Monsoon is the time that most of us look forward to. It takes away the heat and makes the world look alive and beautiful. People travelling to India, especially foreigners often want to know if it is good to travel in the monsoon season, or how would monsoon force them to shift their travel plans. This FAQ is primarily aimed at helping these people to resolve such questions.
Colors of the tropical forest, on a wet day
Monsoon, what is it?
Most of India has a limited season in a year when it rains – primarily between June and September. In this season, rain clouds are carried in from the Indian Ocean by a seasonal wind called ‘monsoon’. The wind is in turn dependent on oceanic currents and more scientific stuff etc,.. Wind travels northwards into India from South-West direction and so, it is occasionally called South West monsoons.
What areas does it affect and in what season?
As I said before, it moves upwards from Indian Ocean in North East direction. The ‘normal date’ when it hits the southernmost portion of India every year – coast of Kerala is June 5th. But you need to give or take a week or two from this date. Met department usually gives the exact date. It is not difficult to predict rains if you look at the satellite map. See the map at Met department website and look for the white patches on the map which indicate clouds. It usually rains where-ever you see the clouds, but not necessarily so.
So it hits Kerala on June 5th, reaches coastal Karnataka in a few days, Goa and Mumbai in a week, and moves all the way up to Delhi in 2-3 weeks. In July, it will be raining in most of India. Tamil Nadu is an exception, it is not affected by monsoon and it doesn’t rain much there in this period. Instead, it rains there in last few months of the year when clouds hit this region from North West, travelling southwards. An exception is western hilly region of Tamil Nadu where it pours heavily during monsoons.
It is all lush green when it rains
How bad is the rains? Does it pour heavily or is it mild?
It varies considerably across India. For example, coastal Karnataka gets a lot of rain, but if you travel around 200kms inlands, there isn’t much rain. Such contrast can be seen in most parts of India. The typical regions where it rains heavily are like – Kerala, coastal Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra, Sahyadri mountain ranges, parts of MP, Orissa. Rains in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are unpredictable – you can have floods in some years and drought in some! It generally pours very heavily in entire North East India. All this is a general observation – my knowledge of monsoons is fairly good about South India, but my observations of Northern parts is mostly news based than personal experience.
Keep in mind that there is no exact pattern of rains. Even in places where it rains heavily, you may get to see a few days with no precipitation. There is every kind of possibility – it may rain or drizzle the whole day, it may clear up after quick showers or you may see some dry days.
Forest streams and waterfalls come alive in the monsoons
How is it generally when it rains? Good, bad or unbearable? Can I travel?
Actually it is pleasant. The heat of the summer will wear off with the onset of rains and it feels good. That’s the case with the plains. In the early days of monsoon when it is still a bit hot, it is fun to get drenched in the rain. Of course, it will be cold showers and cold wind in higher altitudes. The northern planes – Gangetic planes and around Rajasthan can still be hot and humid.
Down south, especially in Kerala and Karnataka around Sahyadri mountains, the concept of monsoon travelling is catching up. It is lush green and beautiful during the monsoon, and the wetness has it’s own charm. Seasonal waterfalls and streams come alive in the jungles and rivers run full. It is as if earth has sprung to life with the rains coming down. I personally love going driving, hiking or trekking in this season. To get an idea, see about some of my past monsoon photographs and travel experiences in my blog – trek and driving.
But journey from place A to B could be a bit painful when it is raining, especially if you are taking public transport. Waiting for public transport in rainy day, going around in damp, slushy places can be annoying, but manageable.
Is there anything else that I should keep in mind?
Yes. Don’t get drenched too often and you might have to stay in bed for 2-3 days. In places where it rains a lot, carry an umbrella all the time. Cities can be a problem when it rains. Unlike the pleasant countryside, cities can get slushy, drains can get flooded, cause traffic jams etc. It’s an annoyance you will have to live with. And some parts of the country are notorious for flooding, especially the north east. Be careful and be informed if you are going to be in such places.
Any book recommendations?
Yes. Chasing the Monsoon by Alexander Frater is a nice book. He travels along with the monsoon all the way from Kerala to Delhi and then to Cherrapunjee. Cherrapunjee is the place where it rains most in the whole world. He describes every thing – about India’s passion with the monsoons, how it affects people’s lives, the science of monsoon, etc. It is set in the seventies and feels little outdated, but still a worthy read.
We started from Bangalore on Friday night a 3-day weekend. The places we were planning to cover included Jog falls, Karwar and Kadra, Goa if time permits.
Jog is a well-known waterfall, the tallest in India where river Sharavati falls from an unbelievable 300 meters high. While the number looks big by itself, those who have managed to climb down to the base of the waterfall and hiked back know how tall and steep really it is.
On the way to Jog
Jog Information
The Jog waterfall is approximately 400kms from Bangalore. If you start on a Friday night, you can reach here next morning and spend a day. It is well connected by road and train. You can take bus or train to nearest town – Sagar and travel on local buses to Jog. If you are driving, the entire stretch of road is national highway in good condition but you may encounter a few rough patches. It takes 7-8 hours to reach Jog. You need to take Tumkur road(NH 4) from Bangalore and turn left to NH 206 in Tumkur, drive via Shimoga and Sagar towns. Shimoga is a good place to break for some refreshments if you are driving daytime. Continue for another 30kms on the highway from Sagar town. The waterfall is a short 2kms deviation from the highway.
Places to see
You can spend an entire day around the waterfall. If you are fit, climb down to the base of the fall. It takes around 20minutes to walk down, and may take an hour or two to come back depending on your fitness. You can take a dip in the water when you are in the gorge. Drive to the other side of the waterfall and you can get close to the falling water. In summer, you can even bend down from the fall to see it descending all the way down from up close. It is a great experience, but definitely not for the acrophobics. Drive further down the national highway into deep jungles and enjoy the views of the Sharavati valley.
Jog waterfall
We reached there around 9am and strolled around for sometime. It was raining on and off and many times the view of the fall would get completely blocked by fog. It was a good view to see so much water there after many long years. It comes down to a trickle in the summers, primarily owing to the dams built for the power generation that redirect all the water. Incessant rains this year have filled up the dams and hence there is plenty of water. It was fun watching the fall in the rains.
We moved on after staying for around 2 hours and reached Sharavati valley, a few kilometers down where river flows between the hills and offers amazing view from the top. I took a few photographs; none of them seemed to justify the beauty of the place. One of the lucky pals who had descended the valley a few years back described us the adventure and fun involved. They had gone into the jungle and descended the steep valley, and had camped by the river for a night a few years back! Boy! That must have been fun.
The beautiful Sharavati Valley
Further down, we encountered a stream by the road that tempted us to stop. We walked along the stream for a while and soon encountered a series of waterfalls. We were too tempted to take a dip, and did just that! It’s a great feeling to dip into a running stream and lie down against the running water. Even more fun is when you sit under a waterfall and feel the gush of the water. I would love to be doing that everyday!
Our next destination was Karwar, a beach town. We reached there around the time of sunset. The time did not matter because it was cloudy all through the day. It looked the same – dull and cloudy from morning to evening and you could never tell the position of the sun! After a brief stop at the small port, we hit the beach and stayed on till it was dark. Lovely beach it is! It started raining cats and dogs while we were there and we got wet. Thanks to rain gods, its absolute fun getting wet on a hot day. From here, we left the seashore and drove interior towards the village of Kadra where we were to stay with a friend for two days. Kadra hosts one of the 7 dams to Kalinadi and has a powerhouse. We had made plans to see the scenic Kali region the next day and return to Bangalore the day after.
The beauty around Kali river
Our friend, who worked for Karnataka Power Corporation arranged permissions for us to visit the powerhouses. They are enormous machinery with great level of automation. It houses huge turbines and various assemblies that needs no to day-to-day maintenance and management. Just 3 engineers will be working as stand-by in the powerhouse at any given point of time! While the powerhouse looked good, it was the river, hills and greenery that we were more interested in. We drove further into a 30km long private road that leads us to another reservoir and power station. The road crawls right along the banks of Kali and the river is surrounded by thick evergreen rain forests typical of the Sahyadri ranges. Out friend mentioned about people seeing leopards, Black Panthers and even tigers in the area! He had seen leopards himself! The place looked too good to be true. And it was drizzling all along, which gave a poetic romance to the entire atmosphere. I though – “Oh my god! I would like to spend rest of my life here!” My friends echoed my feelings. It all seemed too beautiful to be true!
We spent the entire day walking or driving around this road. Late in the evening, we saw some fishermen having a nice evening, catching a good lot of fish. We stopped, had a chat with them and took some photographs around the place. Every inch of the place was absolute beauty! A lot of people apparently go swimming in the river in summer. I decided to return for a swim myself, and I certainly will. It was evening and we ended the day’s journey in a very content state.
The next morning, we drove to Palolem beach in Goa for a short visit. The weather was good and the sea was calm and nice. After frolicking for a while, we drove back to Bangalore. We had moved so far away from the town, it took us 14 long hours to drive back. We returned to Bangalore around 4am.
+ Also: More monsoon journeys on India Travel Blog.
Every year, monsoon rains rock India in the month of June and stay on till September. This is the only time of the year when it rains and provides a much-desired relief from the heat for everyone. These monsoon rains are also the primary source of water for all purposes – drinking water, irrigation, industrial use and anything else. Along with being a lifeline, it is also a romanticized phenomenon. People love it when it rains. The cool breeze and relief from the heat that it delivers, the smell of earth that raises with the early rains, the beauty of the droplets are all a cause of joy. The dry earth turns wet and green in the season and looks pretty. Every year, people anticipate anxiously for the rains, and celebrate when it arrives. In these days I normally spend some time around the rainforests in the Sahyadri hill ranges in South India, where it rains incessantly and the world looks picturesque. Once avoided due to constant rains, monsoon tours are now becoming a popular activity.
Also see more monsoon stories on paintedstork.com
* Hiking Brahmagiri Peak in Coorg
* Trekking on tracks – between Sakaleshpur and Subrahmanya
* Driving in the rains – Jog falls, Karwar and Kali river
* Tubing in Kaveri – some adventure and some stupidity
* Riverside picnic places around Bangalore
* An faq on monsoons
* Monsoon photo gallery
This year when the monsoons started, we decided to drive down to Chikkamgalur, a five-hour drive from Bangalore and spend some time watching the rains and trekking the hills. We packed bare minimal clothing and other requirements for a 2 day trip, and started late on a Friday evening. We reached the town too early and decided to catch some shuteye before dawn, and checked into planter’s court on Mudigere road. Planter’s court offers decent budget accommodation and I had stayed there earlier. Other options in town include small budget hotels all around, or Taj Garden Retreat on the higher side. It was around 4.30am by the time we crashed into the bed.
It was pleasantly cold and drizzling mildly in the morning. Getting out of the covers and getting ready turned out to be a difficult exercise. By the time we got ready and got moving, it was already around 9 in the morning. But outside, it hardly looked that late. Sun was hidden and every part of the sky was cloudy. There wasn’t much light and it looked as if it is early morning. Now and then it rained briefly and stopped. Although we had a few places in mind to go, we had not really planned anything for the day!
At first, we went to see a small lake just outside the town, in a village called HireKolale. I hope I remember the name correctly. It started raining hard on the way. The lake was surrounded by small hills, fields and farms.
It was misty and looked pretty. We strolled there for a while and worked on the next plan – to head towards Charmadi, deep in the middle of the hills.
Stream at the bottom of the valleyIt kept raining on and off and poured heavily at times. We stayed on there till evening and headed back to our car. We were back in Chikkamagalur around 8 in the evening, and after a quick dinner crashed into the bed.
The next day was not planned too! But we figured there is no need to wake up early, since the weather remained the same all through the day – raining or cloudy. We did not get to see the sun at anytime during the two days of our trip. After a brief discussion over breakfast and coffee, we decided to head to Mullayyanagiri. Mullayyanagiri is hill located around 25kms from town, situated in the same ranges as other well-known hills – Bababudan giri and Kemmannugundi. We drove through the wet roads facing the usual intermittent rains. It started getting foggy again when we started driving up the hill. After halfway or so, visibility had reduced to almost nothing.
Fog on the way to MullayyanagiriIt was raining too and the narrow road with deep valley right next to it made it a not-so-easy drive. But being used to such conditions helped. We decided to stop somewhere in the middle and walk the later part of the journey. It was so windy on the hill that we were almost carried upwards by the wind! Walking was hardly an effort. Sometimes wind made spooky and funny noises! After a short walk, we reached the top where they have a temple. Well, no surprises that one! When was the last time you climbed a hill in India and did not see a temple?!
The temple compound on the top of the hill
The foggy weather did not let us into any view of the valley below. After walking around there for a while, we headed back to town. After a brief stop in town to hill our hungry stomachs, we started our drive back. We had planned a visit to Belur temple, a beautiful historical monument on the way, but it was getting late and we could not make it before they closed it for visitors. After driving for a few hours on Mangalore – Bangalore highway, we were back in town around 11pm.
