Dabbe Waterfalls, Shimoga

          Every time we come across a new place, we realize how little we have traveled! We were much surprised to know how such a beautiful waterfall missed being in our must-visit list. A shop keeper suggested us to take an alternate parallel route instead, as it was motorable until the stream from whereon we had to walk to reach the falls. Following his directions, we reached a house from where driving further seemed  risky. On inquiring about the route to the falls, people here were much surprised since this was really not the right time to make a visit to the falls. On insisting much, he gave the exact route to the falls and warned us to be careful.

Giant wood Spider

Dark Wanderer Butterfly

 We started our walk towards the falls and in no time reached the stream which was in full swing. We met a person who was trying to fix an electricity issue and asked him about the falls. He too suggested us not go to the falls and confirmed the route to the same. We continued further until we reached a junction and proceeded as per directions. We crossed a bridge and walking on, reached an areca farm only to realize we were lost. We went in search of people at the farm and  found a house. Luckily,  a person present there told us the route and directed us towards paddy fields at the end of which we had to make a risky descent to view the falls. 

 Crab

Pill Millipede

 Giant Black Millipede

Paddy Fields

  We reached the end of the paddy fields and found a trail and decided to get down in that direction. After descending a few steps, my wife started being speculative about the route as she looked down. Anyway, we went a little further down and alas! we found ourselves on the edge of a cliff from where there was absolutely no route of getting anywhere. We decided to backtrack to the top and find out the possibility of another route. On reaching the top and walking a little further, we reached the dead end of the paddy field and from there, we could see another trail leading downwards. We feared about this route turning out to be the same as our previous one, but had no other go. We were hell-bent on reaching the waterfall. Having lost a lot of time in finding the route, we had to be quick as we were unaware of how far we had to descend to the falls and the time was ticking. As it was raining  heavily at regular intervals, the path became too slippery with time and we had to watch every step we took. The thick forest canopy blocked sunlight, making our descent difficult. To add to our woes, it began to rain cats and dogs continuously. And as there was no place to take shelter, we had to keep trekking down non-stop with the help of trees and roots (without which the trek would have been impossible). As we trekked downwards, we reached a place open to sky and heard a roaring noise, camouflaged with the heavy rains. Looking around, the beautiful waterfall became visible and what an amazing sight it was! It was worth all the pain we had taken. Though  the heavy rains didn't give us much of a chance to stand and enjoy the falls, nevertheless just a glimpse of it made us more than happy.

The Bridge

The Roaring Stream

           This was only mid-way while the trail continued further down till the bottom of the falls. As the water level was high, we thought there was no point in getting down further and within minutes, we started our ascent. It was pretty much easier compared to our descent. We reached the paddy fields before sunset and on our way back, we met the owner of the farm who wasn’t present at the start time of our quest. He was glad we returned safely and complimented us knowing that  we got down to see the falls while it was raining so much. He also told us about how three days ago, a team of boys gave up after seeing the trail downwards. No Pain, No Gain! True isn't it? It was a great deal of encouragement for us and a zealous adventure though we realized it could be risky at times. We deserved a pat on the back and doing so to each other, moved on! Thus ended another marvelous and unexpected adventure.

 Nature's Hidden Beauty

The Mighty Dabbe Waterfalls

Please don't litter the place, respect the nature and nature will respect you.