I had an opportunity to visit the Satoddi falls again. Previously i had visited in the month of March. Now that its monsoon, I was wondering to what level the water would have reached. The plan was to cover Satoddi Falls (already visited), Magod Falls and Hemavathi Backwaters.
This was an organized trek, so everything was planned unlike what we do normally. Magod Falls in Yellapura Taluk, Karnataka was the first stop. The water falls from a height of 650 feet. I was wondering how it would look like when the water falls from such a height. It indeed bet my expectation. If you happen to somehow try to reach the bottom of the waterfall, I am sure you would not survive at the immense force and pressure with which the water hits your body. Thanks to the Government, they had already taken preventive measures so that no one could reach the waterfall base.
Due to heavy rains the water had turned brown in colour which clearly exhibits the soil erosion.
Once we were done with that we headed towards Hemavathi backwaters. The actual start was about to begin.
We walked a kilometer to reach the backwaters. We were advised a raft would be available for us to cross the river. I had my own imagination of a raft. I was under the impression that the raft would resemble more or less a shape of a boat. But to my surprise, there was a wooden plank of a size of 5 by 20 feet with no supporting edges. How do you move it? Well, a huge loop was created with a rope with both ends tied to the either sides of the raft and then the rope was looped around two bike wheels which was placed on either river banks. A simple technique but of much use. Just pull the rope and the raft moves. It was an amazing experience.
Normally you don’t get to do this in all places. We later learnt that a hefty amount was spent by the localites to build this raft for their commute.
We were 13 in number. All of them got onto the raft, we realized it was submerged half feet under water. Considering it to be unsafe we decided to do two trips. The distance being more than 200 metres, we naturally took time to reach the other side. Then we started our approach which was a little over 5 kms. The walk in the forest was simply beautiful. The rain though wasn’t continuous was playing around with us with short frequent spells. Naturally we were digging for Jackets and umbrellas in our bags everytime it rained.
A few of our companions were first timers. They had an opportunity to trek with torches in the night as we took time to reach our destination for the stay. Our host served us hot dinner which we relished.
Soon after breakfast the next day morning we started our return march. It was no different than the previous day. The rains kept haunting us through out. Once we reached the road, our transport was waiting to take us to satoddi falls.
I was taken for a complete surprise when I saw the river which had swelled so much compared to the March levels.
In March we had a very good time at the base of the water fall. But now, the chances of reaching the base was very bleak. The boulders on which we walked to reach the base was completely submerged. The current of the water flow was very high so we spent some time in the water near the banks.
Best time to visit Satoddi falls would be summer, if you want to enjoy in the water, as the water flow would be manageable and more importantly it would allow you to reach the base of the water fall. That’s the prize of visiting the place.
A Small request - Please do not litter the forests or roads. Be kind to the forests.
