Post departing from Kukke Subramanya en-route to Chamadka waterfalls, this trail of road enticed us. I pulled over the car and captured few shots. Being fag end of monsoon season, the vegetation was clean and fresh. The roads were cleanly laid and lane marked. The vehicle presence of absent which enabled me to capture some good shots of man made trail combined with nature's own construction. The atmosphere was dead quiet with zero human activity. All the sound was from nature's own activity like screeching bugs, pitter patter of rain drops hopping through canopy,
Rainforests bait me, on top of it, the waterfalls amidst such forests seduce me. Thats how my demeanour is and its difficult explain. Whenever I see forests, the addiction of picturising it. This captivating scene of evergreen forests forced me to halt the car and take a picture. Such was majesty of this place.
No matter how hard you hit the gas, such lovely distractions pause your drive. In this silence and glamour of rainforest, the road is seem to be peaceful spectator.
Yet another waterfall which was marked for visit. We thought of visiting the same day as we visited Kundadka falls but dark clouds & clouds refrained us from visit. We parked the visit to next day en-route to Madhuru temple. We woke up early and checked out from hotel at 6:30AM. We sought final blessings of Lord Subramanya till we revisit.
After morning breakfast from nearby cafe, we started our journey towards chamadka falls. The nature through the drive was mesmerising with dense vegetation flanking the road. Such thick forest shrouds the area with darkness. The light drizzles and shining Sun kept the vegetation fresh and scintillating. Here is how the darkness feels like.
There were multiple deviations to reach waterfalls. At times narrow, sometimes steep and sometimes potholed (I must say craters!). The entire path barring few known villages, were flanked by think forests. The silenced forest communicated through chirping birds, roaring streams, dripping raindrops and noisy bugs. Throughout the journey, we enjoyed the forests and peekaboo of sun through those pristine forest. The monsoon season has rejuvenated the jungle with verdancy. The constant rains with little break have kept the forest charm alive and that charm enabled us to enjoy the roaring waterfalls despite being monsoon dependent.
Final few stretches were difficult to drive. With constant curves, narrow roads, deep valleys, thick forests, zero human presence, made it a nerve-wrenching affair. Fortunately, the mobile network did not abandon us. There were many scenic beauties to celebrate en-route but our focus was solely on reaching waterfalls first. Our car had real work out bending through winding roads, treading through uphill roads and squatting through pot-holed paths.
Despite the navigation guiding us clearly, the skepticism amplified as car cut through thick forests. It became tough to trust anyone except humans. The forest path had feeble human presence which kept us edgy. The moment we spotted humans, we enquired on the correctness of route to waterfalls. They politely assured that we are on track! Once we reached the navigation pinned spot, the signboards cleared all our apprehension. The waterfall signboard had clear arrow-mark and smoothe trail to proceed further. We parked the car adjacent to road and strolled towards waterfall.
The tiny bridge once we cross, the forest trail leads us to forked trail. One reaches a house and other to waterfall. Absolute zero human presence again. The best time enjoy waterfall with water not gushy, ample space and no noise. The rapids along the trail affirmed that it leads to a waterfall. Few meters of trail walk led us to steps leading to viewpoint. Eventually, the most cheering moment for us after reaching waterfall. The roar of water was benign and nothing risky here. The viewpoint has majestic view of waterfall. We captured the moments at the spot but restricted playing. Since there was long journey ahead, we had to just content with beholding the splendour.
Myself and kids took the rugged the trail and had yet another view of the waterfall. The trail had caved in and difficult to negotiate despite the short distance. The waterfall is of cascade type means multiple jumps before the main waterfall plunges. The trail and base are not too risky unless you try to be over adventurous. The waterfall gets its name from chamadka village nearby. The best time would be during monsoon season only when rains take break. Since the waterfall originated from tributary of major river, the spring is not guaranteed to be perennial. We were lucky to have zero human presence during the lucky day.
It was wonderful stay for around 45mins before departing for our next destination. No rains, bright sunshine, pleasant sky and roaring streams, the perfect weather combo to enjoy waterfalls! Please do not litter the waterfalls and have safe enjoyment.
We planned impromptu stay in most revered kukke Subramanya temple and sought his blessings on less crowded busy temple. The visit has been long due which was finally fulfilled without any hassle. We had tummy full of darshan with stay of nearly 20mins near sanctum which would be impossible during busy days. Thanks to non-holiday season, the darshan was smooth without standing in queue. Also we had tummy full of tasty temple meals (both lunch and dinner) which avoided outside food. Since the darshan concluded surprisingly early, we had plenty of time left for the day to spend in Subramanya. My wife had earmarked couple of waterfalls to visit nearby to make the visit worth the stay. One of them was kundadka falls nearby.
The falls is hardly 30 mins drive towards Kadaba highway. The deviation for couple of kms is located amidst the highway. Since roads were good barring few rugged stretches, it took 30 mins only to reach the location pinned in maps. The final 1.5km deviation was mud road with protruding rock structures. As soon as we reached the pinned location, there wasn't any sign of waterfalls or its gush. We became nervous and skeptical if we had reached right place. We parked the car at wider area and walked forward along muddy trail. There was a sudden shift to concrete road but still no sign of waterfalls. Wife also became anxious and for a moment we thought of returning since loud thunder threatened heavy rains. The people presence was nil and passerby bike riders did not help us.
Not seeing waterfall would demoralize us and we stood firm and walked along concrete road and reached a gate. Perhaps, it was rubber estate gate. The mind was relieved when we saw directions to waterfall pasted on the gate.
Finally some relief! The gate was locked though. A narrow entry would guide us to move along the further trail. We walked through the muddy trail but still no sound of waterfall. We again became skeptical. At once, our thought was that trail would have been blocked by creepers. We kept mind steady and moved forward. After walk of 200m, the sound of waterfall started striking mildly our ears. As we moved further, the sound accentuated and we were sure of spotting it.
Finally, the creeks began showing up and waterfall unleashed behind the bushy trail. What a majestic scene and soul satisfying it was! The forest path was instantly transformed to open playground with waterfall. The rains too helped us by restricting themselves to fleeting mild drizzles. The topography is not risky too! Its flat area where waterfall plunges directly to base. There are no risky rocks unless you try to climb the rocks. Good thing was we were only visitor during that time. It seems like people presence was less due to non-holiday season or less visibility.
The waterfall is plunge type i.e. no intermediate cascade section. Not sure if there are cascade above the plunge outset point. The waterfall plunges through the rocky surface chiseled artistically to create mini cascade pattern. That decelerates the velocity of waterfall as it reaches base.
The base of waterfall is not deep (hardly 1-2 mts) deep and has safe topography to play and bath. Kids whole heartedly played in water pool. Even though the area is safe and free from depth, I recommend to be cautious since the rocks are hard and slippery. Surprisingly, I have never seen safe waterfall topography than this anytime. Looks like waterfall situated amidst playground just to refresh post play fatigue.
Just reach the location pinned in maps. Drive further for 100mts. When you reach concrete road, spot the gate from where walk along trail for 300mts to reach waterfall. The waterfalls seems to be sourced from local hill or stream. Hence not a all-round year visiting place. We visited during September and hence sufficient water could be found. Avoid during peak monsoon season since the area is desolated. Also watch out for wild elephant movements as per warning boards.
Final Note:
This place is revered by locals as sacred place of serpent gods. Please maintain cleanliness and restrict using soaps. Also maintain silence in this pristine environment. Enjoy the melody of birds, rhythm of waterfall and beauty of nature.
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