As the unplanned trip kicked in, we placed ourselves in the last seat of the Volvo bus which was heading towards Shimoga and the adventurous bag pack journey set forth its path from the Bangalore terminus at 7.30 in the morning. The bus timely reached Shimoga in the afternoon and we had to catch another bus to reach Jog falls, which was around 60 kms away.
The local bus roared away into the scorching afternoon and in parallel cut its way through the bad patch roads and after 90 minutes it did place us in the destination. As the steps progressed towards the falls, I was dumbstruck by the beauty the place carried. Had not imagined to discover such a beautiful backdrop of nature.


I did encounter many disappointed faces around who actually wanted to catch them at full action and there were few happy souls including me who got engrossed with its beauty and the marvel of the nature as how often does one get to catch a glimpse of nature like this.
Being an uplanned trip, we were unsuccessful in booking accommodation in the RNS residency (preferred option), we put ourselves in Bhatkal, which is around 20 kms from the temple. The temple is situated in an extremely beautiful scenic location overlooking the Arabian sea. The whole atmosphere is divine and the Gopuram is quite tall and it does offer the facility to head to the top floor of the gopuram where one could catch the glimpse of the the far stretching blue sea and Shiva in his composed state, certainly relaxing treatment for the eyes.The majestic Shiva statue sitting engrossed in deep meditation, does pull the mind of the onlookers to a complete rest and as we stand tiny below his foot to look up at him, we realize how magnificent he is.
I believe it is one of the tallest Shiva statues in India and it appears as though the Lord is really sitting there and will someday rise up and stand tall to touch the sky. A marvellous place to be in.
After spending decent time at Murudeshwara, we decided to head to Gokarna beach to continue the adventure. After around 2-3 hours, we reached the place. We headed to the beach and must say that the beach is very clean, neat and serene. The spirit which had risen pulled the energy to do a trek walk from Kudle beach to Om beach, covering a terrain distance of 4-6 km on foot. After having covered midway of the distance, the cliff greeted us with a very beautiful backdrop of scenic beauty of the vast water sea bed covered with mountains adjacent to it.
It was a delight to catch the glimpse of nature which surely enthralled the eyes and is a camera’s delight. However the camera failed to capture the real beauty of the place and the pictures may not completely justify the beauty of the place and it should be experienced with the raw eyes instead.
As we reached Om beach, the setting sun added beauty to the blue sea calming it down to turn itself into crimson orange.What a wonderful holiday it turned out to be. Thanks Vasu for walking the path along and making an unplanned trip to an enjoyable memorable trip.
May the New Year bring you opportunities for more adventures- impromptu and planned, alike! 🙂
Cheers!
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Thank u😊 for the wishes and same too you. Appreciate it
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Excellent shots and narrative!
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Thank u Indira madam.
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That was a nice trip… My kulavi temple is in shirali, next to batkal. Shirali and murudeshwar was our regular trip in a year. Even now my parents visit every year . Batkal jasmine is a famous one 😀
Pls note: I have shifted to a self hosted blog and lost my old followers. Do follow 😊
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Your words made me excited to visit these places. The lord Shiva statue is beautiful, the beach and temple as well as the waterfall, all made my day. I love the way you describe your journey and everything. Excellent.
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Thanks Shreya for those lovely words. Trying my best to make it an interesting writeup. Glad to know that it has come out well.
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My pleasure.
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Loved the pictures and loved the write-up, Ravi. Sometimes the thrill of an unplanned trip cannot be match for a planned one, albeit with a little compromise here and there. Heard of the beauty of Jog Falls but your picture is absolutely picturesque. Also heard about the beauty of Gokarna and its serene beaches. The shiva temple is news to me, it is majestic indeed. Glad you could pull an unplanned trip with so much fun and excitement.
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Thanks Pranitha ma’dam, it was indeed a great trip and was surprised that an unplanned one went well. I also felt being a solo trip, it worked. Yes, the place is amazing. The Shiva temple has come up in the last few years and gained popularity.
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That is wonderful, Ravi. Hope you have many more such trips and will enlighten us too about its details.
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Pics are really beautiful & liked your description as well.
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Thanks a lot for the read and acknowledging the post.
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Excellent narration. …
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Beautiful trail indeed !!
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