Vibhooti Falls and Yana Caves

Tripoto
30th Jul 2017

Yana Caves

Photo of Vibhooti Falls and Yana Caves by Nidhi Jain

Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka state is of great importance in terms of both tourism and religion. Having explored the mesmerizing Jog Falls and beautiful and serene beaches of Gokarna, this was now time to see the other side of Uttara Kannada.

We started from Gokarna around 1pm after checking out from our hotel rooms. After having lunch on the way somewhere, our next hop was Vibhooti Falls which is approximately 56km from our hotel in Gokarna.

Multiple small waterfalls on the way made us impatient about the ultimate fall. We were so moved by the tiny falls that we couldn't wait longer for the final stream.

A smaller fall on the way to Vibhooti falls

Photo of Vibhooti Falls and Yana Caves by Nidhi Jain

You could hear the babbling sound of the waterfall from a distance and here it is:

Vibhooti Falls

Photo of Vibhooti Falls and Yana Caves by Nidhi Jain

Amidst the dense forest, the waterfall is surrounded by huge rocks. The water flows in steps here. Since the flow of water is heavy due to monsoon, it is not advisable to go to upper part of the waterfall.

The water was super white, cold and deep and the rocks were slippery. You need to be very careful in the center of the pool since this is where the flow is downstream. Though you can easily swim but beware that force of water is very high.

A closer look to the waterfall

Photo of Vibhooti Falls and Yana Caves by Nidhi Jain

After spending a good amount of time we headed back to the vehicle stopping point. You can find a very small changing room near the parking area though a bit untidy.

It goes without saying that our next destination was Yana caves. Yana is located near forests of Kumta in the same Shayadri mountain range of the Western Ghats. Yana is famous for these two massive rock outcrops known as the Bhairaveshwara Shikhara and the Mohini Shikhara ("Shikhara" means "hill")

It is a magnificent architecture of mother nature where a huge rock got transformed into a cave.

There is a small trek of about 2-3 kms to reach the caves. At some places it is steep too so one needs to climb.

On the way to caves

Photo of Vibhooti Falls and Yana Caves by Nidhi Jain

With greenery all around and slight drizzling this trek was even more fun.

Just like that

Photo of Vibhooti Falls and Yana Caves by Nidhi Jain

Yes, we arrived at the spot.

Photo of Vibhooti Falls and Yana Caves by Nidhi Jain

Its easy to walk inside the cave and enjoy the beautiful sight because of the stairs. If you are a heritage lover then this place is a treat for you.

The massive rock transformed to cave

Photo of Vibhooti Falls and Yana Caves by Nidhi Jain

After touring the caves from inside it was already dark so we started our trek back to the entry gate and left for the next travel destination and for that keep following my next blog. :)

Day 1

This waterfall was not on our list of places to visit near Gokarna but after talking to locals and from the sign boards we got to know about it. So we reached the falls at around 3.30 pm. From the vehicle stopping point one needs to walk for 1-1.5km to reach the falls.

The path to falls is also beautiful, surrounded by lush green Sahyadri forest.

On the way to falls

Photo of Vibhooti Falls, Achave, Karnataka, India by Nidhi Jain

Distance from Vibhooti Falls to Yana caves is not more than 10 km but the route is slopy with lots of turns and curves. You need to be real careful of the potholes on the muddy road.

Entry gate to the caves

Photo of Yana Caves, Yana, Karnataka, India by Nidhi Jain