Shivanasamudra waterfall

About Shivanasamudra
Sivanasamudram (aka Sivasamudram) is a nice waterfall near Malavalli, Mandya district. Situated in a rocky terrain with traces of vegetation, Its - 140 Kms, From Bangalore / 85 Kms from Mysore The waterfall is around 50 meters tall on River Kaveri (Cauvery) and is a beautiful sight, especially during monsoon. Shivanasamudra has India's first Hydro - Electric Power Station which was set up in 1902. River Cauvery cascades down in two picturesque waterfalls into a 75 Mts. deep Rocky gorge. As the cascading water hits the rocky surface, a dense mist of vapour emerges to partially envelop the falls, providing a brilliant sight which is reckoned to be unmatched in its beauty. The falls are created when the Cauvery roars down a 75-metre gorge. The river divides around the 700-acre picturesque Shivanasamudra Island. On the one side, it forms the Gaganachukki falls and on the other it rumbles down as the Bharachukki falls.

Best Time :The ideal time to visit Shivanasamudra is between the months of June and December.

How to Get there:

Air : The nearest airport is at Bangalore

Rail : Mysore is nearest railhead

Road : Around 100 km from Bangalore; 60 km from Mysore.

This place, also called as Shimsa or Bluff has well known world famous Gagana Chukki and Bhara Chukki water falls. The water fall is from the river Kaveri. On the down side of the place there is a hydral power generation station (no entry to see the place) belonging to Karnataka state. This plant is the first in Asia. Shivanasamudram is also called Bluff. During summer and winter time when there is not water in the river, people can reach the bottom of the water fall and enjoy the nature's scenic beauty. Instead of reaching this place directly, people can have the trip of visiting Somnathpur, Talakad, Mudukuthore also. If possible, it is better to reach this place before 12.00 noon as the direction of flow of the river is towards East and the view of the water falls is beautiful at this time. The total distance from Mysore to Bluff is 60Kms. People can visit Somnathpur which is almost on the way to Bluff. From Mysore, people have to travel towards Bannur, which is 24 Kms away. Take a diversion to Somnathpur at Bannur. Somnathpur is only 10 Kms away from Bannur. After visiting Somnathpur, one has to to come back to Bannur and proceed towards Bluff. On the way there is one more place called Malavalli which is 24 Kms from Bannur. From Malavalli, the distance to Bluff is only 15 Kms. From Shivanasamudram, people can visit the place called Talakad (famous for temples submerged in sand and the main temple Vaidyanatheswara, at the banks of river Kaveri) and Mudukuthore (famous for Mallikarjuna temple). The distance between Bluff and Thalakad is 35 Kms. From Bluff, people have to come to a place called Belakavadi and then to Thalakad. Normal practice is to visit Somnathpur first, then Bluff, and proceed towards Thalakad. Only bus transportation is available. Both Karnataka state government (KSRTC) and private buses/vehicles are available. The total trip for Somanathapura, Thalakadu, Shivanasamudram and Mudukuthore can be booked either from Mysore or Bangalore at KSTDC (Karnataka State Tourism and Development Corporation). The best visiting time is during June to September as there will be much water in the river Kaveri and the water falls look gorgeous. The climate is moderate entire year. But, possible to visit and see during most of the time in the entire year. There are no facilities for accommodation and food. People can avail accommodation at Mudukuthore. Resorts are available in Mudukuthore place ( near Thalakad 40 Kms away) to stay. These are to be booked at Bangalore KSTDC centre. There are no entry fees. All types of cameras are allowed inside the temple. The place is purely village area. No good hotels are available. Small hotels are only available at Thalakadu. This place is not a shopping place. Normal practice of the trip is to visit Somanathapur temple (from Mysore) and then proceed to Mudukuthore and then to Thalakadu. If one is interested to see the sun set in Thalakadu, the trip can changed to proceed to Shivanasamudram from Somanathpur and then from Shivanasamudram to Thalakad. In the latter case, be sure to reach before 4.00pm as the temples at Thalakad cannot be seen.

Trip to Talakkad along with my family

Talakkad was an ancient capital of the Gangas. It has been ruled by Pallavas, Cholas, Hoysalas, Vijaynagar emperors and of late by the Wodeyars of Mysore.

Curse of Talakad : The feudal lord of Talakad Srirangaraya lived along with his wife Alamelamma. They used to send their ornaments every Friday to the Ranganayaki temple @ Srirangapatna, to decorate the goddess. One Friday, when she was not feeling well, she forgot to send the jewels. The King of Mysore was annoyed at not receiving the ornaments, he sent his army to fetch the valuables. Alamelamma refused to part with the jewels. She tied all the valuables to her Sari and jumped into the river Cauvery near Malingi cursing the King and the Land. “ Let Talakkadu become sandy,( desert type ) Let Malangi become a swamp, Let the rulers of the Land become Issueless “ Since then Talakkadu became a land of sand dunes and Wodeyars were cursed being childless. Talakad was fabled to be filled with more than 300 temples, one can see traces of the same, with temples scattered all over the territory. There is Mallikarjuna temple on the hillock and one can see the river cauvery in all its splendour from the peak. The vehicle can be taken almost to the peak by road. One has to climb a few steps to reach the temple. The priests in the temple are young ones. It is fun to witness the pooja and archana being performed by young budding priests. Talakkad is filled with temples, Panchlinga or 5 Lingas is fabled and sacred. In these temples too Young priests perform the pooja. There is Veerabhadra temple by the side of the Panclinga temple. It is better to hire a guide to take a tour of Talakkad. We were fortunate to hire our Guide, Madiah, who is 50 plus and is full of stories. It takes a full 2 hours to take a tour. Madiah tells the fabled story in his own style, explains the architectural importance of various temples. The ASI has recently discovered an ancient house of the Ganga period near the sand dunes, it is kept a top secret by the department, since it is not fully excavated. One gets to see the magnificent temple under reconstruction, which was buried under the sand dunes. The ASI was able to resurrect one temple, and the other temple is being meticulously being pieced together, once it is completed it may a wonderful edifice retrieved. One gets to taste cashews enroute to the temple. The cashew fruits seems intoxicating. The amount of granite stones carved out for completing the temple is mindboggling. The missing links are being assembled, with each piece being numbered and serially laid out. One has to just move it like a jigsaw puzzle to reconstruct. Talakkad may become an important tourist circuit once this temple is completed. Cauvery river which is situated approximately 2 kms away is a beautiful spot for bathing. The water is flowing and clean, one has to watch out not to cross the boundary, where the curse of Alamellama can drown the frolickers. There are number of coracles if one wishes to take a ride in the swirling cauvery river. It can be an adventure on its own. But one is cautioned to look out for the whirlpool which can be fatal which can overturn the Coracle boats.

Talakkad can be reached from Mysore via Somnathpur or from Blore one needs to deviate at Maddur to reach Talakkad which is 35 kms away from Maddur. Talakkad is a great weekend getaway and if one plans to stay over one can look for options at Resort and Mutts or alternatively at Shivsamudra.