Abbey Falls Coorg Karnataka India

Abbey Falls is in Kodagu, in the Western Ghats in Karnataka, India. It is located 8 km from the town of Madikeri and 268 km from Bangalore.

In the mountains of the Western Ghats, several streams combine, swelling with the monsoon rains and plunging down the mountain slope at enormous speed, hitting the huge boulders hard and forcing through the crevices and ravines. A misty cloud hangs over the falls. From here the water flows into the Kaveri River. During the monsoon season the water flow is very high. During the dry seasons the flow is considerably diminished.One can find a lot of leeches inside the water.

The waterfall is located between private coffee plantations with stocky coffee bushes and spice estates with trees entwined with pepper vines. The falls appear suddenly, the water cascading over rocks into calm pools. A hanging bridge constructed just opposite the falls comes in handy for the Tourists. There is a Kali Mata temple on the other side of the bridge and Coffee and Black Pepper trees on the other side.

Madikeri is 250 km from Bangalore and 90 km from nearest airport in Mangalore.

From Madikeri the falls are accessible by a narrow road to the coffee estate. A path through coffee and cardamom plantations leads to the waterfalls. The roar of the falls can be heard from the road. The best time to visit is early winter when the monsoons have brought plenty of water.

Gopalswamy Betta (Temple) Karnataka

Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta, is a hill (betta in Kannada) located in the Chamarajanagar district of the state of Karnataka,at a height of 1450m India and is extensively wooded. It is also the highest peak in the Bandipur National Park. It lies in the core area of the Bandipur National Park and is frequented by wild life including elephants. Dense fog predominates and covers the hills round the year and thus gets the prefix Himavad(in the native language of Kannada) and the temple of Venugopalaswamy (Lord Krishna) gives the full name of Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta.


It is approximately 220 km from Bangalore and 75 km from Mysore on the Mysore Ooty road -10 km away from Gundlupet,which is 60 km away from Mysore. There is a motor-able road all the way to the top of the hill. Entry fee is collected at the forest department check post at foot of the hill.Materials used for pooja (prayers) alone such as flowers,fruits,Incense sticks etc are permitted.other food items are not permitted to be carried in.All these materials should be carried in non plastic bags.Entry fee has been revised w.e.f. Feb 01 2011. Entry fee is flat Rs 25,50 for a two and four wheelers. You have to report back at the entrance after 1 hour 30 minutes. Visitors are allowed from around 8:30am till 4pm. Overnight stay on top is not allowed.
There is a forest department guest house at the top of the picturesque hill, which is not available for public,Only public servants on official duty are allowed to use it.

This temple was built by the Hoysala King Ballala during AD 1315. Later the Wodeyars [ Wodeyar dynasty ] of Mysore who were ardent devotees of Lord Venugopala displayed keen interest in maintaining the hill temple. The temple is dedicated to Gopalaswamy, which is one of the names of the Hindu God Krishna. The gopuram of the temple is single-tiered and rests on the compound wall of the enclosure. A dhwajastambha (flag-pillar) and a bali-peetam (sacrificial altar) is present in the mukha mantapa (inner-porch). The parapet wall of the façade of the mukha mantapa contains the sculpture of dashavatara (the Avatars of the Hindu God Vishnu) with the centre portion of the sculpture depicting Krishnavatara (the Avatar of Vishnu in which he appeared as Krishna). There is a shikhara tower over the garbha griha (sanctum sanctorum).