24 August 2013
It takes about an hour of Jeep ride from the main road to
reach near this waterfall. The day was perfect; clouded sky with no rains. The
first part of the Jeep ride was comfortable as Kumar, our Jeep driver drove on
the tarred road with jiffy. The streams were flowing full which added to the
beauty of the area.
The tar road ended and the roller coaster journey began. The
path as filled with slush and stones. At some places, Jeep just skidded. On the
way, Kumar stopped to show us the place in the valley. The stream flowing down
had formed a waterfall. But the stream and the waterfall were completely
hidden. “It is not the time to see this falls, come after monsoon” were the
words of the villagers.
We dropped the villagers who had hitch hiked with us in the
Jeep. They lead a tough life being
situated in the remote corner. Electricity, which we have taken for granted hasn't yet reached the villages here. We see electric poles without wires.
We had to cross a stream coming from the waterfall. During
heavy rains, Jeeps cannot cross this stream and the remaining journey had to
done by walking. There is a small bamboo bridge to help the crossing. We did
not have to use it as the water level was within ‘navigable’ limits.
Once we cross the stream, it was an uphill climb for about a
km. By then, we had reached the point where the walking trail to waterfall
diverted.
The falls makes its appearance behind the canopy of trees as
we walked down.
The final walk is about 10 minutes from the place the Jeep
was stopped. It is a single step waterfall that might be about 100 feet in
height.
Unlike many waterfalls, this does not have a pool at the
base!!
Later, when we were having snacks at a roadside hotel, we
came to know that several hundred/thousands of acres of estate lie above the
falls. It was owned by British before they left India in 1947. I was surprised
to hear the names of the current owners. The length and breadth of some people’s
reach is surprising.
Labels: travel, Waterfalls
