Dandiganahalli dam/lake, Chikkaballapur district

July 13, 2021

This is our first unwinding trip post lock-down. We decided to visit sparsely crowded place over weekday to avoid mad rush of people. People who were disgruntled staying inside house are now thronging to every nature getaway throwing away all kind of precautions necessary for curbing COVID-19 transmission. Hence we chose weekday to travel and the destination chosen was Dandiganahalli dam situated near Doddaballapura. It was scintillating experience for sure which you will realise after reading through post. So lets gets started.

Monsoon is on a roll. It is raining tremendously in coast and western ghats region after long break period. What we get here in plateaus is the remnant moisture from those regions. Still sometimes it rains heavily. Today was earmarked for our visit and we happily made it. The morning was pitch dark with ominous weather threatening our plans. It was steadily drizzling which we thought would spoil our travel plans. However, things wont last long. The showers subsided as the day progressed. Here are initial glimpses

We were on time to start and ready to start journey. Soon after, it started raining and turned  heavy after short distance. My wife was worried if it would last longer. Fortunately, it did not. The rains receded past doddaballapura. The drive past doddaballapura was truly majestic with cloud kissed hills, lush green landscape, chirping birds, rain soaked roads adding to joy to our travel. After winding drive past doddaballapura, the jakkalamadagu lake welcomed us with plenty of bird activity. I spotted laughing dove, indian robins for first time. I caught them in my frame too.

The maps was bang on target and we reached Dandiganahalli village comfortably. The only hiccup in our drive was the last km muddy patch. We lost way initially but a visitor guided us. The last 1 km is drive through muddy road which is intermittently caved-in due to rains. It was not difficult to drive but not easy one too :-). After that bumpy drive we reached the spot quite comfortably.

The initial look is simply mesmerising! Bounded by mighty hills, adored with forest, whispering monsoon breeze and the lake at the centre stage, the nature is truly splendid here! The fast sailing monsoon clouds provided drip irrigation system to the vegetation beneath. I must say this place is worth the visit despite all initial apprehensions. At first sight you tend to rummage the dam location but you will be taken aback. There is no dam here rather than excess water from the lake is let out through a large let out towards down stream. Perhaps the villagers call it as dam since the lake stores water. The purpose of water turns out to be for both irrigation and drinking water.

Another attraction here is the pier from where one can have fine view of the lake standing over it. The monsoon breeze with water ripples provided perfect nature relaxation to us. We stepped in couple of times to enjoy the nature feel. The lake area is bounded by forest hills with clear vision of clouds caressing the mountains. The other side of lake has dense vegetation with tiny farm lands. Apart from the landscapes and aquatic beauty, there are plenty of birds to photograph if you are bird nerd. I spotted robins, white-eye, bulbuls and heard call of brain fever bird, common hawk cuckoo. I could only capture Indian robin and bulbuls. The common hawk cuckoo was calling from top of hill so no chance of snapping it. Other birds were out of reach of my lens :-).

On the way back, we had lunch amidst the corn fields viewing the majestic Jakkalamadagu lake. It was not comfortable to visit eateries since cases are still on high side. Hence we had packed lunch from home which we relished amidst the nature.

How to reach

Google maps easily gets you there. The last 1km stretch as mentioned is mud road which is caved in intermittently. Apart from these irregular stretches, the drive is largely smooth

Food

A local snack shop (unofficial) is present at the spot. Better to pack food from home or from restaurants before Doddaballapura

Final words before concluding

1. The pier made of Iron is not well maintained and consequently visitors need to be highly vigilant. The pier has striped iron joins which kids may feel difficult stride upon. One of the joint has been pulled out, so extra caution is needed.
2. Do not trash the place. Keep the nature pristine. We are here to unwind not destroy.
3. Fuel up your vehicle before Doddaballapura. There are no fuel stations past Doddaballapura till Dandiganahalli dam. The road past Doddaballapura is full of curves and hence fuel consumption is bound to increase. The landscape is also tempting which may involve frequent stoppage of vehicle :-). 
4. If needed, buy vegetables, corn etc.. from local growers. That would help them financially in this pandemic
5. On the way back, don't miss Jakkalamadagu lake also. We refrained due to fuel crunch. There is plenty of scenery and birds to enjoy. We spotted babblers amidst the thick forest but they flew away quite quickly.

The virtual tour to conclude the blog journey