Hogenakkal Falls

Hogenakkal Falls is formed when River Cauvery cuts through a rocky terrain, and forms several falls with the height ranging from 20-65 ft. The unique thing about Hogenakkal Falls is all the streams of water falls on three sides of a narrow water path, thus closely resembling mini-Niagara Falls (this falls is also sometimes referred to as Niagara Falls of India). When the water level in the river is too high, all the streams of water joins together and to form a single waterfall.

Hogenakkal Falls is located exactly at the border of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, but is more accessible from Tamil Nadu side. Hogenakkal Falls is named after two Kannada words: hoge which means smoke, and kal which means rock/stone. It is named so as when the water falls down on the rocks, the water droplets bounce back, which looks as if smoke is emerging out of the rocks.

Hogenakkal Falls can be visited at any time of the season, as each season offers its own beauty. During the season where water levels are low, visitors can take a coracle (round row boats) ride, and get to the base of the waterfalls. This is an amazing experience in itself where there are waterfalls on three sides, and you are in the middle of it rowing against the water currents.

At the top of Hogenakkal Falls – During low water levels!

Get down several steps to take the Coracle Ride

Go through narrow rocky valley

You can also find various coracle-shops that sell chips, cool drinks etc.

Get under the falls in the coracle!

The coracle ride is the most enjoyable part of Hogenakkal Falls. The coracle riders know how to entertain you very well. They take you under the falls, they make the coracle turn round at high speed, overall, it is a very exciting and a thrilling experience. Once you visit the base of the falls, they also will take you to a place downstream where a small island of sandy beach is seen. Though it is a small island, during the dry season, you can observe several tented shops that sells small eats. On the other side of the island, you can see the Karnataka side of Hogenakkal Falls Coracle Ride.

Sandy beach over River Cauvery

Karnataka on the opposite side

 Beautiful and Peaceful River Cauvery

View from top of Hogenakkal Falls

And from the base of the falls

After the adventurous Coracle ride, you can walk further down to reach the hanging pedestrian bridge from where you can get a view of beautiful River Cauvery. This bridge is the quickest way to get to Karnataka from Tamil Nadu.

View from Hanging Bridge

Monsoon or post-monsoon season brings in another beauty to Hogenakkal Falls. During this period, you cannot get to the base of the falls at all, due to very high water currents. However, you can still experience the exciting part of Coracle ride, but this time, it will be on top of the falls.

Coracle Ride during monsoon

River Cauvery peacefully flowing through the valley…

…before forming the magnificent waterfalls

A wider view of the falls

The water level rises 40-45 ft during monsoon

The smoke that you see is due to water bouncing back on the rocks after the “fall”. Can you believe such a fierce falls exist from this view? 🙂

Location

On Map

Where to stay?

  • Salem
  • Bangalore

Distance Chart

From Distance (in km)
Bangalore 130
Mysore 180
Coimbatore 230
Madurai 325
Chennai 350