A Trip to Hogenakkal

 "Hogenakkal Falls - The Niagara of India"

About Hogenakkal Falls

          Hogenakkal is a waterfall in South India on the Kaveri river in Dharmapuri district,Tamil Nadu. It is located 350 km from Chennai and 46 km from Dharmapuri. Sometimes referred to as the "Niagara Falls of India". The name of the waterfall is derived from two Kannada words, "hoge" which means "smoke" and "kal" meaning "rocks" thereby translating to Smoking Rocks. 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 new to experience. After this point the river spreads many branches from main River. It is famous for medicinal baths and coracle boat rides and a great draw for tourists. The Government of Tamil Nadu made a proposal to convert the falls into providing drinking water for the state.

Local Language used:

Tamil  / Kannada 

Travel Route: 

By Bus / Cab:

Chennai -- Vellore -- Ambur -- Krishnagiri -- Dharmapuri -- Hogenakkal

By Train :

Chennai -- Salem -- drive to Hogenakkal(by cab)

Best Time to Visit:

        This place is always hot and during summers it reaches 40 deg C. During dry summer, the water will be less but you can enjoy a coracle ride from the bottom of the falls. They will take the coracle near to falls. And also can swim in river anywhere you want but be careful it’s very dangerous. Water fall is very small and may not look that great. During winter, there will be huge water flow and you can see gigantic flow. It will be really scary to see that flow standing near to falls. We went during winter, so read below story for more details.

Events:

This is single day trip from Salem / Erode. It's very interesting and economical trip. The average spend for the trip is 3500 INR per couple with complete enjoyment. 

Coracle Boating:

           Coracle Boating in Hogenakkal is one of the best event, all the travelers will enjoy. Boating allowed during the dry season as the waterfalls are not strong enough to sail the water passage of the boats. The coracles are about 2.2 m (7 ft 4 in) in diameter but still can take a load of eight to 10 persons (500 kg) at a time. The coracles are locally called Parisal in Tamil and either Teppa or Harigolu in Kannada.

          They will charge more based on head count and time of coracle boating. They will pick up from starting point of boat house and drop at another point based on your package. Be Careful while carry all your things like mobile phones, camera and bags, because boat will go to near the falls area so, you may get wet by falls. Before going for boating all must wear safety dresses because It’s very essential in Hogenakkal boating.
    

Oil massage:

Oil massage is one of the best event in Hogenakkal, Many people will come because of oil bath and oil Massage. During morning time we went to river bed, there are some people (male and female) available to do oil massage near to the river / falls. The body gets more relaxed and relieves pain after this massage was done, Then we went to enjoy the falls, because of the force of the water, oil gets removed from our body.

Now comes second Interesting spot in Hogenakkal i.e., Hanging bridge. View from Bridge is so beautiful as you will see heavy river water flowing like under the leg.... After crossing bridge you get some more beautiful views of other water falls. 

This is the short blog and am sure you will enjoy and start planning soon..

Disclaimer:

      We went on this trip on October 2015. There are chances that price has changed. Please check with Adventure activities and local cabs about current rates. I have tried to provide as much as details are possible for the trip. For any further information, feel free to post a comment on the blog or contact amazinglifeexperience2020@gmail.com