From here and there..
Gokak’s glory
Just six km on the ghat road from Gokak, River Ghataprabha makes its tryst with the valley below after a leap of over 52 meters.
This place is within easy reach of the main road. If you are taking a bus, it takes just about 20 minutes to reach the bus-stop from the town of Gokak where the visitor can walk down to the pavilion named after one of the pioneers who set up the Gokak Textile Mills and the rock named Volkart Rock in honour of Volkart of Switzerland, their trading partner. From the vantage point of the rock, one gets a panoramic view of the falls, the river downstream, the hills and the valley rich in flora.
After getting a bird’s eye view of the falls and its surroundings, one can walk down the road to see the falls from close quarters, next to the hydroelectric power station that supplies power to the mills and the residential complex.
The textile mills administration has set up a sports arena and named it after former India batsman Sunil Gavaskar’s father who had served in the mills for a number of years. A barrier, wire fence and a notice board are designed to keep visitors away from the valley which is a precipitous drop.
The cliff rises menacingly on either side of the valley while the river meanders through it after the leap. A walk bridge, built by the British, is still operational and spans across the river. The best time to visit the falls is from June to September.
