Sep 20, 2009
Click here to see the pictures from this trip.
Took off sunday around noon with Mark to Kuntala falls after salivating at the pictures at this site. NH7 was awesome, and we were mostly over 100 kmph except for a 60km stretch. After a brief stop at Sriram Sagar project, we had lunch at the Udipi restaurant in Nirmal a little before 4pm!! Good timing for a 220 km drive in India! We booked a deluxe AC room at the Hotel Krishna Residency next door after inspecting the digs and finding it to be pretty decent.
Soon we drove toward Pochara falls; missed the left turn towards Boath after NeerediKonda because it was hidden in road construction. No road signs anywhere; not surprising though. After some asking around, we reached the place. There was more concrete (to promote the place) than water in the falls. Apparently, it is a seasonal stream; and few weeks back it was gorgeous. My timing script for visiting falls needs some tweaking :)
With a slight disappointment (me more so), we drove toward Kuntala falls. You have to take the road opposite Neelima dhabha right after Neeredikonda (if you come up from Nirmal). Again no signs, so one has to be alert. The one-lane road curves through green fields and small settlements for 8km. You find more cattle than people on the road that leads straight up to the falls. Since dusk was settling in fast, and technically the park closes at 5pm, we made our way down quickly. And were left speechless at what we saw. Fantastic valley and very, very beautiful falls! A small handful of people were hanging around, a few sitting in the water. I was gung-ho for an encore next morning before sunrise.
We made it to the falls at 7am (grrr) and started with the upper section. I cannot describe the feeling of awe staring at the open and hearing the music of water flowing. I hope you can go there someday soon and experience it! In the rainy days, it will be even more breathtaking. We hiked down the rest of the way, meeting two locals coming up with a 18-in long fish they had caught in the deep pools at the foot of one of the falls. Those two and then another two tourist types. Other than that we were the only humans for the entire next 2+ hours we spent in the water and clicking pictures absorbing the peaceful setting. I felt like I was in a backcountry hike in the Yosemite National Park. I wish I had known about this place last year!
After a late breakfast and checkout, Marc drove us to Basar about 70 km away. Nice little Saraswati temple. Luckily we made it in and out of the busy temple within 20 minutes. The short stop at the nearby Godavari was just that. Then it was time to escape the blazing sun and head back home via Nizamabad. And we reached by 7pm. Not bad at all for a no-plan trip on a long weekend. By the way, you can read more about other activities around Nirmal at this nice city website.
Took off sunday around noon with Mark to Kuntala falls after salivating at the pictures at this site. NH7 was awesome, and we were mostly over 100 kmph except for a 60km stretch. After a brief stop at Sriram Sagar project, we had lunch at the Udipi restaurant in Nirmal a little before 4pm!! Good timing for a 220 km drive in India! We booked a deluxe AC room at the Hotel Krishna Residency next door after inspecting the digs and finding it to be pretty decent.
Soon we drove toward Pochara falls; missed the left turn towards Boath after NeerediKonda because it was hidden in road construction. No road signs anywhere; not surprising though. After some asking around, we reached the place. There was more concrete (to promote the place) than water in the falls. Apparently, it is a seasonal stream; and few weeks back it was gorgeous. My timing script for visiting falls needs some tweaking :)
With a slight disappointment (me more so), we drove toward Kuntala falls. You have to take the road opposite Neelima dhabha right after Neeredikonda (if you come up from Nirmal). Again no signs, so one has to be alert. The one-lane road curves through green fields and small settlements for 8km. You find more cattle than people on the road that leads straight up to the falls. Since dusk was settling in fast, and technically the park closes at 5pm, we made our way down quickly. And were left speechless at what we saw. Fantastic valley and very, very beautiful falls! A small handful of people were hanging around, a few sitting in the water. I was gung-ho for an encore next morning before sunrise.
We made it to the falls at 7am (grrr) and started with the upper section. I cannot describe the feeling of awe staring at the open and hearing the music of water flowing. I hope you can go there someday soon and experience it! In the rainy days, it will be even more breathtaking. We hiked down the rest of the way, meeting two locals coming up with a 18-in long fish they had caught in the deep pools at the foot of one of the falls. Those two and then another two tourist types. Other than that we were the only humans for the entire next 2+ hours we spent in the water and clicking pictures absorbing the peaceful setting. I felt like I was in a backcountry hike in the Yosemite National Park. I wish I had known about this place last year!
After a late breakfast and checkout, Marc drove us to Basar about 70 km away. Nice little Saraswati temple. Luckily we made it in and out of the busy temple within 20 minutes. The short stop at the nearby Godavari was just that. Then it was time to escape the blazing sun and head back home via Nizamabad. And we reached by 7pm. Not bad at all for a no-plan trip on a long weekend. By the way, you can read more about other activities around Nirmal at this nice city website.
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