Hogenakkal Falls - The Niagara of India

Early March is normally not considered the best season to visit Hogenakkal Falls, but then for a trip with friends such things often don't matter. Known as the Niagara of India, this popular waterfall is located around 46 Kms from the town of Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu and around 160 Kms from Bangalore. Exactly on the border of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, it can be approached from both sides. So it was kind of funny when we ended up on the Tamil Nadu side after a good scenic drive form Bangalore. It seems the boatmen here adhere to some dressing norms, the ones on our side were dressed in blue while the ones on the opposite bank were attired in yellow.

The name of the waterfall is derived from two Kannada words, hoge which means smoke and kal meaning rocks thereby translating to Smoking Rocks. The Carbonatite rocks at this site are considered to be the oldest of its kind in South Asia. At Hogenakkal, the river Kaveri drops and creates numerous waterfalls as the water cuts through the rocky terrain. The thunderous sound of water crashing down from over 60 feet is something to experience. After this point the river spreads out over a wide area of sandy beaches. With its fame for medicinal baths and coracle boat rides, it is a great draw for tourists.

Boating is a major attraction here. Coracles, locally known as Parisal, are round boats made of bamboo with the bottoms covered by hide or plastic, with a single paddle for steering. We chose a parisal ride and the boatmen took us on a ride through the gorge right up to the waterfalls. He even got the boat under one of the falls. It was quite exhilarating despite the risk of getting my camera drenched. Sitting in the boat, looking at the water and the sky, the great rocky walls rising up on both sides, the play of light on the water surface, the wind, watching patterns, don't be surprised if the tranquility gets you doing a Rodin's The Thinker. As per the boatmen, the water in this channel can be fairly deep, up to 100 feet in places. It’s not unusual to see shops on water as hawkers move around on parisals selling snacks and soft drinks.

One unpleasant experience of the ride is the strong smell of fish that stays with you for almost the whole trip. Fishing is quite popular here and you can get tasty freshly caught river fish deep fried and smeared in all kinds of aromatic spices at reasonable prices. The river water is also considered medicinal and hence many tourists prefer taking a bath post a rejuvenating oil massage. Special bathing enclosures have been created for safety while bathing in the waterfall. Alternately, one can even head out to the sandy beaches for some fun in the moderate currents. Evening, we found ourselves busy taking pictures of the waterfall as the sun gradually sank below the horizon. Almost, lost one of my lenses to a monkey who seemed quite interested in photography.

Linville Gorge and Linville Falls

One week later, another nice warm October day. Late fall, but the bitter days of winter still a month away, or so it seemed. Too good a day to spend at home. So the four of us - Sandy, Ela, Pattu and I set out on a trip to the Linville Gorge. We were hoping to catch some fall colours. Being an experienced campaigner and a frequent visitor to the mountains, Ela did advise us to dress snugly. But none of us paid much heed. Sandy's Mustang was our ride for the occasion. It's a fantastic car, climbing up the mountain trails like a wild mustang riding over rough terrain. The first hint of cold in the air hit us while filling gas at a roadside filling station. It was a subtle hint , nothing much to be bothered about, and we moved on.

Reaching the town of Linville around noon, we opted for a sumptuous country meal before starting on the hike to the gorge. The trail we followed was moderate and well trodden by hikers over the years.

The trail passed through the woods which I agree were lovely, dark and deep. But somehow didn't remind me of any promises I had to keep.

At places, the trail was extremely beautiful, exhibiting the full splendour of fall. Colours of bright yellow and red adorned both sides of the trail.

We caught the first glimpse of water as we climbed down these steps cut into the path.

And then there it was!! Facing us was the Upper Falls.

The water flows through here and then disappears down a hole into an underground passage finally emerging on the othe side as the Linville Falls.

The Linville Falls creates a beautiful sight, the water from the waterfall crashing down to the rocky bottom. It creates a creek which flows down the Linville Gorge.

The mountain stream continues to flow down the beautiful gorge.

The view of the gorge is breathtakingly beautiful. We found it impossible to resist the urge to stop and devour nature's beauty. Sitting on the ledge, our feet hanging down over hundreds of feet of nothingness, it was exhilarating to say the least.

We had a distant glimpse of the peaks of Mt. Mitchell. It seemed to be getting the first snow of the season. Ela came up with a sudden idea insisting we had to drive to those peaks on the same day. It was too good an opportunity to let pass. We concurred. In retrospect, it was a great decision. But that's another story for another time.

On the way back to the car, I caught the sun once peeking through the woods.