Sunday, July 22, 2012

Another Unplanned Trip - Jog Falls & GoKarna Beach

Last year we went to DudhSagar without any planning. This year it was Gokarna beach and Jog falls. Again the only thing that was planned was return bus tickets.
Gagan, Vidhu, Sarat, Rafeeque, Kartik, Me & Arpit (Sameer is taking this snap)

Day-0 
Bus journey from Hyderabad to Hubali
After filling our selves with lots of Pav bhaji, we boarded the bus. Now if you are travelling by bus to or from Hyderabad and you are not a fan of telugu movies, carrying a music player is a must. And as soon as I switched on mine, it said Battery Exhausted. But to my relief and to everyone's surprise, 3 Idiots was played in the bus. A lot of noisy, funny discussions and leg pulling made the bus journey memorable.

Day-1
From Hubli to Gokarna
We reached hubli around 6 AM. Asked around and found out that we have to board another bus for Ankola (~3 hours) and from there another bus to Gokarna (~ 40 mins). The bus journey was beautiful. It slowly took us out from the busy city streets to beautiful landscapes. Some of the views were simply breathtaking.


No words
On the way to Gokarna
Beach Hopping
The moment we reached Om beach, we realized why its called so.

Om beach
The view there was beautiful, calm and serene. There were few eateries, tattoo parlors and cottages around. After a quick beer and some photography, we jumped inside the sea for some fun.
The Sea

Me

Sameer
And then we decided that we are going to trek our way through muddy and rocky terrains to other beaches (Half moon beach & Paradise beach).  We asked some people around, and they directed us to the trails that we need to follow to get to the other beaches. The trek provided some of the most beautiful views of the sea. And after sometime we arrived at the half moon beach.
Eye Candy

Soothing

Walk away from your daily routine

Relax, Recharge and Enjoy
We resumed our trek for Paradise beach after spending some time at the half moon beach. After walking for about an hour we realized that we are not reaching any where. And there came a point where all we wanted was to get out of the forest before it got dark. For the 1st time we realized trekking without a local or experienced person might be risky.

Luckily after some time, we met some people who told us we have missed the trail and actually heading towards Gokarna town rather than the Paradise beach. And we decided its better for us to go to the town as it was already getting late.  After walking for another 2 hrs (may be because we missed many more trails) finally we reached the town. And we realized, its a town with lots of temples and people live a very simple life here.

Preparation for Jog Falls
We wanted to spend the night as close to Jog falls as possible, so that we can spend the maximum time there. Hence we decided to board another bus to Kumta rather than spending the night at Gokarna.
Once we reached Kumta, we asked around and found out that buses for Jog falls leaves at 7 in the morning. We found a nice lodge near the bus station and spend the night there.

Day-2
Bus journey to Jog falls
Another beautiful and scenic journey took us to the mighty Jog falls. This kind of journey makes you think you should be travelling by a private cab rather than public transport. You feel like stopping every now and then and get lost in the nature's beauty. It was raining, there was mist. All you can see was green trees and cloud covered mountains at the horizon wherever the dense forest allowed.




 Jog falls
I was not expecting much from the Jog falls. But once I reached there I realized how beautiful it actually was. You have options of hiring cabs there who take you on a ride for 3 different view points along the falls.
View point at the top of the falls

The falls
As we were running short of time we decided to go to the base of the fall rather than on sight seeing. There are around 1500 steps that leads you to the the base. At the base, we plunged in ice cold water and had a great time. Its a very risky place, the stones are very slippery. And we were surprised to find no life guards there (they collect nominal charge of Rs 5 for entry). Climbing up those 1500 steps was a task in itself.

Bus journey to Shimoga
It started to rain heavily as soon as we were done with the steps. We boarded a bus to Shimoga (from here we had our return tickets to Hyderabad). The time spent in the water and our climb of 1500 steps had made us hungry. The bus stopped at a petrol pump for 5 mins and luckily we found a small hotel near by. In those 5 minutes we gulped down 6 plates of idily, 4 Parle-G biscuit packets and 13 teas.
The bus started playing some local bhajans, we all shifted ourselves to the last row, and had a blast there.

Return bus journey to Hyderabad
As soon as we boarded the last bus of our journey, we realized its going to be a tough one. And we decided we need to do something so that we can sleep in the bus. We ended up buying a Vodka bottle, mix it with Sprite and transfer it to a water bottle and carried it inside the bus. This helped us to sleep in the bus and when we got up in the morning we were in Hyderabad.

And thus another unplanned exciting weekend with a random trip came to its fitting conclusion.

38 comments:

  1. Enjoyed reading through Lalit.. with little bit of jealousy though.. :) One day we will also go .. hmmm.. 2 years later?? Unplanned to shayad kabhi nahi hoga !!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :) 2 yrs later..ok.. U plan and I ll join in Unplanned .. just let me know :P

      Delete
  2. Nice trip. Thanks for sharing your trip experience. The plethora of numerous delightful places to visit in Hyderabad ensure that travellers return with a lifetime of memories once they check out these different Hyderabad places to visit. Check out all best Hyderabad places to visit also.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Actually was planning for a trip to jog falls.. Came through ur blog and it has increased my appetite by many folds.. Superrb article bro.. If at all i have 4 days can i visit coorg?? If u have any idea pls le me know :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Actually was planning for a trip to jog falls.. Came through ur blog and it has increased my appetite by many folds.. Superrb article bro.. If at all i have 4 days can i visit coorg?? If u have any idea pls le me know :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Neeraj.. thanks for you comment.. and i ve very little idea about Coorg.. so i ll not advise on that... ve fun.. and enjoy..

      Delete
    2. Hai Neeraj,
      Coorg can be completed in 4,days.
      1 day for Madikeri and Talakaveri ( Karnataka tourism conducted tour)
      Next day can be used for Nisargadhama, Bylakuppe Tibet temple , and Dubbare Elephant camp.
      Then you may move to northern part of coorg.sakleshpur and chikmagalur area.

      3rd day can be used for visiting areas around Sakleshpur ..like Hommandu lake, pushpagiri hills, and few waterfalls in the area
      4th day you can plan to cover areas around Chikmagalur..like baba budan hills and waterfalls around the area.
      You may need to hire a cab for day 2, 3 and 4.
      You will not be tired..as you will find out that the plan is not hectic.
      I did the above plan with 9yrs and 5 yrs kids.
      Hope this will be of some help

      Delete
    3. Hai Neeraj,
      Coorg can be completed in 4,days.
      1 day for Madikeri and Talakaveri ( Karnataka tourism conducted tour)
      Next day can be used for Nisargadhama, Bylakuppe Tibet temple , and Dubbare Elephant camp.
      Then you may move to northern part of coorg.sakleshpur and chikmagalur area.

      3rd day can be used for visiting areas around Sakleshpur ..like Hommandu lake, pushpagiri hills, and few waterfalls in the area
      4th day you can plan to cover areas around Chikmagalur..like baba budan hills and waterfalls around the area.
      You may need to hire a cab for day 2, 3 and 4.
      You will not be tired..as you will find out that the plan is not hectic.
      I did the above plan with 9yrs and 5 yrs kids.
      Hope this will be of some help

      Delete
    4. Hai Neeraj,
      Coorg can be completed in 4,days.
      1 day for Madikeri and Talakaveri ( Karnataka tourism conducted tour)
      Next day can be used for Nisargadhama, Bylakuppe Tibet temple , and Dubbare Elephant camp.
      Then you may move to northern part of coorg.sakleshpur and chikmagalur area.

      3rd day can be used for visiting areas around Sakleshpur ..like Hommandu lake, pushpagiri hills, and few waterfalls in the area
      4th day you can plan to cover areas around Chikmagalur..like baba budan hills and waterfalls around the area.
      You may need to hire a cab for day 2, 3 and 4.
      You will not be tired..as you will find out that the plan is not hectic.
      I did the above plan with 9yrs and 5 yrs kids.
      Hope this will be of some help

      Delete
  5. Thank uu soo much netzen.. May b i wasnt clear with my question.. Il try to be more clear.. Il start from hyderabad and reach hubli in the morning .. Travel down to ankola.. Gokarna and finally reach closer to jog falls on the close of day 1..

    Day 2 after completing jog falls will move to chikmagalur by the close of day 2..

    Day 3 & 4 places near by chikmagalur n coorg..

    Im not at all aware of these places.. How far is this possible.. Or pls give an alternative itinerary.. Thanks in advance dude..

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank uu soo much netzen.. May b i wasnt clear with my question.. Il try to be more clear.. Il start from hyderabad and reach hubli in the morning .. Travel down to ankola.. Gokarna and finally reach closer to jog falls on the close of day 1..

    Day 2 after completing jog falls will move to chikmagalur by the close of day 2..

    Day 3 & 4 places near by chikmagalur n coorg..

    Im not at all aware of these places.. How far is this possible.. Or pls give an alternative itinerary.. Thanks in advance dude..

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ankola, Gokarna,Jog falls, chikmagalur, coorg..Hmmm. Bit ambitious..
    It all depends on the group you are in during the travel.If it is with family and kids, then better drop south part of coorg . Trying to cover entire coorg along with Gokarna will be too much of travel and less time for you to enjoy.
    You can simply concentrate on areas around chikmaglur.
    I am assuming
    1You are keen to do Ankola.Gokarna, and Jog falls
    2. you are travelling with your family
    With these assumptions, I would suggest this route.
    Night halt at Gokarna.Start to Jog falls very early in the morning.Day2.After doing Jogfalls,
    Instead of taking a highway 206 from Jogfalls, you can take forest route( pls enquire the road conditions before starting)
    Reach kollur mookabika , then Agumbe, then Sringeri ( night halt) and reach Chikmagalur by next morning.(day3)
    In and around chikmagalur like baba budan hills,mulyangiri, attegundi ,Hebbe falls the following two days..These places should be good enough.
    Note:: Do bababudan Hills very early in the morning of Day4 as the mist and cloud play is just too wonderful on the hill top.

    The logic behind leaving out south coorg..like madikeri ,Talakaveri etc is that Madikeri is easily accessible from Bangalore and can be done at any time..
    Have a great vacation..

    ReplyDelete
  8. You may do the mulyangiri, babadudan hills at the evening time as well to enjoy the mist.
    You are guaranteed of wonderful time at Hebbe falls.

    ReplyDelete
  9. You may do the mulyangiri, babadudan hills at the evening time as well to enjoy the mist.
    You are guaranteed of wonderful time at Hebbe falls.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thnqq netzen.. even i felt the same .. it would be more journey n less of relaxing.. so thought to go for gokarna, jog falls n chikmagalur.. by the way forgot to mention.. im coming with a couple of friends

    ReplyDelete
  11. Netzen can u tell me about the intermediary traveling from gokarna to shimoga n to chikmagalur n to bangalore..

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hai Neeraj,
    I have not done shimoga , chikmagalur route.
    So I don't have first hand experience.
    Hence would not like to comment.
    But from chikmagalur to Bangalore, apart from frequent buses, you can catch trains from kadur or birur.
    You have a train from kadur to secunderbad every Sunday..Chikmaglur to kadur is about 45 minutes journey by public transport buses.Lots of buses..
    Hope this should help you..

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hai Neeraj,
    I have not done shimoga , chikmagalur route.
    So I don't have first hand experience.
    Hence would not like to comment.
    But from chikmagalur to Bangalore, apart from frequent buses, you can catch trains from kadur or birur.
    You have a train from kadur to secunderbad every Sunday..Chikmaglur to kadur is about 45 minutes journey by public transport buses.Lots of buses..
    Hope this should help you..

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hiii fnds.. finally have planned to visit on 25th.. Can u pls give info abt the stay at gokarna. I find all the resorts too costly.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi nice read; could you tell me how long would it take from Jog to Kumta?
    Also, when did you visit?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi nice read; could you tell me how long would it take from Jog to Kumta?
    Also, when did you visit?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Pramit, Thanks for your post. its been long since I visited this place and off late my travels has reduced a lot. So right now, I may not be the best person to answer your queries.. Anyone else...

      Delete
  17. It was really a lovely post and your trek experience is really awesome.Thank you for sharing the information.It will be really helpful for all the travellers who are planning to travel.Book tickets in advance in the travel operators like SRM Travels,KPN travels and SRS Travels

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hey Buddy,
    Nice writ up..keep up the good work. One question though.

    What are the public transport options available to explore Jog Falls from Kumta ? Can we explore by some hike or wal from the point this public transport leaves on our way to Jog Falls ?

    Thank You.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey,
      To be honest, I dont remember which Bus we booked, but it was not difficult to find out buses once we arrived there. And as the title says, it was an unplanned trip and that too long way back :)

      Delete
    2. Thanks Buddy.
      So we can just backpack and got to Kumta and explore jog falls right ? cause i am plannig to travel solo..and on budget trip.

      Delete
  19. Great post!! Loved reading this blog. Thanks for sharing this wonderful post in this blog. Its an awesome place to visit during vacation. Make your trip to those places by booking Bus Tickets in advance to comfort your journey.

    ReplyDelete
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  21. Lovely post about your trip. Unplanned trip gives an amazing experience than planned trip. Thanks for sharing about this lovely post. Love to visit this place visit my friends. Anyone wants to explore the same try your bus ticket bookings in Online Bus Ticket Booking portal for best booking services.

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