The origin of Hemavathi river

Hemavathi river originates in the Western ghats of Karnataka. It passes through the towns of Sakleshpur, and Holenarasipur, before joining the Kaveri river at KRS. There are two prominent places in its meandering course. One is its origin, and the other is the Gorur dam built near Hassan.

I used to see an arch mentioning entry to “Hemavathi ugama sthana” (Hemavathi birthplace) whenever I travelled between Kottigehara and Kalasa. I was interested, but each time I had an excuse to drop that place! When we travelled to Kudremukh recently, I saw this arch again but decided to visit it during our return journey. I was glad that I managed to keep up my word this time!

We took the deviation where a board mentioned the origin of the river. After a couple of km, the asphalted road gave away to the mud road. I did not want to risk my car on that rough stretch. The place was still 0.5 km away. We could have easily walked, but there was no place to park the car. The road was too narrow to allow another vehicle to pass. We decided to drop our plan, and I drive back to the main road. After a couple of km, I saw the arch. There was another road to try!!

The drive was easy on this stretch. The recently laid concrete road made it an easier task to reach the river’s origin. It was a peaceful location without any visitors! The Kalyani (tank) and the temple next to it looked beautiful. The Hemavathi river originated from a natural spring in the forest next to the tank. It joined the tank and then flowed further down. It was amazing to see how such small drops of water transforms into a big river later!!

We spent some time enjoying the surroundings of the temple. It was a pleasant visit.