Aladahalli is an isolated village with a beautiful hillock and an ancient temple. This typical village offers visitors a vast expanse of greenery on one side and a quaint rocky hillock crowned by a temple dedicated to Lord Ranganathaswamy, on the other. The whole village resounds with the chirping of birds, the mooing of cattle and the occasional horn blaring from the highway.
This place was once upon a time known as Yajnavalkya Ashrama. It is believed that
sage Yajnavalkya set up his hermitage and performed severe penance. To facilitate worship, he consecrated this pillar-shaped Ranganathaswamy idol inside a small stone dolmen at the top the hill. This is the only one of its kind in the entire state in which
Lord Vishnu has been depicted in the form of his earliest incarnations. This temple at the top is accessible through a steep flight of steps. The quaint hillock offers some interesting climbing opportunities. The base of the hillock has a cave temple dedicated to
Goddess Lakshmi.
Aladahalli is 55 km from
Bangalore on the Bangalore -
Tumkur Road.
