There is a rough rule in the Western Ghats: the effort required to reach a waterfall is inversely proportional to the number of people standing in front of it. These four are ranked easiest to hardest.
1. Kalhatti Falls — roadside
You can more or less park and look at it. Which means, on a Sunday in August, so can four hundred other people. Go early or go on a weekday.
2. Manikyadhara Falls — a short walk
Below the Baba Budangiri shrine. More of a cascade than a fall, and considered sacred, so people bathe in it. Ten minutes from the road.
3. Jhari Falls (Buttermilk Falls) — jeep required
The road ends and a local jeep takes you the rest of the way through the estates. Do not attempt it in your own car; people do, and they regret it.
4. Hebbe Falls — jeep, then water
168 feet, in two stages, at the end of a 9 km jeep track through the Kemmangundi coffee estates. The last stretch is on foot through the stream itself. This is the one worth building a day around.
When to go
June–September is when they are full, and when the leeches are out. Wear closed shoes and carry salt. October–November is the sweet spot: still heavy, fewer leeches. By March most of them are a trickle.
