Shivanasamudram and Somanathpur trip...
Last weekend we went to Shivanasamudram falls and Somanathpur temple for a day long trip. We started with just the Shivanasamudram falls in mind. There are two ways to reach Shivanasamudram from Bangalore.
1. Take Kanakpura road, its a National Highway (NH209) and goes all the way to Dindigul from Bangalore. I think its the shortest route to Coimbatore from Bangalore but the road is not good. Till Kanakapura it was good actually but after that renovation is going on and the road is in bad shape.
2. The other way is thru Bangalore-Mysore State highway (SH17) which is in fantastic condition. You will have to go all the way to Maddur and then take a left turn towards Mallavalli. The same road joins NH209 just 17km before Shivanasamudram.
Ignorant of the NH209's condition, we went that way. It came to around 120km till the first fall. There are two falls there, Gaganachukki and Barachukki. We first went to Gaganachukki.
Being a Christmas weekend, it was very crowded there -
There is a famous dargah near the Gaganachukki falls. Looks like this from the "view-point" shown above -
After Gaganachukki, we proceeded to Barachukki. The way to it from Gaganachukki is very nice. At Barachukki, one can actually go down and enjoy some swimming, we didn't do that though -
By the time we were done with Barachukki it was only afternoon. So we checked our Karnataka Tourist Guide, the Eicher Road Atlas India and with the people at Shivanasamudram. And proceeded towards Somanathpur. On our way, we came across this scenic picture so had a few snaps there -
But the road to Somnathpur from Shivanasamudram is also under renovation and is not good. At Somanathpur there is a temple, the architecture is that of Hoyasala temples and other structures also found at Hampi. And the detailing done at Somanathpur is huge -
It was also crowded -
After this, we proceeded towards Srirangapatna, didn't go all the way there. Hit the Mysore-Bangalore SH17 before that, took a right turn and came back to Bangalore. Btw, on our way back, we took the NICE road from Mysore road to Bannerghatta road. Too good! But one comes across a shock just before the Bannerghatta road. And thats sad! Hope that gets resolved soon.
It was a nice trip, drove around 350km in a day, my first long drive. Enjoyed the SH17 also. Hope you like the photographs.
~mks
1. Take Kanakpura road, its a National Highway (NH209) and goes all the way to Dindigul from Bangalore. I think its the shortest route to Coimbatore from Bangalore but the road is not good. Till Kanakapura it was good actually but after that renovation is going on and the road is in bad shape.
2. The other way is thru Bangalore-Mysore State highway (SH17) which is in fantastic condition. You will have to go all the way to Maddur and then take a left turn towards Mallavalli. The same road joins NH209 just 17km before Shivanasamudram.
Ignorant of the NH209's condition, we went that way. It came to around 120km till the first fall. There are two falls there, Gaganachukki and Barachukki. We first went to Gaganachukki.
Being a Christmas weekend, it was very crowded there -
There is a famous dargah near the Gaganachukki falls. Looks like this from the "view-point" shown above -
After Gaganachukki, we proceeded to Barachukki. The way to it from Gaganachukki is very nice. At Barachukki, one can actually go down and enjoy some swimming, we didn't do that though -
By the time we were done with Barachukki it was only afternoon. So we checked our Karnataka Tourist Guide, the Eicher Road Atlas India and with the people at Shivanasamudram. And proceeded towards Somanathpur. On our way, we came across this scenic picture so had a few snaps there -
But the road to Somnathpur from Shivanasamudram is also under renovation and is not good. At Somanathpur there is a temple, the architecture is that of Hoyasala temples and other structures also found at Hampi. And the detailing done at Somanathpur is huge -
It was also crowded -
After this, we proceeded towards Srirangapatna, didn't go all the way there. Hit the Mysore-Bangalore SH17 before that, took a right turn and came back to Bangalore. Btw, on our way back, we took the NICE road from Mysore road to Bannerghatta road. Too good! But one comes across a shock just before the Bannerghatta road. And thats sad! Hope that gets resolved soon.
It was a nice trip, drove around 350km in a day, my first long drive. Enjoyed the SH17 also. Hope you like the photographs.
~mks
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