Jog Falls - Natural beauty

Location: Jog Falls, Karnataka, India

Date: Oct 30th and Nov 1st, 2019

To get there: [Click here for Google Map].
From Bangalore, it is connected by Train and Bus. Driving takes around 6 hours on pretty good roads for the most part.

Trail type: This is a tourist spot. We did not trek in the proper sense. However, the main Mayura viewpoint of the falls is well developed and managed by the tourism department.  One can walk among the ramps to get different views at the top. For the fit and adventurous, they have constructed steps, 1388 in total, to reach the foot of the falls. This, in essence, was our "trek". The stair access is only from 9am to 4pm. Allocate 2 hours or more for this option to have a pleasant experience. The other public viewpoint at the British Bungalow side also has some ramps to walk around and gives a different perspective of the falls.

Facilities: Restaurants and small shops are present. Public restrooms are also there though we did not use it. HDFC ATM booth is also there. Plenty of car parking at both viewpoints.

It was disheartening for me to not have visited Jog Falls since my school days. That finally came to an end when we had to attend a family function at Shimoga to which we added a one-night stay-over near the falls. The Falls is about 100 kilometers from Shimoga and takes 2 hours drive time.

Our aim was to leave Bangalore by 6am and we missed it by 30 mins, even though packing was just dumping all our clothes and snacks into the car! Note that there are not many eating places on this route after Tumkur. We ended up eating at a small roadside restaurant in Hosadurga, which surprisingly had good Masala Dosa. Lunch was at Sagar 1 hr before the falls at a riverside hotel. Unfortunately, there was no bird activity on the lake. On the way back from Shimoga, we were recommended a much better hotel near Tarikere called Aramane.

View from Mayura

Gray or Hanuman Langur with a better view!

There were not many spots on the way either where we could do some roadside birding. So, we reached the Falls at the expected time of 2.30pm. Since the weather was fine, we just checked in and immediately headed towards the main viewpoint at Mayura Hotels. It is well managed here with ample parking space though I am guessing, it may overflow on popular days.

It was just after 3pm and we inquired about the steps to go down to the foot of the falls. We were told that the pathway closes by 4pm. So, after taking in a quick glance at the falls we hurried over to the steps. Its a total of 1380! but undaunted we started down fast. However, rain played the spoilsport and at about 80% down, we had to surrender and head back up. Our plan was to return the next day.

Clouds coming across

Stairs to the base

As we were told the route will be open for public at 9am, we started out first birding near our resort around 7am and then drove to British Bungalow for the fall views. Here also there are nice viewpoints and you can see and hear Roarer up close. However, the other falls are partially or fully hidden. We then drove on to the Mayura viewpoint (around 2 km) and started down the steps at 9am prompt as soon as the guard opened it. These 2 guards will go down and stay until the closing time at 4pm to prevent any untoward incidents. This time the descent was more leisurely and we enjoyed the views along the way. Birding wise, we were given a spectacular posing by Asian Fairy Bluebird which sat and posed for few mins just a few feet in front of us. Mountain imperial pigeon and small minivets were also seen.

Resting in gazebo at the start of the steps

At the bottom, they have created a small enclosure where one can wade in water from a small runoff falls. No one is allowed close to the bigger ones. We were told that when the falls are in full flow, the water will spray all the way to the enclosure. It was not the case for us as the flow was restricted. We spent about an hour there before heading up. We spotted only Pigeons and Egrets here. The Rock pigeons were perched in rock crevices naturally unlike their urban friends (or cousins?) who prefer the man-made tall structures. Hundreds of them if observed carefully tended to fly out in a flock once in a while.

It was a great trip and we were finally happy to have seen Jog Falls in all its beauty and take in the wonderful nature around it.

Bird list:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S61921322

At the base of the falls