After its confluence with River Arkavathi at Sangam, Kaveri flows through a deep gorge at Mekedatu. The gorge is deep and a maximum 30ft wide at places. Some other sections, the rock almost bridges the river so that a goat can leap across. Hence the name, Meke(Goat)Datu(Leap). A lot of strange looking rock formations and deep holes can be found here. To go to Mekedatu, one has to come to Sangam, cross the river and travel another 4 kms through a jeep track through the Cauvery Wild Life Sanctuary or along the Kaveri (Cauvery) river. The area is covered by hills on all sides and its very unlikely that you can spot wild life here. A special bus ply between these two places almost every hour. Walking along the river is a very good option, but not so adviced for families, since there is usually a lot of crowd and booze parties along this river route. And not to mention the huge amount of litter and cow/human dung.

Hogenakkal is located in Karnataka – Tamilnadu border, around 200kms from Bengaluru. Its situated near Dharmapuri. To reach Hogenakkal from Bengaluru, take the NH7 (Hosur road) and go to Dharmapuri, via Hosur and Krishnagiri. At Dharmapuri, you can see a junction, one of the roads going towards Hogenakkal, via Pennagaram. Another route, which is shorter, but less travelled is via Hosur – Rayakkottai – Palakkodu – Pennagaram. Or even shorter, but bad roads, via Hosur – Denkanikota – Pennagaram. Hogenakkal is also along Kaveri river, this time dropping down around 100ft into a deep canyon forming waterfalls on all sides. Small round boats are available to take you to the middle of the canyon and from there to a river bank, where you can get an oil massage. Check out Hogenakkal Trip Page for some photos.

Gaganachukki and Barachukki waterfalls is at Sivanasamudram (aka Sivasamudram) near Malavalli, Mandya district. The waterfall is around 50meters tall on River Kaveri (Cauvery) and is a beautiful sight, especially during monsoon. To reach Sivanasamudram, take the NH209 (Kanakapura road) and continue till Malavalli, past Kanakapura. Around 10kms past Malavalli, along NH209 (Kollegal road), you can spot a board to your left, indicating a 4km detour to Sivanasamudram. Alternatively, one can take the Bengaluru – Mysuru road and take the Malavalli road from Maddur. This may be a little longer but better in terms of road conditions.

Skandagiri aka Kalavaarahalli Betta attained fame following a few pictures of the place, circulated by email. This hill is right next to Nandi Hills & is famous for night trekking in the moonlight and the sunrise among clouds, which is seen in late winters. Weekend nights in the hill top, especially around full moon day, could be very chaotic and crowded owing to the large number of visitors. The trek by itself is moderate and should take an average of 2hrs. Check the Skandagiri Trek Page for my personal experiences there.

There are two approaches to Skandagiri foothills, both passing via the Kalavaarahalli village. The easiest is about 6-7kms from Chikkabalapur town, along the NH7/Yelahanka road towards Hyderabad and about 57kms from Bengaluru. The other option is to follow the trail to Nandi Hills till the T-junction, about 10kms from NH7. Nandi hills is towards the left from here. To reach Skandagiri, turn right towards Nandi village. At Nandi village, take the Chikkabalapur road and then take a left towards Muddenahalli. From Muddenahalli, Kalavaarahalli village is a couple of kms along a village road.

Nandi Hills makes it to almost every list on ‘Places around Bengaluru’. The reason why this happens is because of its proximity to Bengaluru. It is the nearest hill station from Bengaluru and a good option for somebody looking to go for a long drive. To reach Nandi Hills take the Hyderabad highway (NH7/Yelahanka Road) from Bengaluru. After 38kms along the highway, couple of kms past Devanahalli, you can see a road going to the left towards Nandi Hills. There is a sign board there and you should not miss it, if you are careful. After another 10kms you will reach a T-junction, from where you should take a left. 4 more kms, it is one more right turn followed by a ghat road leading to Nandi Hills.The place offers a nice bird’s eye view from the top. An early morning drive to the hills, in time for the sunrise, is an exciting option.