After reading about the famous Jog Falls for many years in school, listening about its beauty in numerous folk songs and "bhaava geethe's ", I was literally ashamed that I had not for once in my life seen this place. Its splendor showcased in the movie "Mungaaru Male" was the tipping point. Being a true "Kannadiga" at heart, I could no longer take this embarrassment.
As soon as the planning for Goa trip started, I was keen on visiting this place. I got to know from various sources that the water was merely trickling in the falls. Yet, my mind was convinced that I had to visit it. And what a wonderful decision it turned out to be!
I knew I could not see Jog in its full glory, when you stand at the viewing platform and just admire the mother nature at its best. But, at some level, I always want to feel the waterfall by getting under it, and not by just being a spectator. Another thing I like about waterfalls is how secluded it is and how less crowded it is. Although Jog is not secluded by any stretch of imagination, thankfully it was tourist free. When we climbed down, we were met with a 800 ft water fall, which ended in a big pool of ice cold clear green water (it was quite deep). I thought god had made this place for us to enjoy the bath. This time, I was not the first to get in :-( . But swimming in ice cold morning in that natural pool was the most thrilling experience till then. After a pretty tiring swim me, bala, srinath and viji finally came up to the falls. I was constantly thinking "shit no one is here to take a photo of this". Only later I came to realize that no photo was required, since that image is permanently etched in my mind. Going under the falls was really an out-of-body experience for me. It felt like a thousand soft hands were massaging every muscle in my body. I could not stay under the falls for long as I was shivering like hell. The swim back was nice and relaxing.
While we were almost near the falls, Bala complained of nausea. But I felt he had gotten over it. Boy oh boy! Was I wrong. Once out of the water, I saw his skin turn yellow. I knew he was dehydrated. Only then did I realize that we had not carried any drinking water. Bala was so tired, he was almost sleep walking his way up the steps. Every 10 steps he had to take rest. Every drop of water/soda/juice was puked out. He slept for 20 minutes in shade when we were half way up. We did some orkut profiling photos. Seeing the rainbow in front of the falls was the icing on the cake. By this time, the tourists had started to pour in. I was really concerned about Bala's health. We had an entire trip to look forward to and the excitement had just begun. We carried him on our shoulders for the rest of the journey to the top. It was definitely the low point of the entire trip.
Now I believe, every person should visit Jog falls on two separate occasions. One during the peak monsoon or just after the monsoons in the month of September. And one more time in winter in the months of December and January. So come this September, anyone is planning to visit Jog can expect me there :-D
We left Jog with the knowledge that we will be back here in 7 months time. One of the best waterfalls I have ever been to. Gokarna was the next destination. More on it in the next post.
PS : This is my 50th post on the blog. So cheers to it :-)
As soon as the planning for Goa trip started, I was keen on visiting this place. I got to know from various sources that the water was merely trickling in the falls. Yet, my mind was convinced that I had to visit it. And what a wonderful decision it turned out to be!
I knew I could not see Jog in its full glory, when you stand at the viewing platform and just admire the mother nature at its best. But, at some level, I always want to feel the waterfall by getting under it, and not by just being a spectator. Another thing I like about waterfalls is how secluded it is and how less crowded it is. Although Jog is not secluded by any stretch of imagination, thankfully it was tourist free. When we climbed down, we were met with a 800 ft water fall, which ended in a big pool of ice cold clear green water (it was quite deep). I thought god had made this place for us to enjoy the bath. This time, I was not the first to get in :-( . But swimming in ice cold morning in that natural pool was the most thrilling experience till then. After a pretty tiring swim me, bala, srinath and viji finally came up to the falls. I was constantly thinking "shit no one is here to take a photo of this". Only later I came to realize that no photo was required, since that image is permanently etched in my mind. Going under the falls was really an out-of-body experience for me. It felt like a thousand soft hands were massaging every muscle in my body. I could not stay under the falls for long as I was shivering like hell. The swim back was nice and relaxing.
While we were almost near the falls, Bala complained of nausea. But I felt he had gotten over it. Boy oh boy! Was I wrong. Once out of the water, I saw his skin turn yellow. I knew he was dehydrated. Only then did I realize that we had not carried any drinking water. Bala was so tired, he was almost sleep walking his way up the steps. Every 10 steps he had to take rest. Every drop of water/soda/juice was puked out. He slept for 20 minutes in shade when we were half way up. We did some orkut profiling photos. Seeing the rainbow in front of the falls was the icing on the cake. By this time, the tourists had started to pour in. I was really concerned about Bala's health. We had an entire trip to look forward to and the excitement had just begun. We carried him on our shoulders for the rest of the journey to the top. It was definitely the low point of the entire trip.
Now I believe, every person should visit Jog falls on two separate occasions. One during the peak monsoon or just after the monsoons in the month of September. And one more time in winter in the months of December and January. So come this September, anyone is planning to visit Jog can expect me there :-D
We left Jog with the knowledge that we will be back here in 7 months time. One of the best waterfalls I have ever been to. Gokarna was the next destination. More on it in the next post.
PS : This is my 50th post on the blog. So cheers to it :-)
3 comments:
Cheers to your 50th post. Keep them coming.
You felt like 1000 hands massaging I felt like 1000 hands pelting tiny stones on me. This was probably the coldest swim I had in my life.
Waiting for Gokarna.
Sri
How come you did not write about something that disappeared from within your pants ;-)
that is too much detail for my blog ;-P
will probably slightly hint it in my gokarna post :-)
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