Mysuru: Monsoon tourism gains traction as rivers overflow

The famous waterfalls of Shivanasamudra, popularly known as ‘’bluff’’, about 75 km from Mysuru, has come alive in all its glory thanks to bountiful rain and heavy outflow from the reservoirs in the upstream.

The famous waterfalls of Shivanasamudra, popularly known as ‘’bluff’’, about 75 km from Mysuru, has come alive in all its glory thanks to bountiful rain and heavy outflow from the reservoirs in the upstream.

So it is with other falls in the region, including Chunchunakatte near K.R. Nagar, Balamuri near KRS, as also Abbey Falls and Iruppu falls in Kodagu district.

As a result there has been a steady stream of tourists not only from Mysuru and surrounding regions but also from Bengaluru and other places to savour nature’s splendour since the last few days.

The most famous among these falls is the Shivanasamudra, which is a twin-fall with Gaganachukki in Mandya and Bharachukki in Chamarajanagar district. The falls are separated by a few miles. The twin waterfalls is a result of the river Cauvery meandering through the rocky terrain splitting into two and forming a riverine island. While the eastern branch is the Bharachukki falls in Chamarajanagar, Gaganachukki falls in Mandya district and close to Malavalli, constitutes the western branch. 

Of the two, the Gaganachukki is more breathtaking. Though there are other waterfalls that have greater vertical height, the Gaganachukki and Bharachukki are broader and are known for their horizontal sprawl. The Cauvery cascades and plunges into the horseshoe shaped ravine below from a height of about 300 ft resulting in a cloud of mist that rises to almost 150 ft to 200 ft.

The Mysore Gazetteer, edited by historian Hayavadhana Rao and published in the early 20th century, refers to medieval traveller and geographer Francis Buchannan who has waxed eloquent about its grandeur. The two falls tend to be at their best when the cumulative discharge from the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) and the Kabini dams is in the range of 1 lakh cusecs to 1.5 lakh cusecs. The cumulative outflow from both the reservoir was almost 1 lakh cusecs last week and presented a spectacular view.

Though the outflow from the two reservoirs is down to around 55,000 cusecs as on Wednesday, the grandeur of the falls has not diminished. As KRS and Kabini are full and more rains are expected through the remaining part of July and August, the waterfalls will benefit from the increased outflow from the reservoirs as also the volume of water in the river accrued due to rains, in the days ahead.