December 26th 2009. I hardly slept through the night. I woke up early and ready by 5 30, it was s till dark. Then I remembered about fuel in my car... I should've filled the previous evening. The hotel receptionist told bunks open only by 7AM and there are no bunks between Sirsi and Yana. I was not willing to wait that long. I decided to go.
I slowed down at Hegdekatte to confirm if I was heading in the right direction. One of the two boys said I was in right direction and I had a flat tire. Great! I parked to a side, fitted the spare tire and cleaned my hands. I inquired for petrol but to my luck was not bright enough. I calculated that fuel would last if I drove carefully. I passed through Devihally, no sign of anything moving. I kept driving... the road got narrower, more curvy and more ups & downs. I started worrying... After a while I decided to enjoy Yana visit and worry later.
I drove past a bus load of school kids walking down the 3km stretch from the main road ...the side road is too narrow for buses. As I parked my car I saw people getting off two other cars... the place will be crowded. Holiday season effect. Number of warning messages were posted to warn people about possible dangers. One of them was something to this effect - "Bees do not like noise. If disturbed they are known to attack. Please maintain calm." I walked down the steep downward sloping dirt path alone listening to birds singing high above on trees tops. It was serene until half a dozen noisy tween boys shattered the peace with their meaningless screams. Many thoughts flowed through my mind...
Wow! This is amazing!! That's what I said to myself when I saw the rocks. For a minute I stood still and started at natures wonderful creation. Yana rocks!
This is Bhairaveshwara Shikhara.
I was surprised and happy to know that we could walk through Bhairaveshwara Shikhara. In through left side...
...and out through the other side. Inside, the floor and walls were covered with a kind of grey colored powder - this reminded me of a iron & steel factory.
That looks like an European castle's turret.
This is Mohini Shikhara the smaller of the two rock formations.
Looks pretty sinister in this angle... like some kind of monster with it's mouth open to reveal it's fangs. I wish to come back again (it would be afternoon) and spend more time studying the rocks in detail. I walked back alone, this time no noisy characters around. By the time I reached my car I was sweating and breathless. Now I can start worrying about fuel.
I stopped by to check out these 3 little caves. I could see thorough the largest one, the one on the top.
I could explore more... fuel... my mind would not rest till some fuel was poured into the tank. I stopped at Devihally and located a shop which had petrol. My mind relaxed. I filled in 4 liters and drove back to Sirsi peacefully and planning about my next destination - Unchalli Waterfall.
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