Kalavarahalli Betta (Skandagiri) is a hill which is part of the Nandi Hill ranges, North of Bangalore. It offers trekking and moderate-to-easy climbing options close to the city of Bangalore, India. It is situated in the district of Chickballapur, about 56 Kms from Bangalore city.
How to reach
To reach the place, take the National Highway 7 to Hyderabad via the new Bangalore International Airport. There are two routes to the place:
Please carry lots of water, adequate food and first-aid as there is virtually nothing available here.
Can I see clouds below the peak?
Yes you can, provided you are extremely lucky. The cool weather season of end November - early February is the best time to visit. You should be on top of the hill early in the morning in order to be able to admire the cloud formations under the peak.
Avoid rainy season as the climbing can get very dangerous.
Planning the trek
It will take you 2-3 hours to reach the peak of the hill (including breaks). You can plan to have lunch on the peak. It is best to be back on the ground before dark. The entire expedition will take you 6-7 hours.
Pictures:
View of Kalavarahalli Betta from the foot of the mountain:
Ruined fortification on top of the hill: Temple on top of the hill: View of Nandi Hill from the top of Kalavarahalli Betta: Panoramic view from the top of the hill: Please post a comment.
Shivanasamudra Falls is situated off Kanakapura road (NH-209) on the border of Mandya and Chamrajnagar districts of South Karnataka. It consists of two falls Gaganachukki (in Mandya district) and Bharachukki (in Chamrajnagar district). Both these falls are seperated by a distance of 2-3 Kms by road and it is impossible to see both the falls from a single view-point. Each of these falls look similar.
Shivanasamudram is actually an island town. The Cauvery river, bifurcates around this town and creates the two waterfalls Gaganachukki and Bharachukki. The monsoon season of July to October is the best time to visit the waterfalls.
The plan
It was the month of August. The plan was to leave early in the morning, packing lunch and water. We planned to have breakfast en route on Mysore highway. We wanted to be back in Bangalore before dusk.
The transport
Our new Wagon-R Vxi. We filled 25 litres of petrol the previous day and checked the tyre pressure. Kept the first-aid kit, tool-kit and manual handy handy just in case there is a break-down. The car performed well throughout the journey. It handled the bad stretches of road between Maddur and Malavalli pretty well.
The essentials
We packed lunch, drinking water, camera, binoculours, Karnataka map and lots of snacks :-)
The Journey
We left our place in Bangalore at 6:30 AM on a Sunday. In 20 minutes we reached mysore road on the outskirts of bangalore. We stopped for breakfast on Mysore road at Kamat Lokaruchi, a popular dhaba.
Bangalore-Mysore road is a scenic a 4-lane highway. There are several restaurants and eateries along this route. You can find Coffee Day, Barista and the popular dhabha Kamat Lokaruchi on this route. Kamat is located about 70Kms from Bangalore after the town of Ramanagaram in a place called Janapada Loka.
For Shivanasamudra falls, if you are taking the mysore road, after Maddur, about 80 Kms from Bangalore, you have to take a left turn towards Malavalli. The road between Maddur and Malavalli is in pretty bad shape with some pot-holes as deep as 1-foot. Beware! A bad stretch of road:
The army can use this as a good testing ground for their battletanks :-)
After crossing Malavalli town, you have to go further to reach the falls. You will first come across a prominent arch on the left which will take you to the Gaganachukki falls and the hydro-project. We reached Gaganchukki at 10:30 AM. Approximate travel time was 3.5 hours.
Gaganachukki falls (Mandya district)
These falls are have good facilities like a guest-house overlooking the falls and a restaurant. There are steps and view-points which are easily accessible. However, you cannot go down to the waterfalls as it is completely fenced. You have to enjoy the view from a distance. We took some snaps of Gaganachukki:
Gaganachukki falls is the location of the first Hydro-electric Power station in Asia, which was set up in the year 1902. A view of the project:
These falls are infested with monkeys. So, if you need a picnic, choose Bharachukki instead.
Bharachukki falls (Chamrajnagar district)
After Gaganachukki, you have to travel some 2-3 Kms and cross the Cauvery via a bridge, to reach Bharachukki:
The Bharachukki waterfalls have a set of steep stone steps leading you to the base of the waterfalls:
You will be swamped by the mist at the base of the falls:
Here you can enjoy a coracle (a round boat) ride which takes you close to the falls, although it is dangerous to get into the water as the currents are strong. In the picture below, you can spot 7 coracles in Bharachukki:
Here's a picture of a coracle man, testing the waters at Bharachukki falls:
The Bharachukki falls are much more accessible than Gaganachukki. You can reach upto the water. You can find plenty of picnic spots here:
We headed back towards Bangalore at 3 PM and reached its outskirts at 6:30. All in all, it was a good outing for a day, however, there was not as much forest cover as we had seen during our trip to the Doudhsagar waterfall area in Goa.
Panoramic view from the top of the hill:
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