Shivasamudra Falls - A Nice Drive from Bangalore

My friend, Kunjai has been staying with me for a little over two months. On Friday evening (15th Aug), we suddenly realised that we hadn't taken a trip to any of the spots around Bangalore. Our man was especially amazed because he is the kind who likes to take off with minimum planning, clothes and other essentials. So, we decided to go for a day trip on Sunday where the drive would not be more than 200 kms, we would spend around two hours there and head back. We short-listed

Bannerghatta National Park - ruled out cause it was too close

Bheemeshwari Fishing Camp - ruled out cause I had already seen Dodamakkali and was expecting Bheemeshwari to be quite similar

Shivasamudra Waterfalls - Okie dokie but we decided that we needed more info.

I called up a friend of mine who had been there with his mom. He said it was a good drive and the falls were very picturesque but there was nothing else to do there. Kunjai was of the opinion that without our respective moms to slow us down, we could go exploring hither and thither. I didn't exactly jump with joy at this proposition but decided to go with the falls sorry flow!!

On Sunday, we got up pretty late. After a hurried bath and breakfast, we packed a few frugal sandwiches, water and a box of chocolates and set out at around 12.00 pm. Shivasamudra falls on the same route as Doddamakali. It is about 125 kms from Bangalore. There are two routes which can be taken; via Kanakapura Road or Mysore Highway and turn off after Maddur. I decided to take the Mysore Highway as I was more familiar with it. The drive out of Bangalore was peaceful with virtually no bottlenecks. After heading out, I handed over the wheel to Kunjai. Well, I thought I had road rage but I can't hold a candle to this dude. After half an hour of listening to his abuses/rants/curses, we set some ground rules. If we were to have a peaceful trip, no more abusing the million other drivers on the road. Just after we crossed Maddur, we had to take a turn-off to Shivanasamudra. After about two kilometers, the road quickly turned bad and we had to negotiate through lots of potholes for about 15kms. Thanks to the slow pace, we made an amazing discovery - there is a New York in Karnataka. It's not a hoax - please look at the photo. I don't know what the significance of this is, so if anyone out there does do let me know.








We reached Shivasamudra at around 3.00 pm. On reaching there, we realised that there are two falls - Gaganachukki and Barachukki (which is about 13 kms ahead). We turned off to Gaganachukki. The approach is through the residential section of the dam officers. It was quite neat and had a channel passing through. About a kilometre ahead, there is a huge ground for parking and the attendants diverted us there. The weather was pretty hot and humid. Kunjai was extremely disappointed to see the hordes of families who had the same bright idea as us. We tried to stray off the beaten path but were stopped short by some vendors. They informed us that it was not allowed and that we would be fined. After a short walk with the rest of the herd, we reached the vantage point from where we could see the falls about two hundred metres away. As described by my friend, it was very picturesque. The falls are quite big and majestic. On the other side near the point of origination, we could see a huge ground where people had parked their cars and were walking up to the falls. On asking a vendor he informed me that was not Barachukki and that we would have to go further ahead to reach there. We clicked a few pictures and decided to head to BaraChukki. There was a restaurant near the vantage point but we did not partake of the food On the way, we found a turn-off that looked interesting. We found that it was beside the canal mentioned earlier. We stopped a bit ahead and beat a path through the bush. It was a pretty spot with lots of greenery on both side and hawks circling overhead. After Kunjai dipped his hand in the water and made like he had dipped in the Ganges, we unpacked the sandwiches and sat around for about half hour. At around 4.15 we decided to avoid Barachukki and head back to Bangalore. Overall it was a good break from the city and perfect for a short drive. We should have got there a bit earlier as we could have done some walking around and also seen Barachukki. It is also advisable to carry a picnic hamper so you can find a nice spot and sit around. Overall rating on the Mathew Rate-O-Meter - 2.5 out of 5 stars.

On the way, we first stopped to take pictures of the 'New York' marker. Then we stopped at Mysore Mylai Hotel and had some decent South Indian food at a very decent fare. We reached Bangalore at around 8.00 pm, really surprised that there wasn't too much traffic. I wonder where the rest of the city went.

Doddamakali - On the banks of River Cauvery

I went to a place called Doddamakali over the weekend. Ever heard of it before this? Nyet, nada, zip, zero. I never knew it existed till I walked into the office of Jungle Lodges & Resorts and I was forced to do the booking in a matter of minutes. Till then, I had only heard of the Bheemeshwari Fishing Camp and was told that two more existed very close to it. Since I have mentioned quick reasoning and decisioning abilities on my resume, I went ahead and booked it and I turned out to be a very good decision (like I can ever go wrong, come on, I mean PLEASE). After I booked it and went on to the net to look up some reviews, I didn't find any well-written reviews. I was pretty apprehensive till I got there so all those fears have inspired me to write this article. So here I am, lighting the lamp for the rest of the world.

Doddamakali is about 130 kms from Bangalore. The car we took was a Maruti Alto and I was pretty worried as I was told that the last 8-10 kms was rough and that I would need to drive very slowly. Also a couple of articles on the net had mentioned that a 4WD was required and that cars could get scratched or damaged. We left at about 8.45 am on Saturday. The route we took was through Maddur on Mysore Road, which is about 80 kms from Bangalore. As usual, the perennial jams took their toll on our tempers and the State Transport buses made it even worse. On nearing Maddur, there was a board displaying 'Maddur Town'. On asking, some friendly locals told us to go 2 kms ahead and then take a left to Malavalli. From then on, there were yellow signboards placed by Karnataka Tourism, which indicated a couple of tourist spots including Doddamakali. The road was a bit bumpy in stretches and we had to slow down to between 20 – 40 kms per hour. I almost ran over a big rat snake and spent a few minutes working out if it could have actually executed a super jump onto the car, till good sense prevailed. It was also one of the three sightings of wildlife we had, the other two being a wild hen and a lone deer. After about 30 kms, there was a board indicating left to Doddamakali and a huge arc displaying ‘Welcome to Shimsa Hydro Electric Project’. From here on, it was a decently tarred road for about 10 kms after which we came to a dead end and a signboard indicating right to Doddamakali. The dirt road began here and continued till the camp, for about 8 – 10 kms. It was downhill all the way, gradually getting steeper and we didn’t need to slow down too much till we came really close to the camp. Here, it started getting pretty steep and very very stony and it was first gear all the way. There are about 10 hairpin bends that we had to negotiate and finally the camp was in sight. The Alto was perfectly capable of handling the road, so unless you are planning to go during the rainy season, please don’t get your Mahindra 4WD out from the estate. The time we reached was just after 12.00 o’clock, a journey time of 3 and half hours. The camp is right on the banks of the river and the first look told me that I had made a good decision, as the place was very picturesque. The river looked very green and peaceful with short sandy banks flanking it on either side. On the other side, there were towering green hills against a backdrop of clear blue skies. The river stretched on, dotted with rocks and ripples.

The staff took our booking slip and guided us to the tents. In all, there are 8 tents, each of which faces the river. It is placed on a wide concrete platform. There is asbestos roofing, which keeps it protected and a toilet cum bathroom at the back. The toilet is clean and functional. It has a shower as well but no hot water facility. The tent has a double bed and a cot. There is a fan and a small electric lamp, powered by the camp generator. Overall, it was very clean.

As we had reached in the afternoon, it was pretty hot in the tent and we headed out for lunch. The food was served buffet style and was decent. Nothing fancy but quite tasty especially the chicken curry. After eating, we headed back to the tent and sat outside on the chairs provided, chatting and reading. A word of caution, please ensure that the doors are kept closed at all times to ensure that spiders and other insects do not get in. We headed back to the dining area for tea and biscuits at around 4 o’clock. After tea, we were urged to get on to the coracle boats. The boats are small and round and look very flimsy. Once you get in, you realize that with all the bodies piled in, the edge of the boat is almost on level with river, which is not reassuring. However, the river was very calm and the boatman very . He took us a kilometer downstream and bought us back. Overall, it was not exciting but something you must do at-least once so you can tell all – ‘Yeah yeah I have done coracle riding’.

Once we got back, there was a group of Wiproites playing volleyball and I joined them. I was glad to know that the old skills were there and we had two good games. By then, it was sundown and I quickly took a shower with what remaining light was there. Again, we sat outside our tent and opened a bottle of wine (no alcohol is served there and you have to carry your own). It became pitch dark and the mosquitoes really started to get bothersome. I had to light up a coil to get rid of them so people, please carry a torch and mosquito repellant to brave the wilds. At around 8 o’clock, the bonfire was lit and we took our place there with a plate of barbequed chicken and onion pakoras. It was very tasty and we stuffed ourselves, which was a good thing as the dinner that followed was just a variation of lunch. After dinner, we went to sleep by about 10.30 pm as there were none of the usual distractions. Thankfully, the generator was on throughout and it was pretty cool. We didn’t sleep too well though, either due to the unusual surroundings or the bites and itches. We were woken up at 6 o’clock in the morning, as we had asked to be a part of the morning trek. After freshening up and a cup of coffee, we headed out just after 7 o’clock. We began a climb of the hills behind the camp, which was pretty steep and took our breath away. I have a suspicion that the camp guys have designed the trek with the toughest part first so that the weakling drop away and don’t hold up the rest. After all, in the jungle, it is survival of the fittest, baby. The trek was essentially over the hill that doubled back to the river and provided some lovely patches of trees as well as great views of the river. We didn’t spot any wildlife though. On reaching the river, we took a break for about 15 minutes and then headed back. On the way back, we crossed a spot where rapids were formed but couldn’t get a close look as we were a bit far and there was tree cover. It took us a total of 90 minutes to get back and boy, was I hungry.

Breakfast was pretty good with a spread of idli, vada, poha, toast and eggs. After we ate our fill, we headed back to the tent and rested a bit. Checkout was scheduled at 11 but we left a bit earlier to beat the traffic back.

We passed a few cars on our way back. As Jungle Lodges also offers day packages, I am not sure if these guys were staying over. I think it would be rather tiring for a day-trip as driving back and forth and negotiating traffic would be pretty straining. However, it is a perfect one-day trip and the place really soothes you. The staff is polite and non-interfering. Nobody was fishing so I can’t really comment on that. I guess Nov and Dec would be a great time to go there, as the weather will be very cool. Of course, August to Feb is season time for fishing.

So if you need a weekend break,
Doddamakali is the route to take,
Make a lot of merry
And swalpa enjoy maadi