A paradise unexplored

Trekking and Weekend Getaways

Many friends and relatives of mine have regretted that there is neither a beach nor Bangalore nor are there any water falls. Though I agreed with them about the beaches, I did not agree with them about waterfalls.

I said Bangalore is home to three well-known waterfalls and that both are in the south. If one of the water falls is near the Bannerghatta nature park, the other is a little farther away.

The third water fall is in Kanakapura taluk and it is the farthest of all the three falls. Unfortunately, all the three are tropical in nature and the falls have water only during rainy and winters season. The summer season sees almost dry water bed with no or only a trickle of water.

Thankfully, all the three water falls are located adjoining dense forests and they can form a present springboard for an exciting day of excursion and trek.

However all these falls are well-known to trekkers and nature lovers but are generally given a miss by tourists and even Bangaloreans.

The nearest water fall is Thottikal  a distance of  32 kilometers from Bangalore.  This is near Bannerghatta national park and it is full of after only during the rainy season.

The second falls on the same route is Muthyalamaduvu which is   43 kms from Bangalore towards Hosur on National Highway No. 7. Take a diversion at Chandapura after Electronic City and touch  Anekal. Muthyalamaduva is just a little distance away.

The second route is to travel on the Bannerghatta Road. When you reach the Bannerghatta Circle, continue left on towards Anekal. This is also the way to Thottikal falls.

The third falls is Chunchi, which is nearly 85 kms from Bangalore. This is in Kanakapura taluk and just before Sangam. The Arkavathi here has sculpted rocks with its water dance. Summers are pretty dry here and the water becomes forceful during the monsoon. I have not touched Hogenkal, Mekedatu and Shivanasamudra (Gaganachukki and Barachukki).  This post is about Muthalyamaduvu, which is near Anekal.

The very word Muthyalamadavu means pearls of water. The name is because the water drops are very much like a pearl. The water only trickles down here and there is no force. The height of the waterfall is about one hundred feet.

However, what makes this an ideal picnic spot is that not many come here and then the dense forests adjoining the falls are a thing of beauty.  

There is a restaurant near the falls and also a parking place for your vehicle. A walk over one hundred steps from her will take you to the bottom of the falls. The source of this water is the Onakanahalli tank located nearby. This is part of the Vrushabhavati Valley.

Once you reach the base, branch out around the forests and enjoy Nature at its serene best. However, avoid going too far away and mind you, there are a lot of drunks. Keep away from them.  
The forests abound in smaller water falls and just across one such fall is a small shrine of Shiva. Be prepared to lose connection of your mobile telephone as no signal catches easily. There are several monkeys here and they can be a handful.

Though this is a picnic place, it is not all that well maintained. It s better that you carry your own food and drinking water.

Muthyalamaduvu is a little over an hours’ drive from Bangalore. It is 35 km from the Banneraghatta National Park. Though the road from Bangalore to Anekal is quite good, the road from there to Muthyalamaduvu is not all that good.