About the destination
Hogenakkal waterfalls on the Cauvery river is an amazing gift of nature. The deep dive of water on the rocky terrain makes the place a great tourist destination. Hogenakkal is 330 km from Chennai and 90 km from Krishnagiri. This is an apt weekend getaway, especially, post monsoons.
Trip Plan
Trip members: Karthik, Sanjeev, Siva, and Michael
Trip date: 7, 8 June 2019
Trip Plan: Chennai - Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri - Hogenakkal - Ambur - Chennai
Route:: Chennai - Vellore - Ambur - Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri - Hogenakkal - Ambur - Chennai
Distances
We started from Tambaram around 5:30 PM and it was almost 7 PM when we crossed Vellore for all the Friday evening traffic. Around 8:45 PM, we stopped for Dinner after crossing Ambur at Sai Sangeeth. There were quite a lot of items on the menu across varieties of idlies, dosas, parottas, idiyappam, and much more. It was a little difficult to get a seat. The served food was all very food and so were the sides. Very good restaurant with respect to the taste and quality of food. We were planning to halt in Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri based on our tiredness and traffic.
Trip date: 7, 8 June 2019
Trip Plan: Chennai - Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri - Hogenakkal - Ambur - Chennai
Route:: Chennai - Vellore - Ambur - Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri - Hogenakkal - Ambur - Chennai
Distances
- Tambaram - Hogenakkal – 330 km (6.5 hours)
- Tambaram – Dharmapuri – 282 km (4.5 hours)
- Dharmapuri – Hogenakkal – 47 km (1.5 hours)
- Vellore - Hogenakkal – 210 km (3.5 hours)
- Krishnagiri – Dharmapuri – 49 km (1 hour)
- Krishnagiri – Hogenakkal – 89 km (2 hours)
We started from Tambaram around 5:30 PM and it was almost 7 PM when we crossed Vellore for all the Friday evening traffic. Around 8:45 PM, we stopped for Dinner after crossing Ambur at Sai Sangeeth. There were quite a lot of items on the menu across varieties of idlies, dosas, parottas, idiyappam, and much more. It was a little difficult to get a seat. The served food was all very food and so were the sides. Very good restaurant with respect to the taste and quality of food. We were planning to halt in Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri based on our tiredness and traffic.
It was around 10 PM that we crossed Krishnagiri and we decided to stop. We picked some local knowledge in a restaurant to locate a hotel by the highway. We reached Hotel MGM Siva Grand on the highway towards Dharmapuri. They charged Rs.950 for non-AC and Rs.1950 for AC rooms. We took non-AC rooms, the rooms were very clean, spacious big ones and individual cots. No-frills rooms and more than enough for a night's sleep.
Day-2 Early start and always a WIN!
We started the day after refreshing exactly at 6 AM. We set directions to Hogenakkal - very fine and nice roads. One needs to take the service lane near Dharmapuri and go beneath the bridge to take right towards Hogenakkal. The direction and distance boards are sufficiently put up to go by. We stopped for a tea break on the SH. We reached Hogenakkal through the 10 km curvy roads by the foothills.
A fee of Rs.70 is collected for every car as an entry fee for tourists. There are 2 parking areas in Hogenakkal - one that is a common one and one run by TTDC for a fee of Rs.30. We reached the parking area around 8:30 and there were around 35 cars before us. We were an early entrant too. A "parisal" man approached us and guided us to the TTDC parking area. We spoke to him and he charged us Rs.1500 for 2-3 hours of taking us around for a couple of falls and sand-laden areas to enjoy the waters. The Coracle is charged Rs.750 by the government and one needs to take the same first. They also provide the life jackets, that one has to wear all the time. During crowded times, people have to wait for their turn to get the life jacket from returning tourists though a coracle might be ready for them.
We had breakfast at the local eatery - not very hygienic or tasty - but, just some food - idlies, poor, and dosas. We just stuffed up something for breakfast and entered the falls area.
Day-2 Early start and always a WIN!
We started the day after refreshing exactly at 6 AM. We set directions to Hogenakkal - very fine and nice roads. One needs to take the service lane near Dharmapuri and go beneath the bridge to take right towards Hogenakkal. The direction and distance boards are sufficiently put up to go by. We stopped for a tea break on the SH. We reached Hogenakkal through the 10 km curvy roads by the foothills.
A fee of Rs.70 is collected for every car as an entry fee for tourists. There are 2 parking areas in Hogenakkal - one that is a common one and one run by TTDC for a fee of Rs.30. We reached the parking area around 8:30 and there were around 35 cars before us. We were an early entrant too. A "parisal" man approached us and guided us to the TTDC parking area. We spoke to him and he charged us Rs.1500 for 2-3 hours of taking us around for a couple of falls and sand-laden areas to enjoy the waters. The Coracle is charged Rs.750 by the government and one needs to take the same first. They also provide the life jackets, that one has to wear all the time. During crowded times, people have to wait for their turn to get the life jacket from returning tourists though a coracle might be ready for them.
We had breakfast at the local eatery - not very hygienic or tasty - but, just some food - idlies, poor, and dosas. We just stuffed up something for breakfast and entered the falls area.
Venturing into the waters
Hogenakkal is the entry point of the Cauvery river into Tamilnadu from Karnataka. The area is a rocky area giving way to the river to flow as falls in several areas in clusters. The place was just receiving some water as the KRS dam was opened in Karnataka. The water levels were good enough for comfortable navigation through the "Parisal" - circular lightweight boat - known as Coracle. The path is taken by Coracle changes based on the water level and view of the falls from time to time. There are so many places where waterfalls and we did see around 7 - 8 places.
The Coracle man was ready to take right beneath the falls and get wet, however, we were carrying mobile and cameras and declined. After around 20-25 minutes of the ride, we reached the sand-laden area near the Coracle jetty of Karnataka. We had taken some snacks also with us and the boatman bought us water from the Karnataka jetty. The water was up to the hip level, flowing in a moderate speed, lots of small fishes biting us around the feet, we enjoyed the location, dipping, and playing in the water for around 45 minutes.
The boatman next took us back towards the entry point and let us enjoy a waterfall for almost 1 hour. The heavy flow of water from a small height was wonderful in hip level waters, with lots of fish biting the feet. Absolute indulgence in water from the sweltering heat of Chennai! We never felt enough, and after an hour, we unanimously felt satisfied to come out by 11:45 AM!
Places to see nearby
The Coracle man was ready to take right beneath the falls and get wet, however, we were carrying mobile and cameras and declined. After around 20-25 minutes of the ride, we reached the sand-laden area near the Coracle jetty of Karnataka. We had taken some snacks also with us and the boatman bought us water from the Karnataka jetty. The water was up to the hip level, flowing in a moderate speed, lots of small fishes biting us around the feet, we enjoyed the location, dipping, and playing in the water for around 45 minutes.
The boatman next took us back towards the entry point and let us enjoy a waterfall for almost 1 hour. The heavy flow of water from a small height was wonderful in hip level waters, with lots of fish biting the feet. Absolute indulgence in water from the sweltering heat of Chennai! We never felt enough, and after an hour, we unanimously felt satisfied to come out by 11:45 AM!
Places to see nearby
We quenched our thirst with some lemon sodas and set sight to the Crocodile Farm. The crocodile rehabilitation center is just a few 100m from the waterfalls. The entry fee is Rs.10 per person. They have around 100 crocodiles and takes 10 minutes to go around. All ages would like to have a quick look in the shaded area.
We start our drive back to Chennai - stopped to buy some mangos near Krishnagiri, biryani lovers had lunch at Ambur while I had lunch - meals at Hotel Sai Sangeeth located inside Ambur - 400m from the NH. The meals in Sai Sangeeth was quite average - in taste and quality. We reached back to Chennai around 6 PM.
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