King Julian from planet “ who cares” accompanied
us to our many expeditions… He had joined hands with the Gypsies to find his
spaceship. The search had begun!
It was on a perfectly hot mid-summer day that we trekked to the Thumbe
falls in the Sharavati river valley. Our guides lead us on a steep, slippery
way through dense vegetation towards the falls. The trek trail was
characteristic of a typically difficult path which would become completely
inaccessible in the monsoons. The trek trail was a very steep ascend for some
part and an equally steep descend for the others. The narrow path was strewn
with a thick layer of dry leaves. We had to tread carefully as the dry leaves
made it impossible to guess what lay underneath. A single wrong footing and we
would go tumbling down like the Jack who went to fetch a pail of water! The
trek trail snaked through a thick forest and we walked ahead cautiously holding
on to the trees along the path and preferring to slide down occasionally to
keep our balance. After about 45 minutes, a stream of water came into sight. We
crossed a huge tree trunk which lay across the stream .Thence; we started
following the rocks along the water stream to reach our destination.
treading on the steep path strewn with dry leaves
we followed the water...
The tree bridge
I distinctly remember a twist in this rocky trail. We thought we would need
to jump into the water and swim to the next walkable rock. However even that
seemed impossible as getting into the water meant diving from quite a height
and with all our luggage, that would not have been a wise thing to do. Our
guides made us climb on to the rocky wall that guarded the edges on one side of
the stream, holding onto the tree roots and the small crevices in the rocks. We
struggled there as the path was only wide enough to place one foot. Moreover we
were holding onto tree roots and the creepers hanging from the branches above
to keep ourselves from sliding down and crashing into the water! This exciting
ordeal ended in just about 15 minutes and we were back following the rocks
again. After about 10 minutes, we reached one of the tiers of the Thumbe falls which
made a pool several feet deep. This was going to be our lunch place that day
and most of us were too happy to take a dip in the water after the ardeous
trek. However we had not yet reached the head of the Thumbe falls.
Climbing on the rocky ledge
On the way to the destination
On the way to the destination2
We had been trekking for nearly 3 hours and by now everyone was exhausted
to undertake the journey any further. Moreover, the trek trail had become more
of a rock climbing exercise with each passing step. So most of us settled there
and were more than happy to laze around the water. Even though the journey is
the best part when you set out on a destination, it is reaching the destination
that gives you a sense of accomplishment! Five gypsies however decided to go
ahead to the actual destination. We got a warning from our leaders to return
back in an hour so as to reach the base camp before sundown.
Our guides left their cooking gear near the first tier and we set off. We
jumped and climbed rocks for another 30 minutes. Soon we were at the head of
the great Thumbe falls. We were standing on top of a vertical drop of nearly
100 feet. From the place where we stood, we could only hear the roar of the
water crashing at its feet. We couldn’t see the falls. All along the water
stream, the trees had caved in and from our point of view it looked like a long
tunnel through which the waterfall escaped from the rocky ledge on which we
were presently stationed. We cautiously moved along the edges on the slippery
rocks just to catch a glimpse of the waterfall. It would have been the perfect
place for rappelling if we had the gear. However without any ropes, we were in
a treacherous position where a single wrong step would prove fatal. Unfortunately,
since we were warned about the difficulty of the path, we didn’t carry a camera
and thus missed capturing memories of this breathtaking scene!
We jumped and climbed rocks again to reach the place where our fellow
trekkers were waiting for us.
Our guides prepared a sumptuous meal of rice
and sambhar accompanied by papad and pickle. It seemed to be one of the tastiest meals after the tiring
trek. We relaxed in the cool water for some time and then around 3:30p.m began
the tough trek back to the start where our TT was waiting for us. Varun was
still to arrive. So we did a round of introductions amongst ourselves as is the
ritual among the Gypsies till he arrived. He did come soon limping with cramps
and carrying the many encouraging words from Ashwin!
Our resting place. Unfortunately,
none of us carried a camera to capture the main falls.
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