Jog Falls Travel Guide, Shimoga: Stay & Jog falls Trek

Jog Falls is the second highest waterfall in India located in Shimoga district in Karnataka. Jog falls is a major tourist attraction during monsoon. Along with covering Jog falls, other places of interest that you might also be interested in are Gokarna beaches, Yana caves, Mirjan fort etc. Here is complete Jog falls travel Guide.

Jog falls:

Jog falls is a major tourist spot located in the Shimoga district of Karnataka. It is located at a distance of around 100 Km from Shimoga, 30 Km from Sagar taluk, and 60 Km from the town of Sirsi. Jog falls is formed over the famous north Karnataka river called Sharavathi River. It is made up of four different falls which are combined called Jog falls.

The four major falls which form Jog falls are:

  • Raja falls
  • Roarer falls
  • Rocket falls
  • Rani falls

Jog falls drops from a height of around 253 meters or 830 feet which make it the second-highest plunge waterfall in India after the Nohkalikai Falls in Meghalaya which drops from a height of 335 meter or 1100 feet.

How to reach Jog falls from Bangalore?

Jog falls is situated at a distance of around 420 Km from Bangalore. There are direct buses from Bangalore to Jog falls. But I would advise you to go by your own vehicle in a group so that you can cover other places as well which are around. There are different routes to Jog falls from Bangalore and there are different traveling times to jog falls from Bangalore as well.

Bangalore to Jog falls by road

Bangalore to Jog falls: Route one

As shown in the route map above, route one passes through Tumkur, Sira, Hiriyur, Davangere etc. After driving for around 280 Kms on this highway, you drive another 125 Kms on a single-lane road. The drive of 278 Kms is on a double lane and sometimes triple-lane highways.

So, you would not get tired while driving and you can easily cover the major portion of the entire stretch. Last 125 Kms has to be driven on a double road, mostly state highway, however, there would not be much traffic.

Bangalore to Jog falls: Route two

Route two is another famous route which is known mostly to the cab drivers and this route passes through the town of Shimoga & Sagar. While going, we took the second route and it was not as comfortable as the first route which we took while returning.

Moreover, on the weekends, there will be a lot of traffic on this route as well especially the stretch of the last 100 km because this route is also taken by the buses. Around two in the night, we ran out of fuel and it was really difficult to find a petrol station which was open in the night on this route. Moreover, the whole drive is entirely on a double road that’s why route one is faster by one hour compared to route two.

Jog falls parking & viewpoint:

Jog falls has got a big parking lot which also has the viewpoints made at the edge of the parking. From the viewpoint, you can see the Jog falls.

Jog falls from Jog falls viewpoint

Jog falls from Jog falls viewpoint

The parking space is really big and there are different charges for the different vehicles. For a car, it was Rs. 30 for us. Besides vehicle parking, you also have to pay Rs. 10 per person for Jog falls. The viewpoint is really wide and can accommodate many persons at a time.

Jog falls trek & steps:

You can also walk down to the bottom of the Jog falls by taking the steps which go down to the base of the falls. There is a total of 1,388 steps in total which take you down to the base of the falls. The view is really awesome and different from the bottom of the falls. There is an enclosed barred area at the bottom beyond which you cannot go.

Jog falls steps timings: 9 AM to 4 PM.

Jog falls from bottom

It took us around 25 minutes for us to go down and to climb up, it took around 40 minutes. There is a water stream at the bottom where you can fill water because while climbing up, you might feel thirsty.

Staying near Jog falls – Hotels & resorts, Jog falls

Jog falls has limited staying options when it comes to staying near Jog falls. Here is a Google map view of the hotels near Jog falls in the radius of 15 Kms. Here is a list of the hotels around Jog falls:

Hotel Mayura, Jog falls

Hotel Mayura is the closest hotel to the Jog falls viewpoint. This hotel is run by Karnataka State Tourism Development Department. It has two blocks named, Sharavati and Tunga blocks with ten rooms each. Half of them are two bedded and others are three bedded.

The rates are cheap compared to private hotels. The Sharavati blocks provide a wonderful view of the falls. Check-in time is noon. Both blocks have western-type toilets but the Tunga block does not have hot water. There is one more ten-bedded dormitory in Tunga block.

Tariff:

Room description Tariff (Exclusive of Taxes)
Sharavathi Block
NonAC Double Room (4) Rs.1950/-
AC Double Room (6) Rs.2400/-
Dormitory of 10 bed (2) Rs.3000/-
Tunga Block
NonAC Double Room (8) Rs.975/-

Prakurthi Yatri Nivas Lodge, Near Rani falls

If somehow you are unable to get a room at the hotel Mayura then Prakurthi Yatri Nivas lodge should be the next one that I would like to suggest. What I really liked about this lodge is the location. It is just located beside the Rani falls though you cannot see the falls but yet you can hear the sound of the gushing waterfalls.

AC room costed us around Rs. 1400 and NonAC room cost us around 1100 rupees. They have warm water facilities, parking, and restaurants as well.

Panoramic view from Prakurthi Yatri nivas, Rani falls as seen in right

Panoramic view from Prakurthi Yatri Nivas, Rani falls as seen in the right

Sharavathi Adventure Camp, Jog falls

Adventure camps are run by Jungle lodges which is another initiative from the Karnataka tourism. However, unlike Karnataka Holidays hotels, Jungle lodges are costlier. It is located at a distance of around 6 Km from the Jog falls but it worth one time stay there.

Matthunga Homestay near Jog falls

Matthunga Homestay is situated at a distance of around 9 Km from Jog falls towards Sagar near Talaguppa. It is located at a nice location and will usually be crowded on the weekends.

Other stays around Jog falls:

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10 Replies to “Jog Falls Travel Guide, Shimoga: Stay & Jog falls Trek”

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  2. Gaurav

    I and my friends are planning to make a trekking tour of Jog falls . We want to know that the amount for trekking and for hotels are different or in the amount of trekking only. And want to know the sufficient cash to take up there

  3. Divya

    HI Amar,
    We planning a family trip to Jog falls in Sept last week, we are planning to reach jog falls from murudeshwar, I saw in some blogs that there are buses available from Bhatkal to jogfalls, If we leave from bhatkal at around 1 or 2 will we be able to reach jogfalls, before 5 or so ? and we are planning to stay at Prakurthi Yatri Nivas Lodge, from this lodge will we be able to see a complete view of jogfalls, or should we go to view point from the lodge?

    Sorry for too many question

    Thanks,
    Divya

  4. Krishnamohan

    Hi Amar,
    Nice post.
    will you suggest Prakriti Yatri nivas for couples, or pls suggest any other decent option near jog falls. Rooms not available in Hotel mayura.

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