Dudhsagar waterfalls on Bikes.. well, almost there..

It was a big day today with some huge surprises in store for us. We all got up quite early by 6 am for the next destination which was a huge dream come true for me. Ashwin told us that we'll be going to "Dudhsagar" today and while most others were clueless, just the word “Dudhsagar” was enough for me. Ashwin was surprised that I'm aware about Dudhsagar waterfalls. I began to google the route only to find it was gonna be a long ride. All the more reason for me to cheer.

Some customary information on dudhsagar waterfalls:

What: “Dudh” means “milk” and “sagar” means “Ocean or Sea”. Do the math yourself by imagining these two words simultaneously. For some, it may sound like exaggeration but to me, the waterfall stands true to its name, especially in the monsoons.

For those travelers who appreciate a piece of old heritage and a story behind the places you visit, Dudhsagar presents its own story as per Goa Tourism

“The legend tells the story of this powerful and wealthy king who ruled a kingdom in the Western Ghats. His lavish and opulent palace in the hills was surrounded by vast gardens which were full of deers and gazelles.

The King had a beautiful daughter, who used to enjoy taking a bath during the hot summers, in the picturesque lake near the forest on the edge of the King's palace grounds. It was her habit to finish her bath and have a jugful of sugared milk in a jug made of pure gold.

One day when she was finishing her usual jug of milk she found herself being watched by a handsome prince standing amongst the trees. Embarassed by her inadequate bathing attire, the resourceful Princess poured the sugared milk in front of her to form an improvised curtain to hide her body, while one of the maids rushed to cover her with a dress.

Thus was the legend born. The sugared milk (dudh) poured down the mountainside and continued to flow in torrents as a tribute to the everlasting virtue and modesty of the Princess of the Ghats. The Dudh Sagar (Sea of Milk) continues to flow to this day and attracts thousands of visitors to one of the most popular and famous tourist spots in the state of Goa.”

Moving from the stories to the facts, it is one of the tallest waterfalls in India, (technically 6th tallest as per Wikipedia).

Where: Dudhsagar waterfalls is approximately 70 kms from Panaji and a good 2-3 hour drive away from most of Goa. Dudhsagar waterfalls are located at the southern border of Goa and north-west border of Karnataka. It is a part of the lesser known Bhagwaan Mahaveer sanctuary in the Konkan.

Kulem, Colem and Mollem - Nearest towns.

Season: Monsoon (July – October) Depending on the rainfall

Food: Very limited options, you are better off packing your lunch or depend on some light snacks.

Reach: Well, here comes the tricky part. Like most beautiful and divine places, this one is not that simple to reach either. That being said, there are multiple ways in which anyone can choose to enjoy the beauty of this heavenly waterfall based on your preferences. I’ll list most of them I’m aware about, starting from the most comfortable/convenient first.

Option 1 – Train/Railways

For most tourists, this is easily the most popular way to reach dudhsagar waterfalls. If you start from Goa, you have options to catch early morning train from Vasco or margaon to reach Dudhasagar waterfalls. For those who just want to witness the beauty of dudhsagar from train without getting close and personal, they can return back from the next station to goa. The adventurous people can get down at the station (Kulem or Sonalium or castle rock) and trek further to dudhsagar for enjoying in one of the small pools of water formed by the dudhsagar falls at the base.

There is an official dudhsagar station but officially not many trains stop there. However, unofficially a lot of these passing trains do stop for a minute or so for people to get down or get onboard. For accurate train timings, better inquire with local folks, travel agents or Goa Tourism offices.

Most avid trekkers may consider trekking to dudhsagar waterfalls and camping overnight as a good option but since it basically involves train travel, it is included in option 1 for me.

Option 2 - By Road

If you seek more adventure, this is the one for you. Take the following route from Goa for Dudhsagar

North Goa (Calangute) – Panaji - Old Goa – Ponda – Mollem - Colem (Approx 75 kms)

South Goa (Cancona) – Bali – Kakoda – Kulem - Colem (Approx 65 kms)

After a good 3 hour drive on decent goan roads, you will reach the end of roads at Colem (Also spelt Collem) and dudhsagar waterfall is approximately 12-14 kms away from this place. These kms are to be traveled on a rough and wild forest trail with virtually no roads whatsoever. This is where the fun begins as you will cross multiple rivers, go through lush green jungles and end up at the base beyond which your good old legs will have to do the rest for the last kilometre. Unfortunately, this trail is not advisable to be driven with a normal car (hatchback or sedan) and it is most suited only for SUV’s or MUV’s preferably four wheel drive. Even if you happen to have a SUV/MUV, it will take a good deal of off-roading skill to make it to the end without any incidences.

Fortunately, the tourist department offers this experience with a fleet of tourist SUV’s/Jeeps from local taxi union to take you to the waterfalls and back at a nominal cost. Each SUV/Jeep ordinarily seats 6 people and charges around 2500 (The charges may change from time to time but are fixed by taxi union so no bargaining required) plus nominal entry charges to forest area. The drive from Colem to Dudhasagar will rattle you to the core but the views all the way and especially at the end will more than make up for it. Watch out for the cold water as your vehicles crosses many rivers on the way. These SUV/Jeep service is not offered during monsoon and is usually available December to April/May based on the flow of water streams.

Option 3

Well, this is basically Option 2, only with 2 changes.

1. This option can be exercised in the best season to visit the dudhsagar waterfalls, during monsoon when the waterfall is in its full glory

2. This option involves travelling on ‘Two Wheels Only’ – Motorbikes

No you don’t have to ride your motorbikes yourself, there are other much capable people to do it for you while you hold on tight to the backseat of their motorbike and enjoy one of the best adventures of your lives. Or, you can simply close your eyes and pray, if that helps.

This may not be an official or certified way of travel to dudhsagar but this is the only way to travel from Colem to Dudhsagar during monsoons.

As you reach the end of the roads at colem, there will be many local lads with their bikes ready to take you onboard their bike for a to-and-fro journey to dudhsagar waterfall. The charges will range from Rs. 500-800 based on the tourist rush. These guys know their job well and they ride quite fast in those difficult terrains since their earnings depend on the number of trips they take per day which may range from 2-3 trips at most per day.

Option 4

If Option 3 wasn’t adventurous or thrilling enough for you, let’s modify it a bit and call it option 4. This is the option which we took but NOT ADVISABLE for most people. More on this later.

Enough of Gyaan, Back to our trip.

We were on the road by 7.30 am on August 17, 2011and it was raining every now and then as it had been raining all along since yesterday. The climate was fun to ride along on the beautiful south goan roads early in morning. After a short break for some local breakfast, we were at colem by 10.30 am to find ourselves at the start of the long off road journey to the dudhsagar waterfalls.

A beautiful church on our way

While on road, aim for Collem or Mollem

Myself in Yellow with others just before the epic adventure today, including cameraman

Large tree mushrooms

As it was a monsoon season, there were no SUV’s awaiting for us. Instead, some guys on bikes approached us and inquired if we wanted to go to dudhsagar. Upon inquiry, we were quoted Rs 500 per person and we were surprised as we didn’t know the prices back then. We decided to take our own bikes instead but all the local guys strictly advised against it stating we won’t be able to handle the rough slushy terrain and the rage of rivers especially on our two under powered Honda Activa scooters. They had a point, a valid one for the under-powered scooters but I was fully confident on our bikes and ourselves to make it to the top, come what may. Luckily, Ashwin was equally confident so we came with an insane plan to leave both the Activa scooters behind and take both the bikes.

Now two bikes for seven young lads was a bad equation so we coined another insane idea, ride triple seat. The decision was upto me and Ashwin since we both were to do the riding and surprisingly both of us felt it was easily doable, even with triple seats. The local guys had a good laugh with our insane plan of riding ourselves all the way, especially triple seat. As expected, they tried to do their best to convince us for giving up on the seemingly suicide mission but it was too late to change our minds. Six people on two bikes and the heaviest of us will take the services of one of the local lads who can also serve as a guide to us. Without further delay, we started our journey and in no time we knew we were in for a ride of our lives.

We were immediately riding alongside a small pathway of a single railway track. It was indeed bit difficult to ride triple seat on the small path with no margin of error as there were multiple railway line rocks to misbalance you on the small path and a few feet of drop on the other side. The occasional fallen trees and huge stone boulders would require all passengers to get off the bike and help the riders to get through the hurdles. It was difficult but we all were thoroughly enjoying the ride so far. After almost half an hour, the first real challenge was upon us as our bike guide asked all of the passengers to get off the bikes and cross railway tracks on feet to meet us all a few metres ahead. Meanwhile, we three riders were supposed to get off the path aside railway track and descend to free flowing rivers below the railway bridge. Then, ride across the river to reach the opposite side of railway tracks. Sound simple but it tested our mettle as the machines cried in the force of chilling water stuck under hurdles of rocks. I was paranoid at first but watching our guide and Ashwin make it to the other side with little discomfort, I made it across the river in one breath with sole aim to not let the engine die while in water. The sound of the free flowing river combined with the huge roar of the bike on high RPM under the railway bridge was price priceless.

Frankly, that was it. The most difficult part was done. Not that the road ahead was any simpler to ride on but the journey so far prepared the mind-set in such a way that everything ahead seemed a tad simpler. It was a proper jungle trail wide enough to fit a car throughout most of the journey with lush green trees on both sides.

Lets start with a pic of me riding through simplest of the jungle trail

The only real challenge was crossing the multiple rivers every now and then which I did with or without one or both of the pillions depending on the judgement.

Adventurous ladies in the background - Hats off to them

Apart from the rivers, the slush and slippery loose soil was another factor to watch out for as it was difficult to maintain any sort of traction due to continuous rains throughout our journey. We had our own share of falls and bruises due to this slippery slush but we encountered no grave damage to men, machines or our spirit.

The avenger goes down

They were all in pain and laughter at the same time as i got down and clicked

Pretty soon, I go down with 2 others on the Pulsar

The enthusiasm only got higher as we crossed river after river and got close to the beauty that lay ahead of us. I reckon it would have been at least 3 hours into the ride when we came to cross one last river beyond which there were many bikes parked and it seemed we had arrived at the destination.

I was riding Pulsar for a change since Ashwin wanted to try Avenger - Wrong place to switch bikes

The trail leading to the gates of heaven

And the gate itself

One of the first clear views of the glorious waterfalls

Sadly, there were a few more rivers to cross on foot before we could reach the actual waterfall but the flow of these rivers was way beyond the safe limits so none of the local lads tried risking further and we had to respect the Mother Nature as well. The dudhsagar waterfall seemed to be quite afar but nevertheless we had some splendid views of the waterfall in its full glory.

A group pic near the last river

So near yet so far

A make-shift podium to get a clear view of waterfalls amidst the trees

Best one for the last

So we 'ALMOST' made it to the waterfalls on our bikes but it was 'so near yet so far' situation for us which left all of us frankly a bit disappointed. However, there's always another time.

After some photos, we decided to rush back as the rainfall was getting heavier since last few hours and our guide was getting very apprehensive by now. The return journey was quite a swift one until we reached a river which looked like it had no intention to let us cross. Our guiding rider declared it is impossible to cross the river at current flow and it will be wise to wait an hour for the rains to subsidize before we make a move. That wasn’t the best of the ideas, but it made sense. Afterall, how do we ride across this nature's fury?

Clueless

Thus began the long wait, amidst heavy rainfall and a raging river right in front of us. There were riders on the opposite side of the river who couldn’t cross to our side and eventually returned back as they had the luxury to turn back unlike us. It was well beyond 4.30 pm and we were running out of patience.

Tired and HELPLESS

The mosquitoes were killing us and we were dying of hunger since the last bite of food we had was light breakfast early in the morning. Some of us decided to check out the river flow on feet while supporting each other. I was one of the people in the group entering the water as we all held each other’s shoulders and slowly made our way into the middle of the river. The force was still very strong and it was difficult to stand alone in the water without any support, let alone ride with a heavy motorcycle horizontally across the river. However, our guide came up with a suggestion to lift up the bikes one by one and make it across the river instead of riding the bikes.

Some of us were apprehensive initially but the time and patience was running out so we all decided to go for it. We decided to start with the heaviest bike and it took 7 of us to somehow manage to get the bike across the river. It was more difficult than it looks.

Attempt 1 - Lets Go

Half way through

And we're done

After transferring the first bike across the river, we all were charged up and transferred the other lighter bikes quite conveniently. We also helped a fellow traveler's bike on other side to cross over so we moved 4 bikes in all before finally getting back on our bikes.

It was a quick ride and the next challenge awaited at the river crossing under the railway bridge. Luckily, the flow of water wasn’t as fierce and we decided to cross the river under the bridge on bikes itself and we were successful, although dead tired when we were back on the side of railway tracks this time.

The passengers were back again on the bikes and we slowly made our way to colem. Our bike guide who was clearly fastest amongst all three of us was kind enough to wait for us every now and then throughout the journey so far but now he decided to make a dash leaving us both behind for this last league of the journey. He had been tremendously nice and helpful to all of us throughout, so we weren’t expecting anything more from him since we knew the way out from here anyway. After crossing almost 70% of the railway track ride, we saw our guide coming back to us from opposite side after dropping off our heaviest pillion and coming back to pick another one. We were absolutely baffled by his kindness as he went out of his duty to help us as he knew we both were dead tired riding triple seats all the way.

The last one kilometer aside the railway tracks was extremely difficult for me as I lost all energy and had to stop repeatedly to regain the strength to navigate those small paths aside the railway tracks. My pillions were very understanding so at many times they got down and walked on the tracks for a few 100 meters while I used to get some rest. This created some wonderful picture opportunities for them.

Some wonderful clicks of Living Art at its finest by my cousin while walking on the railway tracks

The long ordeal finally came to end and we were out of the railway tracks now and back on decent safe roads. All of us regrouped by 6 pm. We tipped our guide generously before bidding final goodbyes and thanking him. I personally appreciated his riding in such difficult terrain especially considering he was one of shortest among all of us but carrying a pillion probably double his own weight. He was quick to compliment us back for our adventurous nature and he laughed aloud saying he still found it hard to believe we people were crazy enough to ride triple seat to dudhsagar on our own in monsoon season. With that we parted ways.

After filling our tummies with roadside chilli bhajiyas, we made the long journey back in dead of the night with rainfall still accompanying us every now and then. Luckily, cruising at decent speeds on super smooth Goan roads with just 1 pillion was not tiring at all after the predicament that we went through. We made back to our beach house by 10 pm and straight to bed after quick dinner.

This was a ride to remember. My first real test as a biker. My first real trial run for my insane dream of riding to Leh Ladakh from Mumbai next year. I didn’t think I passed the test with flying colors, but I could convincingly say that I didn’t fail either.