Participants:
1. Srinivas R.
2. Chakrapani and family
3. Kapil Saxena and family
4. Wife (Chumki) and Myself
Date: 18th – 20th August, 2012
Mode of Transport: Toyota Inova
End minute discussions/inclusions and last minutes changes to the itinerary, where all to go, where to stay etc. and it was finally agreed to go to Aumgbe-Jog Falls-Murudeshwara. Lodging, did we book in advance any time before we moved to a place? We all decided that we leave Bangalore at 0500 hrs the following day.
Day 1:
45 minutes already late to what was decided. We left for our destination at 0545 hrs. So where is our first destination?
1400 hrs: Gajanur Dam
The the dam is built across the Tunga river. There is also an elephant training camp on the right hand side just a kilometer ahead of the dam, called “Sakkarebaylu”. Though we did not go this place, you can have view of the dam waters from the road side itself. With the sun playing hide and seek through the thick forest, the view of the serpentine road is awesome, as it makes it’s way through the hills with the river flowing on the left side and the forest on the right.
1500 hrs: Jogi Gundi Falls
We reached Agumbe and started to look for places where to go to. We decided to go to Jogi Gundi Falls. This is around 5 kms from the sunset point. Small road wherein in some places, only a single vehicle can pass at one time. We parked the vehicle on the base and trekked for about 500 meters to reach the falls. The whole area is barbed wired fenced. It is said that there are naxalites in there, not sure how true is this.
Once you are back from the falls, you can go down the road ahead for another 4 kms and trek for another 4 kms to have a view of the Barkana Falls. It is one of the highest falls in India.
1700 hrs: Sunset Point
An ideal place to see the sun going down at the backdrop of Arabian sea. But for us, there was no sun, nor the sea, as it covered with thick layer of clouds. It was beautiful which cannot be explained by mere words. The view of the green tree top canopy is just awesome. It is considered to be the best sunset point in Karnataka.
Day 2:
00:30 hrs: Reached Jog Falls
We reached Jog at midnight. Sagara was all too full to accommodate us. So to save time, we went ahead to Sagara. The ghat section to Jog was awesome. Visibility has dropped to about 10 ft. We moved inch by inch. Kudos to our driver for driving in such a harsh conditions.
We checked both the PWD Guest house as well as the KSTDC Guest house located at Jog Falls but was unable to find a place wherein we can re-fresh ourselves. What was left was the open sky above and the open grounds below. So be it. We all slept on the floor of a market (we came to know about that in the morning, by the sounds of brooms).
06:00 hrs: Jog Falls
Created by the Sharavathi River and falling from a height of 253 m, Jog Falls is the second highest waterfalls in India. Jog falls individually consists of four distinct falls, Raja, Roarer, Rocket and Rani, The Raja Falls pours in one unbroken column sheer to the depth of 830 ft (250 m). Halfway down it is encountered by the Roarer, another fall, which precipitates itself into a vast cup and then rushes violently downwards at an angle of forty-five degrees to meet the Raja. A third fall, the Rocket, shoots downwards in a series of jets, while the fourth, the Rani, moves quietly over the mountain side in a sheet of foam. The Tourism Department has built steps from the view point till the bottom of the hill where the waterfall can be seen at the opposite side. There are approximately 1500 steps built to reach the bottom of the hill.
10:00 hrs: Talakalale Reservoir
Water from Linganamakki dam flows to Talakalale Balancing Reservoir through a trapezoidal canal with a discharge capacity of 175.56 cumecs. The length of this channel is about 4318.40 m with a submersion of 7.77 sq. km. It has a catchment area of about 46.60 sq.km. The gross capacity of the reservoir is 129.60 cu m. Most of the submerged highland areas has formed islands wherein vegetation thrives.
We were able to take a boat ride through a round about of one such island thanks to the care taker of the dam, Mr. Venkateshan, but at some cost to our pockets.
12:00 hrs: Linganamakki Dam
Located at about 9 kms from Jog Falls, the Linganamakki dam was constructed by the Karnataka State Government in 1964. The dam spans across a catchment area of 1991 km², submerging 50.62 km² of wetland and 7 km² of dry land. The dam has a length of 2.4 km, stretching all across the Sharavathi river. There are power generation plants also which are heavily guarded.
14:00 hrs: Honnavar
Finally booked a hotel to have ourselves freshened up. A quick lunch followed by a quick bath.
16:30 hrs: Murudeshwara
While on the way to Murudeshwara, you go through Idagunji Vinayaka Devasthana, which is dedicated to Lord Ganapati.
Famous for the world’s second-tallest Shiva statue, Murudeshwara is a town in the Bhatkal Taluk of Uttara Kannada district. The statue is 123 feet (37 m) in height and took about two years to build. The place derives it’s name from the Hindu god Shiva. The 20 storied Gopura is built on the Kanduka Hill which is surrounded on three sides by the waters of the Arabian Sea.
The beach which lies just besides the temple, is beautiful. The beach runs around 200 meters into the sea. Good beach wherein you can spend the whole evening watching the sun go down by Lord Shiva. The whole place including the statue is highly illuminated.
Day 3:
09:30 hrs: Gokarna
Gokarna is a small temple town located in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka. The main deity is Lord Mahabhaleshwara, a form of the Hindu god Shiva. It is an attractive town with two main streets having shops and traditional tile-roofed brick houses. Gokarna is a hippy paradise with drums, guitars and hammocks.
Situated in the western end of the main street, The Mahabaleshwar Temple is a famous Shiva Temple and houses the ‘Atmalinga’. The idol of Lord Mahabaleshwara is called Nagabharana. It is so named becasuse of the Lord rests under the head of Naga (serpent). The floor of the hall in front has an intricate engraving of a giant tortoise.
Om Beach:
The beach got its name because it is shaped like the auspicious Om sign, a spiritual Hindu symbol. Om beach is naturally shaped. There a lot of resorts which has sprung up just besides the beach to let you spend your time relaxing watching as the sea hits the rocks.
1400 hrs: Yana
Yana is a village in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, India that is known for the unusual rock formations in its vicinity. Yana is famous for these two massive rock outcrops known as the Bhairaveshwara Shikhara and the Mohini Shikhara. The huge rocks are composed of solid black, crystalline limestone. Bhairaveshwara Shikhara is 120 metres (390 ft) in height, while the Mohini Shikhara, which is smaller, is 90 metres (300 ft) in height. Yana is also well known as a pilgrimage centre because of the cave temple below the Bhairaveshwara Shikhara where a Swayambhu linga has been formed. Water drips from the roof over the linga, adding to the sanctity of the place. A stream passes by the side of the trek route.
Day 4:
Reach back safely in Bangalore at 0400 hrs.
Thanks all my travel-mates for the wonderful trip and best wishes to Kavitha Chakrapani.
Courtesy:
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://wgbis.ces.iisc.ernet.in/energy/water/paper/Cumulative/studyarea.htm
YouTube Video:
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