Roaring Waterfalls in Monsoon

Monsoon this year has been aggressive so far. Though it's creating havoc in many places, it is the best time to get a glimpse of the waterfalls full of life. Two such spectacular waterfalls are in Shivanasamudra also known as Bluff.  It's a 130km ride/drive from Electronic City Phase 1 on the NH948 via Kanakapura.

One of the first Hydro Electric Power Station in Asia was set up here in Shivanasamudra in 1902. We see the river bifurcating into two, giving birth to the 4th largest island formed by the Kaveri. Both the branches plunge through rocky outcrops forming two waterfalls, namely Gaganachukki (western falls) and Barachukki (eastern falls). In both, water flows over cliffs cascading into multiple side by side waterfalls.

Deviate from the (NH948) Kollegala Road by turning left on to the small village road and go about 3km to reach the Gaganachukki waterfall. From here there is a shorter route to reach the main road that goes alongside the check dam. The water level here was to the brim when we visited and water was splashing on us due to the heavy wind. The old stone bridge (Wesley Bridge) on the way to Barachukki will make you admire the engineers who constructed it. It is sad to see that our people have made this spot a convenient place to bath in the water.

Road widening on Kanakpura Road is in full swing, which means the sides of the road are almost chipped off. Expect traffic jams and slow movement of vehicles. The route gets interesting after the town of Kanakapura when the terrain gives way to rocky hillocks. During monsoon lot of shrubs crop up between the rocks, making the barren land abundant with greenery. 

Sivanasamudra, Talakadu, Somanthapura- a school trip

Ask any school student of our generation who studied in Government school where were they taken as part of one day trip, the answer would be Bluff, Talakadu and Somanathapura.A road trip to Mysore with my parents and sister – as the rains continued to flood North Karnataka. Though, we considered Hampi and other Northern part of Karnataka, we acquiesced on a two day road trip instead of taking a 14hr bus trip.

We did not want to take the usual Bangalore-Mysore route, instead chose to drive through Kanakapura. This route is well connected by ST buses to Kollegala and further to Coimbatore via Sathyamangalam. The first 25km or so might take one hour of driving and the traffic and roads are better beyond Kanakapura.

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Shivanasamudra:

Close to 100km from Kanakapura, after driving through the villages of Mandya and crossing Malavalli, on NH 209, you will reach Belakavadi. The second hydroelectric power station in India, Shivanasamudra (sea of Siva) was established in 1902 across river Kaveri. Locally known as BLUFF this power plant has an interesting story. Dewan Seshadri Iyer constructed this dam to produce electricity for Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) where John Taylor Company was extracting gold for the British. But the Dewan was telling that electricity was meant for Mysore. The people did not believe this and called it a ‘bluff’, eventually electricity was supplied to KGF. Recently a 5MW Solar Power Plant is installed here. Two spectacular waterfalls – Gaganchukki and Bharachukki brought this place to tourism map. When we crossed the dam and solar power plant, we reached a parking lot near KSTDC Hotel. As we stepped down, we could see two separate waterfalls, assumed by many as Gaganchukki and Bharachukki at the same spot. Gaganchukki has two separate cascades at this location and Bharachukki is around 10km away inside an army cantonment driving past a temple and mosque. Be prepared to pay hefty parking fees and Grama Panchayat development fees en route. You will be flabbergasted at the volume of water and the width of the cascades at both these waterfalls.

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During summer the quantity and force of water would be less and a few years ago, there was no security or a fence to stop you from going to bottom of the waterfalls. At Bharachukki, we have gone down to the bottom of waterfalls and played in the water, which no longer is possible. It was nice to hear the childhood stories from my father about how he had to carry my sister on his back uphill while returning.

Another 25km through T. Narsipura-Kollegal road takes you through the rural life of Karnataka. People literally sit on the road processing black lentil (whole Urad Dal) near the feilds. A long fly-over will bypass this small town in the future. T in T. Narsipura stands for Tirumakudalu - meaning the confluence of Kabini (Kapila), Kaveri and Spatika Sarovara – a mythical lake.

Talakadu: Ancient capital of Ganga dynasty and later captured by Cholas, Talakadu was important in Karnataka history. 28km from Sivanasamudra, Talakadu is part fiction and part facts. Talakadu had over 30 temples and this historically vibrant city got buried in sand, an ecological disaster linked to an inexplicable legend of ‘Curse of Talakad’. As the legends unfold, Raja Wodeyar of Mysore was ogling at a nose-jewel of Rani Rangamma of Vijayanagar family and proceeded against Talakadu. Rani Rangamma, throwing the jewel in to the Kaveri drowned herself uttering a three-fold curse. “Let Talakad become sand; let Malangi become a whirlpool; let the Mysore Rajas fail to beget heirs”. Another pious lady, Almelamma is also credited for this curse in some other legends.

We would slide down the sand and run up all the way to repeat the sliding on sand not bothering of scorching sun. The main temple complex cannot be visited now, as it is under renovation by ASI. Anyhow, around the temples there is nothing but sand. Fortunately, there is a shaded walkway around the temples in this desert like sand dune. Panchalinga Darshana occurs every 12years, next due in 2021. We spent our lunch time at the Kaveri riverside, which is a picnic spot.

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Somanathapura:

Well maintained by ASI, Somanathapura is a fine example of Hoysala architecture, more quiet and peaceful than Belur and Halebid. Built using green schist, the Keshava temple has trikuta (triple shrine) with a vestibule connecting to the main rectangular mantapa, decorated with reliefs and friezes with pierced windows screens above them. All the three shrines are sixteen pointed stellate (star-shaped) in design and their towers follow the same pattern, which allow light from all directions to fall on this marvellous architecture.

Hop on and hop off KSRTC buses to visit these places in day and you can head to Bangalore or Mysore at the end of the day. You take a diversion from Bannur to either Mysore (25km) or Mandya (30km), if you are returning to Bangalore. If you are staying at Mysore, there are many new hotels on the K.R.S road if you don’t like to stay inside city. Inside the city, Hotel Dasprakash at Gandhi Square (Tel 0821-2442444, dbl Rs 780) is still better than the lot with ample car parking and a nice vegetarian restaurant. The Mysore Palace and Jayaramachandra Art Gallery is just 15min walk. Next morning after an obligatory visit to Brindavan Gardens and SriRangapatnam, we drove over thousands of speed breakers on Bangalore-Mysore state highway before reaching home.

Kabbaladurga - Night Trek

70km from Bangalore and 20km from Kanakapura, Kabbaladurga is visited by devotees during day to worship at the temple on top. This monolithic rocky mountain is precipitous at a height of 980m (3234ft) overlooking the village and a few other mountains nearby. To find the route to this sleepy village where you will spot a cattle shed in front of every house, turn right from Kanakapura main road where the left turn takes you to Muthathi. Kabbaladurga temple is famous among the locals and you can use the Indian GPS ( stop and ask anyone on the road).





Bangalore Mountaineering Club was organizing a night trek to Kabbaladurga peak on Aug 6th, thanks to Saurav for forwarding this information. There were two other colleagues from GE who joined in this trek, the total headcount was 14. They charge Rs 800 per head and includes transport, breakfast, sleeping bags. You can find more details of such treks and long weekend trips - http://www.bmcindia.org/
 

On Saturday night, we headed to the pick-up point near Lifestyle showroom on Richmond road. There were a few other waiting for the bus that starts from Wind Tunnel Road. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of girls who turned up for a trek. Krishna from BMC and others picked us and the vehicle was heading to Kanakapura through the torn apart roads by Namma Metro project. We reached the base at 12midnight and it was a half-moon night. Krishna briefed us about the plans and gave us our sleeping bags to carry with us. Megha and I realized that we forgot to pack our torch (such an insult) and it was going to be a tough job to hike up without a torch. Plan was to reach the top in two hours and stay (sleep) until 6am and descend. The group reached the first steep ascent and everyone was sleepy and gasping for breath. Following Yogesh's torch light, we were leading the group mostly. Whenever we were doubtful about the route further, we used to wait for Krishna.

The climb is very steep and there is no clear path to provide grip. The locals have carved a few tiny steps just enough to place half of your foot on the most precariously steep rocks. There are electric poles on the way and you need to watch those cables while climbing up. Sometimes using all your legs and hands and climbing up like a monkey is recommended. Try to avoid the slippery parts of the rock where the water sweeps down as it provides no friction. Without a torch light it was too dangerous to take any step.

In two hours with a few breaks gulping water and waiting for others we reached the peak by 2am. It was drizzling a bit and rain cuts were handy. The peak was very cold and mercury levels were reading 14 degree Celsius. Moreover the wind was very strong and you would feel you will fly off if you don't hold to something. Megha was so excited as she was the first one to reach even before me. Once Krishna reached the peak with the tail end at 3am, he walked around the bushes to collect firewood to set a campfire. We were walking on the edges of the mountain through fog and it was a wonderful experience. Krishna asked if anyone smoked in the group and Saurav was running to him thinking Krishna is offering a cigarette. Krishna was asking for a matchbox or lighter. I was glad to find that none of the group members were into smoking.

Lighting up the fire was another Herculean task and none had a lighter or matchstick except a girl who had kept it for lighting up a few candles for her friend's birthday. Krishna, with the help of others trying out paper, plastic, dry grass etc lit up a the firewood and that provided a cozy warm feeling amidst the thick fog and wind. Then he started the 'Mafia' game which put a few of us to sleep and other s to continue the game until day break. The wind gathered more momentum and I felt I would be flying with the sleeping bag. Luckily it was not raining, we were sleeping on the rocks without a tent. Packing myself maximum into the comfort of the sleeping bag I slept until 6am and morning rush to watch the clouds floating woke me up. It was heaven on earth!!! You will feel like floating along with those cotton like clouds…

Reality struck me when Krishna asked us to pack up the sleeping bags and start descending. Descent was even more difficult as at many parts of the trek you will have to descend vertically without any grip or anything to hold. Sitting and sliding down on your bums is the easiest way to tackle this and always remember to lean against the rock instead of the air which can't support your heavy body. In 45 min, against the expected 2 hrs we reached the base. After freshening up we waited for others while trying to catch up with a power nap inside the vehicle. By 9:30 am we were in Kanakapura munching a much rewarding breakfast and we were home by 11am. Looking forward to more such organized treks by BMC.