Nugu Dam is located in the beautiful city of Mysore, Karnataka. It lies in Berwal village at a scenic location where it is surrounded by small hills on all sides. Constructed across River Nugu, this dam was built under the supervision of Mr. Visveshwariah. Irrigation and hydroelectricity generation was the main purpose of building this dam.

Construction

The construction for Nugu dam started in 1956 and was completed in 1959. This dam has a height of 43.58 meters above its deepest foundation and has a length of 637.65 meters. The full reservoir level (FRL) is 753.4656 meters. The total catchment area of the reservoir is 30.8 ha. The gross storage capacity of the reservoir comes up to 154.042 mcm whereas, the live storage capacity is 129.85 mcm. The spillway of this reservoir stretches up to 80.772 meters. Four spillway gates of radial type and size 40m (40m length and 40m breadth) are present.

Attractions

A wonderful picnic spot, this dam is connected to a hilly region that ends at the border of Kerala. It harbors various species of birds that attract photographers and tourists alike.

Nearby Tourist Attractions

• Bandipur National Park: Bandipur National Park is an important part of project tiger reserve in India. Its diversified nature with a varied flora and fauna makes it the ideal destination for preservation of tigers.
• M.M. Hills Temples: A popular and holy ancient temple, this one has a scenic beauty of 77 hills in the Eastern Ghats which surrounds the temple from all sides. Lord Sri Mahadeshwara is believed to be the incarnation of Lord Shiva.
• Gopalaswamy Betta: Gopalaswamy Betta is a popular hill that has the famous Krishna temples. The hill is located inside Bandipur National Park and it is well-known for its awesome climate. Cool throughout the year, one can frequently see elephants here.
• Mysore Palace: This massive ancient palace is a famous tourist attraction for people visiting Mysore. A part of the palace is turned into a museum, which is accessible for tourists.
• Chamundi Hills: These hills have a height of 1000 meters. It gives a beautiful city view from the top and it is particularly worth seeing during the festival of Dussherra when the Mysore Palace is decorated with thousands of lights.
• Brindavan Gardens: Mysore Brindavan Gardens has a lovely botanical park. Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) dam is also connected to the garden which enhances its beauty. This garden is well known for its musical fountains, which are active in the evening.
• Mysore Zoo: One of the oldest zoos in the country, this one was established in the year 1892. The zoo has several wild animals, birds and reptiles. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Mysore.

How to Reach

By Air

Although Mysore has an airport of its own, it is currently not operational. So, the nearest airport is Bengaluru International Airport at Bangalore.

By Train

Mysore junction station is connected to several places. Nanjangud station is closest to the dam and is connected to the Mysore station through regular trains.

By Road

Bus service is available from Bangalore to Mysore at frequent intervals. One can also take a taxi from Bangalore. Bus transportation is the only transportation available from Mysore and other places to reach dam.