Gokak Falls, Gokarna, Murudeshwara, Jog Falls

Day 1 : Gokak Falls, Gokarna

On July 2nd 2013, we started by train to Hubli. From Hubli we went to Gokak. Our hotel manager told us that there is not much water in the falls. So, our trip started with a slight disappointment. Anyway we had traveled for 3.5 hours to get a glimpse of the falls, so we had no choice but to retire for the night. The next morning, we went to the falls. The kids were excited to walk on the hanging bridge over the falls.


We had no idea of the surprise that awaited us on the other end of the bridge. We saw a few people enjoying the view from a view point far away. As we approached them, we saw the most beautiful rainbow at the foot of the falls. The drop of the falls sending a mist upwards, the sun rays penetrating them and making the rainbow was such a heavenly sight. I had seen a rainbow after a long long time and it was simply superb. 

Our next destination was supposed to be Murudeshwara. It was about 6 hours from Gokak. Luckily we approached Murudeshwara before sunset, so we took a slight detour to Gokarna to visit the holy temple. The pujari allowed us to touch the aathma linga and we offered our prayers. Our next stop was Om Beach. We were just in time to see the last rays of the sun in the horizon. It was very beautiful but we didn't know that it is a dangerous beach. Luckily we didn't go into the waters due to lack of time. The rocks on the beach were very different and we took a small souvenir home. 

Day 2 : Murudeshwara, Jog falls

By night we reached Murudeshwara. Our cab driver took us to a splendid hotel, RNS Residency. It was a surprise to all of us when we realised that the hotel is on the shores of the Arabian Sea. We had an amazing view from the balcony of our room. We enjoyed good food with the sea roaring in the background. The next day we woke up to a heavy drizzle with very few people on the beach. I was hoping to watch the sunrise over the water but it being a cloudy day, there was no chance at all. We visited the temple below the 134 ft statue of Lord Shiva. This is the tallest statue of Lord Shiva in the world. There was also a wonderfully sculpted depiction of Bhookailash mythological story. Hats off to the sculptors who captured even expressions of the characters in great detail. Opposite to the statue is an 18 storey gopura with an elevator to reach the top. From there we get an aerial view of Murudeshwara and the amazing beach.

Next we went to Jog Falls, a 2 hour drive from Murudeshwara along a 40 km ghat road stretch. The Western Ghats are very scenic with dense forestation and tiny streams coming down from the mountains everywhere. The destination itself was the second highlight of our trip, with four waterfalls side by side. The fickle minded rainfall failed to dampen the tourists' spirit. At times heavy fog covered the falls but it went away as fast as it came.

While returning we had to take a different route via Sirsi, Wagdera, Maligi and Belgaum. It was a lovely drive  with occasional rainfall. I never knew that driving in the rain was so much fun. Near Wagdera I spotted a spotted antelope beside the road. It was sitting so still, watching the passing vehicles, that at first I thought its just a statue. Too bad I couldn't take a picture of it.

Overall this trip was filled with lot of fun and a few surprises thrown in as a bonus!!

                                                   By

                                      Suchitra...