Talakadu Trip

June 06, 2009

At 7am, we left for Shivanasamudra falls. A set of falls in the cauvery river, which is quite a sight apparently, when the season is right. We were a tad bit early (the rains have just started), but there was just enough water to let our spirits swim, if not soar. This link has some awesome pictures of the falls in full force.

The Gagana Chukki, with the treacherous rocks, looks beautiful! Because there was not much water, the left branch of the twin falls is barely visible in the pictures. Not much to do here though other than enjoy the view. When you drive around the falls and come through the Durgah area, you can see the water leading toward the falls. With the right shoes (or barefoot), one could theoretically hop the rocks to access the water upstream before it drops vertically quite a bit! A few kilometers away is the Bhara Chukki area which sports a whole series of falls on the ridge line. We took a coracle ride to the base of one that flowing well and dreched ourselves in the mist. Cool!

As we approached Talakadu, we were quite hungry and needed a clean place as well. The bad roads don't help much in this matter :). Unfortunately, the one resort (Jaladhama) across the river does not allow walk-ins (very strange); and neither my pleading nor my forceful tactics to talk them into it letting us in went anywhere. They have no idea of customer service (esp. for one who is willing to shell out the bucks). Anyway, we reached the temple(s) area. Read about the interesting history of the Talakadu area here first.

The temples are all 10-12 centuries old and the carvings are on hard granite! Unbelievable. The guide was quite useful and took us around in the pouring rain. There is a whole city buried in there; every year, the archaelogists unearth more and put the structures back together. Kinda like doing a giant jigsaw puzzle. After enjoying the temples, we headed toward the beach area by the river.

The river is wide and expansive here and flows very smoothly. And it was time to get wet :). I managed a few laps till the middle of the river with chest-high water. No undergrowth. No rocks. Ultra clean.

Apparently, during the festival times, about 15-20 lakh people descend on this little town. I suggest you stay away from the water, if not from the town, during that time.

The plan was to see the famous Somanathapura temple boasting of the Hoysala architecture as well. But they shut that place down at 5.30pm in the evening. The 20 km bad road ride in front of us while we stared at 5 o' clock made it clear that it had to be deferred. What a shame! So, we had to just head back to Bangalore. Of course, after a pit stop at the now familiar Cafe Coffee Day at Maddur. As usual, the Bangalore traffic slowed down the return by quite a bit.

Another trip is definitely in the books to see the falls in full display, cover the Somanathapura temple and may be see a few more unearthed temples in Talakad. Just don't know when. May be you can join me too.

Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary

May 31, 2009

In less than a month, I got a chance to visit Srirangapatna the second time. This time, I stayed away from taking a dip the Cauvery river; we were just two this time and it is not as much fun without a group; also, I was avoiding the creepy kelp (smile). Of course, the Tipu Tomb (Gumbaz) and the summer palace couldn't be missed; especially, the paintings on the palace wall deserved another look. We also sneaked in a visit to the Englishman Jail (or something like that) - a place where the English prisoners were kept in waist high water chained to the walls. Apparently, when Tipu lost the war, he was kept in the same dungeon.

Afterwards, we visited the 1200 year old Ranganatha swamy temple. Apparently, every place the cauvery forks, there is a Rangan temple. This one happens to be the northern most one; the middle one is is Talakad, the southernmost and last one is in Srirangam (in Tamilnadu).

And then we took a short drive to Ranganathittu, a bird sanctuary on six islets in the Cauvery river. I have tried a few times in the past to go there, but always the weather or the season played spoil sport. This time, the fading light was threatening, but we were ready to give it a shot. According to my research, Jun-Nov was the best time to go; we were on the last day of May, and I figured birds would be a bit forgiving. This wikipedia site can tell you more about this sanctuary.

The boat ride was fantastic; short, but gets you close to the birds. The lack of a proper telephoto lens kept annoying me until the boat pulled over about 3 feet from a crocodile lying motionless on a rock. We stopped for about 5 minutes admiring it. Somewhere along the line, I heard the boat rower/guide say that the best season was from feb-jun. Go figure. All I know is I saw plenty, but would have liked to see a LOT more. Apparently, the forestry department is planning to construct six more islets to provide a safe nesting ground for the migratory birds. So, next time, I am hoping to trap twice the number in my camera. And, yeah, my telephoto zoom is in the mail; that should help as well.

Taramati Baradari

May 30, 2009

On the way to Osman Sagar dam saturday afternoon, we stopped at Taramati Baradari. A dance hall (palace, they say) that the Sultan of Golconda built for his love, Taramati. Neat place, now also housing a APTDC hotel. The Golconda is clearly visible from the top; apparently the voice of Taramati carried all the way there. On a quiet evening with the breeze in the right direction, I guess it can. Click here to read the write-up in Wikipedia about this place.

Osman sagar was so-so; nothing caught my attention. People rave about it. May be it will be a bit more magical when the sun is setting or in the night with the right lighting. Managed to click couple of good pics of the sky though. :)

Bhongir Trip

Apr 27, 2009

Click here to read the write-up in Wikipedia about this place. The pictures in my slideshow below give a more complete view of the fort.

Twice I passed by this town. First time, I was on the way to Warangal in mid 2008, and did not have the time to stop by. Few weeks later, with the visiting family from Salem, we stopped at Bhongir for some tea in the evening after our trip to the nearby Yadagirigutta Narasimha temple. Just glanced up at the fort from the highway and left.

The fort

On a sudden urge on a sunday afternoon, I left home at 1.30pm. Took my comfort route through Punjagutta and Secunderabad to reach the Warangal road near Uppal. An hour and a half later I was parked at the base of this twin rock hill just off the main highway.

Best kept secret in my opinion. I don't know why more people don't talk about this place. Awesome rocks. The fort walls are in decent shape, although there is not much more than that on the top. While walking along the walls and admiring the view, I took the unbeaten slope by mistake and my calves took a beating. If you visit, make sure you keep looking for the carved steps on the right side of the hill to reach the top. I can't imagine how it must have been for the invaders; or even for the soldiers living there. Tricky fort!

On the way down, I saw the guy at the entry stopping people from going up. It was just about 5pm. So, when you plan, make sure you arrive at the fort by 3pm or thereabouts. Carry at least one bottle of water; it is a bit of a climb, especially when the sun is blazing like the time I tried.

Driving back, I tried the new route from Uppal junction toward Tank bund via Ramanthapur and Amberpet. It was nice to explore the part of the city I had no reason to venture, but it was slow going all the way; next time I will stick to SP road via Begumpet.