Adventure at AK waterfalls

Having reached a village of 3 houses at the remote corner of western ghats, our next task was to find out the location of the falls we were searching for. A cowherd mentioned that there was a small stream and that was it. But it did not looked like a waterfall. So I went into one of the houses in the village. The people were friendly and invited me inside to have a cup of tea. This is something I have experienced at many places in the remote areas of Malnad/coastal area in Karnataka. A nice gesture.

The person told that the waterfall was on the upstream of the same water body we had seen before. We just need to walk a bit along the stream, he mentioned. He made it as simple as walking on MG road!!

But situation on ground was different. Getting down into the stream from the road itself was a task for us. Sankara indicated that he would not prefer to come further. That left me to venture further alone. It was a tough walk as the rocks were slippery. 

A little further, I reached a stage that looked like a waterfall. But the appearance of the falls at a far distance behind the canopy made me realise that the main waterfall was still further away. I climbed up the small waterfall followed by couple of similar ones. There was no path to go around the stream and hence I had to climb up along the water.

I was drenched by then and was profusely sweating due to humidity. The climbing became difficult and risky as a small mistake would result in serious injury. The place looked beautiful and serene but also scary!! The thought “What if a snake comes?” made me even more cautious before stepping my foot and placing my hand on the surface of the rock. It looked like a snake territory even though I did not find a trace of it!!

I reached a point where I felt was the limit of my risk taking. To get a better view, I had to make some manoeuvres but decided not to do it. The whole journey from the road had taken just 20 minutes but I was exhausted. But it was an unique and amazing experience.