Mekedatu and Sangama of Kaveri and Arkavathi river Kanakapura Ramanagara tourism Karnataka tourism

Mekedatu and Sangama of Kaveri and Arkavathi river Kanakapura Ramanagara tourism Karnataka tourism. Mekedatu (Kannada:ಮೇಕೆದಾಟು) is a location along Kaveri in Kanakapura Taluk of Ramanagara District. Sangama is the place where Arkavati merges with Kaveri. From this point, about 3.5 kilometers downstream, the river Kaveri flows through a deep and narrow gorge. Mekedatu' means 'goat's leap' in Kannada). 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. It is about 110 km from Bengaluru via Kanakapura. 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 is believed 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. It is said that a goat could leap over it, giving the falls the name Goat's Leap
The water flows very fast through the gorge, gouging pits in the rocky riverbed. The rocks are slippery making it difficult to climb down the gorge. It is dangerous to swim in the river due to the hard and slippery rocks. Despite warning signs indicating that it is dangerous to swim in the gorge many people attempt it. There have been numerous incidents of people drowning at this place. You will have to first drive to Sangama and then proceed to Mekedatu from there.
Once you reach Sangama you have to take a boat ride to reach the other side of the river. Then you can board a bus which keeps running every half an hour till 5 in the evening. 5.30 pm is the last bus from Mekedaatu to Sangama. After that no civilians are allowed in this place

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