[aviorp]

Hi guys,
This is from a trip that we did last December (2010). Water Falls, Beaches, Trekking, Hill Station and some scintillating views, made us explore the best of nature.

Itenary :

Bangalore - Dudhsagar Falls - Margao - Gokarna - Yana - Murudeshwara - Kodachadri - Jog Falls - Bangalore.

Day 1 : B'lore - Dudh

Route : B'lore - Tumkur - Chitradurga - Davangere - Dharwad - Ramnagar - Molem - Anmod - Dudh.

Road Condition : NH4 - Awesome. It was a breeze, all the way till Dharwad. The road that leads to Ramnagar from here was horrible.

Alternate route : Continue to take NH4, till Belgaum and then take the NH4A, which is suppose to be better. (I did not take the Karwar road, from Hubli, as we were heading towards North of Goa)

After picking up the 3 guys, from different parts of the city, we left Bangalore at 9 P.M (at Hebbal Flyover) on Friday the 17th of December. Reached Dharwad at 4 A.M. Asked for the route to Ramnagar and took a deviation, that led to a pathetic road, with pot-holes, stones and mud all over . This stretch was nearly 60kms and took almost 2 hours. We then joined the road that led to Anmod ghat.

Two ways to reach Dudh - Either take an early morning train, that departs around 6 A.M, from Castlerock, which we missed or go to Anmod and take a jeep.

18th Dec, Saturday

Reached Anmod around 8 A.M. We were told not to take the car, as the roads were bad and also had to cross a couple of water streams. After having driven through that horrible stretch, I had no second thoughts. We hired a jeep, that costed Rs.2000, for 4 of us and a camera. This stretch is nearly 8 Kms, inside the forest and took about 45 minutes to reach.

Pics

Entrance through the forest to Dudhsagar falls.



The road was worst than I imagined and on two occassions, the water entered the jeep, while crossing the stream.



First view of Dudhsagar. It indeed looked like a flow of 'dudh'.
















2nd league of the journey.

Dudh - Margao - Palolem beach : Around 75kms

We left Dudh around 1 P.M and reached Margao around 2.30. Had our lunch and headed to Palolem beach. Reached the place around 4 and spent time till 6:30.

Route : Ponda - Borim - Margao - Palolem

Road Condition : Not that great. Very narrow and some stretches were bad. The stretch between Ponda and Borim seemed to have had some kind of mining going on and there were atleast some 100 lorries, transporting mud.

Pics

70% of the crowd were foreigners.



One of the many, that was a treat to our eyes.



A dogs day out.



Dusk





From Palolem, we headed to Gokarna, via Karwar, which is about 75Kms. We found a place to stay that night and the cost was 600 bucks.

19th, Sunday : Gokarna

View from the top.



Spent some time playing in the water.



We took a boat ride, that lasted atleast 45 minutes and the cost was 500.






We headed back to our rooms, had a quick shower and left Gokarna at 1 P.M. Our next destination was Yana, which was about 60Kms. Had our lunch on the way and reached Yana around 3 P.M.

Yana : This place consists of two massive rocks, with a unique shape. As per the mythology, Lord Vishnu killed an evil demon, Basmasura at this place.












Will soon continue with the rest of the places.

[aviorp]

The next league of the journey was from Yana to Murudeshwara, which was 75Kms. We stayed the night there and the cost was 450 for 4 us.









20th, Monday







The next destination was Kodachadri, which was about 95kms.

Route : Bhatkal - Malavalli - Baindur - Kollur - Nittur - Kodachadari

Road Condition : The road till Baindur is good, as its a highway. The road till nittur is decent, with a few bad patches, but will not take more than 2 hours.

About the place : its a hill station with dense forest. A perfect place for trekking, as its almost 10 kms uphill and provides some beautiful scenaries.

Pics

The mud road is now even and can drive the car all the way up.







Drove to a small hill-top, on the way.









Place where we halted that night. 50 bucks for each of us and 50 for dinner. From this spot, we had to trek for about 3 kms to the top of the hill.



On the way to the top.



This is the top most part of Kodachadri. Its an ancient goddess temple and according to history, the goddess slayed Mookasura several thousand years ago. Also, Sage Shankaracharya is said to have visited this place and established Kollur temple.



It was a delight to watch the sun-set on one end and moon rising on the other.











21st, Tuesday : What was in store the following morning at 6A.M was simply breathtaking.















Will soon continue with the remaining part.

[MohsinRoadster]

Nice pics there..
Dudhsagar is no doubt one of the best falls in India. When i saw your itenary i was excited to see Dudhsagar in its full glory. unfortunately it was not.
Here is just how dudh looks in monsoon.

Dudhsagar Falls - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[nkrishnap]

Fantastic photos there. Our biking group used to do this route in the monsoon. Except for the sunrise and sunset, everything else in the monsoon is simply fantastic.

Do visit this place during the peak of the monsoon. You will make it a point to visit every monsoon.

Keep em coming.

[Ride_4_Fortune]

Excellant pictures aviorp. Waiting for more pictures to come.
Good information for me as I am planning the west coast ride in Karnataka.

Also your signature is a good one.

[aviorp]

These were taken on the way down.







The last league of the journey was to Jog Falls via Sagar, which was about 90kms. We had a surprise near Sagar, where a road lead to a river. The view was incredidble and an experience that I'll rejoice for a long time.



Cost of transporting the car was 15 bucks and 40 bucks for 4 of us.





The final destination to Jog. As expected, there was not much of water, but it was still worth it.



The famous 'Mungaru-Male' spot.



We left Jog around 2 P.M and reached Bangalore at 10 P.M.

Route : Shimoga - Arisekere - Tumkur - Bangalore.

Some casual snaps

Near Karwar



Another view of Yana.



Some weird looking flower.



Sunset near Karwar.



At the base of Koadachadri.





Sagar.





Blast from the past

Gokarna beach.



My friend Sudhir, with a thoughtful pose.



Kid, there is no treasure here!



Not a good time to visit jog.



Let me try pushing it with my finger.






Finally, the fantastic four

From left to right : Sudhir, Navee, Myself and Pandu

[Ragul]

Outstanding! Your pics captured the beauty of your experience very well.

I will follow suit and retrace your path this year.

Thanks
--Ragul

[ku69rd]

Hi,
Been a nice trip, did you stay overnight in Kodachadri, If yes can you please let me know the details of stay? '

Am planning for a trip myself during the monsoon season,

[figo_united]

That's a great mix of places for a trip, and some fantabulous photos aviorp

[New.Novice]

Every trip log with friends makes me nostalgic. I have a couple of wonderful friends and we travelled extensively. We never thought that one day we will be waiting for years before we undertake a journey together again. That movie "dil chata hai" is made way to well .

Coming back to your log, all the places look awesome. Us northners seriously have to consider thinking beyond Himanchal/Uttarakhand.

Dude, u aint married yet, are you? If yes, I envy you to have made this trip with friends.

[bandlimitedlife]

"Bombat Trip" Really. I remember doing this 2 years ago:

BLR-Hubli-Badami-Aihole-Pattadakal-Kudalasangama-Bijapur-Dharwad-Goa-Karwar-Gokarna-Murudeshwara-Honnavar-Jog-Honnavar-Udupi-Mangalore-BLR

Excellent fun but for the fact that mining was in full swing and lot of roads were a mess. Now most of it must have cleared up except that patch you mention between Dharwad / Goa.

[aviorp]

Originally Posted by Ragul

Outstanding! Your pics captured the beauty of your experience very well.

I will follow suit and retrace your path this year.

Thanks
--Ragul

Thanks Ragul. These places are at its best between August & October.

Originally Posted by ku69rd

Hi,
Been a nice trip, did you stay overnight in Kodachadri, If yes can you please let me know the details of stay? '

Am planning for a trip myself during the monsoon season,

Thanks ku69rd. Yes, I stayed in Kodachadri. Cost was Rs.50/- per head for the stay and 50 per person for food. Trust me, the food was delicious. Post-monsoon would be the ideal time.

Originally Posted by figo_united

That's a great mix of places for a trip, and some fantabulous photos aviorp

Thanks figo_united. It is the best trip, I have had so far.

Originally Posted by New.Novice

Every trip log with friends makes me nostalgic. I have a couple of wonderful friends and we travelled extensively. We never thought that one day we will be waiting for years before we undertake a journey together again. That movie "dil chata hai" is made way to well .

Coming back to your log, all the places look awesome. Us northners seriously have to consider thinking beyond Himanchal/Uttarakhand.

Dude, u aint married yet, are you? If yes, I envy you to have made this trip with friends.

Believe it or not, this is a trip that we planned for a very very long time (2 years) due to work, family commitments etc. Finally after slogging for a year, we decided to give ourselves a well-deserved break and it sure was a time of our lives. Its been about 5 months now, that we even met for a smoke. Well, I guess, its hard to find time to catch up with friends, once you start working.

Yes, I'm married and I'm yet to take my wife out

Originally Posted by bandlimitedlife

"Bombat Trip" Really. I remember doing this 2 years ago:

BLR-Hubli-Badami-Aihole-Pattadakal-Kudalasangama-Bijapur-Dharwad-Goa-Karwar-Gokarna-Murudeshwara-Honnavar-Jog-Honnavar-Udupi-Mangalore-BLR

Excellent fun but for the fact that mining was in full swing and lot of roads were a mess. Now most of it must have cleared up except that patch you mention between Dharwad / Goa.

Thanks bandlimitedlife. Good to know that you been to the same places as well. Great minds, think alike ahn!

The stretch in the Anmol ghat (i guess its NH4A), had atleast 500 odd lorries transporting mud and causing major traffic jam. I guess that is the stretch you're referring to.

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by aviorp

Thanks ku69rd. Yes, I stayed in Kodachadri. Cost was Rs.50/- per head for the stay and 50 per person for food. Trust me, the food was delicious. Post-monsoon would be the ideal time.

Avicorp,
Kodachadri would be more fun when itz pouring cats & dogs . Would be greatful if you can share the address details or the contact person mate

[rvmohankumar]

Originally Posted by aviorp

Cost of transporting the car was 15 bucks and 40 bucks for 4 of us.

You guys should have hopped in the Car and saved 40 bucks

Nice trip..I love kodachadri and been there 4 times already.

[aviorp]

Originally Posted by rvmohankumar

You guys should have hopped in the Car and saved 40 bucks

Nice trip..I love kodachadri and been there 4 times already.

Is there a road that connects to Sagar? If that's the case, I'll still make sure to take the joy ride in the boat again

I would love to visit this place again.