Important Jain pilgrimage site

Every 12 years, a ‘mahamastakaa bhisheka’ – a ritual offering of milk, honey, and flowers with a mahapuja at the vast forehead of Gomteswara Sravanabelgola’s statue – brings thousands of Jains and pilgrims of other faiths to the 17.7-meter-high monolithic statue. The enormous statue stands on a granite hill, the 143-meter high Vindhyagiri Hill, 170 km from Bengaluru. Dating back to the 9th century, it continues to be a significant center of Jain worship even today.