Jyoti Raj

Jyoti Raj
Born17 May 1988
Theni, India
NationalityIndian
Other namesKothi Raj, Monkey man
OccupationClimber
Known forScaling walls

Jyoti Raj is an Indian free solo climber from Chitradurga, Karnataka.[1]

Known as "Kothi Raju" or "Spiderman of Karnataka", Raj is famous for scaling the Chitradurga Fort without safety harnesses.[2] He does not climb for sports, but to entertain the visitors to the fort.[3][4][5]

He is also the only person to have scaled Karnataka's highest waterfall, the 830-foot Jog falls, climbing against the flow.[6] On 13 September 2013, he free soloed the clock tower at Moorusavir Math in Hubli in just over 15 minutes. He did not use any harness, but used chalk for grip.[7]

He made his debut as an actor in Sandalwood with the 2014 film Jyothi aliyas Kothiraja.[8]

He has been called upon numerous times to rescue or retrieve the bodies of people who have fallen down Jog Falls, and on a rescue operation in 2018 he got stuck in a gorge overnight.[9]

  1. ^ "Meet the Indian rival of spidey". India Today. 2 August 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  2. ^ "Monkey man of India is a climbing ace". The Daily Telegraph. 14 October 2009.
  3. ^ "Meet India's own Spiderman". Rediff. 14 October 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  4. ^ "'Monkey King' is a cynosure of all eyes at Chitradurga Fort". Khabra Express. 30 July 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  5. ^ "இந்தியாவின் ஸ்பைடர் மேன் நான்தான்: மார்தட்டி சொல்லும் தமிழக இளைஞர்". Nakkeeran (in Tamil). 2 August 2009. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  6. ^ "Jyothi Raj scales Jog Falls, hurt but unshaken". Sports Keeda. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  7. ^ Scaling clock tower with bare hands
  8. ^ Debut as an actor
  9. ^ Rock Climber Jyothi Raj Went Missing in Jog Falls, He went to Took Out Dead Body from Jog (in Kannada). TV9 Kannada. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2022.