So, it was another backpacking trip with Kien and Rajith. Our original destination was Somnathpur, near Mysore. But Kien seemed fascinated about Jog after reading about it in his guide book. So we changed plans in the last minute and decided to visit Jog. Unlike our earlier trips, this was to be done without an extended stay - cos Rajith and I planned to return the same night. Kien was to travel further up north to Gokarna.

Overnight to Sagar

We booked tickets by VRL travels to Sagar. It was a good idea to go all the way to Sagar. To visit Jog, Shimoga is the closest railway station and most travelers keep that city as the base. Around eight hours from Bangalore and connected by bus and train, Shimoga is a fairly big town and has plenty of options to stay. To reach Jog from Shimoga, one has to take a bus that would anyway go via Sagar. Of course, if you have your own vehicle you don’t have to depend on local buses.

The bus reached Sagar at around half past 7 in the morning. We hadn’t done any hotel booking and our plan was to take up the cheapest room just to freshen up and keep our bags. I had packed only my essential photograhy gear - my lenses, my camera and some change of clothes. To face Bangalore’s cold morning the next day I had packed some warm clothes which formed the bulk of my Lowe Pro.

The room was kinda ok and surprisingly the toilet was cleaner than the beds. Of course, we had no plans of sleeping and we got started freshening up. Just when Rajith went in after me the caretaker came in and started hurrying us up. He said his boss would arrive at any moment and he would have to register the room in our name. His intention, which became clear then, was to pocket the 60 bucks that we had agreed upon, and shoo us away before his boss came. We asked him for some more time and when we got done, the boss hadn’t come. So we paid him only 50 bucks for hurrying us up. We had a good breakfast at the Pai restaurant just opposite the lodge and headed back to the bus stand. A rather empty bus to Jog was waiting and we boarded it. It was quite obvious that this wasn’t the tourist season as the bus was rather empty all the way to Jog. It took much longer than we expected - an hour and a half to cover less than 60kms.

Jog Falls

The bus stopped right in front of the entrance to Jog falls. What we saw was anything but breathtaking - just a trickle of water. Of course, this was expected but Kien seemed disappointed. His guide book had probably raised his expectations

Since there wasn’t much to see, we spent most of our time shooting the people who had come there. Most of them were school kids, Ayappa pilgrims and villagers from nearby. The route to the base of the falls was closed because the government was constructing steps and hence that was ruled out. We were stalked by a taxi guy who said he’d take us to the other side of the falls - from where we could see the river make its way down. He quoted 250 which I almost was ready to pay, but Kien (!) bargained and brought it down to 200. After the taxi ride I felt that even 200 was more for the distance he took us. One hundred would have been apt.

Anyway, once at the other side, we spent time capturing Jog from various angles and using various lenses. With three Canon shooters, you can be assured that there wouldn’t be a moment of rest or boredom In fact, we spent more time than the taxi guy had given us, and he came looking for us, rather annoyed. We bargained for some more time as Rajith and Kien wanted to take a dip in the water. One good thing was that although it was mid-day, January’s cool temperature didn’t wear us down. I took care of the bags while they bathed, and then we headed back to the main entrance. The highlight of this part of the trip was the straight-down view of Jog falls, which Kien and Rajith have taken a good shot of.

Ikkeri

Once back at the entrance we had lunch and took a return bus back to Sagar. The taxi guy had recommended Ikkeri and another nearby temple, but since it was 5 when we reached Sagar, we decided to visit only Ikkeri. We had some refreshments and took a local bus to Ikkeri. It was a ten minute ride and we got off at the main road and walked to the temple. It was an interesting half an hour walk for Kien because he got a glimpse of real Indian rural life, which I am sure his guide book wouldn’t have helped him with. It was probably interesting for the locals too, watching three backpackers aiming their cameras at almost every sight. The temple at Ikkeri too proved a good visit - and devoid of tourists. We spent considerable time there shooting. I got an opportunity to shoot some very worthy frames in spite of being a little tired from all the traveling and hiking. We walked back to the main road as the sun set and skipped a crowded bus, to take an auto back to Sagar.

Onward and backward

At Sagar, Rajith had a tough time trying to find the best way to go to Gokarna on behalf of Kien. After listening to various answers from the locals, we had dinner and bid Kien goodbye telling him to catch a night bus to Gokarna. Rajith and I caught an express bus back to Shimoga and on the way got to know that our RAC tickets were confirmed. So the trip ended well and below are some of the captures from our day at Jog and Ikkeri.