Water crisis

In the summer of 2007, the lack of rain in the watershed for the reservoir, along with use of the water for the city (BWSSB typically pumps 35 million litres per day into the western parts of the city.) caused the lake to become nearly dry.

Recreational use

Thippagondanahalli is also popular recreation location, especially during summer months. It is located in Magadi road. Best time to visit this place is September to February.

Photo Gallery:

 

Courtesy: Wikipedia

Kanva reservoir is an artificial lake and tourist attraction 69 kilometres (43 mi) from Bangalore, India and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Ramanagara. The reservoir has been formed from the damming of the river Kanva and is well known as a tourist destination for its birdlife. It is surrounded by wooded hills.

Alongside the dam is a fisheries training and research center, aimed at making the local villagers self sufficient through fish farming. The cave temple of Purushotthama Thirtha Gavi is 3 km away. It is an important pilgrimage center for Madhwa Brahmins, as it is believed that a saint performed penance here. A statue of Hanuman has been installed inside the cave.

Kanva Dam

Kanva Dam is a minor irrigation project dam. Built in 1946 across the Kanva river, it is 15 km long covering 776 hectares. The Kanva river (a tributary of the Shimsha and Cauvery river) is named after the sage Kanva, who is believed to have lived in the caves in the mountains and forests around the dam in the time of Ramayana.

Photo Gallery:







Courtesy: Wikipedia

Shri Nage Gowda is the Founder of 'Janapada Loka', which is one of the wonders in the 20th century history of Karnataka. Janapada Loka established near Ramanagara on Bangalore-Mysore highway, on a sprawling 15 acres of land full of greenery, is the fruit of his hard work dedication and organizing ability and was inaugurated on 12th March 1994. It has grown into a very significant folk cultural centre in the country and is a hub of Folk cultural activities.

The imposing main entrance is the chief attraction of Janapada Loka. A majestic door adorned with Harige and Trumpets and tall brass Nandidwajas on either side of the pathway enhance the grandeur of the entrance. The design of the door is a perfect blend of the Shaiva and Vaishnava cult. The information Center sells cassettes, CDs, DVDs and books related to folk art forms and literature and a video show of documentaries and other folk art forms are screened in the Video Scope theatre in Janapada Loka. A big grinding stone, which used to be pulled by two bisons, is a fitting icon of Janapadaloka. "Lokamatha Mandira"is a museum displaying articles of daily use of folk people like cooking vessels, equipments used for farming and animal husbandry and other such rural activities. "Chithra Kuteera" which reflects different stages of the founder's literary achievements and struggle during the building of Janapada Loka and also houses photographs of different folk art forms of Karnataka. "Loka Mahal" is a two-storied building where more than 5000 folk artefacts are aesthetically displayed.

A community house called “Doddamane" built in the traditional rural style with a central courtyard surrounded by pillars serves as a place for workshops and seminars and also provides lodging facility to visiting artists. "Shilpamaala", a place for stone memorials, tell their own story. Aayagaarara Maala, Lokapriya MahaGanapathi temple where Lord Ganesha is ever ready to bless the visitors, a colossal open-air theatre in the Greek style with a capacity to seat 1000 people, boating facility and playground for children are the attractions at Janapada loka.

Artists who have great skill in handicrafts like pottery and wooden toys stay here and are engaged in making artefacts. After imparting training in Dollu kunitha, Kolata, Goravara kunitha and other allied arts, in-house performing troupes of Janapada loka are formed. Bangalore University has recognized Janapada loka as a research centre. This Janapada University started in 1999 conducts Janapada Diploma and Janapada Certificate courses. Folk related development camp, folk research workshop, and seminars are held regularly in the campus. A fully equipped library has been established. Annual Festivals like Lokothsava in February - March, Kite Festival in July, Dassera Festival in October are celebrated without fail which attracts visitors from far and wide. In essence, Janapada loka is a treasure house of Folk museums and folk related activities and attract scholars, interested persons, and researchers. Janapada loka emerging as one of the best Folk cultural centers of the world is bubbling with activities throughout the year.

Photo Gallery:

Courtesy: www.janapadaloka.org

Muthathi is a small village on the bank of Kaveri. Muthathi is a quaint little village in the midst of a reserved forest, 98 Kms from Bangalore.The road to Muthathi runs along the river, and you can stop at places to spend time on the river bank or dip your feet in shallow waters. The village and the approach road are within the boundary of Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary.

Expect to sight some wildlife if you are lucky, which includes chital, sambar deer and even elephants.

Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary is home to rare and endemic grizzled giant squirrels. The region is also rich in bird life. Take Kanakapura road out of Bangalore till you get to Satanur. Turn left at Satanur and drive for another 30 minutes to get to Muthathi. There is no food and accommodation avaialable at Muthathi. Pack your own food and plan to return by the end of the day.

Photo Gallery:





Courtesy: Wikipedia

Mekedatu (Kannada: ಮೇಕೆದಾಟು) is a location along Kaveri in Kanakapura Taluk. Sangama is the place where Arkavati merges with Kaveri. From this point, about 3.5 kilometers downstream, the river Kaveri flows through a deep gorge so narrow that one would think that a goat can leap across it ('Mekedatu' means 'goat's leap' in Kannada). It is not really so narrow and no goat commonly found in that part of India could cross that distance in a single leap. It is about 90 km from Bangalore via Kanakapura. The name comes from an incident which is believed to have been witnessed by herdsmen in that area a long time ago. It is said that a goat being chased by a tiger made a desperate attempt to save its life by leaping from one side of the gorge and managed to cross over the raging river below, whereas the tiger did not attempt to replicate this feat, and abandoned the chase. The point where the goat leapt has widened since then from erosion caused by the river Cauvery.

There is also some mythological significance to this place (both Sangama and Mekedatu). As per one version, the goat (meke) that is believed to have leapt across the Kaveri was Lord Shiva in disguise. On both rocky precipices of the gorge, one can find strange holes, whose shapes resemble goats' hooves, though several times larger. It was thought that only divine goats could have marked their 'footprints' in such hard rocks.

At Mekedaatu, the Kaveri runs through a deep, narrow ravine of hard granite rock. The river, which is more than 150 meters wide at the confluence (at Sangama) flows through the hardly 10-meter-wide gorge at Mekedatu. One can see the ferocious flow of all that water, displaying Bernoulli's theorem.It is said that a goat could leap over it, giving the falls the name Goat's Leap. Upstream on the Kaveri is the famous Sivasamudram Falls, the second largest waterfall in India and the sixteenth largest in the world, both of which statements are disputed by world waterfalls

Gorge

The water flows very fast through the gorge, gouging pits in the rocky riverbed. The climb down is steep and the rocks slippery, making it very dangerous to swim in the river. Drownings continue to occur here, although people have been warned about the danger.

Directions

From Banglore there are many tour operators who provide transport to Sangama. A pathway leads from the Sangama to a picnic spot called Mekedatu. It is a 4-kilometre walk from the road. A private vehicle may be taken but the road is in very bad shape.

Photo Gallery:

Cauvery at Mekedaatu



Cauvery at Sangama

Arkavathi-Cauvery Sangama

Courtesy: Wikipedia

Ramanagara district (Kannada: ರಾಮನಗರ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆ) is one of the 30 districts of Karnataka state in southern India. Ramanagara city is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district is part of Bangalore Division.

Ramanagar is situated in a valley surrounded by rocky hillocks on Bangalore - Mysore Highway. Ramanagar was earlier known as Closepet. But the present name, of Ramanagara finds its origin from the once existed village Ramagiri foothill of the Ramadevarabetta.

Ramanagara is famous for its silk market, giving it the other name of Silk town.

History

Ramanagara district was carved out of the erstwhile Bangalore Rural district on 23 August, 2007, comprising the erstwhile Channapatna, Kanakapura, Ramanagara and Magadi taluks of the undivided district.

Geography

Ramanagara is approximately 50 km southwest of Bangalore. It has an average elevation of 747 metres (2450 feet). Ramanagara is famous for the huge rocky outcroppings. Those that are popular for rock climbing are; Savandurga, Ramadevarabetta, SRS betta and Thenginkalbetta.

Economy

Ramanagara is famous for its silk market, one of the biggest in India, giving it the other name of Silktown. Ramanagara district includes the Bidadi industrial area, which houses the manufacturing units of Toyota and Coca-Cola, and a 1400 MW combined cycle gas-based power plant.

Hills and landscape

The region has several tall granitic hills which are famous for many short rock climbs, typically 1 to 2 pitches in length. Grades vary from 5.8 American to 5.11 American. It is home to some of the world's oldest granite outcrops. Some of the interesting climbs are on the Wanakkal wall ("Gabbar ki asli pasand", "Labor pain"), on the Rainbow wall ("UIAA", "Kalia"), on Anna-Thamma ("Darkness at dawn", "Black Diamond", the name Anna-Thama means 'elder-brother-younger-brother' in Kannada).

Another well known hill is Ramadevarabetta. Along with Savandurga this was one of the shooting locations for David Lean's A Passage to India. Small door like grottoes were made in the rock to resemble caves. It was also in this region that the path-breaking Hindi movie, Sholay, was shot.

Other famous hills in the region include the Revanasideshwara hill and Handigundi.

These hills have been threatened by quarrying and also plans to carve these hills into statues. The region is covered in scrub forest and is home to threatened bird species such as the Yellow-throated Bulbul and Long-billed Vultures. The hill is today one of the few locations in south India where Long-billed Vultures nest. The region is also home to numerous sloth bears.

PLACES OF INTEREST IN AND AROUND RAMANAGAR:

Rocks of Ramanagar
Ramanagar is also known as the land of seven hills. Shivaramagiri, Yatirajagiri, Somagiri, Krishnagiri, Revannasiddeshwara Betta, Jalasiddeshwara Betta and Sidilakallu Betta are the seven hills that dot the landscape of Ramanagara.

Ramadevara betta
Another well known hill is Ramadevara betta. Small door like grottoes were made in the rock to resemble caves. It was also in this region that the famous Hindi movie, Sholay, was shot.

Janapada Loka
Janapada Loka is situated in Ramanagara district on the Bangalore - Mysore highway at a distance of 55 km from Bangalore. Janapada Loka is an organization that is committed to preserving and propagating the rural folk culture of Karnataka. An art gallery, open-air theatre and museum are also located here.

Kanva Reservoir
Kanva Reservoir is about 70 km from Bangalore and 13 km from Channapattana between Ramanagara and Channapattana. Kanva Reservoir was built in 1946 across the River Kanva (a tributary of the River Cauvery). The river here is named after the sage Kanva, who was supposed to have been living in this region during the time of Ramayana.

Kanva Reservoir has 5 automatic Siphons, each with a displacement of 14000 cusecs of water. It is also excellent picnic spot, with facilities for fishing and an ideal spot for camping and bird watching.

Magadi
Magadi is located at a distance of 50 km from Bangalore. Magadi is the Birthplace and it was Capital of Kempe Gowda who built Bangalore.

Magadi has a remnants of an old fort, which is said to have been built by Kempe Gowda in which is situated the temple of Rameshwara, his family God. The ruins of his palace are pointed out to the south-west of this temple, where only broken brick and ruined walls are noticed.

The Rameshwara temple in a later Vijayanagara style has a Sanctum hall having a brick and mortar Dravida Shikhara. There is a small Ardhamantapa leading to a Navaranga with frontal Mantapa having square granite pillars. Outside the temple is a spacious inner Prakara and at the backyard are small cells having Panchalingas.

Mekedaatu (Goat's leap)
Mekedaatu or Goat's Leap, a famous picnic spot is about 95 km from Bangalore via Kanakapura. Mekedaatu is situated within the limits of the Muggur forest. Mekedatu is a beautiful picnic spot where the river Kaveri and river Arkavathi merges at the Sangam. From this point, about 3.5 kilometers downstream, the river Kaveri flows through a deep gorge so narrow that one would think that a goat can leap and cross it.

Savandurga
Savandurga is a hill located at a distance of 60 km west of Bangalore. It is also known as Magadi Hills. The hill is famous for a temple and is also believed to be among the largest monolith hills in the world. The Savandurga hills are frequently visited by pilgrims who come to visit the Basaveshwara, Savandi Veerabhadreshwara Swamy and Narasimha Swamy temple situated at the foothills. At the foothill there is a village by the same name and the forest around has been stated as reserved forest and there is protected garden of the Herbs of medicinal interest.

Shivaganga
Shivaganga is located at a distance of 60 km from Bangalore. Shivaganga is also known as Dakshina Kasi or the Varanasi of the South. Temples dedicated to Gangadhareswara, Hanna devi and a cave spring called 'Pattala' are found at the top of the hill.

Channapattana
Channapattana is located 60 km south-west of Bangalore on Mysore-Bangalore highway. The City was ruled by the King Timmapparaja Aras and later Jagadevaraya choose it as his Capital city. Channapattana is popular for its wooden toys and lacquer ware. Lacquer ware products include brightly colored wooden toys in various shapes and sizes, door curtains and powder boxes, besides a range of distinctive jewellery.

Photo Gallery:







Courtesy: Wikipedia