Day trip to Hogenakkal Waterfalls, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, India

Day trip to Hogenakkal Waterfalls, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, India

“The gladdest moment in human life, me thinks, is a departure into unknown lands.”

– Sir Richard Burton.

My family and I visited Hogenakkal Waterfalls in October 2016. Hogenakkal is approximately 180 kms from Bangalore and this can be a perfect day trip from Bangalore. Try to avoid summer season, as it might be very hot.

Our Route from Bangalore: Bangalore -> Sarjapur -> Attibelle -> Hosur -> Krishnagiri -> Dharmapuri -> Hogenakkal .We followed a longer route rather the one that is normally shown on google maps because of the quality of the road.

About the place: Hogenakkal Waterfalls (it’s not one single huge waterfall but a series of smaller falls) often referred to as “Cauvery” or “Kavery” or “Kaveri” by locals and the people of Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts in Tamilnadu, India where it is situated. Hogenakkal is also described as the ‘Niagara’ of India, offer an exciting holiday destination for Indians and foreigners alike. Hogenakkal is located about 750 feet above sea level amidst the Melagiri Hills. The route to Hogenakkal Falls is scenic, with lush mulberry fields and giant terracotta guardian deities (Aiyanars), as you approach Hogenakkal, the roar of the Cauvery river and the abundance of vegetation in the area is sure to catch your attention.

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.

There is a hanging bridge from where you can see the falls, they charge around 5 INR as entry fee and Camera (10 INR), Video (25 INR)

There are not many restaurants available in this region, but there are lot of small shops in this region, which serves Fried Fish, Rice and so on. You can try some local cuisine from here. Personally, I have not tried and hence unable to provide a fair review here.

I was slightly disappointed with the crowd here. Many people have come for oil massage and bath (as they consider that this river water has some medicinal values) which looks odd at a tourist location. Unfortunately, the massages at Hogenakkal Waterfalls are actually famous. But there is always a big difference between bathing in waterfall and bathing in waterfall with soap, shampoo and oil.

You can see some vendors floating along with as they persuade you to buy chips or a water bottle. The sad part is that people buy chips from these vendors, just to throw the wrapper in the pious river, not caring about nature at all. This is another disappointing scene that we normally see in this destination.

How to reach:

The best option would be to travel in your own/rented/hired car.

Bangalore International Airport is the closest airport which is about 216 km from Hogenakal Falls. Dharmapuri Railway station is the closest rail head, which is ready forty-seven km from Hogenakkal. It is well connected by train with Bangalore, Mumbai, Trivandrum, Tuticorin, Coimbatore, Salem, Nagarcoil, Mysore, Pondicherry, Tirunelveli and Ernakulum. Dharmapuri is the nearest main Bus station to Hogenakkal. It has buses from Bangalore, Mysore, Salem, Coimbatore, Chennai, Trivandrum, Kochi, Ooty, Madurai and Hyderabad.