We had a three day holiday due to Ugadi and decided to go out some where. Since Hogenakkal was in news for all the wrong reasons these days, we decided to go there. We started out in the morning in our car around 8:45am and reached Hosur by 9:15 am. Hoganekkal is around 150km from Bangalore.
There are three ways you can go to Hogenakkal from there. First Krishnagiri-Dharmapuri-Pennagaram and second via Roayakkottai-Palakkod-Pennagaram and third via Denkanikottai. The third route is suppose to be very scenic and the shortest, but the roads are very bad. We were advised not to take that route on our Maruti 800.
We took the Dharmapuri route. Once you get to Krishnagiri, take the flyover and continue. There is a toll road in between we payed Rs.25. The road were good till Krishnagiri and beyond that lot of construction work going on. Still not bad to drive though there are many detours on the way.
Once you reach Dharmapuri junction, turn right to the road going to Hoganekkal. The route will cross Pennagaram 15km before Hogenakkal. On the way you can see many beautiful Ayyanaar statues. We stopped by to take some pictures. Every village in this area has an Ayyanaar statue. We found many en route. The colorful and artistic statues are a treat to look at.
Once we passed Pennagaram, the road goes around mountains with a good view of the forest. It is around 2-3 km before we reached Hogenakkal. On the way we had to cross the forest check post where they noted down the vehicle number and got signature in their register. Also there is an entrance fee of Rs.20 collected here.
Once we reached Hogenakkal, we parked the car in Hotel Tamilnadu parking area towards the end of the road. Parking charge was Rs.10. Before we reached there, near the bus stand there are people selling parking tickets. Do not buy parking tickets from them. Also there is an entrance fees of Rs.20 collected here. After parking, when we got down, there were lot of guys with blue color shirts coming behind us offering to take us on boat ride. They were asking for Rs.400 for a to and fro ride. There are many road side shops selling fried fish. In fact, these shops are there everywhere inside the water fall area.
We went inside the waterfalls area through a row of shops. At many points there are people with tickets for proceeding further. On the way there are many fried fish shops and people were taking oil massage. There is a government notice board displaying the price for boat, massage etc. Also warning visitors about verifying the credentials of the boatmen before hiring them. We reached the hanging bridge where we saw the mini falls. The hanging bridge got its name from the fact that it is hanging on iron ropes tied from one end to the other. Here is a photo from the hanging bridge showing the mini falls.
After crossing the bridge, you get into a rocky area before you cross the water to get into the main falls area. There is a observation tower when we can see the falls from away. But the real treat is to get into the boat and get near the falls. One of the guys who approached us near the parking lot was following us. We asked him for a deal. He agreed to take us for Rs.200.
We got into the boat. The water, we were told, is 100ft deep at this place. During summer, the water will come down to a depth of 50ft. During rainy seasons (around August), you cannot go by boat here as the water will be very violent.
The boat here is a circular one made of bamboo sheets and covered with plastic sheets and tar. They look very fragile but were suppose to be safe. The boatman took us near the main water falls. It was not very big considering it is an off season. August is suppose to be when the water falls is at it's peak. But then you don't get to see it near by the boat. Then we took a small stride
on the water. We found shops in the water on boat selling all kinds of eatables. They can take you for an 1 hour ride to a nearby sand island. We decided not to do that as we have to return.
The view of the rocks and water fall is fantastic. The water flows between the high rocks for almost a kilometer. The boatman dropped us near the parking place on return.
When we were in the water, we found boys on top of the rock jumping into the river. They will jump for you if you offer them money. I did not find it very amusing. This could be child exploitation.
If you look at them, they will jump and swim near your boat and ask for money.
We started back in the evening. There were lot of monkeys on the road through the mountains. Many are very small and it is very nice to see them. We reached Bangalore in the night. While returning, we took the Palakkod-Royakkottai route. The road was not very good, but a lot shorter. It took around 3.5 hrs to come back. Overall, it was a nice trip after a long time.
Today, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched 10 satellites using its reliable PSLV rocket from its SHAR range in Sriharikota near Chennai. This is the 13th flight of PSLV and the vehicle carried two Indian satellites and 8 small foreign satellites. Castrosat of India will provide high resolution pictures.
