Muthathi, Bheemeshwari & Chunchi Falls

Place: Muthathi, Bheemeshwari & Chunchi Falls
Date: 28’th April 2007
Participants: Harish, Jatin & Rohit
Distance: 100 + Kms from Bangalore.
Mode of Transport: Own vehicle. No Public Transport available

Route: Corporation->Lalbagh->South End circle->Banashankari->Sarakki circle-> Metro->Kanakapura Road->Kanakapura->Sathanur Junction
From Sathanur Junction if you go straight for 20 Kms, you reach Muthathi. Bheemeshwari is some 4 Kms from Muthathi.
From Sathanur Junction if you take a left road, you need to travel some 20 Kms to reach Chunchi Falls.After traveling 15 Kms from Sathanur, and you can either go to Sangama -> Mekedhatu or go to Chunchi Falls(Both are almost located at same distance).
There are 2 more routes to reach Mekedhatu, 1 before you reach Kanakapura you need to take a left deviation (you can see Signboards on roadside), Or you can take a deviation from Kanakapura.

On my Pulsar Bike



My friends were planning for a long trip, as May1’st was leave for most of them. By applying leave on April 30’th (Monday), you get a long weekend. I decided not to join them, as May 1’st was working day for us. Unfortunately for my friends, things did not workout and Friday evening I received a call, asking me whether we can go for Muthathi/Mekedhatu. Since the decision was taken late on Friday, we did not inform many of our friends and few others had other plans. Finally only me, Jatin & Rohit decided to go.

We started by7:30AM, met infront of Banashankari temple and started towards Kanakapura. After having some photo sessions on the way, we reached Kanakapura by 9:30 AM. Had Breakfast at Rathna Upahar . This is the hotel, where we always have Morning breakfast and evening snacks when we go via Kanakapura.
The drive was good with cool breeze and lots of greenery. The view after Sathanur junction is very scenic with hills and lots of tress around. Had many photo sessions on the way to Muthathi and Bheemeshwari. Reached Muthathi by 12.

Beautiful roads on way to Muthathi

Jungle road ride near Bheemeshwari

About Muthathi:
The cauvery takes her natural course here which beckons tourists to Muthathi. But behind the veil of beauty lies the shadow of death. Many tourists, mostly from Bangalore, were trapped in the Whirlpools of river stretching along 3 Kms.
Muthathi is not only on the tourist map but is also a holy place. According to legend, in Trethayuga, Lord Anjaneya fished out the pearl that fell of Seeta’s nose ring into river Cauvery. Then onwards Anjaneya was called “Muttatha Raja”and the place came to be known as Muthathi.

Anjaneya Temple at Muthathi

On the way to Muthathi and Bheemeshwari, we were stopped by policemen and were warned no to get into waters. Many people had lost their lives by getting trapped in Whirlpools. Infact we were instructed even by our parent also not to get into waters. Even we had no reasons to risk our life, so we also had decided not to get into waters. Visited Anjaneya temple in Muthathi and then travelled towards Bheemeshwari. In Bheemeshwari, you have a Fishing camp and Jungle lodge, where you can spend a weekend and do boating, fishing and other activities.

On Way to Muthathi

We spent around 1hour enjoying the nature and taking snaps at Bheemeshwari. Then on the way back, we ventured into forest area taking a steep, jungle road. The place was good .We went only for a few distance and returned back to main road.

Cauvery River at Bheemeshwari

On way to Muthathi

Some lovely snaps taken at Bheemeshwari

Then we decided to go to Mekedhatu. On the way we asked some Jungle lodge personnel the way to go to Mekedhatu. He said there is a mud road which goes through the jungle and Mekedhatu is only some 15 kms from Muthathi. Even he said that this route is only for Jungle lodge people and that he will let us go if we bribe him 100 bucks. We decided against it and thought of going in main road itself via Sathanur. The risk involved in going via mud jungle road is: First it is an illegal entry. You should bribe. If you get a flat tyre, then you cannot get any assistance.

Some stretch of the road from Sathanur junction towards Sangam is bad. The problem with going to Mekedhatu is that, from Sangam we should cross the river in coracle, and then take a local bus to Mekedhatu. After 4 PM, we were not sure whether there are buses. So we had decided only to visit Sangam. But on the way towards sangam, just 5 Kms before Sangam, we saw a deviation with Sign board, saying Chunchi falls: 5 KMs. We decided to go to Chunchi falls, thinking that we will visit Sangam, Mekedhatu some time in next few weeks.

We reached Chunchi falls by 4:30 PM. You don’t get anything here. Even there are no proper roads, directions to reach the base of falls. We just went around, took some path and after some 20 mins walk through the rocks, trees, reached base of Chunchi falls. The first impression I got after seeing the place is that it is just a mini Hognekal falls. The only difference being that, Hognekal falls is pretty bigger, where you can take a coracle ride and go around, which is not possible in Chunchi falls. Except that, the rock structure and every thing is similar to Hognekal falls. There was not much water in the falls. So after having some photo session, taking rest and enjoying the place we started our journey back to Bangalore. While returning, we directly went to Kanakapura without going to Sathanur junction.

Chunchi Falls

Finally we had dosa, Ice cream etc at Kanakapura Rathna upahar hotel, as we had not taken lunch and were really feeling hungry. Reached home by 9:30 PM. Hoping to go to Mekedhatu ASAP.

Tips:
Have your own transport.
Ask localities for directions.
Carry water, snacks and even food. You don’t get good restaurants after Kanakapura.
Drive safely, there are many steep curves. You may loose control. Infact I almost lost control once.
Don’t get into water in Muthathi / Bheemeshwari. There is a risk of getting trapped in Whirlpools.
Start early in the morning to avoid sun.Carry a camera. You can capture many wonderful sceneries

Bhannerughatta

Place: Bhannerughatta
Date: 14’th April 2007
Participants: Harish, Jatin & Rohit
Distance: 20 + Kms from Kempegowda Bus stop (Majestic).
Places to Visit in Bhannerughatta: Butterfly Park, Zoo, Safari
Places to Visit enroute to Bhannerughatta: Meenakshi Temple, Cave Temple
Mode of Transport: Own vehicle, Public Transport (Direct buses to Bhannerughatta available from KempeGowda Bus stop (365 series), From KR.Market (366 series) ).
Route: From Kempegowda Bus Stop
KempeGowda Bus Stop->Corporation->Nimhans->Dairy Circle-> Jayadeva Hospital->JP Nagar Underpass->JP Nagar 3’rd Phase->Bhannerughatta Road->Bhannerughatta

On My Pulsar Bike

It was long time since we people had gone out. We don’t prefer long trips / treks in summer. So when Rohit asked about Going to Bhannerughatta to visit Butterfly park and National park, I had no 2’nd thought.
Myself, Jatin & Rohit started in our bikes by 8 AM, had breakfast on the way and reached Bhannerughatta by 9:30 AM. Just few minutes ride and we were out of Bangalore’s busy traffic into green and calm surroundings.
Parked our bikes and went to Butterfly Park first. Entry fee is RS:20 per head and RS:20 for Digital Camera. Took some photographs in Butterfly park, with Jatin taking some amazing snaps in his Digital SLR camera. Butterflies are one of the most beautiful creatures created by God. Then visited the info centre present inside Butterfly park, which provides details about most species of butterflies.

Below attached are Butterfly park photos

After coming out of Butterfly Park, we thought of visiting the Zoo, as we were bored with Safari’s. In Most of the previous safari’s we had being in Nagarahole, Bandipur etc, we could see only Elephants, Peacocks, langoor.
Entry fee for Zoo is RS: 35 per head, camera RS: 20 I guess (RS: 100 for Handicam). There are many varieties of animals (Cobra, Rattlesnake, python, bear, Deer, Cheetah, elephant, fox, zebra, crocodile, hippo, peacock etc) and many birds enclosed in a fenced big pond like area).Visited all the cages, took snaps , had some snacks / food inside the zoo itself. You get snacks, food even inside the zoo premises. The main attraction in the zoo was the peacock, which was happily dancing by spreading it’s beautiful feathers, beautiful creature to watch while dancing.

Below attached are Bhannerughatta Zoo photos

After coming out of the zoo, we had a walk towards Mirza hill. Just 10 mins walk and we were in green forest environment. Thought of going ahead, but a forest guard sent us back, saying it is restricted area.

Photos on way to Mirza Betta

On the way back around 4PM, we visited Meenakshi temple which is on the main roadside itself (near Hulimavu cross).Then we visited Cave temple which is just around 1 km from Meenakshi temple. You can ask any localaite or the people at Meenakshi temple, they will guide you to cave temple. Cave temple is located in Hulimavu, near Hulimavu police station. It is one of the biggest Cave temples, I have seen.

Photos of Meenakshi Temple & Cave Temple

If you want a1 day picnic spot, but don’t want along ride, then you can definitely visit the above mentioned places. Kids will definitely love going to Zoo. For Photographers, it is just like heaven, where you can capture the beautiful butterflies and birds.
You have so many ideal 1 day picnic spots in and around Bangalore; Bhannerughatta is definitely one of them and even the nearest one.

Tips:
Start early to avoid traffic at Bhannerughatta road.
No need to carry food / water, as it is available at Bhannerughatta. (You don’t have good restaurants, but necessary things are available)
Plenty of Public buses (BMTC / Volvo) available from Bhannerughatta, so if you don’t have own vehicle, that wont be a problem.
Safari rides costs around RS: 60-70 per head.
Ample parking space is also available.

Hognekal & Ercaud Trip

Place : Hognekal Falls, Salem and Ercaud Hill station.
Date : 10'th and 11'thMarch 2007
Participants : Harish. M, Srinivasan Prakash, Divya, Nirmala, Radha, Phanidhar, Bala Krishna, Brijesh, Prabhakar E, Prabhakar NK,
Total distance covered : 676 KMS
Mode of Transport : Tempo Traveller with pushback and Audio coach .
Total cost of the Trip : 9000 RS for entire group




Background for the Trip :
One of my team members Srinivasan Prakash was very keen / enthusiastic to invite our entire team to his native Salem. He said that we can visit his residence and then spend a day in Ercaud hill station which is located at a distance of 40 kms from Salem. I then googled to check whether we can visit any other places on the way. I came to know that Hognekal falls can be covered on the wayto Salem. So i checke with Srini and he said that we can easily cover Hognekal falls on our journey towards Salem. So we made a plan of starting from Bangalore on 17'th Feb 2007 around 6AM, reach Hognekal by 11, spend some 2-3 hours and then travel to Salem. Then we had plans of halting in Ercaud.

We sent out a mail and there were 17 of our team members who were interested to come (Even outTL's PM" said that they will join us, but they will come in thier own Cars, as they did not want to disturb us and be an obstacle for our happiness).
I informed Srini that 17 is not a good number, as we wil have problems booking a vehicle. We need to book 2 vehicles or a 20+ seater Swaraj Mazda.
I was hoping and i was confident that atleast 4 people will drop out. Then 13 of us can be easily fitted in one TT ( As i am used to people dropping out of trips in last moments, so i always have some backup plans if i am organising a trip).

Unfortunately myself and my collegue were asked to travel to our Gurgaon office on some official work. We were said that we may return by 26'th Feb. So the trip was postponed to 2'ndMarch and then to 10'th march as our stay extended. Then we felt that we may be required to stay in urgaon till march end, so we requested Srini to go ahead with the trip on 10'th March itself. SO rini asked for some suggestions to go ahead with the plan and i suggested him about the do's and don'ts.
Fortunately due to some urgent requirement in Bangalore i was asked to fly back on 6'th March back to Bangalore. It seemed that i was sent back mainly to make it up to the trip. According to our previous plan we thought of leaving from Bangalore by 6 AM and as per my prediction, due to last minute dropout's , finally we ended having only 10 people on the trip.

Actual Trip:
I woke up by 5 AM on saturday and gave wakeup calls to al my collegues. Then myself and Bala Krishna took a bus to ulsoor and boarded the TT by 6:10 AM. Then we picked up other collegues from Marathalli, Kempfort, Koramangala Madiwala and started towards Hosur by 7:15 AM. We stopped at Tamilnadu border paid the border crossig feeof 800 bucks and entered tamilnadu. By 8:30 AM we stopped at Hosur Saravana Bhavan for Breakfast. After having breakfast we headed towards Hognekal
by 9:30 AM. We took the route via Krishnagiri-> Dharmapuri to reach Hognekal as this road is good. On the way we listened to some good music, played Bluff and had an important photo session (Taking snaps of people who were sleeping and then decide who looks cute while sleeping).

By 11:45 we reached Hognekal. As soon as we got down from TT, we were approached by group of Coracle riders offering us a coracle ride to view Hognekal falls. they were asking for 100 bucks per head which was too costly. but they had an union and they had decided to screw the tourists and grab as much money as possible from tourists. Finally they agreed to 90 bucks per head.
There were quite few feedback which i received for my previous blogs. Few of my friends complained that i have given all details , but i have not mentioned anything about going to Loo :-) . so this time i am even mentioning it. Few of us wanted to go to Loo, so we went to Pay and use Toilet located in the Bus sop. When enquired the Toilet attendant said 3 RS per head. We said that we are not going to take bath, for which he replied 10 RS for bathing...........I thought that there should be some limit to loot the tourists, paid him the amount and started to Coracle ride.
We took 2 Coracles (5 in each + Rider) . Coracle is called Teppa in Kannada. It is made of Bamboo sticks. Initially we went in coracle for 50 meters, then we had to get down and walk . The riders carried the Coracle and came to the next boarding point. We took some snaps on the ay and then boarded the Coracle. The fee per head is RS: 10 which was collected at this point. We then had some snacks on the way. People in each coracle were busy splashing water on people seated in other Coracle. I got bit irritated and shouted on them , as i was taking snaps in my Camera. I had to finally keep my camera inside the bag. The rider took us to few small falls in the coracle and finally put us in a Island . Here we had Water melon , jumped in the water and enjoyed for about 30 minutes. This was the right time for me to take revenge. So i dragged in all the people and drenched them. The most badly effected was Bala Krishna, who was first fully drenched. Then after going to the shore, he was fully covered by sand. Before we could take a snap of him in that state, he ran back into the waters. Phani was the only person , who was not dragged in, as he was gaurding all our belongings. We then took the coracle and started our return journey. On return journey we had a discussion of what is the meaning of Hognekal. The explanation was that "Hognekal" is a Kannada word. Hoge in kannada means Smoke and Kal means Stone. So when water gushes between the rocks, it looks like smoke and hence the name Hognekal.

Snaps Taken @ Hognekal Falls

I had high expectations from Hognekal, but i was not really impressed by Hognekal. Water falls from some small streams and flows between rocks, just like water flowing in a Canal. People say that in rainy season, u can see the canal like structure, water will be overflowing and u can't see any rocks.
one interesting thing in this place were the small kids aged around 10 years standing on top of the rocks and shouting that they will jump into the water if someone gives them 5 rupees. Money makes people do anything, so sad........................................................
There was a special Coracle market in Hognekal, where people used to carry snacks, cool drinks and sell them in Coracles. So if u feel like having any snacks u can buy them while riding in the coracle itself.

After finishing the ride, we had our lunch in a hotel in Hognekal and started towards Salem by 4 PM. We reached Srini's house in Salem by 5:30 PM. As his parents had gone out to get us some snacks, milk etc, we had a small photo session. I took snaps f Srini's house and our entire group. Srini's house is pretty good, having ample parking space, some garden and well designed and spacious interiors. There was a big swing inside Srini's house, which his dad said was more than 100 years old, and made of Teak. So all of us sat on it, took some snaps and had a look of his entire house. We had some cool drinks, Mixture and then we left to Ercaud.

Srinis House @ Salem & Srinis Guest House @ Ercaud

Ercaud is around 40 kms from Salem and the journey is via Ghat section. We had a beautiful view of entire Salem lighted in the night on our journey to Ercaud.
Due to Ghat section, Brajesh and Bala krishna got an stomach upset and they were not willing to have their dinner. But after resting for 15 minutes, they felt good.Srini then took us t o Shevroy hotel and gave us a treat. According to him, it was his Birthday treat, for the Birthday he had celebrated some 4 months back. We had a lot of fun in the hotel, rather than dinner, as the service was very bad. After finishing every course of meal, we were required to wait for 15 minutes for ext items to come.
After finishing our Dinner, we went to Srini's Guest house. The guest house is not occupied by anyone and Srini said that they come here very often, stay and then return back. We took the keys from watchman and entered the guest house. It has hall, kitchen and dining hall in ground floor and 2 bed rooms on first floor. The girls occupied one bedroom and all the guys occupied another room. Before going to sleep, we had lots of fun pulling Phani's leg. The topic for pulling Phani's leg cannot be disclosed openly :-)..................................

Near Guest House in Ercaud & Boating @ Ercaud

Sunday early morning, all woke up by 5 AM and got ready by 6:30 AM. Most of them got Hot water to bath, but few of them who took bath at last had to use Cold water, including me. We then went around; had some photo session and then the Watchman send a local boy Stalin with us to show us the places. We had our morning Tea on the way and then we first went to Shevroyon Cave temple. The priest here said that the cave leads you to Tala kaveri and people who do a 44 day wrath only can enter the cave and take that path. I tried t take a snap of the cave temple from outside, for which i had to hear a few words from the priest. He said that u people look like educated people and despite of putting a board that "Camera is not allowed inside the temple" u r taking snaps. We replied by saying that we are only trying to take snaps from outside. I was very much surprised to see a board put u in English language, as u rarely see English hoardings in Tamilnadu.

There were 2 swings put up and we guys started playing there. Bala krishna sat on one of them and Prabhakar NK pushed the swing hardly and due to Bala's weight the swing broke and Bala had to land once again in Dust. Luckily he was not injured so much. We then visited Meenakshi temple . We then had our Breakfast and then visited Lady's seat and Gent's seat. ( These are View points from which u can see the entire Ercaud and Salem city using Telescopic view). We thought it was enough and we did not visit Childrens seat. I pulled Divya's leg saying, don't feel bad that we are not visiting your seat. Divya was bit frustrated, as i had pulled her leg a lot in the journey. I have a habit of pulling all my friend's leg. Most of them in my team / troop are used to it. As divya was new to the team , she was getting used to it :-).

Ercaud Scenic view

We then returned to the Lake and planned to go for Boating. Few of them were not interested. Finally 5 of us went for boating. We planned to take Paddling boats, but since we were asked to wait for 30 minutes for it, we took Rowing boat. On the way we requested the Rider and rowed for some distace.As i had done rowing before in Honnemaradu, it was easy for me, but for others (Nirmala, Divya, Radha and Phani), it was difficult.They were just splashing water and the boat was not going ahead. After finishing the ride, we drove to Pagoda point, another View point, where there was good cool breeze. After spending some time here we returned back to the guest house and started our journey back.

For me Ercuad is not such a highly rated place. I would rate Kemmanagundi, Ooty, Kodaikanlal , Mullianagiri, Kudremuk as very good when compared to Ercaud. But Ercaud has good weather, a lake and few view points, but not so much greenery.
On the way back to Salem, Srini took us to his Sericulture farm ( His dad and their friends are doing it in partnership it seems). We had a look at the Silk worms being feeded by Mulberry leaves. We then had an discussion of how these silk worms later will be killed and then Silk will be extracted . So we asked the girls not to wear Silk sarees :-)

We then went o Srini's residence, had good lunch, followed by Mangoes, Water melon. Played Basket ball for some time (There is only one Basket put in the veranda portion, where we played). Then we left Salem by 4: 30. On the way we had a Anthyakshari session, followed by Dance floor, where all of them danced to some Hindi / Tamil / Telugu and Kannada music. Most of them in the trip were fully impressed by Mungaru male songs, as I repeatedly asked the driver to play them for 5-6 times. Finally some of the members themselves requested for Mungaru male songs.

We finally reached Bangalore by 8:30 PM on Sunday. After dropping all of them, I and Bala finally got down from the TT by 9:30 PM. It was end of another fun filled trip.