What can you say about a place where the local deity is a wandering spirit who wears outsized sandals And a region so wild that the milestones are painted yellow and green for fear of marauding elephants. For some obscure reason, wild elephants in these parts get so peeved by white milestones that they pull them out and fling them around. The Forest Department recently pulled one of these specimens out of a tree. Welcome to BR Hills.

BR Hills, short and sweet for Biligiri Rangana Betta, used to be a mere temple on a hillock with a rarely visited wildlife sanctuary nearby. That's until Jungle Lodges transformed it into the wildest vacationing spot in Karnataka. The range stretches from north to south for about 16 km and takes its name from the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple, which stands atop its highest point. Though Biligiri in Kannada means white mountain (the granite cliffs here have turned white due to erosion), the name is clearly a misnomer. The entire area is a thick forest of green dotted by deciduous trees and patches of shola rainforest.

Not that Lord Rangaswamy the patron deity of these forests is your average kind of god. His temple houses a pair of outsized sandals measuring one foot and nine inches! Local legend contends that Rangaswamy uses these sandals to roam the adjoining forests. Almost as if by logical extension, the sandals wear out and are replaced by the villagers who claim they are alerted about it in their dreams. If your adventure quotient is high, the fun doesn't end just here. There's the BRT (Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple) Wildlife Sanctuary with its wild denizens, the Soliga tribes who are the oldest inhabitants of these forests and the odd signboard that warns you of the most elusive creature of the forests Veerappan! Now that's what I call a really wild weekend...

Location:
235 km South from Bangalore

By Road: BR Hills is best accessed along NH209 via Kanakapura, Kollegal and Chamarajnagar
Journey Time: 5 hrs from Bangalore

By Train: Nearest railhead: Mysore (90 km/2 hrs) Best option TO Mysore Express (dep: Bangalore City 7.05 am; arr: Mysore Junction 10 am). Taxi from Mysore will be around Rs 1,100 Best option FROM Chennai Express (dep: Mysore Junction 6 pm; arr: Bangalore City 9 pm, Bangalore Cantt 9.40 pm)
Journey Time: 3 hrs + road 2 hrs

Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple
This centuries-old temple is dedicated to Lord Rangaswamy and is perched atop a hill reached by 150 odd steps. Nearby is a 1,000-ft drop to the forest below. Recently, a steep road was also constructed that offers spectacular views all around. The Temple Trust offers basic accommodation to those who might be interested in spending a night. The only time the trickle of locals to this secluded temple becomes a deluge is during the Ratha (chariot) festival that takes place every April. Once in two years, the local tribes also offer the deity a large pair of slippers made out of leather.

Dodda Sampige Mara
Literally the ?Big Champak Tree?, Dodda Sampige Mara is a 2,000-year-old giant tree that still flowers in season. The tree is deeply revered by the local Soliga tribals, who believe it is the abode of Lord Rangaswamy. It?s believed that other deities also reside here and are represented by over 101 stone lingas.

BRT Wildlife Sanctuary
Spread over an area of 525 sq km of undulating hills, BR Hills is a treasure house of varied animal life. The sanctuary, a wonderful blend of the Biligiri Rangaswamy and Male Mahadeshwar ranges, forms an important link between the Eastern and the Western Ghats of India. Apart from dhole, sloth bear and wild boar, the park is an excellent one to observe bison and elephant, with a greater chance of sighting a leopard here than in other parks. BR Hills is also home to 270 birds, of which 210 are migrant species, including the exotic Paradise Flycatcher, Racket-tailed Drongo and the Crested Hawk Eagle. For trips within the park one can either trek up on foot or opt for jeep safaris or elephant rides. If you?re staying at the Jungle Lodges resort, everything is taken care of. If you are not, make sure you take prior permission from the Forest Department at Chamarajnagar.

Things to do
The presence of the Cauvery and numerous water bodies makes it a haven for professional angling, amateur fishing, coracle boat rides and river rafting. It?s a good place for aquatic and tropical birds, with as many as 270 identified species. The lush landscape is ideal for trekking, outdoor camping and trips to nearby coffee estates. A good hike to BR Hills is from Yelandur to the hilltop. For other treks to Malligabare Betta, Hiddinabetta, Doddabetta and Mulkibetta, you?ll need the help of the Soligas. In fact, a visit to the Soliga and Jenu Kuruba tribes, who live in settlements called ?podus? is equally rewarding. If you wish to visit the Soliga tribe settlement close to the K. Gudi camp of Jungle Lodges, the manager can arrange a visit through Dr Sudarshan who is doing very valuable work amongst them. There?s no extra charge for this visit. A longer interaction may be met with some amount of irritability, so there is need for sensitivity about this.

Soft adventure
Jungle safaris, nature walks, elephant rides and coracle trips will leave kids as chirpy as the numerous birds that abound in the heavily wooded BR Hills. For slightly older kids, river rafting is an exciting adventure option.