Doodhsagar was a long pending item in my bucket. However, this plan was formed and executed within 2 weeks. After a couple of dropouts, Pradeep, Vadya, Ratish and I decided to go for it even though predicted rainfall was high. And No, we didn't regret it.
Doodhsagar is a waterfall on the Mandovi river located in Goa state near Karnataka-Goa border.
We booked Tatkal tickets on Chennai-Vasco express which starts from KR Puram at night 8. Its a 11 and half hours journey to the Castle rock station from where we began to trek.
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| The Indian Railways cruising through picturesque mountains of western ghats |
We reached Castle rock station by 9:30. After freshen up, and having the breakfast we carried we started our trek by 10:10AM.
There is no canteen available at the station but you can buy breakfast from the people who sell it on the train. Like Idli vada or vada pav. They also give some rice so that you can take it as parcel for the lunch.
All major mobile networks are available at this station. The station is well connected by road, so you can bring your vehicle and park at your own risk.
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| Castle rock station |
After distribution of food items among ourselves we started our trek and usual took a beginner
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| Time for a pose |
And the trek begins...
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| The board welcomes us.
It didnt take much time for the first train to arrive. This being the first one we stepped aside well ahead of its arrival.
As soon as we entered the first tunnel, it was time for the silhouettes. This one came out really well.
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| Inglorious bastards. |
Right after coming out of the tunnel we encountered this beautiful falls. Did not get time to capture it properly though. This falls was tall. Atleast 100 meters tall.
Just little ahead of it there was a small stream and the landscape was picturesque.
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| A small stream |
We posed before some falls too.
Trains were whistling from a long distance and there was a greater goods train traffic. So we witnessed trains every now and then. By the time it had started to rain. So we wore our rain coats and covered bags with cover.
Around 5 kms after Castle rock you encounter Karnataka-Goa border. Time for a pose again.
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| Add caption |
After 7 kms of walk we reached Caranzol station. This station is also connected by road but do not know about the condition of the road.
And the walk continued till we reached Dudhsagar station. 13 kms of walk from Castle rock. A pose with joy.
We reache dthe camping site by 2 which is right opposite to the falls 1 km after the doodhsagar station. Advantage of reaching early is you get the place you choose. As you can see by the evening the camping site was buzzing with tents.
After pitching tents we went to the falls for the photography. This one is the falls from the front view.
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| Doodhsagar North side.. |
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| Doodhsagar South side. |
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| Doodhsagar when the sun rays hit. |
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We made tea with our little camping stove. Guess what is the fuel?? Its camphor. :D
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As the dark covered the area we made some memento for ourselves.
And for some portraits.
Night time under the full moon we could see the falls but the camera captured it even better.
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| Doodhsagar falls at night |
As the night passed by we made ourselves paav bhaji, tea and soup for dinner. Camping stove rocks!!! Then the tired souls went to sleep.
Night time trains were passing by regularly and your camp is just next to the tracks. So be prepared for not so good sleep. And it rained whole night. Water somehome entered our tent and it was not comfortable inside :(
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| Our tent at night. |
We got up at 8 AM. Being Sunday people have already started pouring in. Most of the campers were pitching out tents and getting ready to board 8:30 train. After freshen up we cooked maggie for breakfast.
Then it was the time for some cleaning of the place. We cleaned the tracks near the falls. 4 garbage bags were filled with plastic.
And we moved out to Kulem, our next destination which we thought was 8 kms from the falls but eventually turned out to be 12 kms.
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| Doodhsagar falls from distance. |
The journey today was far better than the previous day. The tracks were surrounded by greenery all the way. And it was raining heavily all the while. It was a beautiful walk. You will get another station in between called Sonalium ( hybrid of Sonali Bendre and Aluminium. Sorry, couldn't resist :P ). Kulem is 8 kms from this station.
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| We are right in the middle of the jungle. |
The final walk to the Kulem station.
And finally dont forget to watch the Youtube video on how it feels like to cross the falls while travelling on train.
Trekking details:
Base camp: Castle rock station
Connectivity from Bangalore: Well connected by train. Own vehicle by road.
Journey hours: 12-13 hours in train
Trekking distance : Castle rock - Dudhsagar - 14kms
Dudhsagar - Kulem - 12 kms
Trekking season:
Juner-March(April and May are summer and it may turn out to be a strain)
Difficulty level:
Difficult for amateur trekkers.
Moderate for frequent trekkers.
Must carry:
Total trekking time:
Tips for photographers:
Base camp: Castle rock station
Connectivity from Bangalore: Well connected by train. Own vehicle by road.
Journey hours: 12-13 hours in train
Trekking distance : Castle rock - Dudhsagar - 14kms
Dudhsagar - Kulem - 12 kms
Trekking season:
Juner-March(April and May are summer and it may turn out to be a strain)
Difficulty level:
Difficult for amateur trekkers.
Moderate for frequent trekkers.
Must carry:
- Tent, sleeping bag and mat.
- Good trekking shoes.
- Water(1ltr). You can fill it up at every Tom Dik and Harry streams.
- Proper winter wear if you are going after Nov.
- Flashlight, First aid kit, Knife, rope, energy drinks and food items.
- Reserve your tickets in advance.
- Start trekking early in the morning, sooner the better. Try to reach the summit by 3 PM. Since camping area is filled with campers during weekends.
- Woods in the forest will be wet till October sic rainfall is often in the region.
- Keep your backpack as light as possible. Dont carry too much of food.
Total trekking time:
- If you are a frequent trekker, you can reach the summit in 4hours.
- If trekking is rare for you and your stemina is relatively less then you will take 6-7 hours.
Tips for photographers:
- Dont forget to capture the macro beauties of the jungle.
- View from the mountain gives a perfect landscape.
- Get up early to capture the most beautiful sunrise you might have seen in your life.
- Capture the falls with the train in the foreground.
- Do not carry alcohol. Do not smoke in the jungle
- Do not throw anything during the trek. Dustbins are seen at many places. Keep the trekking place clean for the following trekkers.
