HOGENAKKAL PART1 Dear friends,
I was subdivisional officer at Krishnagiri and also of additional charge of Dharmapurifor pretty long time from 1981 to 1986. My co brother from Kerala made avacation visit with family in 1981. We planned visit to Krishna giri Dam andHogenakkal water falls and started in the afternoon. After seeing Krishnagiridam it was late when we reached Hogenakkal by taking buses. My co brotheragreed for body massage on compulsion by my wife and sister in law though hewas thinking of time required. It took more time than expected. We had no preparations for stay in allrespects. When we came tobus stand after sight seeing and bath and all, the last bus had gone. Theglittering lights, natural beauty and interest in seeing things did not make usrealise passing of time. We were told there is bus from Pennagaram (nearesttown) after that. How to reach Pennagaram? It was not the days of autos andtaxies at Hogenakkal. As God provided help, I found our departments jeep with driver who wastaking tea. He was with the DE camping there. I said I would intimate the DE and drop me at Pennagaram.He obliged and in time we reached Pennagaram and took up the last bus fromthere to Dharmapuri. Since we were having 24 hour bus service in Salem–Bangalore route I could reach Krishnagiri back. Though I knew Salem- Bangalore railway line is throughDharmapuri, I was not aware Hogenakkal is in the Tamilnadu Karnataka bordertill I joined there. I was wondering how such a strange name came to thewaterfalls. This made me to browse in to details of Hogenakkal. I hope it canbe refreshing information for those who have visited Hogenakkal and surely promptthose programmed tours to include Hogenakkal in the programme. I am posting it in two parts. Many informationare compiled from websites. Sincerely, Gopala Krishnan 11-6-2010 Reposted withediting for language, information etc on 2-10-21. 1.HOGENAKKAL FALLS – NIAGRA OF INDIA HogenakkalFalls is a waterfallin South Indiaon the Kaveririver. It is located in the Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu,about 180 km from Bangaloreand 46 km from Dharmapuritown. It is sometimes referred to as the "Niagara of India". With its famefor medicinal baths and hide boat rides, it is a major site of touristattraction. Carbonatite rocks in this site are considered tobe the oldest of its kind in South Asia and one of the oldest in the world. Thisis also the site of a proposed project to generate drinking water. Hogenakkal is locatedabout 750 feet above sea level amidst the Melagiri Hills. Inthis beautiful location the broad stream of the River Kaveri gets forked,forming an island from where one stream continues on while the other plungesinto a deep chasm to create one of the loveliest waterfall gives these rocksthe name Hogenakkal which means "smoking rock". Hogenekkal Falls are not a single waterfall but a seriesof falls. There are so many waterfalls allover the place that it looks like the Mother earth decided to open her heart tothe humanity. The whole spectacle is spread over a kilometer or so, with twosections, half-a-kilometer each, making maybe 110-degree angle to one another. Apart from being oneof the loveliest waterfalls of the country, it is also known for thetherapeutic properties of its waters. The mighty river Kavery flows through arelatively plain land before mother earth suddenly opens up and the whole riverfalls to a depth of between 50 to 150 feet on a bed of granite rocks. There areso many waterfalls, both big and small, all over the place 2.Etymology When the water falls on the rocks it appears as if hoge (smokein Kannada) is emanating from thetop of the kal ( means rock )because of the force of the water, hence Hogenakkal(smoking rocks). It is also called as Marikottayam by the people ofTamil Nadu. 3.Kaveriat Hogenakkal The KaveriRiver is considered to form at Talakaveriin the Brahmagiri hills in Kodagu district inKarnataka and gathers momentum as the land drops in elevation. It becomeslarger as various tributaries feed into it on the way down. About five years back I had the opportunity to visitTalakkaveri with family and offer poojathere with my wife At Hogenakkal, the Kaveri, now a large river,drops and creates numerous waterfalls as the water cuts through the rockyterrain. In places the water falls as much as 20 m and is said to sound likecontinual thunder. Soon after the falls the river takes a Southerly course andenters the Metturreservoir. The river carries sedimentwhich makes the "down-river" land fertile. My note- While I was in Namakkal I was deputed to set right a complicated part in equipment at Metturdam telephone exchange. It was the first time I was climbing up in jeep up theMetturdam through curved roads. It was a wonderful experience. At Hogenakkalthe river spreads out over a wide area of sandy beaches, then flows through tothe Mettur Damand creates a 60 sq mi. lake called StanleyReservoir. Built in 1934, this project improved irrigationand provided hydropower. The stanely reservoirand dam too is an attraction. 4.Weather The best seasonto visit Hogenakkal is soon after the monsoons, when the river is in fullspate. But some tourists prefer to visit during off-season to skip the crowd. Thetemperature in Summer varies between Max 34 Degree Celsius to Min 23 DegreeCelsius while during the Winter it is still pleasant and ranges from Max 27Degree Celsius to Min 13 Degree Celsius 5. Herbal water Hogenakkalwaterfalls is a beautiful picnic spot with its waters supposed to be havingcurative powers as already told .Hogenakkal is set in thick, green woods and isconsidered both a sacred bathing place and a spa-like health resort. Here the waterspreads for miles around. The area is surrounded by hills and offers lovelypanoramic view. People can takebath in the Kaveri river, before and beyond the falls. Before reaching Hogenakkal, theriver flows through a forest which contains herbs that aretraditionally believed to enhance health. Hence bathing in these waters is believed to be curative. Near the entrance, wehave a place where the men and women can take bath separately… there areseparate enclosures. In these bathing ghats water falls at medium force. We can make use of them. Oil massage persons are readily available near ghats. The local malishkarans or the mysticmasseurs are armed with oils, powders and esoteric knowledge about thedifferent massage points in the human body and they are good! The massage is known for its healthbenefits. Thereare also a few women masseurs .The massage offered here is a nice experiencefor the visitors. Cloth changingrooms have been constructed near ghats. 6. Parisal for Boating Boating in Hogenakkal is allowed during the dry-seasonas the water falls are not strong to disrupt the passage of the boats. Local coraclesoperate from the banks of both Tamil Nadu and Karnatakabanks of the gorge. This is the main source of income for these boat operators.The coracles are about 2.24m in diameter, but still can take a load of eightpersons at a time. These coracles are made of bamboo, and with allmaterials available takes about a day to build. The bottom of the boats aremade water proof by the use of hides,but sometimes with sheets of plastic. These boats are steered and propelled using a singlepaddle, making them unique. The coracles are locally called as parisalin Tamilandeither teppa or harigolu in Kannada. I recollect twoscenes -One with Kamal hasan and Lekshmi in a Malayalam film Ponni (Kamal hasanas Parisal man) and another a Tamil film acted by Sivaji Ganesan and Radha ,Radha as the parisal woman. Film Manvasanai. The coraclecharges are pretty high above Rs 1000-00 for three people as I read else where. It is bargainable. I will continue in next part -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/1375401733.1023681.1633183959372%40mail.yahoo.com.
