Shimoga the Gateway to Malnad
In July 2016 we set out on a random trip to beat the monotony. Took off on the Talguppa Express(16227) from Bangalore at night and reached Talguppa at 7:30 on a misty morning.
Shimoga district is known for its lush green terrain and is a vision to behold in rainy season, equipped with umbrella and raincoats hoping to see Jog falls in its full glory.
Talguppa station is a small quaint town and we had hired a cab to help us navigate around. Since their were no proper hotels in Talguppa we hired a small village cabin for few hours to freshen up. Thanks to the cab guy who doubled as our guide.
View from our cabin. After a night shower the mountains were misty and there was a nip in the monsoon air.
After freshening up we set out for our Jog falls view point.
Karnataka Govt has its Mayura Hotel at a strategic location with a great view of the Falls. We had the privilege only to view the falls.
Though the fall was not in its full flow, it still stood majestic and holds its place on top as one of the best water falls in India
In 2 hours we experienced a contrasting clime. Murudeshwar being a coastal town is warmer and humid compared to Sagara.
The temple architecture is unique in the region. There is a museum kind of place with life size figures depicting the story of Murudeshwar for a nominal fee.
The colossal Shiva status is believed to be second largest in the world and offer a great view.
There is a nice beach and a ocean view restaurant where you can enjoy a meal. Vegetarian options are available. We had lunch there and started our journey to Shimoga. Enroute took a tour of a cashew factory. Bought fresh cashews for a steal! Dont miss out!
By dinner we checked in to Royal Orchid Shimoga.
Royal Orchid stands by its name. Amazing restaurant and great service.
After a good night's rest, we started early after having a sumptuous breakfast towards Sakrebyle Elephant camp in an auto which we hired for the day. Quite affordable and cooperative warm people. Thank you for the hospitality dear folks out there!
Sakrebyle elephant camp is fun with kids where kids get to play with Elephant calfs and can watch the playful elephants playing in water while they are given a good scrub.
We spend atleast 3 hours as kids were having a gala time with the gentle giants.
One has to be there by 8:30 as the elephants also have a fixed bath time :)
Watching the elephants all ready is a different experience while watching them in playful best is another experience altogether.
After having our heartful we visited Tyavarekoppa Tiger Safari. It is a small mini zoo with a Tiger Safari. The bus driver is well informed and tells about each of the Tiger and Tigress with their names and their history. Was little surprising that one of the Tigress is a Man-eater having mauled the Zoo gatekeeper. It was quite scary to know such a reserve exists in the vicinity of the city and the infrastructure was skeletal.
Nevertheless we saw Tigers in close proximity and saw Lions in its cage. Spotted a slithery creature on our safari path also as bonus :)
Having seen jungle book recently, my 2 year old was excited to having spotted SherKhan and Kaa and was wondering loudly where is Mowgli and Baloo
After a Jungle book experience with Tiger, Elephant and Snake, we happily returned to Shimoga to catch a quick lunch and took the train Shimoga-KSR Passenger (56918) at noon to reach Yeshwanthpur by 6:40PM same day.
The train had new coaches and was very clean. A weekend well spent!
Shimoga district is known for its lush green terrain and is a vision to behold in rainy season, equipped with umbrella and raincoats hoping to see Jog falls in its full glory.
Talguppa station is a small quaint town and we had hired a cab to help us navigate around. Since their were no proper hotels in Talguppa we hired a small village cabin for few hours to freshen up. Thanks to the cab guy who doubled as our guide.
View from our cabin. After a night shower the mountains were misty and there was a nip in the monsoon air.
After freshening up we set out for our Jog falls view point.
Karnataka Govt has its Mayura Hotel at a strategic location with a great view of the Falls. We had the privilege only to view the falls.
Though the fall was not in its full flow, it still stood majestic and holds its place on top as one of the best water falls in India
You can drive upto other end of the cliff to see the falls from top as well.
After spending half a day at Jog falls and driving around the catchment area we drove out to coastal temple town of Murudeshwar - 2h drive
Enroute enjoyed nature at its best along the ghats
In 2 hours we experienced a contrasting clime. Murudeshwar being a coastal town is warmer and humid compared to Sagara.
The temple architecture is unique in the region. There is a museum kind of place with life size figures depicting the story of Murudeshwar for a nominal fee.
The colossal Shiva status is believed to be second largest in the world and offer a great view.
There is a nice beach and a ocean view restaurant where you can enjoy a meal. Vegetarian options are available. We had lunch there and started our journey to Shimoga. Enroute took a tour of a cashew factory. Bought fresh cashews for a steal! Dont miss out!
By dinner we checked in to Royal Orchid Shimoga.
Royal Orchid stands by its name. Amazing restaurant and great service.
After a good night's rest, we started early after having a sumptuous breakfast towards Sakrebyle Elephant camp in an auto which we hired for the day. Quite affordable and cooperative warm people. Thank you for the hospitality dear folks out there!
Sakrebyle elephant camp is fun with kids where kids get to play with Elephant calfs and can watch the playful elephants playing in water while they are given a good scrub.
We spend atleast 3 hours as kids were having a gala time with the gentle giants.
One has to be there by 8:30 as the elephants also have a fixed bath time :)
Watching the elephants all ready is a different experience while watching them in playful best is another experience altogether.
After having our heartful we visited Tyavarekoppa Tiger Safari. It is a small mini zoo with a Tiger Safari. The bus driver is well informed and tells about each of the Tiger and Tigress with their names and their history. Was little surprising that one of the Tigress is a Man-eater having mauled the Zoo gatekeeper. It was quite scary to know such a reserve exists in the vicinity of the city and the infrastructure was skeletal.
Nevertheless we saw Tigers in close proximity and saw Lions in its cage. Spotted a slithery creature on our safari path also as bonus :)
Having seen jungle book recently, my 2 year old was excited to having spotted SherKhan and Kaa and was wondering loudly where is Mowgli and Baloo
After a Jungle book experience with Tiger, Elephant and Snake, we happily returned to Shimoga to catch a quick lunch and took the train Shimoga-KSR Passenger (56918) at noon to reach Yeshwanthpur by 6:40PM same day.
The train had new coaches and was very clean. A weekend well spent!
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