The second trip of the 2008 monsoon season turned out to be a trip to a lot of places in one day. After a lot of deliberation and trying to gather a crowd for the trip, the plan swung from Dandeli to Hampi to Chikmagalur to Hogennakal and finally settled on Shivanasamudram at the very last moment. The people were also see-sawing all the way with people like Raghu pulling out because of Varalakshmi and Arun citing a lack of crowd.
Finally Girish, Anirban, Anuj and I set off in a hired Indica with a driver at 6 am from office. Now, my first trip to this famed waterfall was on December 29th, 2007. Although the place seemed not to impress visually at that point of time (we saw two trickles on each branch of the Gaganachukki waterfall at that time. Of course, the first trip holds a special place in my heart for another reason), this time around I was totally mesmerized by the sight in front of me.
Breakfast was bisi bele bath and masala dosa and super strong coffee at the Shivalli restaurant (MTR branch at Channapatna) for me.
The Gaganachukki waterfalls were at their visual best. The recent heavy rains in the whole of Karnataka made our timing to the waterfall perfect. We arrived pretty early and there was a thin crowd which was good. There was a thick mist rising from the base of the waterfall and the waterfall looked like milk gushing down the rocks. I think it would have been even more special if it had been in the middle of a forest and we had to trek a couple of kilometers into the jungle. Would keep all the other noisy tourists away and keep the place pristine clean too. I'll let the photos do the talking since I dont have the repertoire of words to do justice to its beauty.
Bharachukki is less taller, but makes up for it by the sheer breadth of the waterfall. On every side that you turn, you'll see a waterfall gushing down the rocks. If not for the some of the spaces in between where there are trees or vegetation growing, we would have our very own Niagara falls right here close to Bangalore. Simply magnificent! Girish had a Digital SLR from Canon (my own camera fades in comparison) and we spent some time to get a panoramic view of the waterfall using the stitch option. It took us 6 photos side by side to get the entire stretch! (Will be uploaded here once Girish completes the stitching) The places where we took bath in the water the last time was all under several feet of water this time.
We did find one branch of the waterfall where we got close and got a mist spray. Very nice place. I was really tempted to jump into the pool below the waterfall here but better sense prevailed. Currents were really strong and the rocks posed a danger even if I wasn't scared of the water depths. We enjoyed the quiet of the place for a while there.
Posting here a view of the waterfall where I sat right beneath the waterfall last time. No chance this time. There was no chance of even taking out a coracle to the base of the waterfall this time.
A picture of the janardhana idol in Somnathpur garbha grihaWe then went to Somnathpur. 40kms from Bharachukki but the roads were so bad, it made it seem like a 100 kms. Have heard that the place resembles Hampi. It was plundered by Tipu Sultan and is now an abandoned temple, but most of the temple is intact. The carvings are exquisite. So are the idols of the Lords. Pretty well maintained heritage site, I was impressed by the beauty of the lawn outside as well the cleanliness of the place.
We then proceeded to the Blue Lagoon island (which is actually the backwaters of the KRS dam) in Mysore. Water, water everywhere. This reservoir is massive! Much much bigger than the Linganamakki reservoir that Honnemardu is famous for. When we asked Anuj if he could swim, he siad, "I feel that I can." We were all bent over with laughter that time. How can you feel such a thing. We remarked, "Lets see how you feel in the water today." I personally felt that we need not have travelled all that distance just to swim. We could have spent more time at the waterfall instead and maybe visited the Shivanasamudram temple where there was place to swim apparently in the river Cauvery.
The entrance to the reservoir is through a private plantation. Before we could enter, an old man with a stick insisted on an entrance fee. He got away with Rs. 100/-. In Anuj's opinion, we paid for an annual membership! Some twenty feet away, another guy stopped us. He also wanted money. We were really pissed off. Told him we already paid 100 rupees. But he said, "You paid my brother, now you have to pay me too!" After much cussing, the chap would not budge at all and Girish sent him off with another 20 rupees.
Of course if you want to swim, which I love to, this reservoir has an endless oppurtunity to swim all day long. Water is quite calm and I am pretty sure there is no danger except for the depth of course. I ventured about 100 - 150 m out, but then returned as the water started getting way too cold in the middle and I was the only one there. Didn't want to suffer a cramp because of the cold.
All in all, a good trip and although there was no strenous trekking or getting into the waterfall, the trip is worth it just to see the waterfalls at their best. To give you an idea, I leave you with a picture of Gaganachukki as we saw it last December!
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