Myths and Adventures: A journey to a tiny river island in Karnataka, just 140 km from Bangalore

Just 140 km or 2.5 hour drive away from the bustling metropolis of Bangalore, there is a tiny but beautiful river island, which is hidden in plain sight - Shivanasamudra. Our long independence day weekend found us exploring this fascinating river island with its twin falls along with some other hidden gems in the area- a stunning Hoysala temple in Somnathpura and the cursed city of Talakadu, and we were left spellbound!

Places to Visit

1. Gaganachukki Falls

This is the first part of the twin falls, which make up the 'Shivanasamudram Falls'. While coming from Bangalore, this is the first falls you'll reach(the other one is around 10 km away). It is a spectacular sight during monsoon. Unfortunately, this year the monsoon was less so water level in the falls wasn't much. There's a viewing platform to see the falls from close quarters, and requires descent of around 50 steps to reach the platform. There's only one hotel around-Hotel Lakshadeep formerly run by KSTDC.

2. Barachukki Falls

This is the second part of Shivanasamudram falls. While Gaganachukki is higher, this one is broader. It is a spectacle during heavy monsoon, but right now there was very little water to see. There are 2 viewing platforms for which you have to descend some stairs and there is a Rs. 5 entry fee to reach the platform.

3. Somanathapura

The Chennakeshava Temple at Somnathpura is an ancient Hoysala era temple, built on the lines of Belur and Halebidu temples. It is just 40km from Shivanasamudra, and easily accessible from Mysore as well. In fact, if you have an extended stay in Mysore you can add it to your itinerary. The sculptures are stunning and depict Gods, scenes from war, elephants, horses and many other scenes from daily life.

4. Talakadu Temples

This is the most interesting place on the list and it is associated with a legend. Until about 30 years ago, the temples of Talakadu were buried under sand. Legend has it that It the then Ruler of Wodeyar coveted the jewels that were with Alamelamma, after the death of her husband, the then chieftain (Viceroy) of the Vijaynagar Kingdom. Raja Wadiyar I (1552-1617) sent men to get the jewels back from Almalemma. On hearing this she collected the jewels in her sari and uttered a curse before committing suicide in Kaveri River to avoid capture. The curse translates to-

May Talakadu be submerged in sand, may Malangi become a whirlpool, and may the king of Mysuru be Heirless.

There are 4 temples we visited here-Marleshwara Swami Temple, Pataleshwara Swami Temple, Keerthinarayana Temple and Vaidhyanatheshwara Temple. Navigating around the temples of Talakadu may get a bit confusing so I'd suggest taking a guide.

5. Talakadu River Beach and Coracle Ride

Talakadu has a river beach which is good for bathing in the river. There are Coracle rides available but no life jackets are available. It is run by the locals there.

6. Boating point at Shivanasamudra

On the road to Bharachukki Falls, there was a tiny board marked as boating point. There were Coracle rides with life jackets, but we saw it only on a weekend. So I don't know about the weekday availability. The views from the point are absolutely mesmerizing!!

7. Madhyaranga Temple

The river Kaveri forms 3 river islands on it's course - Srirangapatnam, Shivanasamudra, and Srirangam(near Trichy). At all these 3 places ,there are Ranganathaswamy Temples, which show Lord Vishnu in a reclining pose. Shivanasamudra is the middle Island and has the Madhyaranga temple. Unfortunately the temple is closed for renovation so we couldn't go inside. But here's a look from outside.

8. Channapatna

Channapatna is not strictly a part of this itinerary, but while going back to Bangalore we decided to shop some wooden toys from this Land of Toys. Channapatna is famous for it's industry of wooden toys and you can even visit some toy factory if you are interested. There's also a temple- Aprameya Swami temple where Lord Krishna is depicted as a toddler. We didn't visit here but it can be easily added to Channapatna itinerary. We went inside the town and bought our toys from Sree Kauvery Arts and Crafts Emporium. There are many shops on the service road of the highway as well.

Stay

We stayed at Karnataka Tourism hotel- KSTDC Mayura Barachukki. We took AC deluxe room and it was pretty big. The rooms are near and clean and basic facilities like soap, shampoo, clean towels, electric kettles are available. The menu is limited but food is tasty. It's a good option for a night halt if you are moving onwards to Mysore, or do not want to cover all these places on a day trip from Bangalore.

Our Itinerary

DAY1: Bangalore-Gaganachukki Falls-Hotel Mayura Barachukki

We left Bangalore around 11 am. Reached Gaganachukki falls around 1.30. We spent around 45 mins there, and then we moved to our hotel.

DAY2: Somanathapura-Talakadu

Reached the Somanathapura temple in the morning around 11 AM. Spent an hour there. Next we visited Talakadu River Beach. Had lunch(only shacks are available - no good restaurants around). Then we went for Coracle Ride. After this, we explored the Temples of Talakadu. Reached back to hotel around 6.