In 1965, Linganamakki dammed the Sharavathi River. When the dam's sluice gates were closed and the temporary walls erected between the hills blasted away, the waters from the Sharavathi roared into the gorge, consuming large tracts of evergreen forest. Once the waters settled, an enormous shimmering mirror of blue spread over several square kilometres. Linganamakki Reservoir is better known as Honnemardu after the tiny hamlet that nestles above the hills overlooking the waters. And when the reservoir overflows, the run-off cascades 960 ft downstream as the Jog Falls, India's highest and the second highest waterfall in Asia.
Almost half way across the reservoir, an emerald isle visible from Honnemardu nestles amidst the blue waters. Take a coracle from the mainland and glide across. Even as your tent is pitched at dusk, you can hear the chirp of the cicadas, the wind whistle through the bamboo thickets and the soft swish of bats as they settle on trees laden with fruit. The silence is disturbed more rudely by the loud metallic calls of the racket-tailed drongo. But it?s the nights that are the most magical. As a bonfire blazes and the sweet aroma of roasting potatoes wafts towards the tent, you can lie on your back and gaze at the stars with little else to do. There you are, on your very own island in a lake surrounded by verdant hills, miles away from the hurly-burly of the city.