JOG EXTRAVAGANZA-2013

When Jog falls comes roaring down the hills in Western Ghats in monsoon, you can not see the sky.

The area will be mist filled and you will see an array of beautiful rainbows. You can see the glory of the falls when the mist clears. This is only during the monsoon months of July and August.

On other months, it is trickle down the huge rocky precipice. With blue sky in the background it is still beautiful as water tumble down.

When my friend at Jog called, that the Linganamakki Dam is Full, they are releasing the water through the Crest gates, hurry up and come over immediately, then I called My friend Harish at Friday the the 2nd Aug 2013 at 9pm he was ready and decided to leave bangalore on next day morning 6 am along with Viraj and Srinivasa Rao, and another Viswa joined at Shimoga. The roads were pretty decent and we were covering good distance at a good speed. We were all meeting after a long time. So with lots of catching up to do, We took our first break at 8.30 am at Arasikere for breakfast at famous Ragahavendra Hotel had vada and dosa with chai.

from there we had seen some fine Sun Flower through the way, we had a small stop to take the pics of sunflower

We reached Shimoga by 11-30 am Saturday, reached Central Bank picked up Vishwa went to his residence packed Bisibele bath and Curd Rice with Tea and moved towards Sagara. all the way from Shimoga to Sagara heavy rains, The drive to Jog Falls from Shimoga was awesome, And by awesome I do not mean the quality of the road was good anyway instead it is the quality of the scenery that keeps you company all along. And the cherry on top was the lovely rain.

Fill your stomach first and then fill your senses seemed to be the motto!

Reached Jog Falls by 2-30 pm, heavy rain, moved towards PWD Guest House had packed Lunch over there and we had a fine view of Jog from the top of PWD Guest House, from there we a some had some extravaganza pics of JOG Falls

Jog Falls is the second-highest plunge waterfall in India, Located near Sagara, Shimoga District of Karnataka state, these segmented falls are a major tourist attraction. It is also called by alternative names of Gerusoppe falls, Gersoppa Falls and Jogada Gundi. Jog Falls is created by the Sharavathi River falling from a height of 253 m (830 ft), making it the second-highest plunge waterfall in india after the Nohkalikai Falls with a height of 335 m (1100 ft) in Meghalaya. ensued on the eventful day.

It is situated in the Shimoga district of Karnataka. Jog Falls is also known as Gerusoppe falls.
The history of the falls goes back to the year 1800, when the site was first discovered by Buchanan during one his journeys.
There are four different streams or tracks into which the River Sharavati is split, comprising the entire structure of Jog Falls, and these streams are: Raja, Rani, Rocket and Roarer.

The Raja Falls peacefully streams down; the Rani Falls follows a winding path, the Rover Falls bursts out of a rocky stretch, while the Rocket Falls gushes out in high speed remaining true to its name. The natural beauty and the forestry around add to the beauty of the falls and create a picture of natural abundance.

Before the onset of monsoon season, when there is not much water in the Linganmakki dam, the Jog Falls are only a pair of thin streams of water trickling down the cliff, as the water collected in the dam is exclusively for generation of electricity; during monsoons local rain-water is the source of water to the falls.

The power station has been operational since 1948, and is of 120 MW capacity, one of the largest hydroelectric stations in India at that time and a small source of electric power for Karnataka now. The power station was previously named Krishna Rajendra hydro-electric project, after the King of Mysore at that time. The name was later changed to Mahatma Gandhi hydro-electric Project. It was served by Hirebhaskara dam until 1960. After 1960, due to the ideas of Sir M. Visvesvarayya, Linganmakki Dam is being used for power generation.

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PANORAMA VIEW OF JOG FALLS

HOW TO GET THERE

August-December is considered the season of best flow and the best time to visit. Jog is situated 30 kilometres (19 mi) away from Sagara, and 379 kilometres (235 mi) away from Bangalore. One can reach Jog from direct buses to Jog from Bangalore.

Nearest Bus Stations - Jog, Sagara, Siddapura. Alternative way is to take direct bus to Sagara from Bangalore and local bus from Sagara to Jog. Distance - 102 kilometres (63 mi) from Shivamogga, 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Sagara and 20 kilometres from Siddapura. Also 60 km (approx.) east of Honnavar, NH206 - bus can be taken from Karwar, Honnavar or Shivamogga

Nearest Train Station - Shivamogga. One can take the train to Shivamogga from Bangalore and then can catch a bus to Jog.

Airport - Mangalore airport is the nearest operational airport. Another convenient airport is Bangalore.
Next Day on Sunday, 04th August 2013 we had been to Sakkarebail Elephant Camp, Gajanur Dam and Tyarekoppa,

Sakkarebayalu Elephant Camp: 

You can hear elephants reciting their lessons. Yes it’s not a joke its fact that you can find here many elephants being trained by training professionals.  Elephant from the adjoining forests bathe at this spot before they re-enter their forest abode. Every morning these majestic creatures waddle down to waters and after playfully cleansed their bodies and satiated their thirst, they leave the waters before the rays of the sun get stronger. They are off to deal with their day's routine only to return the following day. To catch a glimpse of these mammoths play in the water, get there before 8 am.

Forest department has maintained the place very neatly and a separate camp has been arranged at the back water of Gajanur dam. Every year a small carnival is conducted where trained elephants show off their skills to the public which includes playing foot ball, Savari etc.

Timings - 8.30 am to 11.30 am

Entry fees – Rs.30/- (Indians), Rs.100/- (Foreigners)

Gajanur dam: Gajnur dam is one of the most visited tourist spot nearby Shimoga city which is the water reservoir supplying water to majority of agricultural land of Shimoga taluk. Recent expansion of Dam in water level and construction of few more water gates has raised the level of water. There is small guest house at Gajnur dam and well maintained park welcomes the visitors.

Tyavarekoppa Lion and Tiger Safari

Tyavarekoppa Lion and Tiger safari is maintained by the Karnataka forest department. The  department maintains lions, tigers, leopards, fox, Sambar deer , Black buck and lot of other small animals. The forest department provides safari in well insulated vehicles which can go near the animals. There are many animals maintained in cages like crocodiles and bears.