Yana, the Hill Village in Karnataka, India

Hardly a few travel blog posts in the world open with a video of a sightseeing place straightaway and the text description follow the video. Yes, I can challenge you. I will give you 24 hours after reading this blog post to find at least one such instance where a travel-related article starts with a video clip. The above video clip entices you immediately to start finding more about YANA, the greenest hill village located in North Karnataka.

Did you see the base of the imposing Karst rock formation and as the camera slowly moved up to show the full height of the rock, did you realize your mouth was agape? That’s the reaction of most of the people to whom I forwarded the video.

The dense lush green forest that surrounds the Yana village is called the Kumta forest.

I read a description somewhere on the web that the Karst rock is laterite. I beg to differ; it looks nowhere near a red color which is the basic quality of laterite rocks.

How to reach Yana?

The closest big city is Mangalore which is 227 km away. You can imagine the distance from other big cities such as Bangalore, Panjim-Goa, Mysore, and Mumbai.

But the nearest railway station to Yana is Hubli (140 km) that is well connected by rail with all the above said cities.

From Hubli, you can go by road to Yana in about 3 hours with the guidance of GPS.

Other small towns close to Yana are the Kumta (25km) and Sirsi (40km).

What to see There

Naturally, you would want to head straightaway to see the 90 feet rock pillars. They are locally called “Yana Caves”. The Yana village is situated in a small hillock in the ‘Sahyadri Mountain Range’. These rock formations can be ideal to train rock climbing. There is a temple at the base of the rock pillars.

Vibhuti Falls in Yana

There is river called Ganagavali in the Yana village. Abutting this river is the small Vibhuti waterfalls. The water falls from 30 feet only. The area surrounding the river is a forested area. Trekkers love this area that is full of myriad wildflowers.

The two peaks of the Yana.

Trekkers goals are the Bhairaveshwara Shikhara situated at a height of 120 feet and the Mohini Shikhara at 90 feet.

Jeep Safari

You can inquire around for a jeep safari to spot any wildlife here. Not many wild animals were spotted in the recent past though there is a mention of dangerous animals living there.

Hotels to stay in Yana

Since there is not much to do in Yana, it is considered as a day trip sightseeing place. However, if you like to cool your heels in a serene place that is away from the city, you can choose to stay in the Shree Sai River View Resort. It is located about 100 km on the  Hubli-Karwar Rd, Ramanguli. You can book an air-conditioned cottage and enjoy an authentic North Karnataka fare that closely resembles Govan cuisine.