Swift through the Kanakapura Road covering TK Waterfalls and Art of living

It's another long week end and it was pouring these days in Bangalore, so didn't want to go out of station, but want to visit one quick one day trip. So we have decided to club a long pending places on Kanakapura road. One is the water fall called TK Water fall (Thottikallu) and Art of Living maintained by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. So the plan is to start very early in the morning and grab breakfast somewhere on the Kanakapura Road and visit the TK falls first.

Thotti Kallu is famous for a water fall called Thottikallu falls more popularly known as TK falls. In local this falls is also known as “Swarna Mukhi” (Golden-Faced) falls. The best time to visit is post monsoon as full flow of water would add ornamental beauty to this place. Since this place is pretty close to Bangalore so you can visit easily to kill your weekend boredom without a long & hectic travel.

Once you approach the entrance of the arena through a half broken road you will find a bridge towards right which will lead to Muneswar Temple, a small temple under a big tree. Then return back and start walking straight from where you had taken right turn for the temple. Thereafter cross a barren land to which you will approach water flowing from the falls. To reach the water falls directly one need to walk through the water crossing towards the right but if you want adventurous trekking then walk straight and then left. A steep narrow rocky trail will lead to a high cliff from where the view of valley along with the water fall is breathtaking.

Then get down from the cliff and walk all the way to reach the top section of water fall which is a small hill from where water will be flowing down. This patch is risky and high precaution is required while trekking over the hills as one wrong slip may be fatal. Then a narrow descend leads to the foot hill right opposite to the water falls. Avoid it if you are with your family and elders. Please expect lot of crowds in the week end.

Bingo!!! Now you have approached TK falls and can take cold shower after a tedious and tiring trek. There are two falls adjacent to each other left one is wide where water falls down as a shower cascading from the hill top and other one is narrow jet stream. Make sure to carry water and some stuff to eat as you will not find anything in that area apart from a Bhelpuri (puffed rice) vendor. The rocks under the water falls are slippery and the crowd makes it much difficult to walk along the falls. Take enough care while walking along.

There are lot of small streams as you walk towards the main TK falls, and you can enjoy there as well if there are kids. You can have a Jacuzzi kind of experience with the heavy streams in rainy seasons and you can spend lot of time in the smaller streams as majority of the crowd will be busy in the main falls. As we forgot to check on our time, while enjoying in water thne rain god came as a reminer for our time check and we treck back to the parking slot and started our drive back to our next destination i.e art of living

How to reach:

There are multiple routes to reach that place. We travel from Bannerghatta road didn't take the NICE road, but the interiors of bannerghatta to reach that place, which is very scenic and have decent roads to reach till TK falls except the last streach of 1-2 KMs. We have another route that takes via the Kanakapura road on the NICE road.Go straight on the highway towards Kanakapura and post NICE road junction go further. On the way you will approach Art of Living but still you need to go further for about 2-3 Kms and then take a left turn from Saaluhunase Bus Stop, Kagalpura. After the turn, travel straight for about 1.5 kms till you find a hospital / rehabilitation center where you have to take a left turn again and a narrow road through village leads to TK falls whose last patch are half broken but manageable. Better ask the locals otherwise you are very likely to miss this road as there is no proper landmark to explain. You may follow the google maps with TK falls to reach there.

In the Art of Living International Centre, situated on the top of the Panchagiri Hills, 36km southwest of Bangalore, near Udipalya village, the campus is an ideal location for reflection and rejuvenation. Started in 1986 and spread over 65 acres, the campus has an abundance of flowering foliage spread along winding footpaths, a peaceful lake and the exquisitely beautiful Vishalakshi Mantap, the central meditation hall. We have a paid parking which will cost us Rs.20 and the entrence and other are free of cost.

When you enter into the campus you will have the reception center where they will guide you how to reach different places and they will also send some volunteers to assist as guide. If we have any senior citizens then they will also give us a van and reach the bus stop from where a bus will start and take you along the site seening in and around the campus. Please prepare for the lot of walking if you want to cover up all the places in the campus. The first place that you will see is Nakshatra vanam, where you will have each tree as per the Nakshatras (stars), Rashis (zodiac signs) and Grahas (planets).

Post that we can walk upto the Guru Paduka Vanam which is designed in the shape an open amphitheater, ariel view of this iconic place looks in the shape of a Paduka and accommodates millions of people. The architecture of Guru Paduka Vanam is based on Vedic Concepts of beautiful gardens (vanam), which provide shelter and nourishment to a seeker on his spiritual journey. This is a beautiful place and very scenic and the rain god is visiting us every now and then and making the weather more beautiful. In the evening we will also have the musical fountain in the same place post 6PM. You can enquire about the same in the reception.

After that it was already 2PM so we were hungry, so we went to the Annapoorna Dining hall to grab some lunch from there. Which has a huge hall where in we can have the free food. There volunteers will server food and we can have the food there and restart our walking around the campus. Don't expect a tasty food there. We also have paid options near the same campus. Then we started to most famous part of our campus Vishalakshi Mantap, which is the yoga and meditation center.

Vishalakshi Mantap is named after Poojya Gurudev’s mother, Vishalakshi, Vishalakshi mantap is the focal point of the Ashram. This beautifully crafted architectural marvel has been conceived and designed by Gurudev himself. The Mantap known for its intricate craftsmanship, stunning illumination and elegant décor was built with the dedicated efforts of 7,000 workers and volunteers. The glass dome that tops the building is adorned with a magnificent ‘kalash’ – 15 feet 3 inches high – the tallest in Asia. Gurudev has best described the feeling one gets when inside the Mantap as ‘coming in to the lap of the Mother Goddess.’ No one has yet been able to resist falling in love with the Mantap.

Infront of the Vishalakshi Mantap there is a information centre where you can book for the bus trip, there will be buses start from the information centre which will take us to all the important places in and around the campus along with the guide, who will explain about the importance and significance of the places. The buses will be available for every 30 minutes and it will take around 1:30-2hours.

Like panchakarma ayurvedic centre, goshala, yagyashala with lake view, pathshala, guest accommodation facilities etc., And Sri ma annapoorna hall where more than 20000 meals served in a day and the last stop will be Sri Samba paramesware temple and ends with the small meditation training sample. There are lot of cafes and coffee shops with in the campus where you can satisfy your taste buds and relax after the heavy walk and exhaustive day.

Radha Kunj Garden is the perfect setting for an evening walk, Radha Kunj is a beautiful garden that could well be one of the serene places in the ashram. With exotic flora, unending greenery, sparkling fountains, a lake, lily ponds, a waterfall and an earthy pathway, Radha Kunj is a tribute to the well known original garden in Vrindavan.

Sri Sri Gurukul a visit to Gurukul will give visitors a unique learning experience of how schools were run in ancient India and how Sri Sri Gurukul is catering to the needs of the students from all over the country to learn the Dravidian styles as well as all aspects of learning related to temple worship. Sri Sri Gurukul has already become a centre of excellence, not only in Veda, Agama and Sanskrit, but also in Jyothisham, Siddhantha, Sangeetham, Yoga, Vedic Mathematics, Shilpa Shasthra, etc.

Sri Sri Ayurveda Hospital located on the hill top, Sri Sri Ayurveda Hospital is known to be one of the finest hospital providing naturopathy treatment with holistic approach towards health and wellness. With state of the art treatments made available at the hospital, the ambiance around makes it even better to stay back and experience the beauty of nature. Our visit to Sri Sri Ayurveda Hospital will give an overview of the facilities and treatments available in the hospital and also some practical insights on how natural ways of life can keep us away from physical and mental ailments.

Sri Sri Gaushala is an effort to preserve and protect indigenous cows, Sri Sri Gaushala has been set up at the Art of Living International Center, Bengaluru. Gaushala is an integral part of the Indian society, primarily holding importance amongst the agriculture and dairy farming community. With the aim to revive the gaushala system as well as preserve indigenous cattle breeds, the Sri Sri Gaushala today houses hundreds of cows of 15 different exotic breeds from across India.

Sumeru Mantap is Geographically located at the highest point in the Ashram, this open air auditorium with an upper balcony yields a breath-taking view of the Ashram grounds and the surrounding areas. The structure is supported by twelve pairs of pillars, representing the twelve signs of the zodiac around it and encircled by ornate lotus petals, the Sumeru Mantap is sheer poetry in architecture. The pillars have been so designed that the first rays of the Sun fall on the pillar with the corresponding zodiac sign carved on the ceiling above it. The Lotus shaped Sumeru Mantap is a must-see sight for all visitors to the ashram.

We have completed our trip around 7-7:30 and we have completely exhausted after continuous walking around the campus and also in the trek of the TK falls. We grabbed some strong coffee on the Kanakapura road. There are lot of scenic cafes on the way and then drove back to home and reached home around 9PM. That's end of most eventful but tiresome one day trip that we had. I hope you enjoyed this blog. See you seen with another one. Till then be happy and keep exploring new stuff.