Heaven is myth, Devkund is real. Devkund waterfall: A mysterious jungle trek

[mit1682]

Heaven is myth, Devkund is real

 

Devkund waterfall: A mysterious jungle trek

 

 

Never-ending trudge of 12 km’s, soaked in soggy and muggy clothes straight for 8 hours, half-dead in hunger and cold, got lost in the dense jungle!!!

 

A tale of 2 souls.

 

Yes, it all happened in a day.

 

Devkund waterfall-a fall that offers undoubtedly one of the most nerve chilling experiences.

 

Grab a popcorn, turn on your imagination and try to visualize while you peruse through the blog.

 

A special thanks to my soulmate who first time participated with me in this trek. And enjoyed it more than me.

 

Photos were taken with Oneplus 9 and it was magical.

 

 

 

Foggy start

 

When forests itself beckons you, this happens!

 

 

It is advised to start this trek early morning to avoid rush at fall and humidity.

 

We woke up at 4 am checked all luggage and essentials (we do this before every trip). At 5 am the journey started.

 

Well to inform you, there are no direct public transports to the Bhira village, where the fall is situated. If you are a group of more than 4 people it is advisable to book a direct cab from Pune or Mumbai, as your cost will cut down when you split among each other.

 

Or best option is to drive your own vehicle.

 

It’s a 4-hour voyage from Wagholi to the base village of the fall. Actually it will be 3 hrs only. But early morning fog took 1 hrs extra. We passed through Tamhini ghat which was eternal and exuberant. 60kms from Pune, this ghat is another one day trek that you can do on a weekend in Pune.

 

But mind it, the roads are awful. I really mean it.

 

And especially in monsoon, those herky-jerky path holed roads will make you bite someone’s head off, literally!

 

But don’t you worry, the scenic landscapes and the panoramic view will bind you onto them and divert your mind from the irksome journey.

 

 

My trusted companion in drive.....

 

 

While passing through the enticing ghats, you will come across a lot of small falls outpouring rainwater with a flash and lush emerald green farms.

 

Imagine what could you have asked for more when you spot the sun god in the mood to play peekaboo behind the dark clouds and sprinkling its golden first rays on these velvety farms? Nothing right?

 

It was magical!

 

The ghats are surrounded by Mulshi lake. You can have the best time with your family and friends camping beside the lake.

 

It was a bliss to the eyes and soul to have witnessed the breathtaking view in the morning. We were enjoying the landscapes, listening to some romantic songs in the background.

 

 

 

Beautiful ghat section

 

 

Oh, I remember, it was the soulful ” ye haseen waadiyan ye khula aasman ” from Roja. ????

 

Don’t they say “the journey is more beautiful than the destination”?. Yes! it’s true.

 

After so many bumpy rides we reached Bhira (base village)!

 

My eyes twinkled I and felt butterflies in my stomach, yes just like the one on the first dates, to trek the ever enchanting Devkund waterfalls.

 

We collected our belongings and left the rest in the car itself. Ate the famous Vada Pav as breakfast in the hotel. You can park your car there, they will charge Rs 100 as parking charge and will take care of your car. It was 9 am (we were delay by 1 hr as per our schedule time).

 

 

 

 

We reported at counter. Here villages charges Rs 100 per person. If you have luggage and need a person to carry, it will be additional charge (based on situation). Also you can put your luggage to nearby hotel.  I made mistake of carring my trek backpack with some unnecessary stuff. Paid Rs 300 to a guide to carry it.

 

My suggestion to trekker, carry light.

 

The trek started. We were all pumped up.

 

And here it begins action-packed excursion to the mighty falls-Devkoond.

 

 

 

 

 

Lovebirds❤

 

“India’s natural habitat/flora and fauna and landscapes are only revived when trekked through dense and condensed jungles. So let’s do this.. are you ready”? The guide said

We started the trek. Unfolding the mysterious jungle!

 

 

 

Bhira dam reservoir 

 

The first 30 minutes of the trek was quite easy as we were walking on a plain patch of grassland, along the Bhira dam reservoir.

 

As we trekked more, we were invading into the dark forest which was covered with every possible variety of jungly trees and weeds.

 

It was growing denser progressively. So dense that sunlight couldn’t enter into it.

 

Yes! we are in the middle of Bhira. The essence of the jungle was coiling us and we were happy to mold ourselves. The next 1 hour of the trek got us to make our way through muddy plains, slippery rocks and stubborn bushes. Which was very exciting and thrilling at the same time.

 

Traversed through a 6 feet deep stream?

 

Trekked more and more, and there came a point where we found a 30 feet wide river stream right in front of us.

 

When the guide said “we have to cross this stream, I rubbed my eyes and widened it to actually believe what he is saying.

 

Something like this was my first-time experience and I was thrilled and fascinated.

 

It was more than 5 feet deep!

 

“It was going to be life-threatening but maza ayega(i am excited)”-I murmured.

 

But then I start seeing my office, boss, targets in front of my eyes. Then decided will not cross the stream and instead will use makeshift bridge to cross it. It is Rs 20 per head to use this makeshift bridge.

 

 

And we passed by more mud-caked lakes, gargantuan celestial spherical shaped mountains engulfed with fog, greener pastures, and impenetrable forests.

 

We were worn out by then but we kept rambling with our faces lit up with impish glee in order to discover every step of the trek.

 

The guide kept us engaged with the information trivia about the local environment as we kept walking through a series of interconnected sprawling forests.

 

Trust me the experience was out of the world, that this blog can hardly do any justice.

 

Exhausted and strained, we were just walking into an endless and unfading jungle.

 

Then there came a part where we had to climb an inclined foresty peak, behind which the most awaiting fall was located. While climbing up, we just saw an animated world right in front of us. A view just like an illustration from the book of fantasy!

 

Hundreds of butterflies fluttering around and larger than life tree roots, sheltering glowy honeycomb structured mushrooms that mischievously distracted us was absolutely magical. Just imagine.

 

 

 

 

First glimps

 

And with each footstep, the woosh sound of the fall was getting us anxious to end the wait, to see the anticipated waterfall. After 30 minutes of struggling through the climb, finally comes the divine fall that your eyes would ever envision.

 

Unveiling the secluded divine waterfall!

 

It was gigantic, it was colossal and the most artistic fall, mother nature possesses. Incredible it was! We could not believe our eyes that we actually reached there.

 

We sat on a rock and gazed admiringly the pulchritudinous fall for 30 minutes without uttering anything to anyone. It was such an eye-soothing beauty, amid the pristine wilderness. A whopping amount of water flowing from the Kundalika river which is said to be the waterfall’s origin and falling into a huge pit left us astounded.

 

We couldn’t get enough of that 80 feet massive waterfall.

 

I went into some other zone of thinking and relating all this to LIFE.

 

Accept the challenges, so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory!

 

As in life, we come across so many hurdles, but we should never let the fear of failure overpower our impulse and self-motivation. And as you do so, see how beautiful the destination will be! Just like this trek that taught me so much.

 

It all looked so meaningful!

 

 

 

 

I am in love with it

 

 

 

Love you zindagi

 

 

departing click

 

 

Promising that i will come in next monsoon

 

 

 

We thought of going into the pond where the fall splashes into, but we noticed a rope was tied which said: “don’t cross beyond this rope “.

 

Devkund waterfall: a pond of tragedy? / pond of deaths?

 

We learned from our guide that few accidents took place so any of us will be prohibited beyond the rope due to safety reasons. Also, the water flow was very high.

But we got up one by one to get captured with that mammoth waterfall in the frame.

 

After getting some amazing shots of this enormous picturesque waterfall, we trekked back as we had to reach the origin before 5 pm for obvious reasons (its a jungle).

 

And again we started the journey of life on a backtrack, crossing those semi flooded dense forests and three river streams. Trekked back with a feeling of triumph to the quaint village(Bhira).

 

The guide showed us the route to Andharban forests (dark forest) pointing to an unspecified mountain to which I promised myself to trek that next time I visit Pune.

 

We witnessed the exotic sunset on our way.

 

It was perfect and exquisite.

 

I would not exaggerate but after trekking for almost 12 km that day with all that spine-chilling adventure in the dense jungle, empty stomach, and wet clothes, I was still feeling my best. Then on the way back to our rooms, we had Wada pavs in a restaurant, also where we changed our clothes.

 

What a day it was! Tiring tha par on the top of the world wali feeling aa rahi thi. (it was tiring but I was on the top of the world).

 

Do let me know if you will still visit this waterfall? Also, let me know how did you like the blog.

 

Till then, Take care of yourself and I shall meet you very soon with another exciting blog.

 

nomadic_mit

 

How to Reach Devkund waterfall from Mumbai & Pune By Personal vehicle

Let Google Maps be your best friend. Set the location to Tata Hydro Power Plant, Bhira if you cannot find Devkund waterfall. 

From Pune: Swargate- Chandni Chowk- Paud- Mulshi-Tamhini Ghats- Bhira Village

From Mumbai: Mumbai- Khalapur- Pali- Bhira village

You can either go here early morning, do the Devkund trek & return the same day or you can reach Bhira in the evening, camp by the Bhira dam and start the trek early morning. The camping option also helps you to avoid the crowds at Devkund

I personally suggest to go early morning to enjoy the fall. Also prefer weekdays against weekend.

 

Difficulty Level Of Devkund Waterfall Trek: 

Devkund waterfall trek is an easy trek. It becomes hard only in heavy rainfall as we have to cross the water streams with high flow. But with proper guidance and gear Devkund trekking can be done easily.

 

Do I Need a Guide?

It doesn’t matter whether you need a guide or not you will have to pay Rs 100 per person as Guide charges. These are paid for common guides which are present throughout the trail till Devkund waterfall.  This charges became mandatory after few souls who didn’t knew swimming ended up in the pond.

Without this payment you won’t be allowed inside from the start point.  Once you have paid the money and put down you name in the old register you can start walking on the trail which passes by the Bhira Dam backwaters to reach the Devkund waterfall.

 

The trail is pretty well marked and well used. You can’t miss the trail even if you are blind. If you lose the track you would be an advanced level of stupid 😊.

The trail provides various peaceful movements along the backwaters.

 

Time Required?

It takes around 120 minutes at full steam to reach from parking spot to waterfall.

However, if you (yes you who is reading this) attempts this I am pretty sure you would stop after every 10 minutes where you will click 100 pictures. I don’t care if you are a seasoned / amateur photographer or a gorilla with a camera in hand you will stop every now & then to click some pictures. Trust me I did the same.

 

Hungry Kya?

At the Bhira village there are many people who provide home made food. While walking through the village you can notice the tasty food posters on houses.

On the trail there are make shift stalls where you can get lemonade and some basic stuff. These stalls are available only on weekends. It would not make sense for them to run such stalls on weekdays. Have this in mind and carry a lot of water on non-monsoon days.

 

Best Time To Visit

From late September and October to April is the best time to visit the Devkund Waterfall because these are months right after monsoon and remain pleasant in all aspects. The rainy season is very much turbulent in the Western Ghats. It is often known to cause many unfortunate incidents, therefore, advised better to avoid such seasons if planning a trip.

 

[Guest Smith]

Very well written as always. For a moment I felt as thought, I traversed the trek with you guys. You are a true inspiration to the once who have just started exploring “NaTuRe”. Keep living, exploring and rocking life forever!! 

[AKO]

Great piece of work...

[Gowtham]

On 10/24/2021 at 1:48 AM, mit1682 said:

Heaven is myth, Devkund is real

Fantastic log, loved reading it. 
Thank you for sharing it. 

[sagar]

Amazing travel story from you @mit1682 as always.. Great work there! Loved every bit of the read.. Thank you for sharing your awesome experiences with us.

[Mruthunjayi]

On 10/24/2021 at 5:41 PM, Guest Smith said:

Very well written as always. For a moment I felt as thought, I traversed the trek with you guys. You are a true inspiration to the once who have just started exploring “NaTuRe”. Keep living, exploring and rocking life forever!! 

Great Pics and work👌❤️👍