Chunchi Falls

Date: 06 August 2006
Where: Chunchi Falls
Distance: 230 odd kms
Route: Bangalore-Kankapura-Chunchi falls
For all those of you who wanted a change, may I present my pillion rider and a guest riter Swetha. This is what she had to say...

hi folks!!puttin' down an experience on paper is definitely not easy(especially for me!!) Since i have been given a chance to do so...I'll try my best.
CHUNCHI FALLS...
where do i start?!! ummmmm....ok, let's begin with it's name,"chunchi". I have no idea why it is called so (Manoj, it is chunchi for sure not chinchu or anythin' else!!)but it sounds chinese.
We started to this place on the rock-steady Thunderbird at 11.00AM, though the scheduled time was 10.30AM (thanks to me). I was told that this place comes after Kanakpura and the ride to Kanakpura was slow (thanks to the B'lore traffic). Once we got there we asked for directions to the "chunchi falls" and learnt that it is about 20Km from kanakpura. Well, the ride from Kanakpura to chunchi was the best coz' u r away from the city and u own BOTH the bike and the road and one can speed to the max. This i can say coz' i was tryin' to hold myself together or stop myself from flyin' away!!wut i like about the highways is, even though u r not sure of the route, with a lil' (or lots) of help from the localites u can definitely reach ur destination (even if you have a pathetic road sense).
We finally reached the chunchi falls at about 1.00 PM. Initially we weren't sure if we were at the right place, but when we spotted a lady who took care of the tourists' vehicles, we weren't doubtful anymore. You have to walk a little while to actually get to the falls and this for me was fun, coz' it was like a mini-trek. You'll also find a couple of old people, but if u r generous ($$) to them they'll certainly guide you.
What we saw at first was a small stream flowing down the rocks and was a lil' disappointed (and i was wondering how can one call this "falls"?!!).But, thanks to our curiosity and a sweet grandpa who told us to go a lot further. He was like "inna mundee hogi" well, people , even if the rocks are not very slippery ,u cud slip and fall!!(guyz with gals wait for such golden opportunities!!) so better be careful!!
After the short trek wut we saw was amazing!! I am out of words (thanks to my vocabulary) to describe it. There are huge rocks all around u , with water flowing down (Manoj says it's the Arkavathi river which ultimately joins Sangam). I am sure we were lookin' like tiny insects on these huge rocks!!
Wut i missed the most at this point was the camera. Another thing that was on our side, was the weather....it was pleasant and though it was 2.00 in the afternoon, we didn't feel the heat at all. I was for once really silent coz' i was awed by the beautiful scenery in front of me (until then i was talkin' non-stop). We were forced to leave the beautiful place behind as i had to get back home.
Hey people!! CHUNCHI is a pretty much hidden place and not many know about it. But it is definitely a place worth visitin' coz' you are away from the city buzz in a short time and I can say that it is a treasure for the artists and nature lovers. It definitely has taught me to appreciate and care for nature.
Well, Manoj u asked me for a "short" write-up but as u can see it isn't, actually i was so excited about the entire trip that i just couldn' miss out on anythin'.I certainly can't conclude without thanking CHUNCHI, THUNDERBIRD (Bullet with feelings) and the man responsible for all this, Mr. Manoj K Bhat, thanks a ton!!