Small waterfall but great weekend fun

This is about a small, not so fa waterfall which is not so famous but a nice place to hangout on a weekend located near Dabbe Falls. This waterfall above the Dabbe waterfalls in Shimoga and is about one kilometer before reaching Dabbe Falls. Check out my previous post on Dabbe Falls here [Link].

There is a mud road/ jeep track to reach this location, but trekking all the way to this place will be even more fun. This small waterfall is hardly a few meters in height and is less dangerous. But you need to be careful as it's slippery and also water current maybe high during monsoon. Ideal time would be to go after the monsoon season so that there is less water and you can get into the water to have fun.

The reason why you need to visit this place and why I consider this place to be better than other falls is - Falls like Jog or Dabbe are few hundreds of feet in height and will be dangerous. These falls are the best to see from far, but if you want to get into risk free water and have maximum fun, then this is the place you need to spend time.

Location: Near Dabbe Falls, Shimoga, Wester Ghats, Karnataka, India

Camera: Nikon D600 + 50mm 1.4d + 14-24mm lens + Tripod

Dabbe Falls in Shimoga

Dabbe Falls is one of the famous falls in western Ghats, but not so known to people maybe because it's hard to reach the falls as it's deep in the jungle. The waterfall is about 600 feet high. You can reach the bottom of this falls during summer and is not very deep (almost 4 to 5 feet), but advised not to try this during monsoon.

As of this writing there is a jeep route which will take you all the way to Dabbe Falls near 'Gowdra Mane' (house), our vehicle (TT) could almost reached this place but did not go further because of the muddy track. It can be very challenging to go by your vehicle during monsoon as the jeep route is not made of concert or tar. From this house, it's a dangerous steep (80-85 degree slope) walk for about 30 minutes. Can be challenging for first time trekkers, need a rope if you want to go to the bottom of the falls. There is no way you can see the falls without getting down as it's in the middle of the jungle. The trekking trail is dangerous and slippery and you need to hold branches and roots to get down and climb up.

You need to get forest entry ticket before entering the forest at Shimoga or the local forest department and will cost Rs. 250 for entry and Rs. 50 more for trekking. One copy of your original photo ID card is a must and localities in this region will inform local police or forest dept that you are in that place. Also, you can stay over night at 'Gowdra Maney' in your sleeping bag. You need to make an entry of your name before entering the falls in the above mentioned house.

It was great fun for us and we stayed in our sleeping bag overnight with some night time photography and cooking on our own. Not much of wild animals in this region even though it's in the middle of jungle. Nice place to visit during summer. Check out the video below and don't forget to share.

The Lost World - Kanoor Kote

Kanoor Kote is located in the midst of Sharavathi reserved forest. Reaching this place for stranger would be tough as many locals on the way predict the kilometers but don't know the exact distance to Kanoor Kote. Kanoor Kote was built by Rani Keladi Chenamma who ruled Keladi province after her husband's death. Keladi chenamma's name is considered as one of the brave women of Karnataka and of its history. 

Kanoor Kote says every word of history which was lived there even today and to reach here is one major task for any tourist and it will make you still wonder how did they traveled in such route when there was no transport at all. The fort is located in the deep jungle which is Reserved forest for wild animals. One can hear a lot of animal making noise while trekking towards the fort. It is adviced to trek to the fort in group rather than alone or few.

We were charged Rs 150 by forest dept and a trekking fee of Rs 50 more. There are few forest department sign boards and few cement chairs to sit just before Kanoor Kote. There is zero amount being spent in preserving this old historic fort. This place is not an ideal place to camp overnight and instead would recommend to stay in some villager's house located few kms away. We had walked almost 30 kms to reach this place from Dabbe Falls. There is a jeep route which will take you almost all the way till this fort. You need to walk for about 2 kms at the end to reach this fort. Check out this video.

Camera: Nikon D600 with Nikon 14-24mm lens
Location: Kanoor Fort, Shimoga, Karnataka, India

Evening in a village near Kuduremukha

Captured this near Kuduremukha, Western Ghats in  India. Image shows the terrace cultivation in the foreground. In middle is the western Ghats - hilly region which is known for the thick rain forest and is older than Himalayas and in the background is the fading sky. in the evening sky. Love the different colors, late This was captured just after sunset.

Download high quality image here [link] or contact me directly.

Camera: Nikon D600 with 14-24mm lens
Camera Settings: 24mm, 1/160, f/6.3, ISO 200

Trees - All the way up

Captured this image near Kuduremukha, Western Ghats. Below is the tea plantation and there trees are cut so that there is enough sunlight that reach the tea plants below and also to check soil erosion. Common to find these trees at most of the tea plantations here in Karnataka and Kerala.

Download this image here [Link] or contact me directly.

Camera: Nikon D600 with 14-24mm lens
Location: Kuduremukha, Western Ghats, Karnataka, India

Surathkal NITK Beach just after Sunset

This is a long exposure photo that was captured at Surathkal Beach, Mangalore in India. The sea that you see in front is the Arabian Sea. Long exposure has created a silky effect of the waves. Had to wait late in the evening after sunset to that the sky is dark as I have been trying long exposure shots. I did not have any filters while capturing this image. You can capture this kind of images even during day light provided you have filters with higher f-stops.

Download this image [here] or contact me directly.

Camera: Nikon D600 with Nikon 14-24 mm lens.
Camera Settings: 14mm, 6 secs, f/20, ISO 100
Location: Surathkal, NITK beach, Mangalore, Karnataka

Sringeri - The 8th Century Monastery

Captured this photo when I had been to Sringeri. One of the oldest 8th century monastery. The old building that you see is the Sringeri Sharadha Peetha or Sringeri Matta. It's a must visit place if you have plans to travel to south India. Right next to this ancient Matta is the river Tunga and on the other side is the Sharada temple. This place is around 100+ kms from Mangalore and is around 300+ kms from Bangalore.

Camera: Nikon D600, Nikon 14-24mm lens
Camera Settings: 19mm, 1/250, f/8, ISO 100
Location: Sringeri, Karnataka, India

Note: Photography inside the temple isn't allowed.

Tulu Nadu Festival at Mangalore

I had been to my hometown Mangalore located in the west coast of Karnataka, India. Unfortunately I did not have my camera at that time and pulled out my mobile phone - Samsung Galaxy Note. Used my phone camera to capture this with the auto settings. Did not have much time to capture as the crowd around were moving fast. Wasn't sure if I could enter in between while the procession was going on and also there were fire crackers being burst around. Love the bright color of the traditional dress made of araca nut / palm plant. Love to see people keeping the coastal Karnataka tradition alive.

Camera: Samsung Galaxy Note
Location: Hampankatta, Mangalore, Karnataka, India

On the way to Sringeri

Captured this picture on the way from Mangalore to Sringeri just after the rain forest and western ghats. I was standing on a hanging bridge with crystal clear water in the foreground and reflection of sunlight. In the middle left is the state highway and middle left and to the right is the fresh bright green rain forest. In the background is the western ghats with bright blue clean sky. It was just too perfect, really peaceful place. Local people use this hanging bridge to walk and cross the small river below. The depth of the river isn't too much and it was crystal clear. You could easily see the colorful rocks and fish below. 

Camera: Nikon D600 Lens: 14-24 mm FX Nikon
Camera Settings: 14mm, 1/250 sec, f/8, ISO 110
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Location: Mangalore - Srigeri Highway, 60km before Sringeri after Western Ghats.

Surathkal Light house late in the evening

Even though I work in Bangalore as of this writing, I visit Surathkal (my home town) atleast once in every 1 or 2 months. I have seen people visiting this place in the evening as there is famous temple and a light house. But after sunset at around 7-8 pm you will hardly find anyone there. Even though I spent most of time time here in this place, I did not ever stay back after 7pm. Recently, I have been to this place with my Nikon D600 camera and a tripod along with Nikon lens. It was too perfect for me with clear sky and for me to experiment with low light photography. I had to wait for almost an hour to capture this with no one around, just the beam of light from light house. Also, I'm lucky enough to capture shooting star in the same image. I had captured this at around a distance of 500-750 meters from light house. Below is the image and camera settings that I have used to capture this low light photo of night sky along with the light house.

Camera: Nikon D600

Lens: Nikon 50mm FX prime lens 1.4D

Camera Settings: Exposure 30 secs, f/5, 50mm, IS0 800, No flash, Used Tripod.

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Remains of building at Kumta Beach

In the image below you will find some of the remains of an old building (not sure if it's a church) and also there is a long straight path. The path is made of proper red rock and doesn't look like some ordinary trekking trail as shown in the image below. This place is full of volcanic rocks. As you can see in the video below the granite rock is really colorful. Also check my previous post - Kumta Beach in Karnataka.Overall this place is a very beautiful, unspoiled place. Nice place to relax and the idea time to go there through the year. This place is around 30 kms from Gokarna and is well connected. 

Camera: Nikon D600 with 14-24mm lens

Camera Settings: 14mm, 1/400, f/10, ISO 100

Location: Kumta Beach, Karnataka, India

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Beach that you need to visit

This is one of the most beautiful places on earth which is beautiful, peaceful, unspoiled and a must visit place. This place is around 600 kms from Bangalore and is a over night journey. It's close to Kumta and Gokarna city. Captured this image in the afternoon at around 2:45pm, on the way from Holanagadde Beach to Sangam Beach. You do not see to many people here and some love it this way. You might find few foreigners who have come to this place to spend their vacation and learn Yoga. In the image below you see some of my friends who were with me walking along the seashore. Watch the two videos below and also the photo that I have captured.

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Camera: Nikon D600, 14-24mm lens
Camera Settings: Focal Length 14mm, Exposure 1/400, f/10, ISO 100

Location: On the way from Holanagadde Beach to Sangam Beach, Karnataka, India

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Videos:

Holanagadde beach, Karnataka, India

Sangam Beach, Karnataka, India

Evening at Om Beach, Karnataka, India

Om beach another beautiful beach and is next to Goa in India when it comes to foreign visitors. Another beautiful beach, unspoiled. This place may be a bit crowded sometimes during peak season. I had been there during my Kumta - Gokarna trekking and had spent evening playing volley ball in the beach. It was great fun and we even took a dip in the sea water. There is a shelter house and bathroom available till 6pm at Om Beach near the Forest Department office. This place is the one which you need to visit and stay there for a while if you want to get relaxed. There are enough number of Yoga centers nearby. This place is controlled by Forest Department and it's common to see police officers in most of the places. So, consider this place to be a safe place. Check out the video below before you visit this place.

Camera: Nikon D600 with 14-25mm lens
Location: Om Beach, Gokarna, North-West Karnataka, India.
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Kumta Beach in Karnataka

Had been to Trekking with my friends, from Kumta to Gokarna Beach for 2 days. Spent over night at Sangam beach in our sleeping bags. These are some of the images that I captured at Kumta Beach located within 30 kms from Gokarna. This was the starting point of our trekking all the way till Gokarna.

Camera: Nikon D600
Location: Kumta Beach, Karnataka, India

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Mangodlu Beach in Karnataka

Mangodlu beach located around 20 kms from Gokarna is a beautiful place with beach which is not polluted at all. Not too many visitors visit this place, but if you go there you will love this place because of the quite and clean beach. Here in this region you will find some hilly terrain and in some of the parts there is no seashore. Other local attractions include - Kumta beach, Vanamali beach, Holanagadde beach, Sangam beach, Barka beach, Tadadi port, Aganashini river bank, Paradise beach, Halfmoon beach, Om beach, Kudle beach, Gokarna beach, Gokarna Temple.

Camera: Nikon D600
Location: Mangodlu Beach, in between Kumta and Gokarna, Karnataka, India

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Gokarna City Festival

I have been to Gokarna in the recent past during my Kumta to Gokarna beach trekking which was for 2 days and covered a distance of 30 kms by walk and boat. Covered multiple places including Om beach, Paradise beach and Halfmoon beach. Lot of tourists come to this place every year. We went to Gokarna Mahabaleshwara Shiva temple late in the evening and after visiting the temple we had our dinner there. It was festival time - Deepotsava. It was really nice to see each and every one come out of their house put rangoli in front of their house. Check out this video. It was more like festival of lights and this is performed on the day of full moon. At 9pm in the evening the grand celebration begins inside the temple premises. This place had equal number of locals and foreign tourists who had come to Gokarna to stay on long term. Just liked the local tradition and cultured that were being followed in this region of Gokarna located at North West Karnataka in India, makes this a must visit place.

Camera: Nikon D600 

Location: Gokarna, Karnataka, India

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South India Tourism - Pandya Nagari

Karkala is a town and also the headquarters of Karkala Taluk in Udupi district of Karnataka, India. The first name of this town was "Pandya Nagari" during the Jain regime but afterwards it was changed to "Karikallu" because of black stones. Black granite is abundant in this area, and is in wide use in the local architecture. The statue Gomateshwara (Lord Bahubali) is located about 1 km from the center of the town and is 42 ft. high, believed to have been built around 1432 AD. Yearly celebrations are in the month of February called "Rathotsava" and once in 12 years "Mahamastakabhisheka", sacred bathing of the statue with saffron paste, milk and water and sprinkled with sandal wood powder, turmeric, and vermilion is celebrated. This statue of Gomateshwara in karkala is the 2nd highest next to the Gomateshwara statue, located at Shravanabelagola. Karkala has a number of natural and historical landmarks including the Ramasamudra Lake.

There are 18 basadis of antiquity including Mahaveera Basadi, Chandranathaswamy Basadi, Adinathaswamy Basadi, Ananthanatha Basadi, Guru Basadi and Padmavathi Basadi.

Kodachadri Trekking

I had been to Kodachadri with my friends on a team outing when I worked for IBM. We reached Kollur late in the evening and spend overnight at one of the hotels in Kollur City. We started our day by visiting Sri Mookambika Temple of Kollur. Kodachadri lies in the Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary at Kollur in Karnataka, India. The mountain is 1343m tall and is the highest peak in the Shimoga district of Karnataka. Arashinagundi falls and Hidlumane falls are two famous waterfalls inside the forests of Kodachadri valley. The highest point among these hills offers a majestic view of sunset. During sunset the Arabian sea can be viewed from the sunset point. There is also a sunrise point from where a breathtaking view of rising sun is made possible. The Lingamakki reservoir is also visible from the peak.

There is a temple dedicated to Sri Mokkambika Devi at the top. Chitramoola is another beautiful location which according to the legend was the place where Shankaracharya met Mookambika Devi. Ganapathi Cave is another attraction near the Peak. Kodachadri is a trekkers paradise with adventurous trekking routes through the waterfalls to the peak. Well, if you are lazy to go all the way for trekking then you can go by local jeep though some other route. I would suggest every one to take routes through the waterfalls to the peak. It’s a must visit place. Leave a comment and do share this post if you are planning to visit or have already traveled to Kodachadri.

Belur

Belur, built in the year 1117 A.D. was the early capital of the Hoysala Empire. Belur is located in Hassan district, Karnataka, India. The main attraction in Belur is the Chennakesava temple complex which contains the Chennakesava Temple (meaning handsome Vishnu) as the centre piece, surrounded by the Kappe Chennigraya temple. The temple is one of the finest examples of Hoysala architecture; it was built by king Vishnuvardhana in commemoration of his victory over the Cholas at Talakad in 1117 A.D.Legend has it that it took 103 years to complete and Vishnuvardhana's grandson Veera Ballala II completed the task. The facade of the temple is filled with intricate sculptures and friezes with no portion left blank. The intricate workmanship includes elephants, lions, horses, episodes from the Indian mythological epics, and sensuous dancers (Shilabalikas). Inside the temple are a number of ornate pillars. Darpana Sundari (Lady with the mirror) carved on walls of Belur Temple is one of major attractions in the complex. This temple is being proposed as UNESCO world heritage sites.