Fast. Furious. Gokak

Every trip has interesting unplanned detours. This time, for our 5-day Karnataka trip, we had kept the itinerary completely open. Only return tickets from Belgaum to Mumbai were booked. We had some broad idea of the places we want to visit, but ‘when’ and ‘how’ to visit were left to be decided during the trip.

So, after Badami and nearby places, before hitting Belgaum, we decided to take a detour. We had the luxury of time. A long day on road with multiple modes of transport followed. Badami to Bagalkote by state transport bus. Bagalkote to Yaragatti again by bus. Yaragatti to Gokak in a crowded tempo-trax (22 people in a 13-seater). Gokak town to Gokak waterfalls in an auto. And finally a state bus from Gokak to Belgaum.

The Ghataprabha river takes a roaring plunge from a sandstone cliff to a depth of over 175 feet. Named Gokak Falls, the waterfalls is at its best in monsoons, when the whole breadth of over 650 feet is covered. The roar of the falls can be heard from a distance.

A hanging bridge, which is just a few meters away from the waterfalls, takes people across the river. The bridge is maintained by Gokak Mills. There is an old electricity generation unit where electricity was made as early as in 1887 (considered to be first time in the country; not authenticated).
Water gushes down furiously and looks scary, to the say the least. The bridge literally bends and goes down and up as the load varies.

For spending 45 minutes at the water falls, we spent over 4 hours travelling. But it was worth the effort.

Gokak is about 60 kms from Belguam. State buses ply frequently. Monsoon is the best time to visit Gokak.