12 places to visit in and around Davanagere
Davanagere is a district with 6 taluks in the center of Karnataka state. Davanagere is not considered as a tourist destination. Those heading to Goa/Mumbai etc zip through Davanagere on NH4 or at the max stop to have a Benne Dose. Recently I spent a day visiting various places of interest in Davanagere and this post shares with you a list of these worth visiting stops in Davanagere.
1. Glass House, Davanagere
Glasshouse in Davanagere is a tourist attraction, built akin to glass house in Bengaluru’s Lalbagh Glasshouse. 20 INR ticket per person and 100 INR for camera, worth spending some time enjoying the glass house, gardens and children’s play area. The lake behind was dried up when we visited and some construction is going on. Bio toilets were out of order and approach roads were tricky. Still worth a visit. A detailed post will be coming up soon.
2. Kondajji Lake
20 kms north of Davanagere is the Kondajji lake. It is a normal lake with a bund, there is a hill nearby which is good for some mild hiking. You can drive in, spend some time with family and return/proceed. Tourism department could have offered some boating or other activities here to attract more tourists,
3. Uchangi Durga
Uchangi Durga is a hill top on which remains of a fort can be visited. Fort walls are largely intact but inside the palace and other structures are gone. You will get great views of the surrounding from the top. Moderate hiking is required. Queen’s palace area is open to pubic but king’s palace is not. There is a small temple on the top and a few dozen shops selling stuff for pooja and water, juice etc for tourists.
You can comfortably spend an hour or two in the region. Road access is available till the base of the fort after which a few hundred steps need to be climbed. For longer hike, steps are available from town itself.
4. Chennagiri Fort
A small fort in Chennagiri town. There is a temple on top and you can enjoy 360 degree view. Nothing exceptional- skip if short of time or if this is a major deviation.
5. Santhebennur Pushkarini:
Was better than what I was expecting. A well maintained lake has a structure in the center and few towers in each corner. Some repair work/construction was going on. Worth spending some time.
6. Shanthisagar
Formerly known as Sule kere (lake of a prostitute), it is renamed as Shanti Sagar. Large lake with viewpoints
7. Punyasthala
A temple complex with over a dozen small temples in an uphill path one after another. Fair bit of climbing steps is involved. The final portion was locked and not accessible. Nothing exceptional to go all the way, but if in the area you can plan a visit
8. Hadadi Lake & Falls
Another lake 15 kms south of Davanagere. If driving by stop a few moments. There is supposed to be a waterfall as well- I didn’t go looking for it in May. You can try
9. Devarabele Kere
Another lake. I didn’t visit. You can try
10. Theertha Rameshwara
A popular temple on a hill. Temple complex is small. Temple is said to have a water source that flows non stop all through the year. Detailed post is available here.
11. Nyamathi
Nyamathi area has several windmills. If you have time and interest you can go closer and take a look. Roads are suitable for SUVs, jeeps only, so could be risky in a low ground clearance vehicle. Detailed post on Nyamathi windmills is available here.
12. Gadde Rameshwara temple/Kuruva Island
Nothing special about the temple but it is located inside an island called Kuruva. Lots of construction going on in the area. If interested plan a visit as the location will be scenic post monsoon.
You can refer the map below. It doesn’t have a few spots- you can add yourself. There are few more temples and hills that could be worth visiting- you can plan if you have interest and time.
Table
Chitradurga fort is 62 kms from Davanagere and there are few more places towards Shivamogga district as well- that would qualify for separate post
Beautiful places
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