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:''This page is about the water falls. For the town with the same name see Jog Falls, Shimoga''
'Jog Falls' (Kannada-ಜೋಗ ಜಲಪಾತ ) is the highest untiered waterfalls in India, located in Shimoga District of Karnataka state. Created by Sharavathi River falling from a height of 253 meters (829 ft), Jog Falls is one of the major attractions in Karnataka tourism. It is also called by alternative names of ''Gerusoppe falls'', ''Gersoppa Falls'' and ''Jogada Gundi''.^[1]

Contents

Description

Significance of Jog Waterfalls

Change in flow

How to reach

Other places of interest

Arguments about its height

Gallery

See also

External links

Description

River Sharavathi splits up into four different tracks which are named in accordance with their perceived trajectories. Going from left to right respectively in the picture, the names and the reasons for naming are:

★ ''Raja'' (King): Named so because of its apparently 'dignified' and 'serene' fall.

★ ''Roarer'': This stream appears out of a mass of rocks, making a tremendous amount of noise.

★ ''Rocket'': Consists of a large volume of water streaming out of a small opening at a very high speed.

★ ''Rani'' (Queen), also called ''Lady'': The stream has a winding, twisting trajectory, said to resemble the movements of a female dancer.

Significance of Jog Waterfalls

Associated with the waterfall is the nearby Linganmakki Dam across river Sharavathi, and the hydro-electric power station that it serves. The power station has been operational since 1949, and is, at 1200 MW capacity, one of the largest hydro-electric stations in India and a significant source of electric power for Karnataka. The power station was previously named Krishna Rajendra hydro-electric project, after the King of Mysore at that time. The name was later changed to ''Mahatma Gandhi hydro-electric Project''. It was served by Hirebhaskara dam until 1960. After 1960, thanks to visions of Sir M. Visvesvarayya, Linganmakki Dam, built across river Sharavathi is being used for power generation.

Change in flow

Before the onset of monsoon, when there is not much water in the Linganmakki dam, the "mighty" Jog Falls are nearly unrecognizable. Instead of the roar and the spray and the massive flow of water, there are only a pair of thin streams of water trickling down the cliff. If you happen to ask any of the local people what happened to the falls, they would tell you that the authorities open the dam only during weekends, when there are a lot of tourists to view it.

How to reach

August-December is the season of best flow and best time to visit. Jog is situated at 30 kilometers away from Sagara, and 379 kilometers away from Bangalore.

★ Nearest Bus Stations - Jog, Sagara. One can reach Jog from direct buses to Jog from Bangalore. Alternative way is to take direct bus to Sagara from Bangalore and local bus from Sagara to Jog. Distance - 409 kilometers from Bangalore, 104 kilometers from Shimoga and 30 kilometers from Sagara.

★ Nearest Train Station - Shimoga. One can take train to Shimoga from Bangalore and can travel to Jog in buses from Shimoga.

★ Airport - Bangalore airport is the nearest operational airport. Another convenient airport is Mangalore......

Other places of interest

★ Honnemaradu, an island formed with the backwater of Linganmakki Dam, is famous for watersports.

Arguments about its height

There are many waterfalls in Asia - and also in India - which drop from a higher altitude. But, unlike those falls, Jog Falls is untiered, i.e., it drops directly and does not stream on to rocks. Thus, it can be described as the highest untiered waterfalls in India.

Gallery

See also

★ List of waterfalls in India

External links

★ Jog Falls on Kiruthik.Com

★ Jog Falls on Dreamroutes

★ Comprehensive information on Jog Falls

★ World Waterfall Database entry

★ Shimoga District Tourism

★ Western Ghats Tourism

★ Jog Falls in 1946 - A Letter

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