15th August to 16th August, 2016.
We left off at Mysore in the last blog. After a restful night, on August 15th we left Mysore for our next destination, in the Shivamogga district of Karnataka. The river Sharavathi plummets over 250 m in Shivamogga to create the mighty Jog falls. Given the traffic conditions on the previous drive, and the forested terrain we had to traverse, we were prepared for a rather hectic day. However, the road conditions were much better than expected. We could easily maintain an average speed of 50-60 km/hr. We were rather surprised to find even the state highway (SH 7) in excellent condition.
Once we exited Mysore city, we were surrounded by lush agriculture fields growing everything from cabbage to jasmine flowers. The land was flat, and visibility was just great. More often than not, we had the entire road to ourselves. Slowly, we approached the hilly regions of Karnataka, and the terrain and vegetation started to change. The entire route (mostly via NH 69) was thickly forested, with the occasional farm house along the way. In addition to the ubiquitous herd of cows, sheep and stray dogs, we came across a few wild boar and a rather large snake.
We discussed why getting lost in this region would not be a good idea; there were barely anyone around to ask for directions. So naturally, we lost our way, and ended up in an adventure camp run by the tourism department. It took us another one hour to find our way to Jog falls, that too, with a lot of help from the people at the adventure camp. Thankfully, we found ourselves at Jog before night fall. The forest department provides accommodation near the falls, and KTDC has a resort right next to the falls. Thanks to our friend Raju we managed to spend the night at the forest department camp (Sharavathi Nature Camp hardly 300 m from Jog view point).
If you plan on visiting jog, we certainly recommend early morning as we did. The mist lifting off the falls in the early morning light makes for some dramatic scenes. We could easily spend a day here, just looking at the falls, and the way lights plays with mist and water.
The falls were impressive, though the water flow was less than expected. We hope to come back some day during the monsoon to see the fall in its full glory. The forest department has built a path way (of some 1400 steps) to reach the base of the fall. We decided against climbing down as we had to reach Goa by evening.
The drive to Goa follows NH 69, and later, the NH 66. The forested parts of NH 69 after Jog falls were not in good shape due to heavy construction. However, most parts were easy to navigate, and the traffic was rather less. The dense forest filled with cicadas, butterflies and birds continued with us for some more time. Slowly, more farm houses began to appear. Agriculture produce ranging from pineapple and jack fruit to bamboo rice can be found along this beautiful stretch. The rest of Shivamogga passed in a frenzy of green. Rice fields, bamboo groves and dense forests were only interrupted by the occasion areca nut plantation.
This landscape changed as we exited the Ghat region and moved towards the coast. Soon, we caught the first glimpse of the ocean at Karwar in Northern Karnataka.
The drive to Vasco (our base in Goa thanks to Parul) took us through Cotigao wild life sanctuary, and of course, more rice terraces. We reached Goa by late evening, having seen every shade of green imaginable.
Hoping to explore Goa over the next couple of days. Eagerly waiting to try some authentic Goan food, and dip our feet in the ocean.
