Trip to Shivansamudram and Talakadu

After a long Planning we a group of 13 People set for a Picnic to Shivansamudram and Talakadu. It was Christmas day (25th Dec'2007). A 15 Seater Van was hired for the journey which was driven by the driver Kishore. We (Parvinder, Shandil, Amrut, Shanthi, Rahul, Chintamani, Valli, Jagdish, Ajay, Sonali, Vani, and Sowmya) left Bangalore by 7:30 ( which was already 0.5 hrs late as per the planned schedule). First, we got stuck in a traffic jam on the outer ring road which resulted in further delay. Neway, still hoping that we would catch sometime during the onward journey we halted for Breakfast at KADUMANE Restaurant near Bidadi. Had a very good breakfast there. The Restaurant has a lot of recreational facilities for children. After Breakfast we moved towards Maddur and En-route halted at a very ancient Temple (As the sign by archeological Deptt says) before Maddur. It was Aprameya Swami Temple, a very small temple with a dimly lit Sanctum and a huge Gopuram. Darshan at Temple was a good way to start the journey towards our destination. We took a diversion from Maddur to Malvalli and continued on the same road to Shivansamudram falls, Bluff. The road from Maddur to Bluff was not in good condition and was just going up and down, the final relief came only when we reached Gaganchukki falls at Shivansamudram. We reached the falls at 11 AM. There was, not much water in falls, but all of us enjoyed the beauty of nature and falls of course, and did a lot of photo shootings. Had something to refresh ourselves there and then moved on to Barachukki Falls which is 13 Kms from there. The road was very bad and there were a lot of old temples on the route. At Barachukki some of the enthusiasts tracked down to the base of falls and enjoyed boating. Others preferred to enjoy the natural beauty from the hill only. Because of the difference in activities at Barachukki, there was further delay and we reached Talakadu at 2:30PM. I would like to mention here that the 30 Kms traveled now were one of the worst roads I have ever experienced. We took our lunch under the trees near the Cauvery River. IT was a kind of Pot Luck, and then took a coracle ride in the Cauvery river. We even went whirling there. It was a great experience. Thereafter we went to see Vaidyanatheshwa Temple, one of the Panchlingeshwara at Talakadu. It was a beautiful temple with lot of Sculptures and wide passage. We didn't see other temples there as we wanted to move to Somnathpur (20Kms) which closes at 5:30. We left Talkad at 4:15 hoping to reach Somnathpur at 5:15, but because of extremely bad road conditions reached there at 5:35, and to our dismay, the temple was closed and we were not allowed to enter inside. To keep up the spirit, we moved to a nearby Ugra Narsimhaswamy Temple, which is a small newly built private kind of temple. We spent some time tere enjoying the farmland and then set off for Bangalore. We dined at Kamath Lokruchi on the route. It was one of the best foods I ever relished. After dinner, we started moving towards Bangalore and reached our homes by 11 to 12 PM. The best part of the trip was all the food we ate and above all spending time with each other. The worst experience being the roads of Karnataka. The Only advice which comes from this experience is that plan for only Shivansamudram and Talakadu for a day tour so that you can enjoy in a much-relaxed manner. And be prepared for the worst roads if you want to enjoy interior Karnataka