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Showing posts with label Vangani. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vangani. Show all posts

Ogda Waterfall in Palghar district in Maharashtra

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Ogda Waterfall is located in Palghar district in Maharashtra. Directions to the waterfall are easily available on Google Maps.
One has to travel on the Western Express Highway, exit the highway at Manor, from there travel to Wada. From Wada one has to travel by the internal roads leading to Khodala. Ogda Waterfall is on the way.
The tip of Kohoj fort covered in clouds

 We comprising of Manohar, Dominic and Fathima decided to visit the waterfall.

That's us, Manohar, Dominic, Fathima and Me
We met up at Andheri (intersection of the metro line and the western express highway) around  6:50 AM. Stopped for a CNG tank fuelling at Dahisar and then headed over the Western Express Highway.

The sun was shining, not a drop of rain nor a rainy cloud in the sky. As it was the  month of July, we were hoping to have some showers to make the trip a memorable one.

Rain drops on the window pane
We traveled to Manor,  exited the highway and traveled on the state highway to reach Wada. It had rained here as the ground was wet also there was water accumulated on the side of the road, meaning that it has been raining heavily here.

Wet roads leading to Ogda Waterfall
I looked up in the sky, and saw us surrounded by dark clouds, so the rains were due anytime soon. With the rains, the view from the roads was scenic. Lush greenery all around, small water streams all over the place, muddy water accumulated all around and saw people farming too. It's been a long time, I have stepped in a farm. Maybe will do it in our next trip. I remember as a child, I used to accompany my Mom to the fields. 

Pond we located on our way to Ogda Waterfall

That's us at the pond premises
We crossed by Kohoj Fort, It took me three attempts to conquer it. Also do read about my camping trip at the Shelte Water Lake, at the base of the fort. This was my first attempt at camping. Hehe.

We travelled on the narrow and winding roads to reach Wada. Wada was packed with people, the narrow roads, filled with people made it impossible for us to drive through. Not sure why the roads are so narrow on a small town.

Ogda Waterfall

Fathima and Me at Ogda Waterfall
Nevertheless we decided to carry on to our destination, Ogda Waterfall.

It is advisable to, tag the places on Google maps at the start of the journey, as the phone looses network signals often. We had Vodafone and Reliance JIO SIM, but no network in the interiors of Maharashtra.  As the places are marked on Google maps, GPS helps you to know where you are on the maps.

A large river near Ogda Waterfall
It took us around 3.5 hours to reach the Ogda Waterfall (taking time spent at CNG fuelling and having breakfast ) into consideration.
Let me inform you, that the only way of reaching this waterfall is by travelling by private mode of transport. I hardly saw an rickshaw, tum tum nor ST bus while reaching this place.


A large river near Ogda Waterfall
Not many people are aware of this waterfall. Apart from the four of us, there was a group of locals, who were also there, they had had their dip in the waters and were busy preparing lunch.

An old bridge we saw on the way to the Ogda Waterfall
The water was flowing down a hill in a distance and so the flow of the water was a strong one, we decided not to get into the water but to sit at the banks so that we can wet our feet in the water.
Soaking one's feet in the ice cold water was relaxing to our feet. I wasted no time in soaking my hands and also washing my face in the water. I felt so relaxed. All the tiredness was long gone.

Fields
Manohar and Me love travelling to these offbeat places, as we don't like crowds and like to have nature all by ourselves. I have been to a couple of waterfalls before,  some crowded and some not so crowded. Here click on the names of the waterfalls to read about them. Bhivpuri, Palasdhari, Zenith, Chinchoti, Dhabosa at Jawahar and Kalote.


Farmer ploughing his field
Sat there while Dominic, had a good time in the flowing water, when then crossed the road and headed onto the other side, only to see a confluence of the water from the waterfall and a river flowing. The water was muddy, so we didn't venture in it, nor did we go for a swim in it.

Note: There is no provision for food and water here, so one has to carry it. We had picked up our supplies from the highway itself.

That's lunch
Khodala is a small town, a couple of KM's away, there is provision for food and water here. We were happy that we managed to get ourselves Chinese food here. It is a norm on our trips to have Chinese food for lunch and dinner. Though it is just 20 KM away it took us around 1 1/2 hours to reach there, as the roads are narrow and curvy and not in very good condition, but it offers a scenic view of the surroundings.

Another water body on the way
The weather suddenly changed and the rains set in. It accompanied us all the way back to Mumbai. We had to drive slowly on the narrow roads and so it consumed a lot of time and finally we reached Mumbai around 8PM.

That's us again
We had a good time in the trip, thanks to the rains, the weather was even better.

Vangani Waterfall aka Dhabdhaba at Vangani near Karjat

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Vangani Waterfall is located at Vangani near Karjat. The closest rail station is Vangani on the central line on the way to Karjat apart from the road. It is off the Neral Badlapur Road. 
vada usal pav at Karjat

 After visiting Kalote Waterfall aka Dhabdhaba we had a quick lunch in the form of vada usal pav at Karjat. Now we had to kill time till 3:19 PM as the train to CST was to leave at that time. Like I said the train ply every hour to CST. The platform was crowded, luckily we managed to get a place to stand in the train. 
Greenery all around on the way to Vangani Waterfall aka Dhabdhaba
The crowd increased at very station, finally we alighted at Vangani, asked the station master for directions to the waterfall as we didn't want to waste any time. The time was now 3:55 PM on my watch. We stepped out on the eastern side and instead of taking the rickshaw decided to walk till the waterfall. Sharing auto rickshaw will cost you Rs.20 per seat and private will cost Rs. 40 per seat.

It had rained here, so the weather was gloomy, the sun had hid behind the clouds and refused to come out. Cool breeze was blowing and the trees were swaying in the wind. Greenery all around us. the trees , fields and hills in a distance were covered in different shades of green. I could see houses in a distance. I  would like to stay, in those houses, without a mobile phone and be cutoff from the rest of the world. 
Greenery all around on the way to Vangani Waterfall aka Dhabdhaba
The condition of the road was better than the one at Kalote Waterfall, but it was a rollercoaster ride to the waterfall. Finally after wallking for around an hours time we were at at Waterfall. Now there are a couple of waterfalls on the hill range. Out of which only one is accessable for the public. All the waterfalls can be seen from the road as we near them.

There is a cost of Rs.10 per head to visit the waterfall and you are given a receipt for the same.  Cheap way of making money by the locals. As we were entering the waterfall premises, crowd of people were exiting the same. So i knew we had the waterfall to ourselves. As per Dom the best time to visit the waterfall is in the evening, when there is less or no crowd at all. He was correct here.
Greenery all around on the way to Vangani Waterfall aka Dhabdhaba
We had to walk through ankle length water then climb down the hill to access the waterfall. The ankle lenght water which we crosssed then becomes the waterfall. It was small in comparison to Kalote. Again the villagers have put stones around it making it like a swimming pool with water gushing from the middle. Now the water was really cold, and i was finding it  difficult to get into it. Dom was all over the waterfall. After having light snacks and beverages I ventured in the waterfall. 

I didn't stand below the waterfall as the force of the water felt like someone was throwing stones on us.  The water was chest deep with uneven rocks at the base. 
Greenery all around on the way to Vangani Waterfall aka Dhabdhaba
Now it was almost 5:30 PM on my watch, the ticket vendors blew the whistle,  to inform that it will be dark soon and that we have to leave for the day. There is just one shop here that sells corn. No food and water is available, except the water running down the hills. 
Vangani Waterfall aka Dhabdhaba
We refreshed ourselves, got down and boarded a rickshaw at a cost of Rs.80 (for two) and headed to Vangani Station. We boarded the packed 6:52 PM CST local. Though the trip was tiring was we covered most of the places by foot and public transport, the waterfalls eased away the tiredness and stress, cooling our bodies.
That's me at Vangani Waterfall aka Dhabdhaba
Other waterfalls visited by me are Chinchoti , Jawahar  and Zenith . 

Soon I would be exploring Yeoor Waterfall and Vihigaon Waterfall, if you are interested in joining just ping me. Cheers. 

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