Hogenhakkal Falls

Ok...So I've been busy with the city and soapy life to visit new places of late. Yes, Been working Sundays too. But ultimately some of us decided enough was enough , and paid a visit to the Niagra Falls of India, Hogenhakkal falls. Situated on the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka borders, the river Cauvery has chosen this spot to make its presence felt on earth and how! Just a sneak preview before I start from the beginning

The river in full flow

Located about 160 km from Bangalore, this is a good 3.5 hours drive from Bangalore. Ideal for a road trip, the trick is to take your own vehicle or book a cab (Round trip would cost about Rs.4000 including the insane amount of tolls for a 6-9 seater). The road is really nice, and would be a pleasant drive and there are two options. If you are looking at a rustic tour through a well maintained, winding state highway, a good option is to take NH7 till Hosur, and then reach via Rayakottai. If you are looking to set the speed records straight, you can zoom through NH7 till Dharmapuri and head towards the falls from there. I would recommend the latter if you are in a hurry and want options (read McDonalds and CCD) other than the authentic South Indian joints. I would also recommend carrying a good music collection to help set a relaxing mood in the car.

The cuisine I noticed were the freshly caught fish in the Cauvery waters, which were being sold at every corner

If you are a vegetarian, however, I would recommend carrying your food along.

Obviously, having a good group helps to enjoy the beauty of the place with the company of great friends. However, with plenty of masseurs and the audio-visual treat of the waters falling rhythmically, relaxing your senses its not a bad option for taking a day off on your own too.

The unique boats, which are shaped liked the royal kadais of the erstwhile royal kitchens can upto 7 people and are a must do here. You can also request for the boat handler to rotate the boats at full speed, which he will do at the cost of some extra tips (and giddiness if you're not upto it!)

The Teppas

The Tamil Nadu side of the waterfalls is where the majority of the bathing takes places, and though its wonderful to enjoy a natural Jacuzzi, it CAN get a little disconcerting to see scores of not exactly the fittest people almost fully naked. This along with the innumerate minuscule but annoying "Entrance Fees" and the extremely hot weather were the only negatives in an otherwise perfect outing. The falls were unique for their diversity; it seemed like the river had split into many small parts to enjoy different types of plunges, and hugged each other with a great degree of cheer again, not unlike family members who go off to work in the morning and meet at night!

The Tamil Nadu side of the Hogenhakkal Falls

Next stop was the Karnataka side of the falls, the unique feature here being the immense volume of water gushing down. The rocks here had crevices, and they were also not spared by the fury of the water.Abhishek and I decided to step down from the concrete walkway which led to a good view of the falls to being three feet away from being a part of the falls by trudging through moss-covered stones wedged in the water. However after reaching here we found ourselves face to face with utopia. It was at this moment that everything else seemed so insignificant, just the water, its melody, and you could be enchanted for hours.

The Karnataka side of the Hogenhakkal falls

There was a perfect rainbow to add to this picturesque setting as well! It was so easy to get lost and lose all track of time. However, like all good things, the time here was coming to an end as we were informed by our group. We slowly trudged back to them; however, that moment will forever be entrenched in our minds.

The season to visit the falls is during Summers. We came at a time when the water levels were very high and hence stayed on the high waters. If that's not the case, I was told that the boats even venture in the canyons below! In my opinion, this is a great option for a day trip from Bengaluru. 

A small treat in HD for the connoisseurs

P.S. Some knowledge of Kannada/Tamil within the group would be helpful.

Special thanks for the trip - Abhinav Narula, Abhishek Haritwal, Gaganjot Singh, Pavan Mangal and Shikohi Agarwal

Special Thanks for the Photos and Video - Pavan Mangal