Trip to Coorg: Visit to Lesser Known Waterfalls

Aug 14 -15 2010

Day 1: Visit to Devarakolli and Devargundi Falls

The theme for the trip was Waterfalls. We decided to cover lesser known falls in and around Coorg. After some research on net we shortlisted few falls and chalked out an effective plan to cover most of them in two days.
We started from Bangalore at 4 AM in the morning in Qualis. Our first day plan was to cover the falls around Madikeri and then return to Somwarpet and cover few falls over here.
We took the route via Mysore.
Route:
Bangalore-Mandya-Srirangapatna-Hunsur-piriyapatna-Kushalnagar-suntikoppa-Madikeri.

Our plan was to cover Devarakolli falls, Kalyala falls and Devaragundi falls on the first day and if possible also visit Abbey falls and the second day would be to visit Mallali falls, Abbimatta falls. Initially the plan was to do the second day trip on first day but due to non availability of hotels in Madikeri the plan was switched (It was a government holiday on Saturday due to Nagarpanchami). This change in plan was a blessing in disguise because of the road conditions.

We reached Madikeri around 10 AM in the morning. Our first destination was Devarakolli falls. To reach Devarakolli falls one has to take the road leading to Mangalore from Madikeri via Sulya. Devarakolli is a small village located at a distance of approx 15km from Madikeri. This falls is on the main road which is mainly powered by rain water, hence available only in rainy season. The road is actually a downhill with pristine beauty of nature all the way. One could see rubber plantations on the way.

We spent close to half an hour enjoying the weather at the falls. We then proceeded towards Devarakolli village, where we stopped for some time for clicks. The pictures below would give an indication of what was in store for our cameras.

A talk with the villagers led us to a big stream. One needs to walk for about 10-15 min from the main road to reach this place (Landmark: A Mosque besides the main road in Devarakolli village)

This is apparently the Payaswini River which takes its birth near Madikeri and flows all the way to Arabian Sea via Kasargod. This river flows all along the road side for quite a distance. We came across couple of rest areas created on the banks of the river where one can take a break and relax.

Our next destination was to visit Kalyala falls which is approximately 10kms from Devarakolli village. After speaking to the locals over here on the feasibility of visiting both Kalyala and Devaragundi falls, we decided to drop our visit to Kalyala and headed towards Thodikana for Devaragundi falls.

Kalyala falls is located in the Koyanadu village on the way to Sulya from Madikeri. As one nears this village, the falls located in the midst of the forests becomes visible from the main road. After the deviation from the main road one has further travel 6kms and a kilometer by walk to reach the falls. The roads are narrow and it is preferable to travel by jeep for the last 6kms owing to the rainy season.

We proceeded towards Thodikana. Thodikana is approximately 25-30kms form Koyanadu. It is approx 50km from Madikeri. It is situated in Sulya taluk of Dakshina Kannada. It is also the border between the two districts Coorg and Dakshina Kannada.
The roads here are not in very good conditions owing to the monsoon season and hence one has to plan the day well in advance for the visit. The route is:

Madikeri –Devarakolli-Koyanadu-Sampaje-Kallagundi-Aranthodu-Thodikana.

We reached Thodikana at 1:15 PM. We visited Mallikarjuna temple (couldn’t go inside as the temple was closed). There are no hotels available here for food. We could get only tea and bun for our lunch.

Devaragundi falls is about 2.5kms from the temple. Initially one kilometer is approachable by road, but is advisable to go by walk as the roads are not in good conditions owing to the recent rains. After a kilometer into the walk one reaches a stream which needs to be crossed (no bridge though). After crossing the stream one would come across three houses to the right. After reaching the third house the owner would guide to the falls.

The falls is located inside the estate. One needs to cross a small stream inside the estate to reach the falls. The falls is about 30-35 feet in height. It is situated in a place where it is surrounded by trees in all directions providing an amazing view of the falls. The rocks here were quite slippery and one needs to be careful while stepping on these.

One might feel tempted to get into the water but it is advisable not to get into it owing to slippery rocks. Few of us experienced leech bites at this very place!!.
After resting for some time we headed back to the temple premises. This place is actually declared fish sanctuary and nobody is allowed to fish in the streams flowing over here.
A stream passes close to the temple where one can find lots of fishes. We took some packets of puffed rice for the fishes to feed. This place is called as Mathsyateertha.

As per the initial plan we would be camping in a home stay near Somwarpet. We started our journey back towards Somwarpet via Madikeri. We took a break near Sampaje on the way back as we were hungry, stopped by a small hotel and had some snacks.
Somwarpet is situated 40kms north of Madikeri. From Madikeri we needed to travel another 23kms to reach the home stay. It was 7:30 pm in the night when we reached Somwarpet. We called up the home stay people regarding our arrival. From Somwarpet one has to head in the direction of Pushpagiri hills to reach the home stay “Pushpagiri home stay”.
The route:
Somwarpet- Shanthalli (12kms) – Kundalli (4km) – Beedalli (7km)
Since the night had fallen it was difficult to commute on this road. This road would lead all the way to the base of Pushpagiri hills from where the trek to the peak starts. The way was covered by Mist/Clouds as one heads towards the foothills owing to gaining elevation resulting in poor visibility. Adding to this woe was the low fuel indication of the vehicle which started worrying us. Calculation showed that we could make just make it to our destination, but still the uncertainty still lingered in the minds. After consulting few people for directions, we managed to reach the destination by 8:30 pm with a few litres of fuel to spare just right enough for the return journey.

The Home stay was well maintained by the owner. It is a nice cozy house equipped for 10-12 people stay. The night was little cold. This indeed was a very remote place far away from the civilizations. The home stay was not powered electric power but by solar power, indicating the remoteness of the place. After a travel for almost 17 hours, the hosts provided us the much required dinner and a cozy bed to doze off for the rest of the night.