[GeeTee TSI]

Monsoon drive within KA have been on the cards for a while, especially ones which are a far cry from the monsoon woes in the city. The other requirement was to have an abundance of twisty ghat roads to drive to my heart's content. The dense Sharavati valley was the chosen destination and Jog Falls, as the place of stay in order to drive around the ghats during the best times of the day

KSTDC Mayura Jog falls was the default (if only) choice, although the falls per se was still getting 'fed' by the monsoons (early July). To my utter shock, the entire KSTDC Jog Falls area was undergoing massive construction leaving a muddy mess not very different from Bangalore's unsurfaced roads! The only low point in the trip which I glossed over considering my objective.

The route was thus chosen to complete a loop of sorts with welcome diversions to include scenic roads :


Onward drive started at around 05:00 from Yelahanka as follows
Bangalore -NH75- Channarayapatna -NH7- Arsikere -NH69- Tarikere - detour via NH65 to drive along the Tunga - NH169 - Sakrebyle - Shivamogga - back in NH69 - Sagara - Jog Falls.

NH75 has some really good stretches till you encounter a diversion out of nowhere. Absolutely no sign of monsoon given the intent of my trip!


After the turn off at Channarayapatna, the roads along NH69 were a joy despite being only two lanes. Truck traffic was virtually non existent


While some other sections are widened to 4 lanes, traffic was admirably thin


Near Tarikere, the landscape started to get green and dense with the first drops of rain (after 5 hours from start!)


A sight along country roads, pressed into service for road works - how is this even legal!


NH65 beyond Tarikere had the elements that I had signed up for in my drive


Crossed over to NH169 via the Muduba Tunga bridge. From here on it would be medium to heavy rains all along for the next 2 days



Tunga river meandering along the road on the right



Close to Sakrebyle Elephant camp, the sighting of 6 majestic tuskers along the road with their glistening black forms contrasting against the landscape


A blissful drive to Shivamogga followed with a lunch halt at Harsha the Fern - fantastic food and service (also parking)

A sight on the outskirts of Shivamogga, four (4!) youths on this Activa ridden along the highway thus!


Further along NH69 enroute Sagara, in a heavy downpour (GIF in 1x speed shows the auto wipers desperately trying to clear the windscreen)


Arrived at KSTDC Mayura Jog Falls around 16:30, dripping wet. Cruise control was last used more than 6 hours earlier, as was the case with the 80kmph speed alert. This would be the norm for the next 2 days of driving

The Jog Falls bridge


The shocking sight which greeted me at the entrance to Jog falls, absolutely unrecognisable from the earlier visit


Thankfully the rooms were spacious with a view to match, small mercies!



Closure of day 1 of driving and its summary (clicked on day 2 however!)

[GeeTee TSI]

Day 2 of the trip was intended specifically for twisty roads in the wet and Sharavati wildlife sanctuary area had an abundance of it with flawless surfaces. General direction was towards Kollur, driving on these roads at 8 am was only possible due to the place of stay being where it was.

Route to Kollur:
Jog - NH50 - Kogar cross - unmarked roads to Sullali - NH369E - Nagodi - joining NH766C Kodachadri ghat road - Kollur

By the boathouse, Jog (also the first click from and of the exterior!)


You were reminded about being in the heart of nature with sightings like these


Not one but two! peacocks crossed the road, sashaying their plumage


Driver's delight abound


Most of the stretch had little traffic except for local commuters. Roads however were mostly a single lane stretch


The haze due to water evaporating from the wet surface under the sun


A rare shoulder with enough space for a pause and a click


The final leg to Kollur along Kodachadri ghat road was surprisingly good (and felt new), with wide 2 laned, fully concrete surfaces and barricades dotting the sharp curves. Watch out for the local jeep daredevils who come full steam without so much of a honk.

Reached Kollur Mookambika just past 12 noon and darshan before closing time of 13:30 looked dicey. The pay and park was either full or a slushy mess, but luckily found a spot by the road almost a km away from the temple (picky to have the car completely within the road shoulder as BHPians park!). The queue for darshan was long and after a 90 mins wait, just made it among the last 20 people who were hustled in before the sanctum closed.

After a quick (and late) lunch at Kollur, headed in the direction of Bhatkal for a glimpse of the coastal road before taking another windy, dense route back to Jog

PM driving route
Kollur - NH766C - Kundapura - NH66 - Bhatkal circle - turn off into NH50 Siddapur highway - KSTDC Mayura Jog falls

Phenomenal downpour enroute and along NH66. Filled up fuel as I could not spot a petrol pump in the vicinity of Jog



Turning off at Bhatkal circle, the twists were back also as traffic thinned out. It felt as though only myself and perhaps some KTPCL employees were taking this route past 5 pm towards Jog!

Some of the wider sections


The hills beckoned, the climb however was gradual with hardly any hair pin bends


The checkpost did not look as though it allowed traffic after dark


Road progressively became narrow, dark and deep. A treat behind the wheel nonetheless



Absolutely no room to park by the side - need to keep going!


Ended the tally of Day 2 with around 220 kms (only) but involved close to 6 hours of driving with countless, spirited turns of the wheel!. Back to the hotel around 6 pm in a surprisingly not so dirty car (probably pressure washed by the clean water all round! )

[GeeTee TSI]

Day 3 was about getting back home, but there were two more sets of curves to be dealt with - the one descending into Honnavar and ascent via Charmady (the really long way home!)

Route taken:
Jog falls - NH69 - Honnavar - NH66 - Kundapura - turn off at Bramavara - Karkala - Belthangadi - NH73 - Charmady ghats - Belur - NH373 - Hassan - back to NH75 - Bangalore


One last glimpse of Jog Falls bridge


The route to Honnavar was blissful again, aided by the 8 am start from Jog, but I felt this stretch was busier (relatively speaking) and also wider than the one to Bhatkal

NH66 generally a breeze to drive but dense traffic abound, especially after getting 'used to' ghat roads devoid of traffic


NH66 never ceased to impress with stunning views of numerous bridges


Exceptional views of the coast in this particular stretch, prompted a stop to soak in the coast after all those 'hills'



Lunch break was at Fortune Plaza right along the highway (on my opposite side) before turning off into Bramavara off the NH.

Traffic was generally light generally along the route, with pretty sights too


till Belthangady, a busy town with the NH passing right through its heart (somehow reminded me of towns in Wayanad)

A coffee break at the foot hills of Charmady, as the hill climb beckoned. A Saturday evening, many folks were enroute this direction to enjoy the views


Charmady ghats in the evening was busy with truck traffic too, a place to practise patience and/or self control when bogged down by slow moving vehicles. Drop down the windows, soak in the views and drive at leisure


The customary click when a wide enough shoulder finally presented itself


and of the valley


Some rare empty stretches without a vehicle in sight


The roads after the ghats were quite wide and in excellent condition


The stretch from Mudigere to Belur along NH73 was beautiful and dense, cutting right through numerous estates


After a quick break at Belur past 6 pm, it was the dreaded stretch to Hassan and further till NH75. Straight roads without a median and blinding lights besides unmarked bumps and surprise potholes.

The last leg along NH75 was uneventful ending the trip around 11 pm with close to 12 hours of actual driving (a refuel at Belur denying me the tankful-to-home thrill)


To sum up, 1250 fulfilling kms in 3 days to nowhere in particular; with 'proper' driving to hopefully compensate for hours of forgettable urban crawls - till the next trip!

[Rudra Sen]

Mod note: Thread moved to Travelogues. Thanks for sharing.

[chaitanyakrish]

Originally Posted by GeeTee TSI

To sum up, 1250 fulfilling kms in 3 days to nowhere in particular; with 'proper' driving to hopefully compensate for hours of forgettable urban crawls - till the next trip!

Excellent trip and it gave me new ideas
I was planning a similar route next week but I wanted to stay at Sakrebyle for my kid, but will look at KSTDC Jog as well.
How to book KSTDC Jog Falls Hotel ? Can we use makemytrip etc or is there any separate site like jungle lodges?
Also, please share good breakfast/lunch stops on way to Jog from Bengaluru.

[GeeTee TSI]

Originally Posted by chaitanyakrish

How to book KSTDC Jog Falls Hotel ? Can we use makemytrip etc or is there any separate site like jungle lodges?

I have noticed KSTDC in aggregator sites, but I have been booking through KSTDC website.

[dagger8]

Originally Posted by chaitanyakrish

Excellent trip and it gave me new ideas
I was planning a similar route next week but I wanted to stay at Sakrebyle for my kid, but will look at KSTDC Jog as well.
How to book KSTDC Jog Falls Hotel ? Can we use makemytrip etc or is there any separate site like jungle lodges?
Also, please share good breakfast/lunch stops on way to Jog from Bengaluru.

KSTDC Jog Falls Hotel can be booked on their own website as well as sites like MakeMyTrip. However, due to the current construction activity ongoing, it is not advisable to stay there. It's also mentioned in some of the most recent reviews on MakeMyTrip and Google Maps.

[ganeshsp]

Off topic. Excuse me! How do you manage to get 16+ mileage? Which mode you usually drive in? Mine does not cross 15!

[crossoverhead1]

I’m also planning to go to Jog falls next week. How are the rains and the falls flow currently ?

Regards.

[vjbox]

Nice drive around! I remember some of these routes we touched when we visited Jog Falls in our V40. I also like the Udupi belt for some fantastic coastal drives.

But man those fuel efficiency figures are incredible for the 2 TSI motor. Speaks so much about the right power to weight ratio of the Octy. Figures that only be dreamt by us Kodiaq Owners.

[PreludeSH]

Beautiful pics. I usually do about 4 or 5 trips in Malenadu region during monsoon. It looks good dripped wet. Unfortunately there is a lull in rains now.
Jog falls is in Shimoga district though.

[GeeTee TSI]

Originally Posted by ganeshsp

How do you manage to get 16+ mileage? Which mode you usually drive in? Mine does not cross 15!

Always in D. Never ever felt the need to switch out of that. Only along downhill stretches do I use manual mode (paddles) to hold on to 2nd or 3rd if D feels like a runaway train!

[ARAY]

Brilliantly written blog and some brilliant pictures as well I would have personally loved to see more pictures of the Skoda on the rainy hills
Beautifully composed and executed trip indeed thanks for sharing with all of us.