Category: Karnataka

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes“ – Marcel Proust

ROUTE MAP

Visited “Jog Falls” in November 2015 along with my family. My friend and his family accompanied us for this trip.

The route that we followed was : Bangalore –> Agumbe –> Jog Falls –> Mookambika Temple (Kudajadri) –> Murudeshwar –> Gokarna Om Beach –> Shimoga –> Bangalore.

To my fellow travellers in Bangalore: This is one of the best trips that you can plan from Bangalore. You can cover some beautiful places in this entire road trip. Our trip was a 4N/5D trip; 1 night in Agumbe, 1 night in Gokarna , 2 nights in Shimoga.

Jog Falls Karnataka, is a place that is not to be missed under any circumstances. It is the second-highest plunge waterfall in India falling from a height of around 253 meters (after Nohkalikai falls Cherrapunji). It is also called by alternative names of Gerusoppe falls, Gersoppa Falls and Jogada Gundi.

Each segment of the falls has a name:

Raja, on the far left taking the direct plunge. 

Roarer, is the short waterfalls beside Raja. 

Rocket, a series of shooting jets.

Rani on the right.

Sadly, it was low on water during our visit, although still a magnificent sight. The falls are at their most thunderous and plentiful during monsoon season, but even if you visit in the drier months, you will still be rewarded with a scenic view of the cascades surrounded by a luscious forest.

There are many view points, from where you can watch this spectacular waterfalls. There is a viewpoint close to the parking area (near Hotel Mayura Gerusoppa) which also has few shops nearby. It is the most popular viewpoint. Another viewpoint is close to the British Bungalow which is around 30-40 min walk from the above viewpoint.

Nearby Sights:

Sharavathi Valley View
Linganamakki Back waters.

How to reach Jog Falls Karnataka?

By Rail/Road: Talaguppa is the closest railway station and lies at a distance of around 13 kms from Jog Falls. From just outside the Talaguppa railway station, you will get a bus to reach the fall.

Talaguppa station can be reached from nearby Shimoga railway station. Shimoga station is well connected to Bangalore and Mysore via train. If coming from other parts of India, you can catch a train till Hubballi as it is connected to major Indian cities via railways. From Hubballi, Shimoga can be reached easily by taking a bus. For train bookings visit IRCTC.

By Air: Mangalore Airport (135 Kms) is the nearest airport.

“The gladdest moment in human life, me thinks, is a departure into unknown lands.” – Sir Richard Burton

ROUTE MAP

We visited Chikmagalur (aka Chickmagaluru) in May 2015.

Chikmagalur is known as the ‘Land of Coffee’. If you want to spend some time out of your busy schedule, this can be a potential spot, especially for people from Bangalore looking for some plans on a long / extended weekend.

Try to start a little early in the morning from Bangalore to avoid the morning peak hour traffic. else, you might also have to spend a long time at the tolls.

Chikmagalur has gained its popularity because of the greenery and the peaceful environment here.

History: Chikmagalur literally means “The town of the younger daughter” in the native Kannada language. The town is said to have been given as a dowry to the younger daughter of Rukmangada, the legendary chief of Sakrepatna and hence the name. Chikmagalur district is the birthplace of coffee in India.

Mullayanagiri Hills:

This is the highest peak in Karnataka, it rises to 1926.7 meters above the sea level and is situated at the south of the range. The road is very narrow. If you are not an expert driver, don’t take the risk of using your own car for sightseeing.

The view from the top of this peak is amazing. There is a temple (dedicated to lord Shiva) on top of the hills and many people come here to visit this temple.

For adventure enthusiasts, the location offers an opportunity to engage in activities like mountain biking, trekking and road biking.

Butter Milk waterfalls (Jhari Water falls):

At a distance of 12 km from Baba Budangiri and 23 km from Chikmagalur, Jhari Waterfalls, also known as Buttermilk Falls, is a beautiful waterfall situated near Attigundi in Chikmagalur district of Karnataka.

Visitors cannot take their vehicles due to bad condition of the roads. One must take a Jeep ride (approx. 4 kms) the hill. There is also small shops just near the falls selling hot omelet, Vada Pav, and more..

Belur and Halebid Temples:

Belur-Halebid go together like twin cities. We visited Belur and Halebid temples, while returning to Bangalore. Belur is around 30 kms from Chikmagalur. We visited Chenna Kesava temple which is definitely a master piece constructed by the Hoysala dynasty.

The stone carvings are extra ordinary, and this temple is a great piece of architecture. Worth a visit, if you are a History Lover.

It’s around 15Kms between both these historic temples :

Other Attractions (within 100 kms):

Manikyadhara Falls (34 Kms)
Baba Budanagiri (35 Kms)
Kemmangundi (KR hills) (62 kms)
Hebbe Falls (65 Kms)
Bhadra Dam & Wildlife Sanctuary (82 Kms)
Kudremukh National Park (90 Kms)
Many Trekking sites are also available.
Kalahatti waterfalls (Not much recommended)

Accommodation:

Chikmagalur as such doesn’t have much attractions. So it’s very important that you select a nice place to stay.
Without a second thought, I would say Thippanahalli home stay (http://www.thippanahallihomestay.com/) will definitely be an ideal place.

They didn’t have the online booking facility. So, we had to call them for the confirmation and the advance was transferred to their Bank account.

The major advantage with this home stay is that they take you for a walk in their coffee plantations, which would be a new experience. You can also buy Coffee Powder from the home stay.

Chikmagalur have a lot of homestays available. My personal recommendation will be to plan your stay in a Homestay rather than a typical hotel type of accommodation.

Otherwise you can also look for more costly options like ‘Serai’.

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” — Gustav Flaubert

Coorg is relatively an easy weekend getaway from Bangalore, Mysore and Malabar region in Kerala.. So plan your trip well in advance to get the best accommodation options.

Coorg is known for its Coffee Plantations. It is ideally not a hill station but a district named as Kodagu (Coorg) in the Indian state of Karnataka and has to offer many locations for sightseeing, and road trips in and around 80~100 kms of radius.

We visited Coorg in January 2015. Coorg secures the top-rated position among Karnataka tourism for being the most travelled destination. Coorg is a perfect place for both shorter or longer duration trips. You can easily keep 2-3 days, if you are planning for a trip to Coorg.

It was the British Planter community who affectionately coined the term ‘The Scotland of India’ for Coorg. Most of the planters were Scots and the uncanny similarities between both places earned Coorg that nickname. Also like Scotland, Coorg is mountainous, misty and cool.

Places that we visited:

Madikeri:

If you’re in Coorg, most likely you’ll find yourself in Madikeri at some point. Madikeri is a beautiful hill station and the headquarters of Coorg.

Bylakuppe (A little Tibet)(Tibetan Monastery Golden Temple):

In the midst of all the coffee and forest is a surprising little Tibetan settlement in the form of Bylakuppe. Around 40 km southwards of Madikeri, the Namdroling monastery is located in Bylakuppe. It is built on the land donated to the Tibetian refugees by the Government of India. This is the second largest Tibetan settlement after Dharmsala. The interior of the temple has some of the largest and most fascinating Buddha statues.

Raja Seat:

The sunset amidst the mountains is the most mesmerizing sight from Raja Seat. There is also a garden with loads of flowers which makes it even more beautiful.

Mandalpatti 4 Wheel Drive Jeep Safari:

This is something that you should definitely do if you’re in this area. Another instance , when I really became a big fan of Mahindra Vehicles. The road trip from Madikeri to Mandalpatti is a nature lover’s dream come true. It will also arouse the interests of any adventure seeking traveller. Mandalapatti viewpoint is 20 KMS away from Madikeri. You can drive till Mandalpatti checkpoint in any car, but from thereon you have to hire a forest department Jeep. The jeep will take you through the narrow roads, hairpin bends, coffee gardens and of course the Abbey Falls to a hill which is incredibly beautiful.

Dubare Elephant Camp:

If you get your timing right, you can even participate in the bathing, scrubbing and feeding of the elephants in the Dubare camp.

Omkareshwara Temple:

Structured in the Gothic and Islamic architectural styles, Omkareshwara temple is devoted to Lord Shiva. It is open all days of the week and takes just an hour to view the entire temple. There is a huge water tank with fishes which makes the place even more beautiful. At the entrance, there is a copper plate that explains the temple’s history. Omkareshwar Temple is at a walking distance from Raja’s Seat

Other Attractions Nearby: (within 50 kms)

• Coffee plantation tours
• Thadiyandamol (42 Kms)
• Madikeri Fort (18 kms)
• Chelavara Falls (40 Kms)
• Harangi Dam (32 kms)
• Kopatty Hills (40 kms)
• Chettalli (14 Kms)
• Chiklihole Reservoir (22 kms)
• Talacauvery (50 kms)
• Somwarpet (50 kms)

Food:

If you are a foodie, don’t forget to taste some Coorg food (Pork and Home made Wine). Personal recommendation would be try some varieties of pork especially Pork Fry + Rice balls or Pandhi Curry + Rice. We tried 2 restaurants ‘East End Hotel’ and ‘Coorg Cuisine’. Both of them were good.

Accommodation:

There are lot of excellent homestays and resorts in Coorg.

Also you can look for more costly options like Tamara, Windflower Resort, Vivanta By Taj and so on.

We stayed in Bird of Paradise (Home Stay). Overall the Home stay was good. Probably one of the very few home stays having a swimming pool. Please don’t expect any hill top view .There are some very good paintings on the trees within the campus. This is very near to Buddhist Monastery.

Another place that we stayed was Sri Venkateshwara residency, Madikeri. Location of the hotel is nice, It is situated in the ghat road from Madikeri and is little far from the city center.

How to get there:

By Air: Mangalore Airport is about 150 kilometers away and is the nearest airport to Coorg.

By Bus: Mangalore, Mysore and Bengaluru have daily bus (KSRTC deluxe buses) services going to and from Coorg.

By Train: 100 kilometers away, Mysore Railway station is the closest to Coorg.

Self Drive: Fly to Bengaluru and drive to Coorg. A 5 hour journey and a delightful road trip.

We would suggest reaching the place by around 10 AM, so that there won’t be much crowd.

If possible, avoid holidays and weekends.

While entering the gate, left side will be safari journey and right side will lead you to the zoo. First complete the safari as the wait time for safari will increase during the course of the day.

The most important part of the whole trip is the safari.

Safari is well organised. You will be asked to wait for your turn in various waiting sheds. You will be asked to get into a bus accordingly.

To prevent the animal attack, Safari is normally done using fully covered mini bus (operated by the Forest department).

The safari bus will start once the seating capacity is full. The side windows have grills but there are openings to put a camera and/or binocular. The front of the bus has wider grill-less windows, but that front right side seat is usually blocked by the bus staff (helper). Sometimes the helper in the bus will offer someone a seat and the expectation is that they will be given a good tip at the end of this trip. My relative was also trapped in this and he had to pay around 100 rupees. The large area that the safari takes you through is fenced and there are entry/exits to different portions of the safari (lion safari, tiger safari, bear safari etc). It takes about an hour as they stop whenever they see animals.

The ride was about an hour. We got a chance to see deer, rein deer, bears, elephants, lions, tigers, white tigers, very closely. People of all age group would certainly love this safari.

Once the safari is completed, they will drop you at the Butterfly park and then you can visit the zoo later on. There is nothing special about the zoo but the butterfly park is amazing.

The butterfly park was conceptualized as one integrated center that would support education, conservation and research activities.

I have heard that there are boat rides available within the park, but I haven’t gone gone for it.

The detailed tariff can be found below. I would suggest booking the ticket online, so that you can avoid the rush.

There is a lot of parking space available near the main gate. Off course there is a small parking fees aswell.

There is a public bus stand just at the entrance of the Park. There are lot of bus service (like 365, 366, 368) from various parts of the city to this place, which make it easy for people to visit the park, even if they don’t have their own vehicle.

The following needs some improvement:

Properly organise the parking area.

Properly organise the ticketing areas. There are lot of confusions.

Toilets needs more maintenance.