from here & there - Not just a tourist attraction...

Located about 10 km from Mysuru city, Chamundi Hills is one of the most visited tourist spots of Mysuru. Reckoned as nature’s gift to urban ecology, this biodiversity-rich area is known to be a major source of groundwater for Mysuru city and surrounding areas.

Steeped in history and legends, Chamundi Hills is an ecologically important area. Spread over 1,700-acre reserve forest area, the forested hill is home to about 450 species of plants — both flowering and medicinal, 150 species of birds and 60 species of butterflies. According to geological findings, Chamundi Hills has 0.8 billion-year-old pink and grey coloured-granite rocks.

Situated 1,074 metres above sea level, Chamundi Hills was earlier known as Mahabala Betta, named after the Mahabala Temple located close to the Chamundeshwari Temple atop the hill. One of the early inscriptions  refers to Mobellada Tirthta and the Mahabaleshwara Temple, which is said to have been built by the Gangas in the 10th century. A 12th century inscription mentions  Hoysala King Vishnuvardha making grants to Mahabala Temple, which was the prominent temple of Chamundi Betta till 14th century. Afterwards, during the reign of Wadiyar kings, the hills came to be known as Chamundi Hills named after Goddess Chamundeshwari, tutelary deity of Wadiyar kings. The Wadiyars piously patronised this hill temple for centuries and the tradition continues even to this day.

Ancient texts like Skanda Purana mention Chamundi Hills as Trimukta Kshetra (tree-peaked pilgrim hill) and Astadala Parvatha (eight-petaled flower) as it is surrounded by seven hills. Considering the historical and ecological significance of the hills, no wonder there is a strong opposition to the government’s recently initiated devlopmental works in the Chamundi Hills Reserve Forest.