An emphatic Journey to Shiva Samudram

Let me tell you about Shiva Samundram first : Shiva Samundram, a splendid water fall. The Cauvery river tumbles majestically down the Shivasamudram Falls, also called the Shivanasamudram Falls. Located in Mandya district in Karnataka state, the Shivasamudram Falls has twin jumps, Gaganachukki and Bharachukki, one km away from each other. Torrential rains in the Cauvery basin and the flooding of the river Kapila added more power and lustre to the beautiful scene.

We (My husband and I) started early morning on our power bike "Royal Enfield". I was really happy to go for a long drive to a place that is 150 Km from Bangalore. I remember that it was just to sunrise when we started. I can still feel the chilly and fresh air. The aroma of flowers. We first went to nearby petrol pump, got the tank full, got the air pressure checked on both the wheels and started for the journey. All the way I was just wondering how it would look like. I had just heard about it. On single stretch we drove to 80 Kms and then stopped on a road side dhaba. We had tea and Idly as our breakfast. Then we resumed again. Being a pillion rider, I was enjoying the road side view as well as the speedometer. I remember, it was never below 90 Km/hr untill we were in Mysore Road. Then from Mandaya, we took left towards Shiva Samundram. The condition of the road was not that good still we could manage to drive +70 Km/hr.

And finally finally finally, we reached the lovely watching tower. We were standing on the watchtower viewing the falls along the banks of the river Cauvery. From the watchtower, one can view the falls where the river plunges downward in a wonderful cascade, sending up dense clouds of mist, presenting a breathtaking scene. We sat on one of the stone benches overlooking the falls which plunges to a depth of 300-350 ft. Shivasamudram falls is the second biggest water falls in India. This was Gagana Chukki fall.

Bhara Chukki lies a km or so away from Gagana Chukki. After spending an hour in Gagana Chukki, we started for Bhara Chukki. We parked the bike and followed downstairs. The stairs were carved from stones. On the way we could clearly hear the sound of water hitting stones with its maximum velocity. And then i was standing in front of the fall. I cannot explain my feeling in words. It was truely romantic. I just cannot resist myself going into water. It was really warm. We covered the rocky surface of 5 mtrs and reached the middle where a rock was standing firmly. We sat on the rock for almost 30-40 mins. Legs were touching the warm water. Then we had our lunch.

Shivasamudram is also famous for its hydro power station which was started in 1902 by Sheshadri Ayyar, a dewan of Mysore. This is said to be the first hydro power station in Asia and from here power was supplied to Bangalore -- the first city to get power in India - in 1906 and then to Kolar Gold Fields and Mysore.

Around 5:00 PM we started from there and reached home around 9:00 PM. Had our dinner on the way in Kamath.

Thats all for now. I will again back with my next trip to Ooty, and that was my first anniversary.