Some of the finest and most beautiful waterfalls in the country are well off the mainstream travel itineraries. They may not be the largest in volume, tallest in fall or the most well-known. And yet, they are easily among the prettiest waterfalls I have ever seen.
Magod Falls, Unchalli Falls, Satoddi Falls. Have you heard of these waterfalls? The answer is likely to depend on how far you live from these places, how active a traveller are you and how intrepid are your journeys.
Brilliant view of Magod Falls dropping into a deep valley.
If India for you is a diamond shaped country somewhere between middle east and [South-East] Asia, chances are you only know about Taj Mahal in the entire country. If you live somewhere within India and your idea of travelling is the yearly holiday to a luxury resort, chances are that you may have heard about a Jog Falls here and a few others around your city, no more. If you live within Karnataka, there is some chance that you may have heard a passing mention unless you are a frequent traveller. But for those who jump at the first opportunity to explore, especially in Karnataka, these places are either in the must-do list or they have already been ticked.
I have heard from a countless number of my travel-buff friends about Satoddi falls and Magod falls. Everyone of them has unfailingly mentioned not only about the size and height of these falls, but the dramatic location in which they are set. Often so dramatic that I wouldn’t be easily convinced.
I usually make two visits to Hampi every year. If there is one thing that I necessarily look forward to during every visit, it is the climb to Matanga Parvata to watch sunrise over the landscapes of this ancient city.
Matanga is perhaps the tallest hill in Hampi, on the right bank of Tungabhadra River. From the vantage point on the top, the sun rising over a misty landscape during the winter months highlights a wave of ridges that line up the eastern sky. As the big blob of light moves well above the hills, the golden lights sparkle on the smooth surface of the boulders littering the landscape. Tungabhadra shines in the skylight, with occasional coracles moving up and down on its calm surface.
The steep fall of Matanga towards the east offers a bird’s-eye view of Achutaraya Temple right below and an uninterrupted view of the sunrise above. On the western side of the hill, the tall spire of Virupaksha Temple appears to challenge Matanga in its height. All around, remains of the erstwhile Vijayanagar Kingdom – Vijaya Vithala Temple, Krishna Temple, Lotus Mahal and several mantapas offer insights to the city’s past.
A little downstream, on the other side of the river, is Anjanadri Hill – a place of many legends. While Hampi’s hills are often credited to be the place where the kingdom of monkeys from Ramayana once existed, Anjanadri is known as the place where Hanumantha was born. The hill now houses a hoard of monkeys that usually settle around an Anjaneya Temple, as if to prove a point.
While Matanga is the highest point on the right bank, the Anjanadri probably takes the honour on the left bank. Near the base of Anjanadri, the river takes a steep turn from its northwardly flow to east, which allows a line-of-the-river view of sunrise from the hill top. In the winter months, the morning landscapes over the river appear bathed in gold – a spectacle that stays in the heart as permanently as it does in the camera.
I have had several requests all through last year to conduct photography-centric day-trips out of Bangalore. Here is the first of a series of them to come.
You will recognize a fragrance of heritage in every corner of Melukote. The old temples, the large Kalyani that has hosted several movie shoots, the smaller Raya Gopura that also has its beauty tested in the movies, a Sanskrit Academy, two ancient temples, a Vaishnava heritage that is preserved as good as it was a few centuries ago and several houses, temples and structures that have a stamp of past all over them — a quick glimpse of Melukote for you.
See full details of the event – photography in Melukote.
