Biking around Jog falls

We were tired, after trekking over 25 kilometers in two days. Just when we were about to call it a day, Bharath (my sister-in-law’s brother) asked whether we want to join him to the nearby temple. We were about to say no, but changed our minds, as the temple is inside the power generation plant in Jog. Access to that place is restricted and is allowed only for local people. It was half an hour’s drive to the temple along almost deserted, along winding roads. The view along was amazing. We roamed around the temple, which was getting ready for a religious event the next day. The temple is right beside the backwaters of Sharavathi river. We reached home by 8PM. The dinner was waiting for us. Soon after a delicious food, we surrendered to sleep.

The next day started early, and we were in for the long day. My sister-in-law’s house is amidst fields, and we roamed for more than an hour, enjoying nature. And then went for a walk, eating a mouthful of jamoon fruit (plums). Then a quick bath, breakfast, a visit to a nearby friend’s house (my colleague Pradeep’s house). Pradeep’s brother Prashanth (a namesake) was expecting us. A cup of tea and we started towards Jog falls on bikes. Prashanth and Srikanth on Prashanth’s bike and I took Mahaveer’s bike (My SIL’s younger brother).

We had multiple stops on the way to Jog falls, taking lots of stops for photos sessions. We had plans of first going to the top of the falls and also to the foot. Standing at the top of the falls and looking down 900 ft was making me dizzy. It was a mesmerizing view from there. People playing in water down below were smaller than ants. We spent a good hour there, enjoying the view. And then back on steeds, riding towards the other end to trek down to the foot of the falls. After parking our bikes, we started trekking down on a hot summer noon. 40 minutes, we were down at the bottom. There is a huge difference in looking down from the top of the falls and looking up from the bottom. The latter one makes you humble and gives an inferiority complex of good-for-nothing-human-being, which is true. But both views are amazing. We sat there silently, facing the drizzles from the falls. And moved our position under the falls 🙂

After a refreshing bath and an hour’s exhausting climb, we emptied two tumblers of masala sodas each. Rode back home & reached by 4PM. After a heavy lunch, we got readied for our return journey. Got into a bus which took us to Shimogga from Kargal via Sagar. We waited for almost for an hour in Shimogga for the bus as it was completely crowded. Finally got into a Bangalore bound KSRTC bus. Around 3.45 in the morning I got down at Tumkur while Srik continued to Bangalore. After waiting for an hour and donating half liter of blood to mosquitoes, I flagged down a truck. Hitched ride till Kunigal to reach home by 6AM.

So that was the end of a long weekend. Let me take a break and come back with more travel stories. Till then, enjoy the rains with a cup of coffee 🙂