Talacauvery

Talacauvery is the origin of Kaveri River near Madikeri in Karnataka. Kaveri Tula Sankramana is famous for Teertodhbhava which is an unique annual spectacle when the holy water gushes from Brahmakundike, a small tank, on the Brahmagiri Hills at Talacauvery. During the one month starting with Tula Sankramana, thousands of people from regions of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu visit this place to take a holy dip in the river. If you are not a religious person than you should visit just for the amazing view offered by the Brahmagiri Hills.

Visiting Talacauvery has been an annual affair for my family. We first take a holy dip at the Triveni sangam in Bhagamandala where the 3 rivers - Kannika, Sujyothi and Kaveri merge to flow as River Kaveri. 

At Sangam, you can do the Kshetra Shradha or Tarpana which in Hindu tradition means paying your respect to the deceased in your family and pray for their well being in the after life. We then head to the Bhagandeshwara Temple which is near Sangama. 

This is the recommended sequence to follow before you visit Talacauvery. Talacauvery is 8kms uphill from Bhagamandala. During the holy season it is very crowded so you will have to park about half a kilometer away from Talacauvery. Rest of the time it is peaceful and deserted. 

Taking a holy dip at the pond at Talacauvery is allowed only during the month post Tula Sankramana. Rest of the time you can just visit the Shiva and Ganapathi temple here. 

For the non-religious or touristy folks, you can climb the 300 steps to reach the top of Brahmagiri. 

It is cold and foggy for most part of the year. The view from both the bottom of the hill and top is amazing. 

We stay at the Kashi Matt which is a community center for GSB's on the Bhagamandala Talacauvery road. They have rooms and dormitory to stay and also can arrange for food if called in advance. During the Sankramana month rooms are only provided for the community folks but rest of the time they give rooms to other folks. 

Well that is all about Talacauvery. I once had done the Tadiyandamol trek (40kms before Talacauvery) in the morning and then visited Talacauvery in the evening. All other places to visit in Coorg are far from this place, so it will be a 40kms detour from Madikeri to reach here but it is worth visiting.

Note:
1) The Talacauvery festive season for 2016 is Oct 17th to Nov 15th.
2) In case you want to stay at the Kashimatt you can reach the manager at - 9448932143
3) When I visited earlier this month (Oct 2016) it only had 2G network

My other blog posts related to Coorg: Bike trip to Coorg, Mandalpatti, Chelavara Falls