When trip that we had planned and almost made a payment for got dropped at the last moment due to incessant rains, the four of us (who formed the group 'The Wolfpack' ) felt the same way, "Oh what the hell?! Let's hit the road and then decide the plan". That's how the trip started, when we only knew we were going to be in Mangalore in 2 days and the names of the places - Murudeshwara, Gokarna and Jog falls.
The bus/train tickets to Mangalore had already been booked as part of the earlier plan. Two guys from Chennai, one from Bangalore and one from Hyderabad started on a Thursday evening to Mangalore. It was getting greener as we were nearing Mangalore with the monsoons and the numerous bridges across the wide rivers and back-waters were just adding to the beauty of the place.
The first of us to reach rented out a room for a cheap 400 bucks to freshen up in a place called Ganesh Mahal which is an old lodge closer to the PVS circle (near the railway station). After the second of us joined, we went hunting for taxis to hire and managed to get an indica.
We started from the lodge while it was still raining cats and dogs at 3PM and we planned to stop by at Murudeshwara take a few snaps and halt at Gokarna in the night. But we ended up staying at Murudeshwara, thank the monsoons!
It was off-season and people were thronging us to take rooms in their lodges. We found a very affordable one by the beach. 300 bucks for a very decent double room with neat toilets and 100 buck rooms for the drivers.
We woke up at 5:30 next morning to take a photo walk on the beach and then went to the temple and took some beautiful snaps which were much talked about and admired. The temple tower has a lift - for a Rs.10 ticket, you can go to the 14th floor of the tower and have a breath-taking view of the statue and the beach.
We had a very good breakfast and started from Murudeshwara at around 9:30 - rains again, we managed to reach Om beach, Gokarna at around 12:00. The only luck we had throughout the trip was that, whenever we reached our spot, the rains had mercy on us and took a break until we got back into the car.
There was a small restaurant by name 'Namaste Cafe' by the beach. We only got what was on the breakfast menu at 12:00. Food was good - some french toast, potatoes, omelette and fruit salad. Alcohol is served at the place. We spent some time at the beach after the food and enjoyed the weather. At around 14:30 we started our drive to Jog falls.
Then one of us suggested we take the steps that was going down our hill and see the waterfall from a closer distance. After around 15 minutes of descent and tiredness, someone on his way up said "You've only covered quarter of the distance, but do go down, it's totally worth it."
It was 18:35 and was almost dark when we were at the foot of the hill. We were absolutely awestruck at the sight of the majestic falls, roaring and spraying the water on us. We couldn't reach get to stand below the falls due to the slippery rocks and the big stream between the two hills.We had a tea at the only stall there which was sadly polluting the place with the littering.
We started climbing back at around 18:50 and by the time two of us reached the top it was 19:45 and it was pitch-dark and with some difficulty, we spotted our car. Two others who had difficulties in climbing reached the top at 20:15. It could've easily been around than 1500 steps. There was a laser-show on the top, about Shimoga and the tourism around there. We joined it late and started back around 20:45 to Shimoga.
More Snaps of the trip at:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.397070387015609.106151.394892263900088&type=3
Take aways:
Food and drink:
Day 1
Mangalore - Murudeshwara
The bus/train tickets to Mangalore had already been booked as part of the earlier plan. Two guys from Chennai, one from Bangalore and one from Hyderabad started on a Thursday evening to Mangalore. It was getting greener as we were nearing Mangalore with the monsoons and the numerous bridges across the wide rivers and back-waters were just adding to the beauty of the place.
The first of us to reach rented out a room for a cheap 400 bucks to freshen up in a place called Ganesh Mahal which is an old lodge closer to the PVS circle (near the railway station). After the second of us joined, we went hunting for taxis to hire and managed to get an indica.
We started from the lodge while it was still raining cats and dogs at 3PM and we planned to stop by at Murudeshwara take a few snaps and halt at Gokarna in the night. But we ended up staying at Murudeshwara, thank the monsoons!
It was off-season and people were thronging us to take rooms in their lodges. We found a very affordable one by the beach. 300 bucks for a very decent double room with neat toilets and 100 buck rooms for the drivers.
Day 2
Murudeshwara
We woke up at 5:30 next morning to take a photo walk on the beach and then went to the temple and took some beautiful snaps which were much talked about and admired. The temple tower has a lift - for a Rs.10 ticket, you can go to the 14th floor of the tower and have a breath-taking view of the statue and the beach.
Gokarna
We had a very good breakfast and started from Murudeshwara at around 9:30 - rains again, we managed to reach Om beach, Gokarna at around 12:00. The only luck we had throughout the trip was that, whenever we reached our spot, the rains had mercy on us and took a break until we got back into the car.
There was a small restaurant by name 'Namaste Cafe' by the beach. We only got what was on the breakfast menu at 12:00. Food was good - some french toast, potatoes, omelette and fruit salad. Alcohol is served at the place. We spent some time at the beach after the food and enjoyed the weather. At around 14:30 we started our drive to Jog falls.
Jog Falls
After a long drive in the lashing rains again we entered the forest zone around 17:00 and when we were at the waterfall it was 17:30. With the rains getting heavier, people were taking shelter in a small hall there. At 18:00, when the rains were finally done with us, we took a few snaps of the falls which was on the other hill.
Then one of us suggested we take the steps that was going down our hill and see the waterfall from a closer distance. After around 15 minutes of descent and tiredness, someone on his way up said "You've only covered quarter of the distance, but do go down, it's totally worth it."
It was 18:35 and was almost dark when we were at the foot of the hill. We were absolutely awestruck at the sight of the majestic falls, roaring and spraying the water on us. We couldn't reach get to stand below the falls due to the slippery rocks and the big stream between the two hills.We had a tea at the only stall there which was sadly polluting the place with the littering.
Shimoga
We stopped at a town called Sagar and had a very good dinner. It was around 23:00 when we reached Shimoga. We had a train booked at 06:20 to Bangalore, so we thought of finding a lodge closer to the railway station. It was 23:30 when we reached the station and all the nearby lodges were booked. So we had to take one closer to the bus-stand. We checked in at 00:00 and paid him 600 bucks for a double room and extra beds. The trip concluded as we boarded the SMET SBC EXP and headed for Bangalore.More Snaps of the trip at:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.397070387015609.106151.394892263900088&type=3
Take aways:
- Do not travel to these places in monsoon unless you are willing to be patient for the mercy of rains - if you are, then you will capture some of the best beach pictures.
- Murudeshwara will be at it's best in the early morning hours
- Plan for at least 2 days for Gokarna - so you can cover all the 4 beaches - we did only one.
- Those who aren't comfortable with climbing steps - do not dare to get to the foot of Jog falls - You might regret half way.
- The roads are bad all through Mangalore - Murudeshwara - Gokarna
Food and drink:
- Try the "chow-chow bath" while you're in Karnataka.
- Yes, you get alcohol at Murudeshwara too.
- We missed the fish at Gokarna - tell us if you get to taste it.
