Yana – The Medieval World

Most of the weekdays, when I have some spare time which has been retrieved from the unending schedules of the daily life, I open google maps and just start browsing the surrounding area on a magnified scale and this is how I stumbled upon Yana. The name sounded so different that I decided to do a bit more research and hence out of this was born my visit to Yana – The medieval world.

Yana is a small village located deep in the forests of Uttara Karnataka as stated by Wikipedia and partly this is true as I drove one fine early morning on the magnificent and vital Kochi Panvel Highway. The direction was southwards as I motored early in the morning with the monsoon right across the corner, the outriders could be easily seen as the earth held breath in anticipation while the sky was heavily laden with grey clouds just waiting to unleash their load onto the parched earth that had been waiting patiently for them over the entire summer.

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Soon I was crossing small villages and towns aptly named Arga , Aversa , Ankola . As one neared a small town called Kumta a diversion has to be taken from the National Highway and one turns into SH 69 which bore me deeper into the forested lands and villages that inhabited these parts. The road was narrow and spectacular with greenery all around. I thoroughly enjoyed this stretch and moved at a sedate pace. Eventually i decided that this was the apt time to have some hot piping tea and hence my eyes started searching for the same. After a few kms I came to a kind of plateau or highland and there stood a small tea shop next to a broken down bus stop. The morning was still young and the earthen landscape was open and wide, what more can a man want in a moment like this as I sipped the tea savoring the moment in. The path stretched ahead of me, unknown in its element but with the destination assured. Well this is what is I guess meant by travelling on unknown paths.

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Soon it was time to get moving again into the forested lands that came up inviting me into their midst. Yana was reached after an hour or so covering a distance of around 100 kms, it was fairly early in the day by the time I reached. There was a sign which directed me onto the trail through the jungle which would lead me to what I had come to see …

So what had I come to see out here, this morning … well I had been drawn here by the two massive rock outcrops known in the local folklore that is associated with places like these as Bhairaveshwara Shikhara and Mohini Shikhara. When I said massive I meant it, for they were both having an average height of 100 mts stretching high up into the air towering over everything else in the near vicinity. These are composed primarily of limestone. The mythological legend states tales of demon Bhasmasura and Apsara Mohini who was Lord Vishnu in disguise and how Mohini succeeded in destroying the demon and hence these monolithic rock structures were formed.

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So after a small trek of around 01 kms I reached these rocks and marveled at their existence. There is a small temple dedicated to Lord Shiva at the base of the Bhairveshwara Shikhara where the idol is self-manifested and hence revered by the local villagers.. Also there exists a passage through the base of the rocky outcrop that leads one into the very depths and if one persists he comes out onto the other side of the outcrop.

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I spend some time out there seeing, feeling and clicking pics prior to departing from the place. The government is trying to develop the place as a tourist center and activities for the same are in progress. I guess this place is quite well known among the local folks for as I was returning I could see people coming in to visit the place.

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Overall worth a visit owing to the uniqueness of the place and the lovely drive.

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