YEDIYUR-SHIVALLI OUTING-JULY2011

I had decided to have weekend outing nearby, My Friend Girish called me and invited to his Village Shivalli near Markonalli Dam Back Waters. Finalised the programme waiting for one of my best friend Sateesh to accompany as he was on Official Tour to Hyderabad, he landed only on Saturday the 2nd at 12-30pm and told me to carry your programme as he had some official work.

Around 4-30pm we left Banglaore as it was a cloudy day So, myself, Harish decided to visit Girish Village near Markonalli Dam which is situated near Yediyur.

Markonalli Dam is a small dam but has a huge back water, the view of which will calm down all your body stress. From Bangalore it is just 2 hour journey and is on the Bangalore-Mangalore Highway NH-48. Just 3 km after Yediyur (Yediyur is a famous religious place and has a beautiful temple of Sri Siddalingeshwara Swamy) you get a left turn for Shivanahalli.

From this take a left turn  on a muddy road for 7 kms to reach Shivalli which is the last village on the road. it falls right behind the markonahalli dam.
Distance: 110 KMs from Bangalore

About:

MARCONALLI DAM was built in 1930s Sir M. Visveswaraiah. Constructed across river Shimsha, the dam serves as a water source for almost 4000 villages for agriculture. Shimsha is a sub-river of Kaveri and one of the three rivers which flow in Tumkur district. The dam has an automatic siphon system, very first to be of that kind in Asia – thanks to the great Sir MV. When the water inflow increases and water level reaches 88ft, extra water goes out of the dam unmanned. There is no need of any person to be present to open the gates. Main reason to implement this system is, if water increases by another 4 ft, the famuous temple of Sri Siddalingeshwara in Yediyur will drown.

How to get there:

Bangalore to Nelamangala – NH 4 – 28 KMs – turn left to NH48

Nelamangala to Kunigal – NH48 – 44 KMs – continue in NH48

Kunigal to KSTDC restaurant – NH48 – 16 KMs – turn left to a small road (2 KMs before Yediyur)

KSTDC restaurant to Dam – single lane road – 5 KMs

Other nearby places :

Yediyur – 2 KMs

Kunigal stud farm (Horse breeding farm, owned by Vijay Malya)

Kunigal lake (famous through the folk song ‘Moodal Kunigal kere’)

Deepambhudi lake – 26 KMs from Kunigal

Huliyurdurga (My Friend Umesh Village)– another picnic & small trek point – 22 KMs from Kunigal