PAYANIGA

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Somavathi falls is a very small but dangerous waterfall near Mullodi village. The falls is not more than 8 or 10ft height but very slippery. Each one of us who got under the water slipped at least once. Though it was fun, one fell down and gave back a piece of his teeth to the nature. We sat down under the water slipping & sliding, waiting for turns while others were slipping & sliding.

A late lunch of chappathis & teplas after a refreshing bath. And then we spent a quality time listening to gurgling water, bird songs (especially the long whistle of Malabar Whistling-thrush. We came back refreshed & recharged to Sathish’s house (home-stay) where we stayed for the night. We played disk throwing & cricket till dark. And then it was round of leg-pulling & general chit-chat. After a nice dinner, we slipped into our sleeping bags & a sound sleep.

In case you are not interested in trekking & just want to have a dip in Somavathi falls, you can hire a jeep from Samse village to Mullodi. Have fun and come back same day. Or else, you can stay at Sathish’s place which is a non-commercial homestay. Sathish’s family are very hospitable & friendly. If you plan to stay there, you can call Sathisha & make arrangements in advance – 08263 249595.

Continued – trek to peak

Related links:

• Waterfalls of Karnataka visited in 2007
• Trekking in Western Ghats – Sharavathi valley
• Mallalli falls near Somawarapet

There now -

And gone next moment, hidden by the mist -

Place:

Mallalli falls, Kumaradhara river, around 30 KMs from Somawarapet and approximately 275 KMs from Bangalore.

Best thing to beat the heat in summer, is to just sit under a waterfall. This summer I got chance to visit & sit under 5 falls in a span of two months and all of them situated in western ghats. Here goes the list of them -

#1 Mookana mane Abbi fallsFirst dip of the year during our weekend bike trip around Sakaleshpur. Falls is not too high & water is not too deep. Just perfect. Perfect to get a free body massage. And my personal favorite.

#2 Bheemeshwara falls

We were there at the wrong time. Water was coming down as if someone forgot to stop the kitchen tap. Still to beat the heat, we sat under falls with water falling on us drop by drop. By the explanations from others who had visited earlier, I plan to visit it post monsoon.

#3 Dabbe fallsAn amazing falls, water jumping from a height of 300 ft. And only one & difficult path to reach it. Totally different experience when compared to Mookana mane falls. There it was body massage session and here it was acupuncture session. :)

#4 Jog FallsHighest water falls in India, falling from a height of 900ft. Again here also water was less when we visited, which gave us an option to sit under the falls. Arun has a beautiful picture of Jog captured in monsoon

#5 Somavathi fallsSmallest in the list & the place where we had more fun. The falls was just 8-10ft height, but slippery. Everyone who got into water fell down at least once. Step ahead, slip down, have a good laugh and wait for others to step ahead & fall. This cycle went on for whole time we were in water. This falls is near Mullodi village, on the trek path to Kuduremukha peak starting from Basurikallu gate.

Let me add a last one to the list, the one which I visited in December 2006 – Soochippara falls in Wayanad, Kerala.

Monsoon is in its full fury. Most of the water falls are going to be full and wild in few days. It’s time to sit at a far & safe distance and watch them roaring.

We were tired. Trek of 25KMs in todays. Just when we were about to call it a day, Bharath (my sister-in-law’s brother) asked whether we want 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 twisty roads. View along was amazing. Roamed around the temple which was getting ready for a function next day. Reached home by 8PM. Dinner and soon we surrundered to sleep.

Next day started early and we were ready for the long day. My sister-in-law’s house is amidst fields and we roamed for an hour enjoying nature. And then went for a walk, eating mouthful of jamoon fruit (plums). Then a quick bath, breakfast, a visit to near by 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 & Srikanth on Prashanth’s bike and me on Mahaveer’s bike (My SIL’s younger brother).

Bird’s eye view – at top og Jog fallsTaking lots of stops for photos sessions, we reached Jog falls. 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 their 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 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 litre of blood to musquitos, 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 :)