Unchalli falls also known as Lushington falls is about 30 kms from Siddapura (near Sirsi of Karwar district). There are a lot of 'not so famous' but beautiful
falls in and around Sirsi and Siddapura of which Unchalli falls is
one. This is one of the wonderful falls which flows almost all
through the year but is glorious in monsoon. If one is interested in
just watching the falls and returning back, then monsoon (July –
October) would be the best time to visit. But if you are interested
in doing something more - like getting down to the point where the
water falls from the top by trekking downhill in the forest and wish
to have more thrill and excitement its better to go in the
pre-monsoon or early monsoon. And be ready to be greeted with lot of
leeches in the monsoon and pre-monsoon.Way to Unchalli falls: Siddapura is a taluk of Karwar district which is well connected with road from Bangalore and Shimoga. From Siddapura, one has to take a bus to Heggarani. From Heggarani you get rental bikes and autos available to reach the falls. Have your meals and also something packed to eat if you are planning to trek down the falls as there are no chances of getting proper food once you start from Siddapura. Though there is a small canteen kind of hotel at Heggarani, most of the times you will have to wait for a long time for proper food. A biker charges about Rs.50 to drop you to the entrance of the falls from Heggarani. You can also request him to come back to pick you back at a particular time, and of course you will have to pay him 'again' for that.
At the entrance, a fee of Rs.15 per head is collected at a small shop.
If you have the
plans of trekking down, then few useful and critical information
about how to get down, where to start and the right way to reach back
can be obtained from the person at the shop (though its not his
duty). One has to walk about 0.5 kms from the entrance to reach the
view point of this beautiful waterfalls. A partial view of the water
falls can be seen from the view point.
You will find the steps to go
down to see the falls from another point from where a full view of
the falls can be seen. This point is very steep and one can commit a
perfect suicide from this location.
At this point if you think
to trek down from the route which can be seen, then you are 100%
wrong. Beware you should NOT start trekking down from the point where
you reached using steps!!! (Unfortunately and unknowingly, we took
this route and faced a lot of difficulties. And the only useful
information which you get here about trekking down is that the way
which starts from view point is INCORRECT). This route is extremely
dangerous and misleading hence it is recommended not to take this
route. It is said that the proper way to trek down starts a little
before the first view point. There are no indications or signboards
on where to start and how to proceed about the trek. You can skip the
next section and go to “After reaching back entrance” as the next
section just contains our experience.
As I have already said we
chose the WRONG way to trek down, we proceeded rightwards down into
the forest from the view point which was reached using the steps. The
forest was not very dense but in monsoon the grass grows to a height
of about 3-4 feet which brings a feeling of thick forest and most of
the times we were on the rocks. There were a few places where it was
required to search and analyse the proper way to proceed. After a
long tiring trek and walk we reached the bottom of the falls. It was
a feeling of extreme pleasure and a sense of accomplishment.
After spending few hours
in the water and having our lunch which we had brought, we started
trekking back. This was a real tough task as we had to again search
and analyse the proper and right way back. At times we were lost too.
At one particular point of time we were almost clueless on which way
to proceed as the place which we were was covered by rocks on all
side except the way which we came in. Somehow we managed to climb
back and reach the entrance of the falls. We came to know about the
danger which we escaped from only when the person in the shop at the
entrance (the one where entrance fee is collected) said that even
dead bodies of the people who miss their way, after taking the WRONG
route, will not be found!!!After reaching back entrance: At the entrance one can call the biker to come back and pick if there are no means of transportation available, note that its difficult to get the signal as this place is very remote. They say that only BSNL has its coverage in that area. The best thing is to send a message to the biker via other tourists (if at all there are any) who are heading to Heggarani. Also keep in mind that the last 'confirmed' bus which leaves from Heggarani is at 6.00 PM (they also say there are buses available now and then but not sure whether they come or not). If its too late to reach Heggarani before 6.00PM, then its better to ask the biker to take you to Ammenahalli which is located on the way between Sirsi and Kumta, here you get frequent buses to Sirsi. And Sirsi is well connected with road to almost all parts of Karnataka.
Other places of interest: There are a lot of falls around Siddapura and Sirsi. Burude falls is one which can be seen only before the monsoon starts as the way leading to Burude falls will be covered by water streams during rainy season.