Bike ride to Sangama and Mekedaatu

10th March 2013

After a year of break, the bike ride is alive again! This time to Sangama and Mekedaatu which is around 90kms from Bangalore on Mahashivaratri day. After seeing so many blogs, we came to know that Bike was best transport since buses are feeble. Even this time my colleagues Rajesh and Sudhir joined me. I had Honda Shine while Sudhir Honda Activa. We were like time-sliced pillion + rider ;-) (non deterministic though!).

This time we were on time. We started around 9AM on hot "SUN"day from Bangalore. We reached Kanakapura road which is the route to Sangama. We rested at many places and took photographs. The road till Kanakapura is NH-209. The road condition is very good however watch out for gravity pulls around lake areas! The wind and gravity tend to pull you out of road. We could even see a bike fallen into lake fortunately without any damages. Unfortunately even being NH, no guard rails are erected nearby lake areas and consequently bike riders need to be bit extra cautious around such stretches

NH-209

We reached Kanakapura in an hour. Here we took assistance of local citizen to guide us to Sangama. Sangama is around 40kms from Kanakapura. The pathway is some sort of rural road. The initial stretches are really bad however they are under construction. The remaining sections are fantastic with minimal humps near village areas. Enjoy the scenic ride along rural areas with beautiful banana plantations. Since it was summer time, we could not see much greenery, however october timeframe you may find beautiful landscapes here. The last 3kms leading to Sangama is like Agumbe ghat section with steep hairpin bends. Need to be really careful along those stretches

SUDHIR and RAJESH

ME and SUDHIR

ROCKY HILL EN-ROUTE

Finally around 11AM we reached Sangama. There was not much water around this place due to poor monsoon last time (or even may be odd time). However, there was huge crowd. People were still enjoying in water because of hot weather. The name Sangama comes from intersection of two rivers here namely Kaveri and Arkavati.

FIRST LOOK AT SANGAMA

NOT MUCH WATER

ONE MORE VIEW

BONUS PICTURE ;-)

Mekedaatu is around 5kms from Sangama. One cannot take personal vehicle to Mekedaatu due to river crossing. Usually boat service will be available to cross river, however due to lack of water we could cross by foot. After crossing, one needs to buy ticket which costs Rs.50/- (to and fro) to reach mekedaatu. The buses are maintained by Tourism department. The buses reminded me of childhood days, where we used to take unwindowed buses.

FULL AC & DOUBLE DECKER BUSES TO MEKEDAATU!

TRAVELING ON TOP OF BUS WAS FUN :-)

We travelled on top of bus for a change. Usually if the bus inside is full, people prefer to enjoy on top than standing inside. The bus wobbles too much during journey since the stretch is mud+uneven road. We had to hold on to the bus carrier and balance ourselves :D (I had to take care of my DSLR too!). Watch out for branches of trees too! It was nice exercise altogether. After nearly 15 minutes of enjoyment, we reached Mekedaatu spot. Again not much water but we enjoyed scenery. There was also sound of water gushing somewhere down however could not reach due to tough terrain. The name comes from Goats Leap which is Mekedaatu in Kannada.

Read Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mekedaatu

MEKEDAATU

THE OTHER SIDE

ZOOMED VERSION!

STILL CLOSE UP

UNEVEN BUILT UP!

DEEP GORGES

WATCH OUT FOR HOLES ON ROCK

NOT MUCH GREENERY & WATER

Here we are again back to Sangama and too much hungry. There is a Mayura hotel near by and is the only option for lunch. We had no choice other than to eat here. The food quality does not meet the expensive cost but manageable. Better carry own foods and eat here. Also not much monkeys here and hence can peacefully enjoy food :-). We thought of going to Chunchi falls however Hotel cashier said there is no water there. There is also a temple in Sangama, may be to signify the merging of rivers. After lunch we stayed in the place for sometime before leaving. Sudhir and Rajesh wanted to swim in river however there was only standing water not flowing. It is not good to have swim in standing water with people using soaps.

I took some snaps post lunch. One of them is this portrait of this elderly person taken with EF 50mm f/1.8 lens. The other was HDR. The bracketing was done using beautiful firmware for Canon DSLRs, Magic Lantern.

PORTRAIT

HDR

After short break, we started towards Bangalore again. Once again enjoyed the rural areas to max. We plan to go around October again which is immediate post Monsoon season. We are expecting to have good hangout at that time!

How to Reach:

At Bangalore, reach Kanakapura road and travel along NH-209 for about 50kms which will lead to Kanakapura town. After few meters you will find a small junction where you will see sign board which directs to Sangama. Seek help of locals in Kanakapura if you cannot find the sign board.