Kumbhe Waterfall Oct_2019

Kumbhe Waterfall is one of the unknown waterfall in the remote Sahyadri. One the most spectacular waterfall in the monsoon season.  I visited in October 2019 with my Trekking Paltan friend Vilas Karpe.  

Kumbhe Waterfall 

How to Reach : Its is about 110 km from Pune with 3 and half hours ride via Tamhini Ghat. Bikes and cars can reach to the waterfall. 

Pune-Paud-Mulashi-Tahmini Ghat-After Ghat- Bhagad MIDC road-Mangaon road-Nizampur-Take left to Pachad road which goes to Raigad fort-Ghotewadi - leave right side Pachad road - Go straight to Borawadi - the road becomes rough and narrower, the road is lonely, hardly any vehicle can be seen- Stay on Kumbhe Hydro power project road- There is small but risky Ghat here- landslide prone area- drive safely !

When you reach on the top of the Ghat, there is rough tunnel there. The Kumbhe waterfall is there on the other side of the tunnel. There are no lights in the tunnel. Road is rough. 

Tunnel just before waterfall 

Waterfall side of the tunnel 

After the tunnel, the waterfall is there immediately. Find a place for parking. We cant see fall of water from this location. We need to cross the stream which is very risky. In the rainy days the water force is too much. Don't dare to cross it. Just watch from the road side. We could cross it, because we visited in October when water force is very low. 

On the Edge, you can't reach here in rainy days. 

If you want to see the view of the Kumbhe waterfall you have to go further with the road. You can take your vehicle near View point.. See the map. A small Ghat section is there. After 10 mins drive you will reach on the plain terrain.

Vilas Karpe and Me

You can see some left houses, incomplete structures around. You have to park your vehicle here. 

Enter here to go the waterfall view point. The trail may not be so clear. Take care of grass which is big and slippery. After five minutes walk you will be on waterfall view point. Be aware of grass, because you may not get idea about where your are keeping your legs. The surface is uneven. 

Beautiful view of Waterfall 

Precautions : 

• It is remote and lonely place, so go with group. 
• Carry all food and water with you.
• Roads are lonely and help is available at the base i.e. Borawadi village which is far away.
• Keep anti-puncture material with you. No shops around. 

TVS Ntorq

Me and Vilas at Plus Valley, Tamhini Ghat

Devkund Waterfall

Devkund waterfall trek

Its a recently popular trek among the crowd of Pune and Mumbai.
Best time to visit is September to October after rainy days gets over. Waterfall disappears after October so no point to go after it. I visited recently on 7th October 2018.

How to Reach : Its about 110km from Pune. It will take almost 3 hours road drive.
Search Bhira dam on Google map to get a route of Devkund Waterfall. Bhira dam is parking point of Devkund trek.If search Devkund waterfall on google map it will show a top route of the waterfall which is used by professional trekkers with rappelling and climbing skills. So search Bhira dam for regular trek.

Pune-Paud-Mulshi Dam-Tahmini ghat- drive down from Tahmini ghat-Bhagad MIDC road - go straight to Vele village- Varachi wadi- take right to Patnus- take right to Bhira dam- Bhira Tata project - go ahead by slight left turn- Ask there about parking place - Park near trek starting point.

Parking : There are paid parking lots reserved by local restaurants. There are 2/3 parking lots. Go to the last parking which nearest to starting point.

Food a Water :
There is a food and water available at the parking. Veg and no veg can be served as per order.
No Full meal available on the trek. So better to carry food with you. Water bottles and lime juice, tea, biscuits, snacks and kandabhaji are available on the trek route. Running streams on the way aslo contains drinkable water.

Stay :
Stay is not allowed by govt at the Devkund waterfall. But there are many local hotels at Bhira village which give stay facility at the Bhira village. Tent stays also provided with charges like Rs.1500 a night with food and guide. Tree house stay also available. All these stay facilities are made available at the backwaters of Bhira dam.
Here are some contact Nos.
Pramod Shelar -7276283442
Shelar Sunil - 8446130788
Prakash Zore - 8793532972
Gujar Ashok -8793811870

About Trek :
The Trek starts from parking. Need to take entry ticket of village govt. Rs.10 per head.
They also insist to take a guide for Rs.50 per head of the group. Actually guide not much required other than rainy season. But Its very useful to have a guide in monsoon days.
They have chain system of guide. A guide is with the group up to specific spot, then next guide takes you upto next guide, how a team of guide take you up to Devkund waterfall. They really help to cross rivers with ropes in rainy season. You cant cross the forceful water without their help.
So don't debate about the compulsion of the guide on the entry point. Many accidents already happened on the destination. Some tourists argue about the hiring a guide, but Rs.50 per head is not much amount for it. Local should be always benefited form tourism. If employment is created for locals, then a place can be preserved better. Government cant reach everywhere to do it.

Its a trek of about 90 to 100 minutes. Total 6 to 7 hours required to return. The level is medium. There not much ascend or descend on the trek. You can call it a jungle trail. There are open spaces, jungles, rivers, water streams, stony paths etc. variety of routes on the way.
There are restaurants on the way run by locals where water bottles, lime juice, kokum juice, chips, snacks, Kandabahji, tea, biscuits etc. are available on weekends.

There are 3 main water streams to be crossed on the way. These are very risky in rainy season. Cross with the help of local guides. There is one wooden bridge built by locals which is very weak. You have to cross one by one and carefully.

After last bridge, high ascend starts of 15 to 20 mins. which may test your endurance. After ascend to start down to one more powerful water stream. you can listen to noise of crowd from the waterfall, which indicates that  you are near to it. Cross the last stream by river stones and you will standing in front of magnetic Devkund waterfall.

What to See :
The waterfall gives a look that you have not seen before. Waterfall falls down through a Curved mountain. The waterfall falls freely because of concave shaped overhang collapse.

There is plunge pool developed which is called 'kund' in Marathi. because of huge plunge pool the place is called Dev-kund. The plunge pool of God.

There is one small open worship place of Lord Mahadev behind the waterfall.

People used to swim in the kund. There a rope hand for showing a risk. Dont go beyond the rope. Its very risky. The pool is very deep and having whirlpool beneath the surface. The locals and sometimes police are present there to protect. There are some accidents happened in which some people died by drowning in the pool by over enthusiasm. Some tourists take too much risk  to click photos like standing on stones, going deep in  the pool, beyond rope, snatching each other in the water, making fun on fear of friends etc. Remember that risking  life.
The flow can be increased suddenly anytime due to rain in Tamhini ghat. So be aware when in water.
You can enjoy a fresh and cold water bath and splash here in safe area of a pool.

There is a small food stall where you can get water bottles, Vadapaw, Pithal-Bhakri, Lemon juice. Its a stony land, so find a suitable place for lunch.

Trek Safety :

• Best time to visit September and October.
• Some people died already here, so take care.
• Take guide in rainy days.
• Avoid in days of heavy rain.
• Don't go if local tells you.
• Carry food.
• Cross water streams with great safety.
• Look at the stepping stones in the water.
• Don't be hyper and over joyful with others during the trek.
• Don't get your self in water stream without consent of guides.
• Don't bring kids for this trek. if bring, look after kids, they can be over energetic. 
• Be in group, Don't be isolated.
• Mobile coverage is weak.
• Follow the safety instructions in the pool.
• Don't cross rope in the Pool.
• Remember photo is not more important than your life.