Wandering Bong — My Escapades from Bangalore — A Day Trip to Bheemeshwari & Mekedatu Sangam
By: Aaghran Ghosh
Tags: Travel, Bangalore, Karnataka Tourism, Wildlife

Bheemeshwari, about 100 km away from Bangalore, is an ideal day trip for the weekend. Add Makedettu Sangam to your itinerary to enjoy a splendid drive and some boating! This is a perfect place for the nature lover. Rest along the river and enjoy the flow.

The original plan was only till Bheemeshwari but eventually, we extended our trip to visit Sangam, as there nothing much to do at Bheemeshwari unless you book an overnight stay in the government resort there. We left early from Bangalore as we had planned to return on the same day itself, and we got to spend plenty of time relaxing and chatting sitting on the banks of the river.

When: 14th October 2018

Destination: Bheemeshwari — Sangam

Odometer reading: 280 Kms.

Route Map: Bangalore — Kanakapura — Bheemeshwari — Sangam — Kanakapura — Bangalore.

After checking the bike and adjusting the GoPro, we started off to Bheemeshwari by around 7.30 am. I was very excited to be riding my motorcycle on a trip after a long gap.

The first stop was to have our breakfast, at the Adyar Ananda Bhavan before leaving Bangalore. Once you exit Bangalore, there are not many options to have breakfast on the highway as compared to the Mysuru highway, which has many dhabas. After having a filling breakfast, we were ready to take on the roads, or at least we thought we were ready. In another hour and after just having crossed Kanakpura, almost midway to our destination, we took another pit stop to give some rest to our aching bum and back. With some tea and coffee going inside us, we recharged for the road again. We saddled up and headed off to Bheemeshwari.

The road to Kanakpura is pretty well maintained and now they are constructing the current double lane road to a 4 lane highway. From Kanakpura, the highways head off to Halaguru, while one road forks towards Sangam. We headed off to Halaguru, cruising towards our destination. Just sort of Halaguru, there is a small left turn towards Bheemeshwari, which can be easily missed if you are not attentive.

We Encounter with the Cauvery

As we head away from the highway and after some 10 minutes on this road, the sceneries change to forests and small hillocks. With almost no traffic on this road, we were enjoying ourselves on the bike. Further down the road, there was a check post of the forest department where vehicle numbers were being noted and we were warned to maintain a speed limit of 40 km/h to not disturb the wildlife. Beyond that point, the jungle engulfed the road. The boards on the roadside told us that we had entered the area of Cauvery National park. Though it is said that the best time to visit the place is from Oct to Feb, I feel October is better as just after the rains the jungle was much greener and we witnessed the Cauvery full of water, gushing alongside the road. Billboards of many animals were displayed on the roadside but we only saw monkeys and one wild boar. However, the melodious chirping of various birds welcomed us.

As we drove further we could see the Cauvery running on one side. The river was lost to view in between but reappeared after some distance. We were driving along the Cauvery for quite a considerable amount of time. There is nothing much you can do at Bheemeshwari unless you have made a booking at the adventure camp. The camp offers a lot of activities along with accommodation for the night. As we had planned for a day trip, we decided to head off to Muthathi, where the locals said we could spend our time along the banks of Cauvery. We spent a moment on a spot at the bank of Cauvery, from where we headed to a temple near Muthathi, about 5–10 km from the Bheemeshwari adventure camp.

We relaxed for a while at the banks of the river. Hiking along the bank to rest our bums away from all the chaos of the locals, who had gathered to enjoy their Sunday afternoon. We sat down for a while discussing the road till here, and we were left spellbound after entering the Cauvery National Park. Listening to Jagjit Singh in the background, we were lost in the tranquility of the river.

Onwards to Sangam

After some rest and rehydrating ourselves with some much-needed water, we took off towards Sangam for the next part of our trip. We took a road less traveled, through some dense forests, ghats and villages. The road from Bheemeshwari to Sangam was as potholed as it can be. You would be amazed at the depth of the potholes. At times you really wonder do we have potholes on the road or there is some road between the potholes. It was a back-breaking, bum paining one hour on this broken road. It seemed as if the road would be like this till Sangam, but after about some 40 km, the roads were decent enough. But the scenery through this road, made us forget all the pain.

Sangam, this place was full of people and their various activities. many people were taking bath, women washing and drying their clothes. kids splashing and swimming. Others were enjoying the coracle ride. Various groups settled down under the shade of trees, mats spread, making fire, preparing food, booming laughter, echoing voices, the mirth, the jest filled the air with a soothing warmth and the ripples of Cauvery nestled close to the boulders to whisper the sweet cooing symphony of everlasting togetherness.

We just spend a moment with ourselves in silence sitting over the boulders, with the water rushing through our feet. Crossing

Our way back

After spending a few hours at Sangam, we decided to return from our day out alongside the banks of Cauvery. It was a day full of myriad shades, moods, and emotions. The quiet moments on the secluded bank, in the company of silently flowing Cauvery, tall trees, the distant jungle, and the azure sky filled my heart with peace and serenity. It appeared to give a message of living every season, taking the time as it comes, tasting all the flavors with a resigned equanimity to all outside influences yet moving on. And then there were people engaged in various kinds of activities- cooking, eating, playing, resting, gossiping, and performing rituals. Irrespective of the nature of one’s engagement, alone or in groups, the continuous murmuring of water, the placid rhythmical flow of the river provides assurance to everyone.