Guide · Day trips
Waterfalls Near Udupi — Which Ones Are Running, and When
Jomlu Teertha, Koodlu Theertha, Barkana, Onake Abbi and Jog Falls — distances from the coast, the season each one works in, permits, and how hard the walk is.
Photo: Krishnakulkarni36 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · resized for the web
The Western Ghats behind Udupi take an enormous amount of rain, and for a few months a year they give it back in waterfalls. The catch is that "a few months" is doing real work in that sentence — the same fall that is thunderous in October is a damp rock in April.
Here is what is within reach of the coast, and when each one is worth the drive.
The short answer
Go between October and January. The monsoon has stopped, the trails are walkable, and the water is still coming down. By March most of these are disappointing, and by May several have stopped entirely.
Close to the coast
Jomlu Teertha (Someshwara Falls)
~45 km · about 1 h 15
The most accessible real waterfall from this coast. The Sita river drops over a broad rock shelf into a wide pool — not tall, but powerful and wide after the rains.
Short walk from the road, so it works with children and with people who do not want a trek. It gets busy at weekends in season for exactly that reason.
Do not swim below the falls when the water is high. The undertow is serious and there have been drownings here.
Koodlu Theertha
~60 km · about 1 h 30
Taller and more dramatic than Jomlu, reached by a walk of a couple of kilometres through forest and paddy. Best in the weeks right after the monsoon.
Around Agumbe
Agumbe is 54 km from Udupi and the base for the higher falls. Full detail on the area in our Agumbe day trip guide.
Onake Abbi Falls
Inside Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary · permit required
Named for its shape — the water falls in a line like the pestle of a grinding stone. The walk in is through proper rainforest.
You need a Karnataka Forest Department permit. Arrange it before you drive out, or go with an operator who includes permits.
Barkana Falls
Inside the sanctuary · permit required
One of the taller falls in India, dropping around 260 metres. The viewpoint trail is the usual way to see it. Same permit situation.
Jogigundi Falls
Near Agumbe village · no permit
Small, close, and reached by a short forest walk to a rock pool. The easy option if the permits did not happen.
The big one
Jog Falls
~150 km · 3 h 30 each way
Karnataka's most famous waterfall — the Sharavathi dropping in four separate streams. In full flow after the monsoon it is genuinely one of the sights of India.
Two warnings. First, it is a long day: seven hours of driving for a few hours there. Second, flow is controlled by the Linganamakki dam upstream, so outside the monsoon months it can be reduced to almost nothing. Check recent photographs before committing to the drive.
Go in October or November or do not go.
The comparison
| Fall | From us | Drive | Walk | Permit | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jomlu Teertha | ~45 km | 1 h 15 | Short | No | Oct–Jan |
| Koodlu Theertha | ~60 km | 1 h 30 | ~2 km | No | Oct–Dec |
| Jogigundi | ~75 km | 1 h 45 | Short | No | Oct–Jan |
| Onake Abbi | ~78 km | 1 h 50 | Moderate trek | Yes | Oct–Jan |
| Barkana | ~78 km | 1 h 50 | Moderate trek | Yes | Oct–Jan |
| Jog Falls | ~150 km | 3 h 30 | Steps | No | Oct–Nov |
Distances are from Parampalli. Drive times assume daylight.
Practical notes
Leeches. Present near water in and after the monsoon, and not entirely gone in October. They are harmless and revolting. Long trousers tucked into socks, and flick them off rather than pulling.
Footwear. Wet rock is the main hazard at every one of these. Grippy shoes, not sandals. Most waterfall injuries here are slips, not floods.
Swimming. Only where locals swim, only when the flow is low, and never directly under the fall. Rock pools that look calm can have strong recirculation.
Timing. Leave early. These are morning destinations — better light, fewer people, and you are off the ghat roads before dark.
Fuel and cash. Fill up on the coast. ATMs inland are sparse and sometimes empty.
Monsoon. June to September the falls are at maximum and the trails are closed or genuinely dangerous. Landslides close ghat roads most years. Admire from the road, do not trek.
Making it a day from the coast
The natural pairing is Jomlu Teertha in the morning, Agumbe in the afternoon, sunset point at six — one loop, one tank of fuel, back for dinner.
If you want the permitted sanctuary trails, that is a day of its own, and it needs planning at least a few days ahead.
We can put you with a driver who knows the ghat roads, which on the Agumbe stretch is worth more than it sounds.
