Travel, Trek and Hike Forever: Must visit places near Shimoga

Info on Meghane Trek , Kundadri Hills , Jog falls, Kuppalli , The lion Safari, Sakkare Bailu

I truly don't know how did I miss writing about Shimoga till now..! One of my favorite place in Karnataka (Not the city but the places in the district). Starting from the world famous Jog falls to a few of the least explored forests of Sharavathi valley, everything Natural here is beautiful.! A small list of places I have visited in the district is here. There are more places in Shimoga and will add it as and when I visit, cos I am sure I will keep visiting the place again and again. Lot more to explore here.!

Major portion of Shimoga district is neighbouring or itself a part of western ghat. Hence no doubt it hosts some of the best naturally beautiful places in the state. Especially the beauty of the area during monsoon is fabulous. Hence the region is rightly named 'MaLe NaaDu'. The Cherrapunji of South, the Aagumbe at one side and the world famous Jog falls at another side. Overall its a full meal for the tourists if you visit Shimoga.

Places near Agumbe -

Agumbe ghat it self is one of the major tourist attraction in Shimoga, the hair pin curves, the less than 5 Meters visibility during Rainy season, the mist, the cold weather, the greenery, the sunset, the rain everything is beautiful here. But you have to choose either the rainy and misty feel or the sunset. Cant get both. I would any day prefer rainy and misty feel of Agumbe.. :)

Kundadri Hills - To be frank, I am not a great fan of this place. May be the season or the time we visited gave made me feel so. But still its a nice place if you do not want to trek but get a wonderful view from Hill top. The hill top has a small temple, a small lake and some huge rocks where you can spend sometime. The hill is covered by forest and a narrow road goes till hill top. So you don't have to struggle even a bit. (Thirthalli is 36 Kms from Agumbe )

If in Agumbe, then a visit to Kuvempu's Kuppalli is a must according to me. The museum is pretty decent if you would love to see how the great writer had lived. A very neatly maintained space and a calm area. Can visit Kavi Shaila and speand sometime there too. Govt has put a lot of effort in making Kavi Shaila a great tourist attraction but the plan could have been executed in a better way. (Kuppalli is 16 Kms from Thirthalli )

One more place near Thirthalli (Not a must visit though.) is KavaleDurga Fort. If you are a trekking enthusiast and you love trekking a little secluded place, then this is a good one. Not many people trek here regularly. There is a temple half a way and only once in a year hundreds of people gather here and rest of the time, not many people visit the temple too. An old fort is present and a good 3-4 Kms trek is required to reach the peak. More info on the link provided above.

That is all that I have visited near Agumbe.

I have already written about Meghane trek. - One of the finest forest trek in the sharavathi valley. However, now roads are constructed for villages within the forest and it has lost its 'Untouched' reputation..! For more info check the link provided above.

I do not need to write anything about Jog falls, but when I write about places in Shimoga, I cannot miss Jog falls. No doubt, its a must visit but during the right time. I have visited several times to the place - during monsoon, during winter, during summer and off course its best during monsoon provided you get a view in between the mist.!!! But if you are visiting here, then do not forget to go to the very famous 'Mungaru Male point' from where the falls starts. The view here is fantastic.

(Jog falls is 100+ Kms from Shimoga but enough Buses are available. If you are taking a train from Bangalore, then go to Thalguppa and Jog falls is near by from there. )

As I said in the beginning, most of the attractions in Shimoga are connected with the nature. If you love animals, then there are 2 places near by Shimoga City (Other than the Bhadra Wild life santuary which I have not yet visited.) -

The Tavarekoppa Tiger and Lion Safari Shimoga. A zoo and Safari is available here and Safari is worth visiting once. Tiger sighting is a guaranteed one since there are good number of Tigers here and many wander close to the fencing. If you have kids with you then take them here they will love it I feel. (Its hardly 10 Kms away from Shimoga and lies in NH206)

Sakkarebailu Elephant Camp

The camp is located close to the backwaters of Gajanooru Dam and if you love elephants then do give a visit. I was extremely lucky when I visited since there was a 13 Days old Elephant and believe me, he is one of the cutest creature I have seen in my life. I have spent at least an hour seeing him..!! :) Be informed that the camp closes at 11.00 am as they take the elephants back to the forest. The camp opens early in the morning and open for a few hours.

That is it for now. But for sure I will be adding to the list soon..!! :)

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