Temple in Nandi Hills

Recently I wrote about the charming Rang Bagh temple on the outskirts of Hyderabad which I had visited in February. Last week I was telling a friend about the scenic Bhoganandishwara temple just outside Bangalore in Nandi village at the base of the Nandi Hills. I had a look through my photographs of the temple and decided to showcase some of them here. (Above: a statue of Nandi, the namesake of the village and the surrounding hills.)

This temple was built in 800 AD by the Cholas. It features typical architectural elements found in South India Dravidian temples: the temple sanctum or ‘vimanam’ has a pyramidal roof, there’s a covered and pillared ‘mandapam’ or hall, and the temple enclosure forms a quadrangle with towers or ‘gopurams’ on each side. There’s also a temple ‘tank’ or pond, in this case built in the form of a step well. (Above: one of the temple gopurams.)

One of the things I love about this temple is the beautiful, intricate sculptures adorning the pillars of the mandapam. Here are a few examples.

A beautiful sacred tulsi plant and statue of Naga, the snake god.

Through a gopuram leading to the step well...

The step well with the Nandi Hills in the background.

This temple is not only exceptionally scenic and full of architectural treasures, it's also a quiet and peaceful getaway from the city.