Mekedaatu

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Mekedatu is a lovely spot along Kaveri in Bangalore rural district. Sangama is the place where Arkavati merges with Kaveri. From this point, about 3.5 downstream, the river Kaveri flows through a deep gorge so narrow that one would think that a goat can leap and cross it ('Mekedatu' means, 'goat's leap' in Kannada). Of course, it is not really so narrow and no goat commonly found in that part of India would do that distance in a single leap. This place is about 90 km from Bangalore via Kanakapura.

There is a lot of mythological significance also to this place (both Sangama and Mekedatu.) As per one version, the goat (meke) that is believed to have lept across the Kaveri was Lord Shiva in disguise. On both rocky precipices of the gorge, one can find strange gigantic holes, whose shapes resemble goats' hooves, though several times larger. Only heavenly (or Godly) goats can mark 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 meters wide gorge at Mekedatu.. one can see the ferocious flow of all that water, displaying Bernoulli's Theorem.^[1] It is said that a goat could leap over it, giving the falls the name Goat's Leap.^[2]

Upstream on the Kaveri is the famous Sivasamudram Falls, the second biggest waterfall in India and the sixteenth largest in the world^[3] both of which statements are disputed by world waterfalls.

1 Gorge
2 Directions
3 Notes
4 External links

[edit] Gorge

The water flows very fast through the gorge, gouging pits in the rocky riverbed. The climb down is steep and the rocks slippery, making it very dangerous to swim in the river. Drownings continue to occur here, although people have been warned about the danger.^[4]

[edit] Directions

A pathway leads from the Sangama to a picnic spot called Mekedatu. It is a 4-kilometre walk from the road. A private vehicle may be taken but the road is in very bad shape.^[4]