As a travel enthusiast, you may have noticed my passion for exploring new destinations if you've been following me for some time.
Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.
As the saying goes, it's only when we lose ourselves that we truly find ourselves. I've been fortunate enough to visit numerous places over the years, although I've forgotten the specifics of many of them.
Adventures Dudhsagar Trekking – A Spectacularly Beautiful Waterfall!
Why do trekkers find the Dudhsagar A Paradise?Before we discern the answer, let’s get into the Adventures Dudhsagar journey.
Dudhsagar : The vibrant milky gush of water cascading down the mountains amidst the lush breathtaking misty greenery always push the adrenaline to pack the bags for the trip. Those beautiful trails and its nature will never make me tried even if I visit zillionth time. Its beauty and experience is ineffable. Its divine cannot be fully expressed in this article. That's the reason, when Bangalore Hikers launched the event even before 90 days, I registered.
As usual, we boarded the train at KR Puram/Yeswanthpur, followed by our introduction and few rounds of games we went to sleep. After the incident that took place in Dudhsagar on 22nd July, there was a strict restriction to enter Kulem wildlife sanctuary. We were finger's crossed whether we would be visiting Dudhsagar falls.
Since we don’t know the situation in Dudhsagar, we decided to visit Tambdi Surla Waterfalls first. Hot Breakfast was waiting for us in the Castle Rock Station. But who wants to have breakfast, when we were ready to sniff the beauty of scented misty Dudhsagar in a while?
We took 3 jeeps from Kulem Railway station and started our journey towards the Thambi Surla Waterfalls. We crossed several mini streams to reach the actual waterfalls which was inside the Jungle. The gushing sound of waterfalls welcomed us and after descending few steps we were in front of the Thambi Surla. It is a sensational feeling. After taking a dip in the chilly cold clear water and enjoying Thambi Surla drizzle on the face for a while, we started back. Myself, Mittal and Kishan Kumar were heading extremely fast by relishing the snacks as well as clicking lot of photos. There was a 15th century Mahadev Temple/Tambdi Surla Temple at the base. Both the places, the temple and the waterfalls are worth visiting. We rushed to Kulem railway station to catch the train to Castle rock.
While returning to castle rock by train, we were taken back by the beauty of whole valley filled with mist. The panoramas around the Dudhsgar is a treat to the eyes. The whole journey was worth watching. After reaching homestay, we played “Connect” game for a while. Can’t forgot when Milana & Swathi gave a clue “A word rhyming with duck”. We went back to sleep with a mystery of tomorrows exploration.
Sunday July 29th:
The real adventure started on Sunday. As per our plan we should take the train to Dudhsagar at 3:10 AM and get down at Dudhsagar waterfalls and visit the Magnificent Dudhsagar waterfalls. Head towards Kulem and take the train back to Castle rock. We never had a Plan B.
We got up at 2 am and reached castle rock railway station. Indian Railways are known for delay and as usual the train delayed by 1 hour. We were getting warning from Goa State Police force not to get down at Dudhsagar station. Finally, the train came and we got into train and like a baby waiting for its mother, we were waiting for Dudhsagar station. When the train halted at Caranzol railway station few people from other batch got down. The train had a technical halt at Dudhsagar Railway station and We just had 30 seconds to get down at Dudhsagar Railway station. Since it was unreserved compartment, we had to act pretty fast. 17 people had to get down from both the sides of the door in just 30 seconds, which was impossible. Moreover, like lizards glued to walls, localities were glued to the door and we were confused how to get down. But in a fraction of second everyone from our group jumped out of the door just to see police whistling at us.
"Get in", Lohith commanded on seeing the police.
The train started, but with no second thought I got into train, like the lion obeying at its ring-master's command and I was the only one who got into train. "Oh Shit" My dream of solo trekking came true. But with no wallet, no train ticket, no mobile and no luggage and absolutely nothing in my hand, how am I going to go back or reach Castle rock? Should I get down at Sonalium station and walk back to Dudhsagar all alone!? With strict police check this idea seems to be scary. Its then I saw Satish, Suresh BK inside the compartment and my blood resumed to pump blood to the heart. Along with us Vishal Parab and Vijay was also there. We immediately started to plan our next action, though our gang split into two now. We decided to get down at Sonalium no matter the situation.
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INTERVAL
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We got down at Sonalium and started walking fast. We observed 200 trekkers getting down at Sonalium. I remembered Lohit words, "There will be 200 people from Pune tomorrow". This gave us some more courage. To our surprise we saw Kavya Shree and Santhosh also getting down from other compartment. She was anxious as her Hubby, Kanna Mohan left her at Dudhsagar station. (I guess its intentional :P).We were concerned about other group as their train ticket was with us.
We were so lucky to get the full view of Dudhsgar and spent some time. My group was taking picture, hence I decided to trek towards Dudhsgar leaving my group behind. When I walked almost few miles, I saw 2 police coming towards me. The police has caught 2 trekkers. As soon as I saw them, I started running like Hussian bolt in the opposite direction and mingled with the crowd. The crowd requested Police for Dudhsagar visit but they declined our request. We reached Sonalium station by trekking on the Railway track.
Our group was the only group who had at least the chance to see the full view of Dudhsgar. we could see disappointed face in the crowd. We got train back to castle rock and were looking for our gang throughout the way. We were expecting them in Caranzol railway station and as soon as we saw them we pulled them inside our compartment. Finally, our gang joined together. Can you guess the punishment this group received from Goa police? They were asked to trek back to Castle rock from Dudhsagar station. Hahaha, So sweet of Goa Police.
After having breakfast, we took a jeep to visit one waterfall. I don’t even remember visiting this waterfall last year. But the beauty of this waterfall is completely different now. Nature always offers us different beautiful views in different seasons. Finally after exploring haunted house and Castle rock we reached castle railway station.
While waiting for train, we had a mimicry version from Mohan, Santhosh and Lohit on how people reacted to Leeches and Lizard during this trekking.
Deepika Muthusamy is an author, an ‘outdoorsy’ person, and a fitness enthusiast. Her passion for exploring new places, staying active, and living a healthy lifestyle is evident in her writing.
Her debut novel ‘Touch of Mist’ has been well-received by readers. The novel is a fictional love-story that explores the complexities of relationships and the power of love.
She is a Software Techie by profession and began her career with the IBM. Her expertise in technology has allowed her to create compelling characters and plotlines.
Deepika is also the co-founder of Bangalore Hikers and has organized several treks in and around Bangalore. Her experiences while traveling have provided inspiration for her writing and have helped her to create vivid, immersive settings for her articles.
Apart from her outdoor adventures, Deepika is also a fitness enthusiast. She has been participating in the TCS 10K Bangalore run, Coimbatore Marathon, and Pinkathon 10K run since 2012. Her commitment to fitness and a healthy lifestyle is reflected in her writing, as she often incorporates themes of physical activity and wellness into her novels.
Reena was all set to swallow the entire bottle of tranquilizers not to just drown her sorrows, but to END her life. She took out her high-end cell phone and scrolled down through her contacts in search of any possible guidance. As it was already 2:00 a.m. she was hesitant to seek out help at this late hour. She stood near the window and gaped at the electrified snaky road which seemed to beckon her towards heaven – the ultimate peace. But, on second thought, it seemed as hollow and dark like her life. She dragged herself inside her master bed-room, slid open the wardrobe door and took out a wooden framed photograph, which was taken about 20 years ago. It was a memorable sight of her family, where her dad was giving her a piggyback ride. She caressed the photo lightly and breathed a morose sigh. Crystal tears rolled down her eyes and fell onto the photo frame. She wiped off the droplet that had blurred out her dad’s picture and started wondering, who would wipe her dad’s tears away after her death. Still, her thoughts selfishly and stubbornly remained in favor of her decision to commit suicide.
