The signboard did not somehow make sense pointing in the very direction we were coming from. And the fact that there wasnt a single soul to seek direction from made it quite unusual for google to be calling this place "a popular trekking site". So here were we both, husband and wife, lost in the forest of Mahauli No we were not trying to imitate the discovery Channel show"man, woman , wild" taking on some forbidding and remote location; a google snippet about waterfall rapelling at Mahauli Forest is what had attracted us and that was what we were here for.
We stood sometime staring at the signboard wondering which bifucation to follow that would lead us to the waterfall. At last Gautam started out on one claiming it to be the call of his gut. We had walked only a short distance when the path seemed to have reached a dead-end at some temple like building, making us go back to the other offshoot to resume the search. After travelling some more distance there it was again, one those mischievous misguiding signboards that left us confused as to which way to go.
Excitement throbbing till the very ends of our fingertips at the prospect of rapelling down a waterfall, it took us a good couple of minutes of hiking before we realised something was again wrong. And as professor Murphy would have it, we were on the wrong turn. The rickshaw fellow who had left us at the entrance of the forest had judged that a mere 30 minutes walk would take us to the waterfall. As excited at the prospect of experiencing the thrill of rapelling down a waterfall we kept walking further, we were almost at the top when we realised the gushing sound from somewhere down below. Dejected we tried calling out, in the hope that there might be someone to help us lost souls. But our SOS calls were answered only by their own echos resounding from the deep valley at the edge of which we stood.
The only option left now was to come down from where we had taken the wrong turn. It wasn't that the trek was difficult or unpleasant.The weather had been especially pleasant since we left Mumbai in the morning. But still it was supposed to be more of rappelling and less of trekking!! Anyway, we walked and walked crunching munchies, at some point we met a local who guided us on the correct route and finally we could hear that faint gurgle, that sent our already pulsing nerves into a frenzy. We were going to rapple! But no as it happens later we could not. I now feel the whole trip was jinxed right from the beginning!
We had everything planned right from surfing the net about place and the rapelling activities conducted on the waterfall here, to the clothing, had packed plenty of food and water and travel plan every detail. The only thing we had missed or more appropriately taken for granted was being too optimistic to not call up the people who conducted the rapelling and here we were at the waterfall but with not a soul in sight. But for all the excitement and numerous articles on google.
Nevertheless, the sight that met the eye was breathtaking. the tiny secluded alcove shrouded in the mist with green grass all around, the crstall clear water gushing down the rocks. It was simply magical. We laid down our bag and reached the fall, precariously balancing each step to find our footing on the slick rocks. We found a little niche at the source of the fall and settled down there. It was almost like lying down on a water bed. We were playing in the water, splashing water on each other, cracking lowly ribalds when Gautam in a sudden meditative moment led out a dissertation about how special the moment was..We were both so one with the nature, all the five elements in contact at one time; And yes it was so true..There was the blue sky above, the cool water beneath, the soft wind, the slippery hard rocks beneath us. The only elemet to be missing was fire. Oh yes we had provisions to have that too. I leave it to your imaginations to guess how we did it.We laid there in the water till our skins became clammy and all orifices clogged with water. The only orifice that felt empty and making its presence felt was our growling tummy. We were so hungry we dint even bother drying up or changing. We just spread out the larder and gobbled up all that there was. After packing up, a quick change of clothes and a few clingy photo shots we were done. The picnic was over.
We started trekking down the slope humming old hindi numbers, scaring away big ugly yellow crabs on the way.. Not quite surprisingly we were met by the same rckshaw driver, out to make a loot that day he was, had we any option but to conscend with his demands. Obviously who would be crazy enough to be running a sinking travel business in that wilderness. After a thumpy, bouncy rickshaw ride we reached the station. Totally famished we had the famous Mumbai ka vadapav with piping hot chai in marathi tumbers. I do not remeber much about the hour long train ride as I spent it sprwaled on Gautam's lap sleeping. I only remember having woken up and finding myself on a bus caught in a rambunctious Ganesh Immersion procession. The whole street was jammed, a sea of people all around. I was back... to bedlam..
We stood sometime staring at the signboard wondering which bifucation to follow that would lead us to the waterfall. At last Gautam started out on one claiming it to be the call of his gut. We had walked only a short distance when the path seemed to have reached a dead-end at some temple like building, making us go back to the other offshoot to resume the search. After travelling some more distance there it was again, one those mischievous misguiding signboards that left us confused as to which way to go.
Excitement throbbing till the very ends of our fingertips at the prospect of rapelling down a waterfall, it took us a good couple of minutes of hiking before we realised something was again wrong. And as professor Murphy would have it, we were on the wrong turn. The rickshaw fellow who had left us at the entrance of the forest had judged that a mere 30 minutes walk would take us to the waterfall. As excited at the prospect of experiencing the thrill of rapelling down a waterfall we kept walking further, we were almost at the top when we realised the gushing sound from somewhere down below. Dejected we tried calling out, in the hope that there might be someone to help us lost souls. But our SOS calls were answered only by their own echos resounding from the deep valley at the edge of which we stood.
The only option left now was to come down from where we had taken the wrong turn. It wasn't that the trek was difficult or unpleasant.The weather had been especially pleasant since we left Mumbai in the morning. But still it was supposed to be more of rappelling and less of trekking!! Anyway, we walked and walked crunching munchies, at some point we met a local who guided us on the correct route and finally we could hear that faint gurgle, that sent our already pulsing nerves into a frenzy. We were going to rapple! But no as it happens later we could not. I now feel the whole trip was jinxed right from the beginning!
We had everything planned right from surfing the net about place and the rapelling activities conducted on the waterfall here, to the clothing, had packed plenty of food and water and travel plan every detail. The only thing we had missed or more appropriately taken for granted was being too optimistic to not call up the people who conducted the rapelling and here we were at the waterfall but with not a soul in sight. But for all the excitement and numerous articles on google.
Nevertheless, the sight that met the eye was breathtaking. the tiny secluded alcove shrouded in the mist with green grass all around, the crstall clear water gushing down the rocks. It was simply magical. We laid down our bag and reached the fall, precariously balancing each step to find our footing on the slick rocks. We found a little niche at the source of the fall and settled down there. It was almost like lying down on a water bed. We were playing in the water, splashing water on each other, cracking lowly ribalds when Gautam in a sudden meditative moment led out a dissertation about how special the moment was..We were both so one with the nature, all the five elements in contact at one time; And yes it was so true..There was the blue sky above, the cool water beneath, the soft wind, the slippery hard rocks beneath us. The only elemet to be missing was fire. Oh yes we had provisions to have that too. I leave it to your imaginations to guess how we did it.We laid there in the water till our skins became clammy and all orifices clogged with water. The only orifice that felt empty and making its presence felt was our growling tummy. We were so hungry we dint even bother drying up or changing. We just spread out the larder and gobbled up all that there was. After packing up, a quick change of clothes and a few clingy photo shots we were done. The picnic was over.
We started trekking down the slope humming old hindi numbers, scaring away big ugly yellow crabs on the way.. Not quite surprisingly we were met by the same rckshaw driver, out to make a loot that day he was, had we any option but to conscend with his demands. Obviously who would be crazy enough to be running a sinking travel business in that wilderness. After a thumpy, bouncy rickshaw ride we reached the station. Totally famished we had the famous Mumbai ka vadapav with piping hot chai in marathi tumbers. I do not remeber much about the hour long train ride as I spent it sprwaled on Gautam's lap sleeping. I only remember having woken up and finding myself on a bus caught in a rambunctious Ganesh Immersion procession. The whole street was jammed, a sea of people all around. I was back... to bedlam..
