Kataldhar Waterfall - A treasured secret!

Kataldhar Waterfall

Kataldhar is a hidden gem in Ulhas Valley near Lonavla-Khandala in Maharashtra. It is not renowned amongst trekkers as this is one trek that is quite literally hidden when I say it is a hidden gem. The trail is tricky to find and hence it is advisory to trek with a guide to avoid losing one's way in the dense forest. If that wasn't challenging enough, this trek, as opposed to conventional upclimb treks, is actually a descent down the valley. There are no signboards of where the starting point is and no clear trail to follow. Accounting to these numerous reasons, Kataldhar remains an unconquered trek for most ambitious trekkers.

Kataldhar waterfall falls on the route to Rajmachi fort. The base village is Fanasrai. We traveled up till the base village on our bikes. The base village is on the top as this waterfall flows deep down in the valley. As it was monsoon and we were about to start the trek, we decided to stuff ourselves with Maggi, hot tea and egg bhurji in the wonderful chilled weather. Fanasrai itself is surrounded by mountains and is covered with fog for the most part during monsoons. Talk about food with an ambience!

View from Fanasrai base village

To our dismayal, there were no guides available that day in the base village. The route from lonavla to the base village was mostly off-road riding on the bike. Having reached this far, we wanted to complete the trek. We asked the native villagers for directions. Even though they guided us, it was quite a task finding the trail. Here is what we were told - We travel in reverse for a little distance on the route that we came from and between two Mango trees, the trail to descend down to Kataldhar sits. As easy as it sounds, finding two Mango trees in a forest leading to a trail was ambigous. Yet after severe tireless efforts we found the right spot. I am going to let you in on a little secret that not a lot of people know. The key to conquering Kataldhar lies in tiny satin ribbons tied on barks of trees serving as markings for the trail. It is our very own local version of Hansel and Gretel's quest. We found the two Mango trees and a 🎀 ribbon tied to them and more ribbons further along the trail confirmed we were on the right track.

Landmark on Google maps to find the two mango trees. The trees are near the Kune falls view point.

We started descending, there were markings every few metres that we followed. The trail is narrow and rocky. You will find a lot of crabs hovering around during monsoons so before grabbing a branch of tree or edges of ground for support ensure the coast is clear. We were sure we were following the right path just then we reached a point that looked like a dead end. It was a protruding mountain edge which left us very little space, a tiny path with a valley on the side, nothing to grab for support and slippery edges due to monsoons. As tricky as this part was to cross, it was nothing compared to the waterfall crossing that followed. Streams of water gushing at a high speed. This was the dead end that we thought would have us retreat back. We had almost hit the rock bottom with this and were beginning to agree that we must have lost the trail and ended up in the wrong place because there was clearly no going further from that point. Just when we were about to make up our mind and return, we saw a ray of hope. In this case, more like a hue of hope! Beyond the waterfall on the far side of it, we saw another ribbon tied to a tree. This just in - We were on the right track. It was just a matter of crossing the waterfall. It was challenging as it was to be done individually because holding hands and crossing in a chain formation was clearly a bad idea. If there is one thing that all the waterfall mishap news in India has taught us, it is this - if you go down, don't take the whole clan with you.

Ribbons marking the trail

Carefully crossed the waterfall maintaining our grip on the ground and balancing against the pressure of the waterfall only to lose our way again. As soon as we crossed the waterfall, it was an expanse of dense forest. Usually it isn't too difficult to stay on the trail if you keep following the markings but the monsoon that year was severe than usual and it saw a lot of deforestation due to uprooting of trees as a result of bad weather. We crossed the waterfall to land into a dense forest with fallen trees blocking our way and blocking any sight of ribbon markings further from that point. Just then a local villager came walking along out of nowhere holding a huge stick and walked right into the mess of landslide. He told us that was the path we had to take, from amidst the fallen trees to continue on our waterfall trail. It was dangerous yet we managed to cross it unbruised. By this time we could hear the sound of water hitting the ground from a considerable height and knew we were closing in. A small climb and as we kept climbing up, the waterfall started panning into the frame and when we had the complete view it was absolutely stunning.

Landslides and Monsoon Wrath

I couldn't get enough of looking at this beauty. It was one of the tallest waterfalls I had ever seen and to witness the magnificence in all its glory was a breathtaking moment. The water gushed with tremendous force. From the view point to the actual waterfall was one of the most dangerous paths I have encountered in all of my treks. I would strongly advice that beginners avoid it and regular trekkers should consider it only if they have shoes with a good mountain grip in damp areas.

It is a narrow path with sharp edged mountain rocks poking out on your right and the deep Ulhas valley on the left where the waterfall is flowing into. There's only enough space for one person to scooch in at a time. The path is mostly gravelly but there is some rock climbing which can be extremely slippery during monsoons. It is a free walk with nothing to hold onto for a grip or balance and is definitely not for the weak hearted or someone with a fear of heights.

As challenging as that sounds, I went through all these bunch of emotions - happy, excited, scared out of wits, high on adrenaline - all at the same time. It was difficult enough already to cross when just as I was getting closer to the waterfall I realized how massively huge it is and I look so tiny with reference to it. While I was crossing the narrow part, strong gusts started blowing against me routing a part of the waterfall on me. Just when you thought it couldn't get any more difficult than this. For a few moments I had to hold my ground, stay still and not move at all because the force of the water falling overhead almost blocked my visibility and I didn't plan on using the waterways to commute back from the trek. I think the challenge here is in doing it alone, all by yourself because you have to cross that last part on your own in a deep valley facing a huge waterfall in a dense forest. It was flowing with such a roar it almost scared you. When I made it to the fall, all I did was look up at it. It was so mighty. I let it spray over me and soaked myself to take back a memory of being embraced by this magnificence.

On our way back, it started raining heavily and the forest grew darker. We started panicking because of the darkness and heavy rains as a result of which we lost the trail again. We were just following the same path that we used earlier and assumed we'll remember it. But we clearly didn't! Just then we remembered the ribbons! Oh they indeed are a blessing on this trek. We looked for them and followed the path back. It had rained pretty heavily by then which meant the small waterfall crossing we encountered on our way was now actually flooding with a great force of water. Luckily we knew the highs and lows of the ground beneath from the last time and decided to go for it. We only had to keep ourselves from losing our balance. It took longer than we thought to cross but we finally made it across the waterfall and back to our bikes.

We were famished and starving after this tiring adventure. We made it back to the highway and we saw this Barbeque Misal restaurant and it was just the treat we deserved. Shout out to this place for serving lip smacking food and Chai.

Barbeque Misal

Off road biking to the base village, a quaint little base village nestled between foggy mountais, Maggi, egg bhurji and Chai , streams of clear water, waterfall crossings through the trek and a view that greets you with an eye-pleasing backdrop! You name it and Kataldhar has a hoard of all the adventure one can think of! To top it all it also offers waterfall rappelling and it is quite secluded. The trek was every bit worth to this beauty Kataldhar that I lovingly call La Cascada!

Kataldhar - La Cascada