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Waterfall

The Swimming Spot below Sanapur

Where the canal drops between rocks below the Sanapur sluice — a pool in the monsoon, bare stone by March.

The Tungabhadra canal below Sanapur lake

Open

6:00 am – 6:00 pm

Entry

Free entry

Best time to go

Morning

Time to spend here

About 1 h

Crowds

Usually quiet

Reached on foot from the Sanapur lake road, about fifteen minutes over boulders. Ask in Sanapur village rather than following a map pin the last stretch.

Before you go

Car to the gate

No long walk in

No toilets mapped nearby

Go before you set off

No drinking water mapped nearby

Bring enough with you

About this place

Below the Sanapur sluice the canal water falls between two shelves of granite into a pool that people have been swimming in for as long as the canal has run. It is a seasonal thing rather than a waterfall: full and loud from July into October, a trickle by December, and dry rock by March. The walk in is over boulders with no path and no railing, and the rock beside the water stays slick long after it stops raining. Go in the morning, when the light comes down the gap and the stone is not yet too hot to sit on. There is nothing here — no gate, no ticket, no shop — which is the point of it and also the reason to bring your own water.

Good to know

  • Only worth the walk between July and November. By March there is no water at all.
  • The rock beside the water stays slippery for hours after rain. There is no railing and no path.
  • Nobody watches this place. Do not swim alone, and do not jump — the depth changes with the season.
  • No shop, no toilet, no shade. Carry water in and rubbish out.

How to get there

  • By road to the entrance
  1. Go by car, bike or auto to The Swimming Spot below Sanapur

    There is no car park here. Stop on the Sanapur lake road where there is room and walk in over the boulders — there is no path and no railing. Ask in Sanapur village for the way rather than following a pin the last stretch.

Walking paths and times are from Google Maps. The way in can change on festival days: follow the signs and ASI staff.

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