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| The river island of Srirangapatna |
Tommy Singh my friend slumped on the chair. We were enjoying our drinks before our dinner at
Opus Bar Restaurant on Palace Cross Road, Chakravarthy Layout,
Bangalore, Karnataka. He was running cold and had a mild temperature but as usual, considered himself fine for the drinks and had few before he dozed off. I shook him and was relieved to see him OK.
Opus, a nice bar and great food in Bangalore and we make a point to spend an evening whenever we are in this fascinating city.
We had come to Bangalore for our onward journey to 3 exotic river islands, something which was unique in this part of the world. Very few, even Indians know that India is blessed with at least 10 top worth visiting tourist paradise islands on sea and on it's mighty rivers.
These islands are- Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Sea-Bay of Bengal)
- Munroe Islands (Lake-Kerala)
- Lakshadweep (Arabian Sea)
- Rameshwaram (Sea- Gulf of Mannar)
- Cochin Island (Backwaters Kerala)
- Chorao (Goa- Mandovi River)
- Elephanta Island (Mumbai Harbour)
- Diu Island (Western sea coast)
- Majuli Island (Brahmaputra River-largest in the world!)
- Islands of the Kaveri (Cauvery) River Karnataka
We decided on the last one. Why? Because in a single go, we could visit and enjoy 3 amazing river islands and secondly, these are not on a regular tourist map, have great historical significance, not crowded and awesomely blessed by nature
We left next day to our first river island early in the morning from Bangalore.
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| The spirituality in Srirangapatana |
Srirangapatna
It was a scenic drive of 125 Kms, about 3 hour’s journey to
SrirangapatnaThe excitement was rising a we entered the town. Srirangapatna is a town in Mandya district of the Indian state of Karnataka. Located near the city of
Mysore, it is of great religious, cultural and historic importance.
We saw that just outside Srirangapatna, the
Cauvery River was meandering around a string of tiny islets, which together formed a beautiful island city.
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| Granite steps to river Karnataka Hotels Srirangapatna |
We went straight to our hotel
Karnataka Hotels Srirangapatna, a State Tourism property. After a coffee session, I went outside the hotel and looked. I sat by the river on granite steps read a book for a while under large shadows of tamarind trees.
Wow!In the afternoon we headed for the best tourist delights-
Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary:The Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary was located about 5 km away from Srirangapatna. Spread over 57 acres, the sanctuary was a small island on the banks of river Kaveri (Cauvery). A bird lovers paradise, this sanctuary was a nesting and breeding centre for all kinds of birds.
The boat ride was awesome. A great place for families, indeed! We experienced a excitements as the boat took us within touching distance of the birds as marsh crocodiles basked in the sun. It was a delightful site to watch the winged visitors making happy forays into the water. There were many birds’ species to watch.
Before dusk, we could visit-
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| Srirangapatnam Fort |
Srirangapatnam FortSrirangapatnam is the place of Great Tipu Sultan, the great warrior of south India. The place was the capital of the sultan. Often quoted as the second most formidable forts in India, the Srirangapatna fort was 2nd most formidable. Why formidable? For two reasons. The torrential Kaveri ( Cauvery) made the Srirangapatna into a difficult to cross island. That offered the natural defence to the fortification. Tipu Sultan built, rather rebuilt, the fort with many ingenuous military architectural techniques of those days. I felt nostalgic as the guide explained and then drifted into a world of past...
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| Sangama- an amalgamation of 3 holy rivers Kaveri, Kabini and Hemvati rivers |
The day after, we paid our respects in some of the famous temples of the town and visited
“Sangama” the amalgamation of 3 holy rivers
Kaveri, Kabini and Hemvati rivers before we moved to our 2nd island destination.
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| Awesome Shivasamudram falls |
Shivasamudram
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| Barachukki falls |
Travelling 27 kilometres from Srirangapatanam, we reached at Shivasamudram. It was an island town where the Cauvery river splits itself in to two parts and drops over a cliff and joins again. The two falls are known by the names
Gaganachukki and
Barachukki.
From the parking lot, we had to trek for some distance before reaching to world’s one of the most beautiful waterfalls.
It is listed among the top 100 waterfalls in the world.
We had a panoramic view of
Gaganachukki Falls that we could see from the
Shivanasamudra Watch Tower. We had another view, a better one from a point near the
Darga Hazrath Mardane Gaib. Then visited
Bharachukki Falls which was situated about 1 km away from
Gaganachukki Falls. It had a stronger current and deep gorges below.
I was just stunned as I looked at natures’ wonder! It was spectacular and unforgettable.
Later we visited the small town and saw ruins of temples.
By evening, we were back at
Srirangapatanam Next day, we headed towards our last island destination
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| Rustic jungle place at the top of the bamboo tree |
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| Wooden hanging bridge to reach Nisargadhama |
Nisargadhama It was a pleasant drive of about 55 Kms from Srirangapatanam and took leisurely 2 hours plus. Though the road was not in a good condition but we enjoyed the scenery and tea on the road side stall.
The car had to stop as to reach island, we had to cross an awesome wooden bridge which separates island from the mainland. Though there are other better places to stay, we preferred the rustic jungle place at the top of the bamboo tree at
Nisargadhama Forest Resort, a forest department Karnataka establishment. My goodness! What a place it was! Primitive, sexy and in the wilderness.
The amenities and food we found was ok, nothing great but you don’t look for 5 star facilities when your objective is nature and wilderness.
And all this in just Rs.800!!While strolling around the guest house we found the island breath taking and really beautiful.
Kaveri Nisargadhama is an island formed by river Kaveri near Kushalnagar in the district of Kodagu, Karnataka. It is approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) from
Kushalanagara, off the State Highway and 30 km (19 mi) from
Madikeri and 95 km (59 mi) from
Mysore.  |
| The boat ride on Kaveri river Nisargadhama |
In the afternoon, we took 3 activities- a visit to
ecological park where we took
boating and an
elephant ride. The park itself was amazing. A nature’s paradise for all young, old, kids and large family group.
We saw some deer, peacocks and other wild animals in the park. Later as we sat near river, I could feel the breeze on my face, sound of rustling of leaves and the crackling sound of bamboo shoots as they dashed against each other. I started dreaming of my loved one..sitting next to me and breeze shuffling over her beautiful smooth face...”
Hellooooo!”, almost shouted Tommy Singh, shaking my shoulder. “
Where are you, buddy?”, suddenly I was back looking at the smiling friend of mine
Our 2 nights were unforgettable. On the 3rd morning, we returned to Mumbai via Madikeri to Mangalore and the by flight to back home