Shravanabelagola in May is the pre-monsoon endurance month. Daytime 30-35C, nights 23-25C, humidity climbing past 75 percent, rainfall 80-130mm with pre-monsoon thunderstorms hitting 3-5 evenings per week. The 614-step barefoot Vindhyagiri ascent (sun-exposed granite, no shade, dangerous when wet from afternoon storms — the post-rain granite stays slippery 2-3 hours) works dawn-only 5.45-7.30am. The 17.4m Bahubali Gomateshwara monolith (981 CE Chavundaraya, world's largest free-standing monolithic statue) holds visitor access throughout the day but the climb is the constraint. Abhisheka rituals 9.30am and 5.30pm continue but only the dedicated make the climb at those hours. Chandragiri hill (175 steps to the Bhadrabahu cave — Maurya tradition that Chandragupta Maurya died here in 297 BCE as a Jain ascetic, the act that ended the Maurya dynasty) similarly compressed to dawn. Bhandara Basadi Jain temple complex (12th-century Hoysala) at base — AC retreat through the heat. Power cuts run 1-2 hours daily through the last 10 days. Hotel rates at year-low: Inchara Hotel ₹1,500-2,800, Jain Heritage Bunglows ₹2,000-3,500.

Why May scores 6.0/10