From the top of Barkana falls

As it happens with every trek, the initial excited talks and chit-chat had slowly died down. We had been trekking for more than an hour and the Sun was raising steadily. The long canopy provided us the much-needed shade along the trek. Narasimha Parvatha, that’s where we were hiking. Climbing from Mallandur (Agumbe side), our plan was to reach the Narasimha Parvatha peak, and then get down to Kigga on the other side (near Sringeri) the same day.

We had formed a beeline along the path, following the person in front. Only noise around were of rustling & crunching as we walked on the dry leaves and bird calls around us & someone among us trying to imitate once in a while. That’s when we heard the noise – water flowing in the wilderness. We were happy that we could take a break and spend some time by the stream. Within no time our guide was mobbed by us and there was only one demand – take us to the water. His response made us double happy as it was not just a stream, but a water fall. It was not just any water fall, but Barkana falls.

Barkana falls is one of the top ten water falls of India in terms of heights. It is even bigger than the mighty Jog falls by 20 feet, with a total height of 850 feet or 259 meters. Our speed doubled, excitement grew as the sound of water increased as we neared the falls. Out of the blue appeared a stream flowing below the green canopy. We were confused as there was no waterfalls but just a stream. Our guide understood our confusion and pointed towards the far end which looked like a big window giving view to the mountains on the other side. We were more confused, and it took us some more time to realize that we were on top of the Barkana falls and not the base. We hopped over the stones, waded along the water to reach the cliff and a beautiful view which words cannot describe welcomed us. It was overwhelming that we were standing on top of one of the top ten waterfalls in India and the view down was dizzying, and certainly it’s not the place for the people with acrophobia.

Though I’ve visited Jog falls and enjoyed the view from the top of the falls, the view from the top of Barkana falls beats the view from Jog falls hands down. The access to the view from the top of Barkana falls is along the stream, where the green canopy gives a very small window to enjoy the view. Probably, this different point of view makes the view much more special. After spending an hour or so, a quick-lunch and a bit of resting, we reluctantly started from the place. Now that I’ve had a view from the top of Barkana, next visit is to get a glimpse and possibly a dip under the same awesome water fall.