Now, read my experience below
After a Saturday night party of much revelry, four of us – Abhishek, Sid, Manmohan and Manu decided to drive down to Shivanasamduram in the wee hours of Sunday morning at 5am. We took the Kanakpura Road. The drive is very scenic strewn with Nature’s beauty on both sides of the road. We took enough delight in the beauty surrounding us by making stopovers either to savor the serenity of a huge lake or admire the resilience of the rocky mountains. Kanakapura Road has less traffic compared to Mysore road but the road isn’t that smooth always. If you have a lot of time at hand, then Kanakapura road is a better option.
Shivanasamudram is close to 100 km from Bangalore on Kanakapura Road. We considered ourselves lucky to have started early and reached there by 9:30 in the morning. Early morning was relatively calm with a few tourists around. However, it is depressing as well as disgusting to note that places of such scenic beauty are not maintained well. Garbage is littered everywhere. After a distant survey and some quick snaps of the mighty falls, it was time to head towards the rapids. The banks for bathing are located at Barachukki which is about 6 km away.
After reaching Barachukki, we proceeded down the precariously laid rocky stairs and reached the banks. The view was breathtaking! We saw coracles lined up to take people close to the falls. Only 2 persons are allowed per coracle at a reasonable price of Rs 100 per ride. We went close to the falls, thoroughly enjoying the wavy ride, the coracle pirouetting in the currents and sprays of water from the falls. We could not stop admiring the dexterity of these boatmen who help the tourists enjoy the delight of the place without compromising on safety. While retreating from the cascades, Manmohan asked the boatman if we could take bath under the natural showers. The boatman, were initially unwilling but later relented after we negotiated an extra charge of 50 bucks per coracle. They took a detour and brought us to a place where we could experience the natural fountain cordoned by a rainbow. We felt ecstatic! We felt like pioneers in this endeavor as we later found that a lot of people following our footsteps.
Now, it was time to relax in more temperate waters. There were areas near the banks where we were cradled by the strong currents with boulders providing the anchorage. Half-heartedly we left the heaven on earth after a few hours. On our way back to the top we treated ourselves to refreshing coconut water. On changing to dry clothes, we headed back to Bangalore.
If you take the Kanakapura Road, all the tourist locations are well-marked by the Karnataka Tourism Department with signboards saving you the trouble of stopping and enquiring with the locals for directions. You can also reach Shivanasamudram via Mysore Road by taking a detour at Maddur. Monsoon is the best time to visit this place when the falls are blessed by abundant waters of the river Cauvery. You cannot miss this place if you live in Bangalore. The video should lure you enough!
2 Comments
Awesome video!… nice to see Manmohan and Abhishek after so long. Manu Bhai, keep up the good work…and keep going around!
Looks like awesome fun! Great video.
