Pavagadh- This place is very familiar and known to all Barodians. Almost everyone has visited this place and more frequently too. But this review is not above Pavagadh, but about the secret waterfalls emerging out of this beautiful hill and plateau which had been unexplored till date.
Pavagadh is a place about 45 Kms North East of Baroda, has a mountain about 1350 meters high and is already listed as a World Heritage Site and is now protected for its precious hill fortress of an early Hindu capital, and remains of the 16th century capital of the state of Gujarat.
In the lap of nature, Pavagadh itself is full of stunning beauties. But what I am about to write is the most adventurous and beautiful of all my endeavors of exploring new places. I am not joking, almost no one knows about this place, except we! (Amresh, Jagat, Mehul and Bhavik). We discovered a new waterfall whose origin and the approach is not known and public.
How we knew about this place:We had heard from local people and small time priests that many waterfalls emerge out of this mountain during rainy season. Many of us must have witnessed such small waterfalls while we climb the mighty Pavagadh in Gandola or by foot. But never, nobody bothered to find the source or visit such waterfalls.
Some of this local folks revealed that on the way to Pavagadh (just after Dhaba Dungri) you cross a huge entrance gateway on the road. It’s a free standing gate on the road. Just before that gateway, a ‘kaccha’ road/lane on the right goes to Khunia Mahadev Temple.
Some will say whats the secret about this? Yes, many people know about this temple and the fact that when you go along this temple path, you go through a river descend and rocks leading to a waterfall. But this will be called as conventional waterfalls-I (one) which is known to many of the pilgrims and locals out there. Hence this falls are always crowded and noisy. But what I am going to talk about is the undiscovered Falls-II which nobody has explored yet.
How did we discover Secret Falls-II:Conventionally with a lot of people we started to walk on the way to Khunia Mahadev. The first 10 pictures below will reveal the crowd that we had along with us, as its known to many people. But as we started ascending, we went through the remains of the forts of 16th century, we could clearly see multiple waterfalls from the mountains- both big and small. We kept climbing and had people following us to the temple too. At a point we reached a place where 2-3 rivers from the falls merged.
At this point we realized, there were 3 (three) waterfalls, which can be seen and from which the above rivers descend. The leftmost was the one where the entire crowd was diverting too. That way was always traveled as it also lead to the very ‘talked about’ Khunia Mahadev Temple too.
Turning point:It is at this point we asked about the other 2 falls on the right. We asked the local small time priests, whether a way lead to those falls. A very clear NO NO came from them and they also added saying nobody goes there and there is a steep rocky terrain and is not possible to reach the source of the river.
We were shaken a bit, but all of us determined to discover this new fall, with that additional risk. Risk – Nobody had visited earlier, wild animals might be frequent, we were only four without weapons- except stealth knives, all the more priest clearly said NO NO. But from the basics of mountaineering and trekking, a river descending from a mountain always have hard rocks along them and the best way to climb a mountain is along such river falls. We took it with aggression
Along the way:We faced a lot of problems as we started the rocky terrain along the river to reach the source, which we never knew will be so beautiful. The rocks had algae deposited over it and we slipped over them so many times hurting/scratching our feet and hands. At one point, Bhavik being short in height, could not climb a steep rock, where we had to help him with a big bark of tree. Jagat injured himself with a sharp edge wound on his bare feet. Mehul slipped a rock, scratched himself and felt short of head hitting a rock. I fell while descending from the falls and hurt my palms and feet.
When we reached:Cannot describe in words- we were only four of us there. No signs of any human being there ever. We were at the height of Pavagadh, but on the other side of the Mahakali temple. Huge water falls, fresh chilled water. We bathed there for almost 3 hours. One of the most fascinating experiences of enjoying natures beauty and the most satisfying with the fact it was unexplored till date.
We traveled this route on August 15, 2006 on the very Independence day of India. It was 11 AM when we started and at about 4 PM we came down.
Photographs on https://sagai.8m.com/photo_1.html
How to Reach there
By Road: Its very close to Vadodara 21°47'N Latitude,73°34'E Longitude). Vadodara (my city of living) is well connected to the metro cities of the country by rail, road and air. Its approximately 45 Kms from Vadodara by road. GSRTC Buses go from all over Gujarat till Vadodara and Pavagadh.
PS: We drove in my Esteem (LX) with all the sweet memories and without a single hitch! Good deal Maruti !
For natives of Vadodara and nearby, you start towards Harni, crossing Golden Chokdi on NH no.8 and through the newly made Baroda-Halol tollway towards Pavagadh.
How to reach by Air:Fly untill Vadodara if you are on the domestic routes. Fly to Mumbai and then Vadodara, if you are on the international routes. From Baroda, you can take a bus, taxi or a rental car and ask the driver to take the given directions.
Best time: Best time according to me, (as I love heavy rains and adventuring) would be during rainy season (August- September), and it is a dense jungle. Just don't forget to carry some chilled bottles of water and light food. One should have some backup of all needy things in case one gets lost.
Its Adeventerous and fun!
NOTE: DON'T MISS THE PHOTOGRAPHS ON THE PAGE BELOW !!!
Do let me know if any of you want any help reaching this place. Please leave your feedback on how this rvu is helpful to you.
We can be contacted as
Amresh- 9825000891 # AMRESH@GMX.NET
Jagat - 9825030749 # JAGAT.BAXI@LTEES.COM
