It was Parth’s fourth birthday. My parents were coming over to celebrate with us. They wanted to go on a short road trip from Bangalore – the plan was to cover Jog Falls and Sringeri. I hadn’t been to either of them and I invited myself to the plan. Nam had a workshop to attend (which couldn’t be rescheduled) – so it was my parents, Parth and me. We started prepping for the first leg of our Bangalore to Jog Falls road trip. 

I sent a message to a friend who I believed would have good recommendations for our route – and he came through! Using his inputs, we planned the Bangalore to Jog Falls road trip itinerary.

• Day 1: Bengaluru – Tumakuru – Chitradurga – Shivamogga – Jog Falls (420 km)
• Day 2: Jog Falls – Kollur – Sringeri (200 km)
• Day 3: Sringeri – Chikkamagaluru – Halebeedu – Hassan – Mysuru (300 km)
• Day 4: Mysuru – Bengaluru (160 km)

A total of 1025 km in 4 days. We were going in my dad’s new car – a Honda Elevate. He wanted to test out the car as well – it was the first time he had got an automatic car. They would be going to Kochi via Coimbatore after Mysuru – a total of 1300 km in 5 days.

Day 1: Bengaluru – Tumakuru – Chitradurga – Shivamogga – Jog Falls (420 km)

We set off from our home at around 5:00 am. Bangalore is best enjoyed early in the morning with less traffic. Not because you can drive faster (the potholes won’t let you go too fast anyway), but because you can enjoy the trees and occasional lakes on the way. The city does have a charm that I haven’t yet found in any other city in India – the reason why we decided to call it home.

The first leg: Bengaluru to Tumakuru – Breakfast stop for Thatte Idli

The drive was planned in 4 neat chunks of 2 hours each till our destination – I love these little patterns which come up! The road to Tumakuru was mostly ok – just a bit annoying with a lot of heavy vehicles and diversions due to highway construction. Inconvenience today for a better tomorrow, right? Also, one piece of advice regarding Google Maps – it may ask you to go below every flyover after Yeshwantpur – keep ignoring it. Just take every flyover you get and follow the road signs.

Just before Tumakuru was our breakfast stop – Pavithra Idli Hotel. As the name suggests, they specialize in idli! Not the regular idli – thatte idli. The word “thatte” means plate and refers to the method in which they are made – in plate-like circular molds. This wasn’t even the regular thatte idli we’d eaten so far (we had last tried the Bidadi thatte idli on our way to Mysuru). This was HUGE! One portion was almost as big as 3 regular idlis! It came with chutney, sambar and a dollop of butter on top.

Tip: This place is not good for a toilet break. A much cleaner option is closer to Chitradurga (Spoorthy Delicacy). 

The second leg: Tumakuru to Chitradurga

We continued along the highway which leads to Pune and beyond. The last time we took this highway was while driving down from Mumbai to Bangalore after my dad’s retirement. The roads were significantly better in this section.

There were plenty of trucks in this section which really intrigued Parth. They were carrying the gigantic blades of a windmill. We passed by at least 10 such blades. He kept asking where they were going as there were no windmills visible. As if on cue, we saw some hills in the distance with tiny fans on them.

As we neared Chitradurga, we kept getting closer to them. He was super fascinated to see their size and was worried that they were rotating too slow. I told him something about turbines which he absorbed and quoted much later – I keep getting amazed at the speed with which kids his age pick up things!

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The highly underrated Chitradurga Fort

We got off the main highway and drove through some very narrow lanes (which made us question Google Maps yet again!) to reach the Chitradurga fort, one of the best stops on any Bangalore to Jog Falls road trip. The entry ticket had to be taken by scanning a QR code, filling a form and making a payment directly to the Archaeological Survey of India – I’d never seen this happening before. Upon payment, I received a PDF which had one QR code for each of us which was scanned by the security guard at the gate. It was a bit jarring – such a high tech entry process after having driven through tiny lanes of a small town.

The fort was constructed between the 11th and 13th centuries by the Chalukyas and Hoysalas. It was then taken over by Haider Ali and later by the British. The fort straddles a bunch of hills and has multiple concentric levels. There are a lot of temples in the upper section – we didn’t climb all the way to the top. What stood out the most was how clean and well-maintained the entire place was!

Parth and I stood watching parrots fly into the little gaps between the giant rocks which made up the walls. They kept fighting with each other to get into the nooks – pulling each other’s tails. My parents also joined us in watching the parrots. Peacocks were calling out from the forests in the background. There are some moments that the mind captures like a “live photo” – this was one and I was super grateful for it. If Nam could have joined us, it would’ve been complete.

Interesting fact – “durga” in its name means “fort” – so we are basically saying “fort fort” – kinda like “chai tea”.

The third leg: Chitradurga to Shivamogga (Shimoga)

It was around 10:45 am when we left from the fort and made our way to Shivamogga. The road was narrow but in good condition. The entire route was covered with areca palms. In fact, Shivamogga is referred to as “Areca city” – it is considered to be among the highest areca nut producing areas in the world. You may be more familiar with its other name – betel nut. The main use of the nut is for chewing – on its own or wrapped in paan (think Rajnigandha etc).

We reached the town around 1:00 pm and had lunch at Hotel Shubham (it had the highest number of ratings on Google Maps – no other reason). It was decent and enough to keep us going. 

The fourth leg: Shivamogga to Jog Falls – the Majestic Waterfall

The road started getting a bit hilly with bends and curves. We were greeted by rain – a perfect touch for this monsoon road trip in Karnataka. The roads were smooth and surrounded by lush greenery.

We had booked our rooms in a homestay near Jog Falls (Hills View Stay) – that’s where we went first. It was run by a family who lived there and it felt like we were actually staying as guests at their place. They had extended one portion of their house and added 5-6 rooms. The rooms were very simple – just like the ones back home in Kerala.

Parth absolutely loved the open area in the middle of the rooms. They had a section that looked like an empty pool – it was perfect for him to run around and play. Our host gave him a ball to play with – she said it was her grandson’s who had now gone back to the city. He was delighted!

The Majestic Jog Falls – Second highest waterfall in India

After freshening up and plenty of games, we left for the waterfalls. We got there by 4:45 pm. Since we visited in late July, it was the best time to visit Jog Falls, when it’s at full strength.

There are 4 distinct falls – Raja, Roarer, Rocket and Rani (from left to right). It is the second highest waterfall in India (253 metres) and is formed on the Sharavathi river. Coincidentally, the first is also in the same district of Shimoga – the Kunchikal falls standing tall at 455 metres – that one is formed by the Varahi river.

We crossed the river to the other side which had the main viewpoint (next to the Mayura hotel). Thanks to the rainy season, there were multiple additional waterfalls all along the hills. There was a lot of mist rising from the falls crashing down below. It mixed with the clouds which were also hanging low. Every few minutes, they would completely cover the view and we could only hear the sound of the waterfalls. It was beautiful! We soaked in the moment as much as we could and headed back to the homestay.

Tip: As of 2025 August, there is a lot of construction work happening here – they are building a bunch of tiered viewpoints to enjoy the waterfalls – I’m sure it will turn out to be amazing once it is ready. For now, the hotel here may not be the best place to stay – especially in the rains.

Home-made dinner to end the day

Waiting for us back home was a simple and delicious home-made dinner served on a banana leaf – the perfect end to Day 1 of our Bangalore to Jog Falls road trip.

I was hoping to cover at least 2 days of the trip in this blog but it will run too long. I really enjoyed going into the details and I’m glad you stayed till here. I’ll cover Kollur, Sringeri, Halebeedu, and Mysuru in the next part of this travel blog.

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