Saturday Suttings – Lazing by the river

Saturday Suttings(Translation: Saturday Wanderings) is our attempt to get away from the monotony of daily life in search of some fresh air. A Saturday Sutting is all about day trips from Bangalore. Here is the latest one of the series

While hunting for places to visit, We stumbled upon Ananka Homestay located downstream from KRS dam near Srirangapatna. Decided to give it a try on a weekend and must say that its a good spot to take a break from the routine.

The spot by the river is calm, peaceful and feels like a different world altogether, with green farms, lots of birds (upstream from Ranganathittu), a muster of peacocks and Cauvery,gently flowing over the rocks and reeds. A good spot for an early morning drive. The locals did mention that it can get crowded on Sundays, especially with local crowd opting to sit in the water and get drunk.

We saw the sand mafia taking away loads of sand in bullock carts – they are forced to use bullock carts as there is no road all the way to the river.

Need to park your vehicle a little distance away, cross a stream & then walk to the river.

How to get there? – Gmaps will help you till Karekura village – On KRS road, lookout for a red arch. After that drive up to the village:

• Locate the local school on your left.
• Take road adjacent to the school wall and take the right fork after that.
• Keep driving on the mud road – you should see the river to your right.
• Cross the ashram – newly painted walls on your right.
• Road should curve to your left and you should see the small stream and bridge.
• Driving a 4×4? Wade across the stream and to the river/homestay.

I was tempted to drive the Red Dwarf across the stream but one look at the large slab of rock at the other end of the stream made me change my mind.

Prem, the owner of the Ananka homestay, is on the farm everyday and is well traveled gentleman and fount of information – be it local produce, farming techniques or the forests of amazon. Do note that there is no option for food at the farm-stay but you can cook your own meals if you want and all necessary vessels,gas,basic supplies etc are available. You can even choose to carry your own supplies, which is what we did.

Route & Road Conditions

Option 1: Bangalore – Mandya – Srirangapatna – Ananka Homestay

This is the usual Bangalore – Mysore road that can either be a decent drive or turn into road rash with cabs depending on time of the day & day of the week

Option 2: If you are starting from North/West bangalore, you can either take:

• Magadi – Nagamangala – Pandavapura to reach this place.

     Or

• Nelamangala – Bellur Cross – Nagamangala – Pandavapura

Added bonus – lip smacking good food at Thotada Mane. Lovely leisurely kind of ambiance,surrounded by numerous trees and vegetable patches.Every dish we tried was homely,tasty and flavorful. The shavige bath and akki rotti with black til powder,in particular is a must try! They do have Jain options for most foods as well! The tea is served in gorgeous terracotta cups. This is one place which you have to pop into,even if it means going there just to visit the restaurant. They even have ample parking! One nice place,for a long drive,good food and back home,all in a day!

Happy Suttings!