3 day long weekend and we have
another write-up here. Don’t worry I will keep it short this time. I was clear
that I wanted to do a day-ride this time meant I wanted to be back by 5-6pm at
my home. This meant that the ride has to be around 100-200km one way but there
are not many places around Chennai apart from regular Mahabs and Pondi which I
have done several times. However asked some friends around and they suggested
Venkatagiri falls, Tada falls etc. I looked up both and finalized Tada falls
which is 115km one way from my home. Also did some research and came to know
that it has a bit of off-roading and a lot of trekking inside the jungle.
Sounds exciting to me! So the route map:
And you see the dotted line there? This means only trekking:
Now I have ridden on this road
before so route planning wasn’t a big task. I just wanted to start early and be
back early and take rest. But I had no idea of the fun which was in store this
time for me. So I started at 7am from my home and doing moderate speeds of
90-100kmph I reached 23km from my destination which was at about 08:25am and I
was very hungry by this time and stopped for breakfast. Felt better after
satisfying my stomach and I was back on the bike again. This road offered the
views of clear blue sky and greenery around.
Following the straight roads
after taking a left from the main highway, few kilometers from the TADA falls
parking spot the roads will end and the off-roading will start.
It’s not very tough but just
kaccha road. Here first stop is for getting the entry ticket which is Rs. 25,
they will charge Rs. 50 for a camera but they didn’t understand my action cam
and I didn’t have to pay for it.
So the gates were opened and off-roading started. I always enjoy riding
off-road , fun!
More off-roading for 3km and you
reach the parking spot and no car or motorcycle can go further. There is a
small shop here where you can get tea and stuff. Also remember that this is
your last stop to stock water, biscuits and such items because inside you will
not get any. DO NOT GO INSIDE WITHOUT CARRYING WATER.
There are lot of monkeys around
so be careful of your food and stuff.
As soon as you enter the place you
witness this:
And after coming down the bridge,
you are given the option of two paths (Sorry I don't have a pic to explain this). One which goes to your left and another
towards right. If you choose to walk on the trail on your right, it’s tough but
relatively easy. Lots of ups and downs, rocks etc. But if you choose to walk on
the trail on your left, you are sure to have a good time and here you can
experience proper ‘trekking’ inside a jungle. Lots of rocks, you will walk
around/inside the water and this makes the experience the real deal. I chose
the left trail.
The natural water is so clear
that you do not get it see every day and suddenly realize that you are away
from the noisy chaos that city life is. Once inside it’s just you and the sound
of birds you get to hear. There are lot of butterflies inside and they will
love to fly with you as you walk.
The trek towards the main falls can
be divided into ..say 6-7 stages. If you choose the left trail near the stream
of water as I did, you will realize that as you progress and walk/climb, the
flow of water increases slightly. The trek consists of climbing and crossing
several rocks, stream of water, you have to make your way between the trees and
plants and be careful here some thorns might rub your skin off so make sure you
are covered completely. At some points you will see that you cannot move ahead
near the stream of water, here you have to climb your way towards the land if
you wish you can come back to the stream of water. I was enjoying the sound of
water flowing and it kept me going. The water was so clear.more pics:
Someone felt the need of changing
into new clothes in the mid of the jungle:
After trekking for sometime, you
will reach a point where you have no option but to walk along the main trail.
Walk on this for sometime again and reach the rocks and the waters. One thing
is clear(apart from the water, as you are moving ahead, the curiosity and the
excitement to reach to the main source of water also keeps increasing.
It’s just a challenging trek
ahead keep going ahead you will not regret till you reach the end. More pics
during the trek:
After a tiring walk and trek, I
reached the final point. Once you reach here you realize that it was totally
worth it. Because I had started to this place early , there was no one,
absolutely no one around here and it’s just you and the nature. I decided to
take a dip!
The water is cold and there are
lot of fishes inside the water but they will not harm you. However be careful
of slippery surfaces on the rocks otherwise you can easily fall and break your
head lol.
Now if you are expecting a huge
water fall here, I would say you will be disappointed. There is just moderate
amount of water flowing which the locals started calling as falls. Also this
time when I went the water falls magnitude was reduced as told by someone.
Personally for me, the whole experience of trekking inside the jungle and
climbing up the tough terrain to reach all the way to up this point was what
counted. I will never forget this experience.
By the time I finished relaxing
in the water, people had started coming in, I asked someone to click a picture
of me. Notice the huge rocks!
As I walked back I chose the main
trail on the land side which is comparatively flat and easy. This because now I
had experienced the trek in the jungle and had to reach back to the bike little
faster.
As promised, I am keeping this
travelogue short. This time I realized that the trekking part was more fun than
the riding part and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have lot of footage
from the action cam which needs sorting and stuff so I will try to add a video
to this post later, till then please manage with the pics!
Update (5th Feb): Here is the video!
Update (5th Feb): Here is the video!
Anyways when I reached back to
the bike it I decided to have a tea. While sitting amongst monkeys I relaxed for
sometime and started riding back at 12:30 and reached home by 2:15pm. Some pics while riding back:
This place is a trekking paradise
and if you love trekking you should definitely visit this place. I can’t deny
that the sound of water is still ringing in my head :)
Once in a while, go to some place
which makes you feel one with the nature.
Keep Riding.
