The Mighty Hebbe Falls - Kemmangundi, Chikmagalur

      'Kemmannugundi'  is also very popular  for its waterfalls. Apart from the 3 famous waterfalls, there are many falls that remain unknown while a few more additional ones by default are seen during the monsoons. We planned to visit the three waterfalls  namely the Hebbe Falls, Kalhatti Falls and Shanti Falls. We had to let go of our initial idea of trekking to the Hebbe falls as it had started raining continuously and time was also a constraint. We hired a jeep from Kemmanugundi up to the coffee estate through which is the path to the Hebbe waterfalls. A kilometer's  walk from hereon leads us to the falls.

Monsoon Waterfall

Monsoon Magic

Visibility Quality to the Jeep Driver

Lovely Forest Jeep Track

     A few words worthy to be mentioned about our little guide here...he proved to be rather brave and courageous for having withstood the strong winds though he was shy and spoke less. The jeep ride was no less than a roller coaster ride. We enjoyed every second of the 35 minutes ride. Our guide showed us the path up to a stream that we had to cross and walk further and also mentioned about the other 2 stream crossings after which we would reach hebbe. He bade us a temporary good bye at this point. We got ready to cross the stream, the path to which was made slippery by the light drizzle. The first stream had shallow waters though the force of water could be felt, especially by low weight individuals. Carefully reaching the other end of the river stream and checking for the suckers, we continued our walk.

Our Little Guide Prakash

1st Stream We Crossed

     At times, the path being very steep and narrow and we had to be cautious and slow. After a  few minutes of walk through the dense forests and as we got close to our destination the rain started to pour heavily making our sight almost invisible. Luckily, we were a few yards away from the falls. We finally crossed the third and the last stream, rested for a while, opened up an umbrella which later proved to be of no use because of the heavy rain and the water force of the falls which could be strongly felt at quite a distance from the waterfall ! We could hear the heavy noise made by the falls. Along with the rain, the mighty Hebbe gushed with pride and power. What a sight it was! The water fell   in full swing. Hebbe, falls from a height of more than 500 ft  in two tiers. The first tier is known as ' Chikka Hebbe' (Small Falls) and the second tier  is known as 'Dodda  Hebbe' (Big Falls). It was an amazing experience to feel the mighty force of  the falling waters standing underneath it and at the closest distance possible. We had to be extremely careful as the rocks on which the water fell and we had to stand on, were quite slippery and one slip can prove fatal, since it's nature and it commands respect. Though the continuous rains gave us less opportunity to photograph the falls, it was a complete feast to our eyes. We spent very little time at the falls and had to walk back quickly as we felt the rain only got heavier and it would be difficult to cross the streams. We  along with a couple were the only  ones  present at that time at the falls. Finally, after checking  for leeches that silently suck blood without warning us, we started walking back, again crossing thrice the river streams which were flowing full because of the rains. We rested for a while and walked through the coffee plantations to reach our jeep. The ride took a little longer due to the almost zero visibility condition.

The Mighty Hebbe

As Best As It Can Get

The Hebbe Falls

Down Stream

Friendly Blood Sucker (Leech)

   When we were almost about to reach the starting point, we saw a few people walking the track towards the falls, appreciating  their bravery and wondering how easy or difficult  it would be for them to reach the falls, as they had a long way ahead. Overall, it proved an adventurous experience.

To be continued ..........