Hill Temple

Karighatta

"Elephant Hill" — a 2,697-foot temple hill near Srirangapatna, reached by 450 steps and crossed by the Kaveri's tributary, the Lokapavani.

Height

2,697 ft

Name Meaning

"Kari" = elephant, "Ghatta" = hill

Steps to Temple

~450

River

Lokapavani

The Elephant Hill Temple Climb

Karighatta — "Kari" for elephant, "Ghatta" for hill — rises to 2,697 feet in Srirangapatna taluk, drawing trekkers as much for the climb as for the view of Srirangapatna town from its summit. The Lokapavani river, a tributary of the Kaveri, runs across the hill, and the slopes are thick with tamarind, gooseberry and dharbe grass.

Partway up, reachable by road or by climbing roughly 450 stone steps, stands a temple to Lord Srinivasa — also known here as Bairagi Venkataramana or Karigirivasa. Vehicles can go no further than this midpoint; the rest of the ascent to the hilltop is on foot, making it a proper trek rather than a drive-up temple visit.

Because the climb genuinely requires effort beyond the mid-hill temple, Karighatta tends to draw a more dedicated trekking crowd than some of Mandya's other hill shrines, rewarding those who make the full ascent with sweeping views over Srirangapatna and the surrounding Kaveri plains.