Somanathpura and Shivanasamudra

Date: 16-Aug-14

We had planned to visit Shivanasamudra falls during our Mysore visit because we had heard the news about the beauty of the falls because of Monsoon. My in-laws were there at Mysore when we visited this time. My Father-in-law is very much interested in historical places. So, we decided to go to Somanathpura along with Shivanasamudra falls. After going to Mysore, we got the news that there is Jalapathothotsava happening at Bharachukki falls on 16^th and 17^th August where they would illuminate the falls with colorful lights. We felt lucky when we heard this news.

Somanathpura

We started from home at 2.45 PM. My father-in-law and Ayush joined us. Our plan was to visit Somanathpura temple first because we knew that the closing time of the temple is 5.30 PM. We came via Bannur to reach Somanathpura. In Bannur, the road was not so good. At around 3.30 PM, we reached the temple. The entry fee was 5 Rs for Indians and 100 Rs for foreign tourists. We were shocked to see this difference. The temple architecture was as amazing as Belur-Halebidu temple and was very well maintained. This was also built during Hoysala dynasty in 12^th century. The carvings were too beautiful. My FIL felt very happy to look at the sculptures. We took photos and explored the place for some time. We left the place at around 3.45 PM.

Shivanasamudra Falls

Our next destination was Shivanasamudra falls. Instead of going through Malavalli, Thilak took T Narsipura route to reach the falls. He just wanted to explore a different route. The road was good. It took us around 1.5 hrs to reach the falls. The road to Shivanasamudra was beautiful. Because of the monsoon, everywhere there was greenery.

Gaganachukki

When we were reaching near the falls, we decided to go to Gaganachukki first because we wanted to see the lighting at Bharachukki falls at night. On the way to Gaganachukki falls, the view was highly scenic. The Kaveri river was filled with water. We took few photos near the river. It was 5.45 PM when we reached near the Gaganachukki falls. We had expected a larger crowd because of the Jalapathotsava at Bharachukki. Surprisingly, the crowd was very less. As we expected, the view of Gaganachukki falls was spectacular. Last time, when I visited, the water in the falls was very less. But, this time, the water was more and the view was extremely beautiful. All of us enjoyed the beauty for some time.

We had coffee at the KSTDC hotel (hotel Mayura) and had an awesome churmuri outside. At around 6.30 PM, we started to Bharachukki.

Bharachukki

As with most people, we also misunderstood that Bharachukki falls is the one which is on the right side of the Gaganachukki falls. But, while doing the research about these falls, we got to know that Bharachukki is at around 10 km distance from Gaganachukki. The road to Bharachukki was also as amazing as the road to Gaganachukki but we could not enjoy the beauty as it was becoming dark. On the way, we saw an old bridge which was too good. It was completely built by stone pillars. Since the condition of that bridge was not good, they had constructed a new bridge and restricted vehicles from going over the old one.

We could see many vehicles going towards Bharachukki. There were many police officers on the way. The security was too high. They had made nice arrangements for vehicle parking. There was a stage function happening near the falls and they had arranged few cultural events also. When we went near the falls to watch the light show, we were disappointed. The lighting was not at all upto the mark. The intensity of the light was too low. Though there were different colors, they were not properly illuminating. We wished we had come bit early to watch the falls without the lighting at least. Though the arrangement for tourists was good, the light show was below standard. We spent only 15-20 minutes there and decided to return.
We started from there at around 7.45 PM, came via Malavalli, and reached home at 9.30 PM.

Though Jalapathotsava disappointed us, the beautiful Somanathpura temple, the amazing Gaganachukki and Bharachukki falls, and the beautiful green roads made this trip a memorable one.

• Route Travelled: Onward: Mysore Home > Bannur > Somanathpura >  > Gaganachukki > Bharachukki
  Return: Bharachukki Falls > Malavalli > Bannur > Mysore Home
• Total distance (To & Fro): 220 km
• Mileage (Car): 24.7 km/l
• Fuel expense: 677 Rs
• Total expense: 927 Rs
• Photos: Somanathpura and Shivanasamudra Photos

Route Map: