Ramanagara district (Kannada: ರಾಮನಗರ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆ) is one of the 30 districts of Karnataka state in southern India. Ramanagara city is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district is part of Bangalore Division.

Ramanagar is situated in a valley surrounded by rocky hillocks on Bangalore - Mysore Highway. Ramanagar was earlier known as Closepet. But the present name, of Ramanagara finds its origin from the once existed village Ramagiri foothill of the Ramadevarabetta.

Ramanagara is famous for its silk market, giving it the other name of Silk town.

History

Ramanagara district was carved out of the erstwhile Bangalore Rural district on 23 August, 2007, comprising the erstwhile Channapatna, Kanakapura, Ramanagara and Magadi taluks of the undivided district.

Geography

Ramanagara is approximately 50 km southwest of Bangalore. It has an average elevation of 747 metres (2450 feet). Ramanagara is famous for the huge rocky outcroppings. Those that are popular for rock climbing are; Savandurga, Ramadevarabetta, SRS betta and Thenginkalbetta.

Economy

Ramanagara is famous for its silk market, one of the biggest in India, giving it the other name of Silktown. Ramanagara district includes the Bidadi industrial area, which houses the manufacturing units of Toyota and Coca-Cola, and a 1400 MW combined cycle gas-based power plant.

Hills and landscape

The region has several tall granitic hills which are famous for many short rock climbs, typically 1 to 2 pitches in length. Grades vary from 5.8 American to 5.11 American. It is home to some of the world's oldest granite outcrops. Some of the interesting climbs are on the Wanakkal wall ("Gabbar ki asli pasand", "Labor pain"), on the Rainbow wall ("UIAA", "Kalia"), on Anna-Thamma ("Darkness at dawn", "Black Diamond", the name Anna-Thama means 'elder-brother-younger-brother' in Kannada).

Another well known hill is Ramadevarabetta. Along with Savandurga this was one of the shooting locations for David Lean's A Passage to India. Small door like grottoes were made in the rock to resemble caves. It was also in this region that the path-breaking Hindi movie, Sholay, was shot.

Other famous hills in the region include the Revanasideshwara hill and Handigundi.

These hills have been threatened by quarrying and also plans to carve these hills into statues. The region is covered in scrub forest and is home to threatened bird species such as the Yellow-throated Bulbul and Long-billed Vultures. The hill is today one of the few locations in south India where Long-billed Vultures nest. The region is also home to numerous sloth bears.

PLACES OF INTEREST IN AND AROUND RAMANAGAR:

Rocks of Ramanagar
Ramanagar is also known as the land of seven hills. Shivaramagiri, Yatirajagiri, Somagiri, Krishnagiri, Revannasiddeshwara Betta, Jalasiddeshwara Betta and Sidilakallu Betta are the seven hills that dot the landscape of Ramanagara.

Ramadevara betta
Another well known hill is Ramadevara betta. Small door like grottoes were made in the rock to resemble caves. It was also in this region that the famous Hindi movie, Sholay, was shot.

Janapada Loka
Janapada Loka is situated in Ramanagara district on the Bangalore - Mysore highway at a distance of 55 km from Bangalore. Janapada Loka is an organization that is committed to preserving and propagating the rural folk culture of Karnataka. An art gallery, open-air theatre and museum are also located here.

Kanva Reservoir
Kanva Reservoir is about 70 km from Bangalore and 13 km from Channapattana between Ramanagara and Channapattana. Kanva Reservoir was built in 1946 across the River Kanva (a tributary of the River Cauvery). The river here is named after the sage Kanva, who was supposed to have been living in this region during the time of Ramayana.

Kanva Reservoir has 5 automatic Siphons, each with a displacement of 14000 cusecs of water. It is also excellent picnic spot, with facilities for fishing and an ideal spot for camping and bird watching.

Magadi
Magadi is located at a distance of 50 km from Bangalore. Magadi is the Birthplace and it was Capital of Kempe Gowda who built Bangalore.

Magadi has a remnants of an old fort, which is said to have been built by Kempe Gowda in which is situated the temple of Rameshwara, his family God. The ruins of his palace are pointed out to the south-west of this temple, where only broken brick and ruined walls are noticed.

The Rameshwara temple in a later Vijayanagara style has a Sanctum hall having a brick and mortar Dravida Shikhara. There is a small Ardhamantapa leading to a Navaranga with frontal Mantapa having square granite pillars. Outside the temple is a spacious inner Prakara and at the backyard are small cells having Panchalingas.

Mekedaatu (Goat's leap)
Mekedaatu or Goat's Leap, a famous picnic spot is about 95 km from Bangalore via Kanakapura. Mekedaatu is situated within the limits of the Muggur forest. Mekedatu is a beautiful picnic spot where the river Kaveri and river Arkavathi merges at the Sangam. From this point, about 3.5 kilometers downstream, the river Kaveri flows through a deep gorge so narrow that one would think that a goat can leap and cross it.

Savandurga
Savandurga is a hill located at a distance of 60 km west of Bangalore. It is also known as Magadi Hills. The hill is famous for a temple and is also believed to be among the largest monolith hills in the world. The Savandurga hills are frequently visited by pilgrims who come to visit the Basaveshwara, Savandi Veerabhadreshwara Swamy and Narasimha Swamy temple situated at the foothills. At the foothill there is a village by the same name and the forest around has been stated as reserved forest and there is protected garden of the Herbs of medicinal interest.

Shivaganga
Shivaganga is located at a distance of 60 km from Bangalore. Shivaganga is also known as Dakshina Kasi or the Varanasi of the South. Temples dedicated to Gangadhareswara, Hanna devi and a cave spring called 'Pattala' are found at the top of the hill.

Channapattana
Channapattana is located 60 km south-west of Bangalore on Mysore-Bangalore highway. The City was ruled by the King Timmapparaja Aras and later Jagadevaraya choose it as his Capital city. Channapattana is popular for its wooden toys and lacquer ware. Lacquer ware products include brightly colored wooden toys in various shapes and sizes, door curtains and powder boxes, besides a range of distinctive jewellery.

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Courtesy: Wikipedia