Om Beach, Gokarna

Jog Falls - Gokarna - Murudeshwara

• The landlocked Om beach is the place to stay in Gokarna. Two more beaches are adjacent although less fun - Kudle beach & Gokarna main beach.
• Namaste Cafe is famous for seafood and fresh juices although everything else is equally tasty. The place even has few rooms for stay although you need to book in advaance.
• Murudeshwara and Jog Falls are a day trip from here. Both can be covered if one starts early. Mudureshwara holds the largest Mahadev statue while Jog is the tallest waterfall in India.

The bright morning sun was blazing in front of us when we reached Namaste Cafe Hotel in Gokarna. Earlier we had booked SRS Travels Sleeper bus from Bangalore and the journey was not disappointing. Namaste Cafe is located right on the Om beach but to reach here either you have to trek 3 miles or pay 150 bucks to the autowala.

Gokarna Main Beach

Srirangapatna

Trip: Bangalore > Ramnagaram > Srirangapatna >  Mysore >  Bandipur >  Mudumalai >  Ooty >  Coonoor >  Bangalore

Srirangapatna is a small diversion on Bangalore-Mysore highway and so we took it on our way out from Mysore. The geography of this fort city hints why Tipu Sultan moved his capital here. It is a natural island created by forking of river Kauveri.

3 Points @ Srirangapatna Tourist Map

Ooty

Trip: Bangalore > Ramnagaram > Srirangapatna >  Mysore >  Bandipur >  Mudumalai >  Ooty >  Coonoor >  Bangalore

At 8 we started afresh for Ooty. Road till Mysore was heavy on traffic possibly due to long weekend and the famous Dasara celebrations in this royal city. We hit Bandipur at 2. First 10 miles were the scenic National Park territory through which NH67 passes. At Masinagudi we took left for Ooty. Although it' a steep ghat road, it is still shorter than the alternate Gudalur route.

View from Dodda Betta peak

Chikmagalur

Shravanbelgola - Chikmagalur - Belur - Halebidu

This time we were more planned than last time. An advance booking at hotel and a bottle of scotch in the car was there before we started. It was a short and eventless ride that we took to the western Karnataka.

View from edge of Yagachi Dam@Chikmagalur

Jog Falls

Jog Falls - Gokarna - Murudeshwara

• Best time to visit Jog Falls is during monsoon but on a weekday. Weekends are generally crowded and security around the fall is enhanced.
• There are very few options of accommodation around. Best way is to cover Jog Falls during a circuit of Gokarna and make a day trip to this place, Shimoga is nearest city with few hotels.
• Visiting the Jog Falls from other direction is unofficially possible, We didn't explore it. Going down the fall is strictly prohibited.

We started our trip to Jog Falls without much planning.  It was a mistake. Although we had a blast in the eventful way this trip turned up, not to forget the super lush greenery of Konkan region, we did  learn few hard lessons on the way. To begin with the only good stopover on way is a CCD some hundred miles from Bangalore.

Behind a veil of clouds@Jog Falls