Gokarna, Yana, Murdeshwar & Jog Falls

Time: Nov 3rd to 8th, 2021

Place: Gokarna, Yana, Murdeshwar, Jog Falls

Company: Wife and Daughter

Budget: Approx 15,000

Highlights: 

Prelude: We had intended to do this trip since almost an year back. In fact, I had come up with 6-7 different itinerary plans such as BLR-GOK-YAN-MDW-JOG-BLR, BLR-MDW-JOG-GOK-YAN-BLR, BLR-JOG-MDW-YAN-GOK-BLR, etc. and similar such permutations and combinations, some of which entailed train journey and some as car travel. But it never happened because weather.com always predicted rain on the days when we wanted to travel. So we ditched and went to other places such as Mysore and Pondi. 

Fast forward to Nov 2021, and we were again on the brink of a long weekend, thanks to Diwali. Weather.com played the usual spoilsport once more and said it'd be raining in this much awaited destination of ours. But this time, we took a chance and thought we might as well try our luck. So as late as one day before the date of travel, we finally booked the train tickets via Tatkal to GOK and luckily got it. Also booked bus return tickets from Shimoga to BLR, and decided that we will figure out the middle part somehow. Also booked the accommodations all beforehand since we thought we might not get acco easily if we went without reservation. Other than Yana, I had been to all the places long, long ago and I badly wanted wifey and dotty to see them too (although Gouri had already seen Jog once before). And hence, we were off on a train journey after a really long time.

Day 0: Nov 3rd - The train from BLR to Karwar #06585 left in late evening. It was an uneventful train journey but it was our first in an AC compartment post Covid started. This meant IRCTC was not giving blankets and pillow anymore, so we had to carry those ourselves! Thankfully our packing was sufficient, and we did not get frozen to the bones although we came very close to it!

Day 1: Nov 4th - Took an auto from Railway station to Gokarna City. Had booked a Yatridham room (Balakrishna Nilaya) very close to the temple. The owner told that we were lucky that the temple is now open for pilgrims and it was closed until last week to all tourists due to Covid since last several months. How fortunate we were that we didn't come before like how we had planned! Thanks to weather.com indeed which made us put off our plans till now!

After a quick refreshment, went walking to the Maha Ganapathi temple first, did our offerings and then walked to the main Atma Linga Temple. It was not too crowded, and darshan got done in 10 minutes. I once again reminded Paavani of the tale of how this Atma Linga came about (have been telling this tale since I guess she was three!) while Gouri meditated. She felt the Divine within her (as she usually does in such sacred places) and after soaking in the energy of the place, we walked towards the Gokarna beach, which was just a few steps away. 

That done, we walked all the way to Koti Theertha where rituals were being conducted. In front of this was Vadiraja Mutt where we had called beforehand for lunch (unaware about the Temple Annadaana). There was a slight delay here but lunch was delicious. After lunch, we had intended to visit Gokarna beaches but we changed plans to finish Yana that day itself despite the looming dark clouds. Back in our room, we quickly changed to adventure clothes and then rented the scooter and we were off towards the Western Ghats. Thankfully the dark clouds did not pour itself on us although it did sprinkle a bit.

It was an hour's journey on the two-wheeler, road was good and I realized that it was my first time I was riding a two-wheeler on winding roads! We were in the middle of the jungle and felt nice to be in nature. At about 3 pm, we reached Yana Parking lot, and then we started trekking towards the monolithic rocks. It was about 30-40 minutes of moderate climb and then there we were! It was massive. Despite knowing and seeing it all on movie (Nammoora Mandaara Hoove), it still was a stunning spectacle to see it looming right in front of us all of a sudden.

The Government has done well to make a path inside the rocks and it was a great experience. We took enough pics and videos and soaked in the atmosphere and environment. Despite the struggles of getting here, it definitely is a place worthy of visit. We stayed almost for an hour and headed back to the parking lot. Return ride was smooth and pleasant although it was nearing dark since the Sun had set already. We were ever so grateful that the Rain Gods stayed put else it would have been tough. By the time we reached Gokarna it was almost 7 pm and we had light beverages in a restaurant and then reached our room. Just before then, the rains came and how! It was pouring cats and dogs and from the comfort of our room, we saw tremendous force of the thunderstorm. How glad we were to have arrived! After about an hour's lashing, it stopped and started drizzling.

We then made our way to the Temple Annadaanam where we had sumptuous dinner of simple rice-rasam and rice-buttermilk. Again we were grateful to whoever had arranged for this food-offering to pilgrims. That done, we retired back to the room and slept.

Day 2: Nov 5th - We left about 9 am with the same rented bike and had breakfast at the same place where we had had tea the previous evening. From there, we went to Om beach. It was a nice drive all through and small trek down to the beach itself. It was very different indeed, the beach being in the shape of Om (in Sanskrit). We even had to walk in the water to get to the beach from the steps, which was nice experience! The sand, the water, the rocks were all of a different formation and it was wonderful. We walked along the beach to as far as we could and spent quiet time with the lapping waves. At the middle of the Sanskrit Om, one can see the waves coming from both sides and converging. Quite a sight to see!

On the way back from Om Beach we went to Kudle Beach. These were the only beaches easily accessible by bike. The other beaches like Half-Moon beach and Paradise Beach involved trekking and we didn't have much time. But even Kudle beach involved about 10-15 minutes of walking on uneven surfaces and once we got there, it seemed like we were in one of the Goan beaches since this was more commercialized with lot of adventure water sports, music in the background restaurants, etc. Here too we walked all along the beach to as far as we could and headed back.

Upon returning back to the town, we again finished our lunch at the Annadaanam complex and checked out of the room and returned the rental bike. I had miscalculated the usage and filled up the fuel tank of the rental bike but alas there is no refund! Anyways - our next destination was Kumta. The Bus station was right opposite our guest house and we took a local bus to Kumta. It was just an hour's journey and Paavani kept me entertained about how Lord Vishnu is worshipped as Saligrama. Very interesting story indeed!

From Kumta, it was another local bus to our resort (JD Home Stay) near Nirvana Beach. Now, this Nirvana Beach came into our itinerary only because of the phytoplankton phenomenon that is apparently very commonly seen in the Nirvana Beach. So we thought we might as well get a resort on the Nirvana Beach. Obviously we could not get it at such short notice. So we settled for next best which was about a mile away from the beach. We thought we could somehow manage but once in the resort we realized we were in the middle of nowhere. Without having an own vehicle, it was very difficult to move from one place to another and in our case, it was the beach. There was no bus, no auto, no nothing to get to the beach and back. Also the resort owner said that bioluminescence can only be seen late in the night like around 2 am. 

At that time I realized that this was one thing we had not researched properly and this halt here was not going to serve the purpose. We indeed need a beach stay to experience that surreality. Anyway, what was done is done, so we thought we might as well visit the Nirvana Beach. So we started walking towards it since there was no other way. Long road was 3 kms but a short-cut was 1 km on a water-splotched muddy road. We took the short cut since it was still daylight and reached the beach via Sandy Shores Beach resort. The beach was just like any other but very less crowded. Except for the camping tourists maybe. We went to Panchabhuta cafe for a Hot Chocolate for the 11-year old and Masala Tea for my wife and I. They took a really long time to prepare but it was wonderful. 

By the time we were done (and bitten by a lot of mosquitos), it was dark and sun had already set. From hereon started a hair-raising adventure since we could only hear the waves but we could not see a thing nor did we know where to go, how to go and nor could we go back the way we came since it was way too dark on that muddy-watery road. Hardly any soul to be seen too. Just with the help of a little bit of cell torch, we made our way along the beach which was now filled with crabs and god-knows-what kind of little insects crawling up and down the sand. We kept walking towards what we thought the 'Main Entrance/Exit' for Nirvana Beach just trying to be away from the lapping waves.

After some time, Paavani saw a motor vehicle moving about in a parallel direction and we realized there was a road nearby. Since walking on a dark road is better than walking on a dark beach, we made our way to the road. Thankfully there was no barricades, compound walls to obstruct our way to that place, and soon we were on another muddy road walking alongside the beach. Thankfully there were few vehicles moving about which gave us little bit of confidence. We enquired for the nearest bus stop and started walking towards it. We took one final look at Nirvana Beach. No bioluminescence. Perhaps next time. Sigh. After bidding goodbye, we walked towards the bus stop. Once there, the shop keeper nearby mentioned that buses were scarce now due to Covid. We called for an auto but there was no response. 

With no other alternative, we started walking towards the resort. It was now a good 3-4 kms away! All in all, we walked that day from 5 pm till 8 pm except for a beverage break. After a long walk, looking at the local houses celebrating Deepavali by lighting actual lamps (unlike electric ones that we have in our apt complex), we finally reached our resort. The cook made a delicious dinner for us and we retired for the night. 

Day 3: Nov 6th - We had a long planned day today, since our final destination of the day was Sagar (had booked hotel there) after finishing Murdeshwar - and full travel was unplanned and unreserved. So we got up early but it was a big breakfast, hence we took our own sweet time. Also the resort was nice and lush green, with beautiful sun rays filtering through the trees. Spent some time taking pictures, and then we were finally off. Got a bus very quickly to main bus stand, and from there got another local bus to Murdeshwar. I thought there would be a number of private buses but was surprised to not find many. But luckily we didn't have to wait for a long time. The bus was packed but convenient enough.

By the time we reached Murdeshwar, it was about noon. The temple was too crowded. The queue to the main sanctum sanctorum was too huge and people were jostling left and right. The temple was about to close for lunch at 1 pm and we just were able to get inside and get a nice darshan. Right after, there was another queue for annadaana. We spent some time meditating and soaking the energy, and after the current batch of lunch got done, we went for our turn. It was once more yummy consecrated food and we were so grateful for the authorities to have arranged such a nice facility for the pilgrims. Thousands and thousands of pilgrims having consecrated food is such a blessing.

Lunch done, we came out of the temple premises. Since the luggage counter was closed from 1 pm to 3 pm, we had all the luggages with us and it was quite a deal lugging them all through the queue and then the lunch and now outside in the hot sun. The next destination was the big Shiva Statue right behind the temple. We climbed the little hill and few steps with all our luggage in the sun towards the top where there was one more small Shiva shrine and a small museum. Alas, even those were closed until 3 pm. So we just sat there in the cool shadow to while away the time since there was nothing else to do. Pretty much all the other pilgrims were also doing the same thing. We could have gone to the beach but then we had to come back up all the way again, so we thought we might as well stay put and take some rest.

As soon as the counter opened at 3 pm, we got into the museum. It took hardly few minutes to see all the statues and carvings. Although they were exceptional, we were out in less than 10 minutes. The museum depicted complete story of Atma Linga, Ravana's penance, his loss to Ganesha and how a part of the covering came to MDW. I reiterated the story to Paavani which I had first heard in my PU Sanskrit class since when it captivated me. Museum done, we quickly we went to the shrine as well and offered our obeisance, and climbed down towards the beach. 

Facing the Arabian Sea, to the left of the temple and to the right of the temple are both beaches but they were very distinct in nature. While the right side had stalls selling several eateries, beverages, toys, etc., the left side was very sparse and rather empty with few fishing boats anchored. We thought of going there first but looking at the emptiness, we thought maybe it was prohibited to the general public. So we went to the commercial beach and spent some time playing with the waves (only knee-length though!). At that time I realized that I had never ventured deep into the ocean (chest high) with daughter and got totally wet. It was so because there was no easy access to freshwater. The resort at Nirvana Beach was one such reason but it was indeed too far off. Pondi resort was good but the beach was dangerous. Other beaches we visited in and around Pondi or in and around Gokarna were plain visits without planned dress change. This made me regret the itinerary and almost made me change the plan to stay over in Murdeshwar (instead of Sagar) but then realized that it would become too hectic the following day since we had a bus to catch at 4 pm from Shimoga to BLR the next day. Traveling from MDW to Jog and then to Shimoga before 4 pm would have been difficult especially with no idea on the transportation. On hindsight, it was good we did not stay back in MDW, since our day in Jog was packed too (next day). 

We still had to cover one more thing in MDW, that being going atop the Gopuram! Something that is very unique, since most temple Gopurams don't allow that! There was an elevator which we took us to the 18th floor of the Gopuram from where we had an amazing 360 degree view. If we had stayed till sunset, it would have been great but we still had a long way to go, so we descended. We then had ice cream and enquired about how to get to Sagar and made our way to the Bus stop. Little did I know that the second adventure of the trip (in as many days) was just about to begin.

I knew there was a KSRTC Rajahamsa bus from Bhatkal to BLR at 4 pm via Sagar and was hoping that we would get it. The online reservation did not work since it does not qualify for a journey more than 50% of the total distance. We got to the bus stop at about 4:30 pm and we thought the bus had left and had to take any other local bus but thankfully saw it entering MDW, which meant the bus was late. When it started departing towards BLR, we asked the conductor but he said he had seats only till Honnavar. We hopped on and soon got to Honnavar. We thought getting a bus to Sagar from here was easy but, oh boy, were we wrong. There was hardly any bus, and there were plethora of passengers wanting to go in that same route, thanks to the holidays. Finally one bus came but the reservations took precedence and they all got their seats. Ironically this bus would go to Sagar via Jog (which was actually our destination)! Then came our turn to board, and we knew we had to go standing all the way from Honnavar to Sagar. This reminded me of my own childhood days when I went standing & sleeping from Sirsi to Ankola on the way to Karwar in a jam-packed bus, and I felt it would be quite an experience for Paavani to go through the same. 

But 30 mins into the journey, I felt pity for her. I was somehow trying to keep her occupied with games such as Atlas, and other word games and she was fine until after 10 minutes she started feeling sleepy. At that time I asked her to lean on me and sleep. But after few minutes, her legs gave away since she was in deep sleep, and I thought she might as well sit on the ground. Thankfully, a lady sitting beside me saw the plight and beckoned her to sit beside herself (triple sharing on a twin seat). She was like a Goddess at that moment for me and my daughter. Although not very convenient, sitting uncomfortably on a seat for 3 hours was better than sitting on the ground amidst feet! Just when I thought a big problem got solved, another one began: the winding roads.

I knew that the road from Honnavar to Sagar was through the Western Ghats and there was bound to be winding roads. Usually daughter and wife get sick when I am driving, and I was hoping that they wouldn't if we travel in a bus since buses generally don't go fast as cars. But I was wrong. This driver was in a hurry. He accelerated and then hit the brakes, accelerated and hit the brakes every time there was a hair pin bend. Forget my wife and daughter, even I started feeling nauseous. Standing, losing balance, sleepy, feeling pukish, worried about daughter and wife, struggling for oxygen in a packed bus, wearing masks due to Covid threat - I regretted not having planned this part of the trip properly. Wife was standing at the back of the bus and I used to see her now and then but now she was no longer visible. Later came to know her legs gave away too (although she was awake) and she too sat amongst the feet all around her! Thankfully one of the guys standing beside me gave me water when I asked and I felt little bit fine. 

I was amazed though that Paavani had not puked yet so far. I was oh-so-glad. I thought wifey had puked too - she couldn't have withstood this onslaught. Last time we three felt so nauseous was on the boat-ride to island of Catalina back on 2013. The lady sitting beside Paavani had to get down at one of the stops, and as soon as she got down, Paavani puked. It happened in few seconds, and there was no sickness bag, so it had to be out of the window. So lucky that it was easy accessible else I cannot even imagine. Another thing I was glad is that it was not raining. Else everyone would have closed the windows suffocating all of us further! Thankfully that was the one and only sickness episode in the entire bus journey. We soon reached Sagar and after getting out, we all sat on a bench just to get some air and get our body back to stability. Wifey had not puked although very close to it. Took an auto to our hotel (I-Roomz Ocean Comforts), checked in, munched something as dinner, and fell to the bed. This was one (un)forgettable day.

Day 4: Nov 7th - Had booked a cab with a local driver with the help of hotel receptionist and the guy was right on time at 9 am. We left the room though at 8 am and went to a nearby eat-out for breakfast. The cab driver was very friendly. He gave complete information about Jog falls. He even took us on the backroads to make us see the Linganamakki Dam, the backwaters of the dam which eventually causes the Jog falls, the place where hydroelectricity gets generated, etc. before actually taking us to the dam site. Our initial plan was to take a bus to Jog and return back (assuming there were lot of buses) but we were wrong. There are hardly any buses plus taking the cab was a good option because we got to know a lot about the place as the driver gave us all the scoop including different movies that were shot in the area. 

There was one more minor sickness episode for Paavani but she was fine otherwise. The Jog Falls itself was very majestic. Although I was expecting far more volume due to the rainy season but it wasn't so. Still, it was well worth a visit. I didn't even remember when I was here last - maybe 3.5 decades ago and the place was definitely better than how it was back then. Took a number of pics and we thought we were done with the trip when the cab driver took us to another strategic place which gives a different view of the falls. It is considered as the back side of Jog falls, the place where the infamous Mungaru Male movie was shot right above one of the falls. This place was great too although there was a great deal of walking, and it was quite hot too. We observed the falls from all viewpoints and we were more than satisfied. Went back to the car, drank some tender coconuts and we headed back to Sagar Bus stand. Bid the driver good bye for showing us the places very well indeed and took a bus to Shimoga. This was an uneventful one hour journey in a near-empty bus.

At Shimoga Bus stand, we had our lunch in a relatively good Veg restaurant and waited for our bus to come. We were supposed to leave at 4 pm but our bus never came. Finally our bus came at 5 pm. It was my first in KSRTC Airavat Club Class bus. I had high expectations but it was just like any other bus with AC. The road from Shimoga to BLR seemed to be undergoing constructions and there was a number of diversions. We had one stop at 7 pm for dinner at a pretty nice restaurant. I wasn't feeling too good to eat but daughter ate. Bad idea. She had one more sickness episode soon after in the bus and this time wifey took care of it very well indeed. It being an AC bus, there was no open windows! So she had the sickness bag ready, still it had to be done in the dark. Thankfully rest of the journey was uneventful, and we reached BLR a little after 11 pm. Took our bike and reached home at midnight, and hit the sack. It was another day filled with adventure.

Epilogue: Finally the eluding trip to Gokarna, Yana, Murdeshwar & Jog got done - after much deliberation and not without a number of unforgettable adventures. Major take-away from the trip: never plan for unreserved travels (legs in the overall travel plan) and assume easy access will exist. Each of the destination was remarkable in its own way and quite memorable. Albeit difficulties, there were also a number of things to be thankful for. Anyway, all's well that ends well. In fact, this year 2021 is perhaps the only year where we three together have been to two sides of the peninsula and touched both Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea...