Shivanasamudra and Talakad

Shivanasamudra (Shimsha Falls):

Shivanasamudra is an ideal location from Bangalore and probably the largest waterfall in the Karnataka after Jog Falls. The place is also credited for hosting the first hydroelectric project in India. Here, Kaveri splits into two, falls into a valley in two separate places called Gaganachukki and Bharachukki and re-unites downstream. A good lot of water falls down from both the waterfalls.

Gaganachukki especially is a steep fall where water gushes down with great velocity. It is quite risky to climb down and reach waters because of un-predictable depth and slippery rocks. A steep staircase is carved out of rocks at Bharachukki, where you can play in water. The two waterfalls are around a 15-minute drive apart and make beautiful picnic locations.

Talakad or Talakkadu:

Talakad is about 130 Kms from Bangalore. Talakad is a small town on the left bank of the Cauvery River. The main attraction at this place is the 4th century temple of Lord Kirti Narayana, also known as the Vaideshwara temple. Talakad once had over 30 temples that today are buried in sand. The deserted place is carpeted with sand dunes.Once in every 12 years a fair is held by name Panchalinga Darshana, Last time the fair happened in year 2006.

Information:
Shivanasamudra can be approached either via Bangalore – Mysore road or Kanakapura road. If you are taking Mysore road, you need to turn left at Maddur and drive some distance. On Kanakapura road, keep driving for around 120 kms on the highway. Shivanasamudra is very close to the highway. Kanakapura road is usually devoid of much traffic and is preferred way for driving. The roads are not very good and it may require 3 hours to cover the distance, so plan to leave early. There are no hotels close by and no accommodation or restaurants available on location. Nearby places to visit include Talkad, which has nice sandy shores by the river and a few historical monuments.

JOG FALLS

A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving." -- Lao Tzu

When Sravan (brother-in-law) came to us on Saturday morning for the weekend we decided to for some adventures trip. As it is a monsoon and full of rains all over the India, we (Sravan, my wife Sravanthi & Me) decide to go to Jog Falls. On the same day we have started to Jogs, we are able to get advance reservation one way to Sagara, which is 30Km from Jog Falls, in KSRTC.

We reached Sagara around 6:30 am we have booked return ticket to Bangalore immediately, and then with some difficulty after roaming the streets of Sagara we were able to get not so good accommodation for refreshment. After we have finished our breakfast we have taken bus to Jog Falls.

Even though the distance to Jog Falls is 30 Km you will see more than 30 stops by the time you reach Jog Falls. It was raining on and off and many times the view of the fall would get completely blocked by fog. It was a good view to see so much water, primarily all the water is redirected to dams built for the power generation. Incessant rains this year have filled up the dams and hence there is plenty of water. It was fun watching the fall in the rains.

By the time we reached Jogs it was 10:00 am, we have enjoyed picturesque view of the Jog Falls from the top, we have taken enough picture from the top. Then we started walking to the base. As it was raining now and then and the way is slipper and too much of crowd is walking down, it took nearly 30 min for us to reach the base. One cannot express in words how great the feeling is, one has to visit the place to feel it. We have enjoyed there for more than an hour and climbed back to top.

After we reached top we have taken as auto to go the falls at the top where water falls down which is 3 KM. That place is too has great views of Water Falls we have filled all the beautiful location in our cameras and came back to Sagara to catch our bus to Bangalore. We have reached Bangalore on Monday morning with loads of happy moments.

Jog Information:
Jog is a well-known waterfall, the tallest in India where river Sharavati falls from an unbelievable 300 meters high. The Jog waterfall is approximately 400kms from Bangalore. It is an over night journey from Bangalore. You can take bus or train to nearest town - Sagara and travel on local buses to Jog. If you are driving, the entire stretch of road is national highway in good condition but you may encounter a few rough patches. It takes 7-8 hours to reach Jog. You need to take Tumkur road(NH 4) from Bangalore and turn left to NH 206 in Tumkur, drive via Shimoga and Sagar towns. Shimoga is a good place to break for some refreshments if you are driving daytime. Continue for another 30kms on the highway from Sagar town. The waterfall is a short 2kms deviation from the highway.

Places to See:
You can spend an entire day around the waterfall. If you are fit, climb down to the base of the fall. It takes around 20minutes to walk down, and may take an hour or two to come back depending on your fitness. You can take a dip in the water when you are in the gorge. Drive to the other side of the waterfall and you can get close to the falling water. In summer, you can even bend down from the fall to see it descending all the way down from up close. It is a great experience, but definitely not for the acrophobic.

Chunchi falls - Sangama - Mekedatu

This trip was decided when my wife saw an article in News paper when we went to get our bike which we have given for servicing. So, we planned for the weekend i.e. on 5th August 2007. Initially we planned to go by Bike but 2 of our friends joined after hearing the trip plan.

We managed to get out of house around 6:45 a.m. and headed towards Kanakapura. The road to Kanakapura was not bad we could go with any much jerks. As, it was a cloudy day we have enjoy the travel till Kanakapura by watching the beauty of countryside fields, coconut trees, mountain views etc.

After 1 hours of pleasant journey we reached bustling town of Kanakapura. It was a small town and we managed to find a small clean hotel to have our break fast. Still our destination Mekedatu was at a distance of 35 KM. We started towards destination on the tortuous road from small villages but the best part is you can forget painful journey by watching the nature’s beauty.

We have reached Chunchi falls around 9:00 a.m. To reach Chunchi falls we have to take a diversion 10 K.M before Sangama (you can see a big arch with clear sign boards which you cannot miss ). From the top you can see nothing one need get in to see the falls. The falls are not big but worth watch if you plan for Mekedatu. At Chunchi falls by the looking at the gorgeous rocks you can apprehend how ferociously water flowed in former years. Unfortunately we could not play in water at this place, as getting into water is not possible so. We have limited our self to just take so few sanp’s in our camera and carried lot’s of memories with ourselves.

We started again our journey towards Sangama around 11 O’ Clock and reached 20 minutes. As usual it was very crowded. Sangama is a confluence of Rivers Cauvery and Arkavathi. One can cross the river by foot as the water it not more than chest deep at any point. But we have preferred to take small boat as we do not want to get wet till we reach the destination. We then had fun time on other side of the river getting wet till knees. There were many people enjoying in the river to the fullest.

We then decided to have Lunch which we had packed from home (It is suggested to get something from to eat). We sat on a big rock, with water, green trees, rocks surrounding and wonderful clouds above us, frankly speaking it was one of the best lunches we ever had. We can never get such a wonderful feeling in n-star hotel also. It’s not what we had but it’s the way we had it.

We have then started around 1 O’ Clock to our much awaited destination that is Mekedatu, (Meke – GOAT, datu - Cross). It is 4 K.M from Sangama to Mekedatu and we have a local bus and few local transport which runs continuously. The distance is covered by full of trees and hills. But best option is to go by walk with which one can enjoy the nature here and there you can get into Cauvery have fun, Of course we went straight to the destination without stopping in between with a plan to covering the best while returning.

Reaching the Mekedatu we were excited to see the water flow and also surprised to see how the River Cauvery flows through a very narrow and deep Canyon. You could see the beautiful rock formed due to furious water flow. We taken step to get into the river (it’s only half the way, after that you cannot go) to get to closer view of the torrential water lash. Never try to reach the water in this place as this is very dangerous with any support. We had taken enough pic’s and when we are about to start back suddenly rain started In the rain the view was awesome. Then we started back from Mekedatu to explore Cauvery which we have noted when we came. Even though it was raining moderately we have not stopped to exploring Cauvery. We had two stops on the bank of river we had fun and reached back to Sangama to cross the river.

From Sangama when we are about to return, we saw a mishap i.e. a drunken guy drown in Cauvery, because he do not have control on him. Of-course the person who died has no pain (may have for couple of minutes). But, we have seen how painful for the friends who have accompanied him for the trip and we cannot imagine the pain of his family members.

My sincere advice to all who go for trip along with friends is if you want to enjoy adventurous place take at-most care and enjoy. Don’t take liquor when you are in such place. It’s not only takes your life, it’s takes the happiness of you friends and family members and lastly not the least don’t spoil the beautiful nature with alcohol bottles, plastic bottles, plastic papers etc. Please preserve nature.

Preparation for your Travel:
* Time to go to this is place is during monsoon
* Better to go by you own vehicle, public transport is may be eat away your time
* Take your food and water as the places are small you might suffer
* Ware comfortable clothes so that you play in water at safer places