchapalli is an awesome place....went yesterday... villagers said that bettamugilam is just a village and nothin much to see there...so we cancelled that plan...ppl din allow inside panchapalli dam....so we found out a water falls nearby the dam...and that was classic...

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous12 December 2014 at 16:35

    Is this place totally isolated? Do u advice this place for family outing?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. naomi21 February 2020 at 22:31

      There are cottages now come up in Timberland Oaks, Ramagiri, Bettamugilalam. You can enquire in the village for details. should be functional in another month's time.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous22 December 2014 at 22:06

    Is this good time to go? what about water falls will there be any water to play and enjoy?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Dimpy Roy8 June 2015 at 11:15

    Very nice pictures. Thanks for sharing. Panchapalli Lake is only an hour's drive from Bangalore via Hosur. The early morning drive through Bamboo forests and snaky curves will take you into the heart of rural Tamil Nadu, which was never in the tourist map. Check out all best places to visit in Bangalore for joyful vacations.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Unknown3 September 2015 at 13:33

    *Check out this list of the top travel destinations in India.*

    Plan your trip with Trabol to some of the famous Mosques in ‪#‎India‬ ‪#‎travel‬ | http://bit.ly/1O5cLkg

    ReplyDelete
  18. Manjot kaur10 November 2015 at 11:32

    Wow!!! Honestly speaking you are really a great writer. What I required I got it. Thank you so much...

    2 Star Hotels in Chandigarh
    3 Star Hotels in Chandigarh
    Hotels in Sector 35 Chandigarh

    ReplyDelete
  19. Unknown19 November 2015 at 12:55

    Lovely location spotted. We had visited last week and due to the excessive rains in Tamilnadu the sights were even more beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Johns Cyrus10 December 2015 at 11:22

    Dear Sir,
    I am John Cyrus from Kairos Multimedia (founded by late Dr. Emil Jebasingh, founder of Vishwa Vani). We request you to give us permission to use the following photos “IMG_0844[9]. jpg, IMG_0856[2].jpg, and IMG_0857[2].jpg” in our “Emil Annan's Testimony and His Farewell Address” video by Kairos Multimedia, Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi - 110019.

    We want to use these photos as a visual background for Dr. Emil Jebasingh’s narrative about his first FMPB missionary saga. Thanking you for your kind permission.

    Yours Sincerely,
    John Cyrus
    cyrus.kairos@outlook.com

    ReplyDelete
  21. Nagesh2 January 2016 at 22:18

    My wife and I along with our adult children visited Denkanikottai as well as the Panchapalli Reservoir today, 2 Jan 2016, and had a very satisfying time. Thanks to this review for showing us a place that is off the beaten track!

    ReplyDelete
  22. ramesh6 July 2016 at 14:57

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  23. ramesh6 July 2016 at 14:58

    Nice drive but our bad luck d forest is now a restricted area. We need to stay der to visit d forest. There was one stupid in charge person n he dint let us pass thru d check post. We returned disappointed

    ReplyDelete
  24. _tejas_turnip_14 October 2016 at 02:16

    Any updates on this place since 6th of July? Can we still visit the place?

    ReplyDelete
  25. _tejas_turnip_14 October 2016 at 02:16

    Any updates on this place since 6th of July? Can we still visit the place?

    ReplyDelete
  26. Unknown17 October 2016 at 22:05

    Yes you can it is still greenary around with recent rains and there are many places to see urigam, kottiyur, hunsanhalli, thaggati, be careful wild animals like elephant and wild cats are common, this is the starting pioint for hogganekal from here hoggnekal is 30 km you can get permission from the forest department in kottiyur gate and enter it is almost 4 km from the gate pls don't carry any prohibited things, forest rangers will be your best guide if spoken in good way

    ReplyDelete
  27. Prathibha21 November 2016 at 13:24

    Hi, Can we visit all the above mentioned places in car? Is November a good time to visit? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

Post a comment

Popular posts from this blog

The forgotten story of a migration: Nacharamma of South India

This is a story of Nacharamma (fictionised by me to some extent), which is not documented in any inscriptions or ancient texts, but has been told by the ancestors of the community, and also been researched by some historians like M Keshavaiah, Dr Pranarthiharan and a few others.

Overview: Around the early 17th century, the Pilgrims set to sail across the Atlantic to become the first settlers of America. Much before this, a small but no less interesting migration took place in the Southern India of a community called the 'Sankethis'.
It was the summer of 1420 CE, in a place called Sengottai, in Tamil Nadu, along the foothills of the Western Ghats bordering Kerala. The place was flourishing with knowledge of the Vedas where Agraharams were set up. One of the prominent communities of learned people was the Sankethi Iyer community, also known as Sangeethi, derived from the name of the place- Sengottai or Shankotta. Another theory says that they were  The group followed Adi Shankara…
6 comments
Read more

Clock Towers of Bangalore

Overview: In the middle of the 18th century, when home clocks and watches were not so common, there was the practice of having huge clocks on top of iconic buildings or religious places having visibility from all the corners. Clock towers were in fashion all across the globe in the 18th to 20th centuries, and some of them had bells as well, which used to ring at every hour. Bangalore too, has had its share of clock towers, though the city has never been known for its clock towers. The iconic Clock tower once stood at the Russell Market in Shivajinagar, which no longer stands today as it was brought down sometime during the middle of the 20th century.
A few standing clock towers can be seen at the City Market, Baldwin Boys school, Jayachamarajendra Polytechnic, Central College, Police training grounds, St John's Church, Corporation office and the newly constructed towers at South End circle and Omkar Hills. Most of these clocks have been provided by HMT.
21 comments
Read more

Know your neighbourhood-3: Madivala, Agara, Koramangala, Bellandur

Overview: Now famous for high rises, branded showrooms and startups, the villages of Madivala, Agara, Koramangala and Domlur are the villages which have seen an ancient past.

Madivala village was a flourishing agrahara under the Cholas and Hoysalas. There is an ancient Chola era temple, which was later expanded by the Hoysalas behind the road opposite to the Silk Board. This Someshwara temple is of high historical importance, with Tamil inscriptions all along the outer walls of the temple. The most important being the 1247 CE inscription which talks about the grants of some lands near the big tank of Vengalur (2nd inscription of the city name after the one in Begur). This inscription is by an official Pemmataiyar of Veppur (Begur) for the deity Sembeshwaram (Someshwara) at Tamaraikkirai (Tavarekere).

Agara is situated at the junction of the ORR and Sarjapura Road, and is in existance since the Gangas. A 870 CE Ganga inscription mentions about the fixing of sluices to 2 tanks (Agara Lake…
3 comments
Read more