Mekedatu

Meke Datu ಮೇಕೆದಾಟು
Mekedatu, ಮೇಕೆದಾಟು
Location	Kanakapura, Karnataka, India
Coordinates	12°15′29″N 77°26′55″E / 12.25818°N 77.44866°E / 12.25818; 77.44866Coordinates: 12°15′29″N 77°26′55″E / 12.25818°N 77.44866°E / 12.25818; 77.44866
Watercourse	Cauvery River

Mekedatu (Kannada: ಮೇಕೆದಾಟು) is a location along Kaveri in Kanakapura Taluk. Sangama is the place where Arkavati merges with Kaveri. From this point, about 3.5 kilometers downstream, the river Kaveri flows through a deep and narrow gorge. Mekedatu' means 'goat's leap' in Kannada). The name comes from an incident which is believed to have been witnessed by herdsmen in that area a long time ago. It is said that a goat being chased by a tiger made a desperate attempt to save its life by leaping from one side of the gorge and managed to cross over the raging river below, whereas the tiger did not attempt to replicate this feat, and abandoned the chase. The point where the goat leapt has widened since then from erosion caused by the river Cauvery. It is about 190 km from Bengaluru via Kanakapura. There is also some mythological significance to this place (both Sangama and Mekedatu). As per one version, the goat (meke) that is believed to have leapt across the Kaveri was Lord Shiva in disguise. On both rocky precipices of the gorge, one can find strange holes, whose shapes resemble goats' hooves, though several times larger. It is believed that only divine goats could have marked 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-meter-wide gorge at Mekedatu. One can see the ferocious flow of all that water, displaying Bernoulli's theorem. It is said that a goat could leap over it, giving the falls the name Goat's Leap. Upstream on the Kaveri is the well known Shivanasamudra Falls with its hydro-electric power station, which was set up already in 1902.

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 by a small board and writing on rocks.

A lot of tourists visit this place, a high number of people drown in the river, either when swimming or slipping off the cliff. It is a very dangerous place. The 4 feet shallow water is very deceiving as it seems harmless but has claimed the life of hundreds of people in the past years. The water current is very fast, and a person can drown in minutes. Just a small slip might be fatal. There are also crocodiles in the water. The place lacks warning signs in several places, but crocodiles and slippery surfaces make it one of the riskiest tourist spots. The rock surface near cliff, both during rainy season or during dry season, is very slippery and deceiving. Many of the deaths have been young people and students, who ventured near cliff drown here.