Bylakuppe: Karnataka’s mini Tibet

-

Bylakuppe: Karnataka's mini Tibet

Overview: Bylukuppe has one of the largest Tibetan settlements in South India. This place is known for the Golden temple or Namrodoling monastery. Being easily accessible by road, this place is visited by many people who visit Coorg. We got a chance to visit Bylakuppe when we were on a trip to Periyapatna to visit my wife’s grandmother’s house.
The approach road is lined with Buddhist prayer flags tied to the wires and one can see people of Tibetian origin walking along the roads in their traditional dress.
The inside hall is dedicated to the Lord Padmasambhava. The temple is gold plated and is built in a typical Buddhist style. Outside the monastery there is a Buddhist University which has been established for higher studies and there are shops where many memoirs and Buddhist handicrafts could be purchased. Being near to the Kodagu district, this place enjoys cool and pleasant climate throughout the year. Inside the temple we have a series of prayer wheels which are to be turned clockwise indicating that one has actually recited the prayers.
Golden Temple, BylakuppeOn the way to Bylakuppe  Golden Temple, BylakuppeGolden Temple, BylakuppeGolden Temple, BylakuppeGolden Temple, Bylakuppe  Golden Temple, BylakuppeGolden Temple, Bylakuppe Golden Temple, Bylakuppe Buddhist University, Bylakuppe
How to reach: By Car/Bike: Head towards Mysore road on SH12 and after Srirangapatna turn right towards Ilvala to join Mysore-Madikeri road. Continue on that road to reach Bylakuppe. From the highway, turn left at Bylakuppe to reach the Golden temple.
By Bus: The KSRTC buses towards Madikeri drops at the State highway, Bylakuppe. Local autos ferry passengers to the Golden temple from the main road.
Map:

View Larger Map

Comments

  1. Padmapriya TS27 November 2011 at 20:06

    Awesome post and lovely pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Arti28 November 2011 at 10:28

    Wow! I love visiting monasteries. I find them very serene and peaceful. Lovely pics, thanks for sharing...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous28 November 2011 at 14:29

    nice travelogue enriched with photos...

    thanks

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sudhagee28 November 2011 at 17:09

    I have not been to this part of Karnataka yet, and one more place has been added to my bucket list. Your post and the pictures are beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  5. S.R.Ayyangar28 November 2011 at 19:11

    Beautiful place to visit.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Arun28 November 2011 at 20:02

    Thank you all for the encouraging words!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sujatha Sathya29 November 2011 at 09:00

    this is a truly beautiful place in coorg.a must visit. i have been here twice & loved it

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ramakrishnan30 November 2011 at 00:18

    Nice pictures and commentary on a little known Tibetan Buddhist settlement.Beautiful place. Padmasambhava I presume was a disciple of Buddha. Are Bylekuppa golden temple & university contemporary structures established after China captured Tibet leading to an influx of refugees into India?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Arun30 November 2011 at 19:47

    Exactly.. Yes Padmasambhava was the 8th century sage who preached Buddhism in Tibet and China.. And Bylakuppe is another settlement of the Tibetian refugees set up in the 1960s.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bylakuppe

    ReplyDelete
  10. Nisha1 December 2011 at 23:53

    I haven't visited Karnataka much, let alone this place.
    Your photos are very beautiful and tempting me to go there. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. ashok2 December 2011 at 14:58

    very interesting and informative blog...cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  12. S.. Diva3 December 2011 at 00:27

    wow.. good stuff. incidentally, i was planning a post about Byalkuppe as well :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hai Baji30 January 2013 at 16:02

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

Post a comment

Popular posts from this blog

Know your neighbourhood - 20: Places around HAL Road

-
Image
Overview: Domlur, a flourishing village during the Cholas, is now in the hub of modern Bangalore. With MG Road, Indiranagar, HAL airport road in the vicinity, this is one of the most popular areas of Bangalore. Chokkanatheshwara temple in Domlur is one of the oldest temples in Bangalore, built in the 10th century. According to the inscriptions found in this temple, Domlur is referred to as ‘Tombalur’ talking about grants offered to the temple. Some records mention the name of the place as 'Desi Mannika Pattnam'. The temple was initially built by the Cholas and later renovated by the Hoysalas and Vijayanagara rulers. One inscription from 1440 CE mentions about the tolls from Sondekoppa village being granted to this temple. Two more earlier inscriptions indicate grants from Karadihalli and Sunkenahalli (Hanumanthanagar). There is one Anjaneyaswamy temple a few metres from the Chokkanathaswamy temple, dating back to the Vijayanagara times. It is believed that the head of Anjaneya…
Read more

Clock Towers of Bangalore

-
Image
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.
Read more

North Indian Sojourn-1 (Agra & Delhi)

-
Image
Overview: Killing time for 4 days on a long weekend was definitely not going well with me. So suddenly decided to make some quick travel plans. Being brought up in Chandigarh for over 20 years, I wanted to refresh my childhood memories with my wife and moreover she had not been to North India. With all resorts booked around Bangalore and no bus reservations available, we decided to take a plunge on the long distance route. My wife, being a tatkal reservation expert :), booked tickets from Bangalore to Delhi for 25th Dec, and the return trip by flight from Delhi to Bangalore for 4th Jan. My job was to fill the itinerary between these days.
I wanted to cover as many places as possible, chalked out a plan for that. Below are the details of the trip:
Day 0-2: We had to catch the 12649 Sampark Kranti express from Yesvantpur at 22:10 hrs on 25th Dec. Luckily we got the tatkal reservation done, thanks to my wife for that. The train took around 36 hours to reach H.Nizamuddin station passing thr…
Read more