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Ponnaiyar River

Ponnaiyar River

About:
249 The river finally surrenders in to the Bay of Bengal at Cuddalore. The Ponnaiyar river basin is encircled by the Cauvery river basin in the west and south and Palar and Tondiar basins in the east and north respectively. The Ponnaiyar River is a transient river that flows only for a few weeks during the rainy season. The Ponnaiyar is a river in southern India. It rises on the hill of Nandidrug in Kolar District of Karnataka state, and flows south and then east for 400 km (250 miles) through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, emptying into the Bay of Bengal at Cuddalore.

The district, at its greatest length, reaches about 135 km from north to south with almost the same distance from east to west. It occupies the table land of Mysore, bordering the eastern ghats. The general plateau surface is interrupted by a number of hills and peaks of varying heights, particularly in the north. The principal chain of mountains is the Nandidurga range which runs north from Nandi towards Penukonda and Dharmavaram of Andhra Pradesh. The rivers of the district, are small and seasonal. Palar, Uttara Pinakini and Dakshina Pinakini are the important rivers which originate in the elevated regions in the district.

Nandidurg hill, known commonly as Nandi Hills, gets its name from an ancient Nandi temple situated on this hill. This temple has a thousand year old sculpture of Nandi. An ancient lord Shiva and Parvati temple also adorns this hill.It is 4851 ft. (1478 meters) above sea level. It is located in close proximity to the newly constructed Bangalore International Airport, the second largest in India. In addition, the hills are located about 20 km from the National Highway (NH-7) just after Devanahalli Town. Due to its location, Nandi Hills is rapidly developing and numerous commercial and residential ventures are underway in the region.

Nandidurg was traditionally held impregnable, and its storming by Cornwallis in 1791 was one of the most notable incidents of the first war against Tipu Sultan of Mysore. It was formerly a favourite resort for British Raj officials during the hot season. Francis Cunningham built the summer residence here for Sir Mark Cubbon. This one now used as a hotel, built by General Cubbon, sometime British resident; but the rock has a bad reputation for malaria, and except in the very dry months is shunned by visitors, in spite of its, to the senses, delightful climate

Location info:
Address:The Ponnaiyar is a river in southern India. It rises on the hill of Nandidrug in Kolar District of Karnataka state
District:Kolar District
Nearest City:Nandidrug
Best time to visit: The hills are now a popular tourist spot during summer.

Climate/Weather:
delightful climate

History:
Formerly, Kolar was known variously as Kolahala, Kuvalala and Kolala. Kolar was called Kolahalapura during the Middle Ages, but later came to be known as Kolar. Kolahahapura in Kannada meant "violent city", as it was the battlefield for the warring kingdoms of Chalukyas in the north and Cholas to the south. It was the capital of the Gangas till 4th century AD when they shifted the capital to Talakad in Mysore. In 1004 A.D., the Cholas annexed Kolar till 1116 A.D,. Vishnuvardhana (1108-1142AD) freed Gangavadi from the Cholas, and in commemoration of his victory, built the celebrated Vijayanarayana (Chennakeshva) Temple at Belur.

The major and important temples in the town are Kolaramma Temple and Someswara Temple. Someswara Temple is a fine example of Vijayanagara style while the Kolaramma temple is of Dravida vimana Style built in Ganga Tradition(11 century-A.D).

Interesting things to do:
The state horticulture department maintains a garden for the tourists. The pressure of tourists on the environment here is great with a considerable problem of litter, noise and physical disturbance.

Interesting things to Visit:
 

Mobile range info:
 

How to reach?
Nearest Railway Station:Bangalore
Nearest Airport: It is located in close proximity to the newly constructed Bangalore International Airport, the second largest in India.
Road Transport:The hills are located about 20 km from the National Highway (NH-7) just after Devanahalli Town.

Nearest Visiting places:
1. Tipu's Drop the place from where Tippu Sultan made his prisoners fall.
2. Tipu's Summer Residence a beautiful palace on top of this hill. This palace is closed to the general public .
3. Temples There are temples dedicated to Sri Bhoga Narasimha, Sri Ugra Narasimha and Sri Yoga Narasimha .
4. Gavi Veerbhadra swamy temple on top of the hill (The temple inside a big rock/cave)
5. Nehru Nilaya, where Jawaharlal Nehru used to stay, now a guest house of the horticulture department of India.
6. Rivers The rivers Pennar, Palar and Arkavati originate from these hills.Most of the sources have dried up .
7. Brahmashram It is said that Sage Ramakrishna Paramhamsa meditated here.Its a cool cave .
8. Muddenahalli The home town of Sir M. Visvesvarayya, the architect of modern Karnataka. Muddenahalli is just a few kilometres from Nandi Hills. His house is now a museum.

Nearest Petrol Pump:
Devanahalli

Hotels/Lodge/Accommodation:
 

Things to carry:
 

Tips & Suggestions:
The major sources of employment are agriculture, dairy and sericulture, floriculture hence it is popularly known as the land of "Silk, Milk and Gold". Farmers in Kolar are totally dependent upon borewell water for irrigation and drinking. The gold mines in Kolar Gold Fields was closed in the 2003 due to reducing gold deposits and increasing costs of production.

Help Line/Phone Number:
Police Station:Devanahalli
Nearest Hospital:Devanahalli
Society/Community Phone Number

Ponnaiyar River Nearest Attraction
Savana Durga Hills
A left turn some 7 kms before Magadi in Magadi road reduced our travel distance by some 8 kms and itz around 65 kms from bangalore city. Nice road to drive on and lotz of quarries on the way and road having lotz of bends and turns makes your drive a splendid one....more
Antharagange Temples
One of the ancient temples of india. It has miraculous water coming from mouth of got cow statue 365 dayz a year. It is a holy place people visit this temple from many parts of the Karnataka, Kolar District and karnataka state on Mahashivratri festival day every year. It is protected by Forest authority of india, has lots of Monkeys and wild Deers....more
Chikka Thirupathi Temples
Chikka Thirupathi : This sleepy little town is 10 km off Sarjapur. It takes about an hour from the Sarjapur ring-road junction. The road (if you can call it that) is very bad for a few kilometres after the Wipro office. It gets much better as you near Sarjapur. The scenery certainly isn't breathtaking, but it is a nice break from the chaos in Bangalore.....more
Kaivara Temples
Kaivara is centre for pilgrimage. This place is located in the Chintamani Taluk of Kolar district in Karnataka, a state that is in the south western part of India.. It is about 65 km from Bangalore. This place is historically significant. It is said that the Pandavas of the great Indian epic Mahabharata lived here during the exile in the forest (Vanavasa).....more
Kudumalai Temples
Though the name sounds like a place in Tamilnadu, this historically important place is located in Mulabagal taluk of Kolar district in Karnataka. Many people would have seen the century-old giant idol of Lord Ganesha in Bangalore on Bull Temple Road. The idol at Kurudumalai is as awe-inspiring.....more
Palar River
Palar is a river of southern India. It rises in Nandidurg hills in Kolar district of Karnataka state, and flows 93 km in Karnataka, 33 km in Andhra Pradesh and 222 km in Tamil Nadu before its confluence into the Bay of Bengal at Vayalur about 100 KM south of Chennai.....more
South Pennar River
The South Pennar River is known as Dakshina Pinakini in Kannada and Thenpennai in Tamil. It is also referred as Ponnaiyar .The river originates in the Nandi Hills in the Kolar district of Karnataka and flows through Tamil Nadu before entering into the Bay of Bengal.....more