There are many places in and around Bangalore of which not many are aware. This post is about one such place in south Bangalore near Raja Rajeshwari Nagar called Omkar hills. This place is said to be the highest point in Bangalore.
I had read up about this place and decided to go there on a weekend.This was 2 years ago. It was hard to find out the route to this place as there was no map/directions! We tried to approach this place from Rajarajeshwari Nagar. Alas any road that we took was leading to a dead end. With the frustration level mounting, we almost gave up and decided to drive back home. This was not to be so :) We found an easy route thanks to some gentleman!
When driving on Mysore Road from Bangalore,take the left at Uttarahalli Main Road,drive past the BGS Apollo hospital and then take the right next to JSS College. This road goes to the top of Omkar Hills. You will find a detailed map and link to Google maps at the bottom of this post.
Omkar Hills has a temple and Ashram which was founded by Shri Shivapuri Mahaswamiji. More details can be seen here.
One of the main attractions of this place is the huge clock tower built by HMT at the entrance which is claimed to be the second biggest in the world. It is also said to be bigger than the Big Ben. The clock was supposed to chime the sound of a conch being blown followed by the om sound five times at the striking of every hour. Sadly the clock has stopped working now.
The swamiji’s samadhi is also housed – opposite the clock in a little enclosure. There are a beautiful set of steps leading up. These steps are laden with beautiful flowering trees and plants. When you look up those steps you sort of feel that they are leading you to the edge of the earth into another world!
Upon climbing a few steps one can see an old banyan tree surrounded by statues representating various faiths/religions. Ramanujacharya, Shankaracharya, Madhwacharya, Jesus, Koran, Buddha, Mahaveera and the Guru Granth Sahib as far as I recollect.
The view of the city outskirts from the top is nice. A new temple was being constructed in the premises opposite to the banyan tree.
And finally leaving you with one final look of the whole place!
Map
View Larger Map
