How we reached to Dudhsagar Falls

 

Vibrant Goa. Image courtesy: pixabay

When I hear the name “Goa”, the first thing that comes into my mind is “The most happening place in India”. This is the ultimate blend of scenic beauty, a relaxing environment, and gorgeous nightlife. You can enjoy the day with fun-filled water rides on the beach, exploring forts, churches, sanctuaries, spice farms, etc., and unlike other tourist places, you have to keep some energy left for the night. Because “abhi toh party shuru hui hai” (party has just started now). Goa nightlife has so much colorful vibe which is really not worth missing. If you are not a nightclub or party person, Beach shacks are a wonderful option for you.

Dudhsagar Falls from Railtrack

Though today I am going to share our terrible experience in Dudhsagar waterfall, I could not refrain from saying a few lines about Goa. On our last day of Goa trip, we went to Dudhsagar falls. We were four couples and rented 4 scooty. Our initial plan was to ride through our scooty. It was about 120km to and fro, and like every group we also had a sloth bear who was seeking an alternative to avoid a 120 km scooty ride. He found a really cheap way i.e. we have to board a train from Madgaon and it is around 1 hr journey. So we all agreed and started our journey in the morning. While discussing with vendors and other passengers on the train we got to know that there is no station at Dudhsagar fall; it is a technical halt for 1 min where we have to jump and get down on the railway track. This was the 1st indication for us that something wrong is going to happen. But we were young couples and did not pay attention to that.

We got down on the railway track and mesmerized by this stupendous waterfall. We clicked so many pictures and enjoyed nature's offering. Suddenly we realized there were lots of tourists enjoying baths at the foot of the falls. We started checking how they went there.

The tunnel that we crossed by walk

But it was just a railway track with a waterfall on one side and a cliff on the other side, how can we find a way to go down. We couldn't see a single person around us but we didn’t feel lost (when you are in a group, you don’t lose hope soon). We started walking on the railway track to the direction from which we came. After half an hour or so (by that time, we crossed two dark tunnels, God knows what would happen if any train came at that time), we found two railway workers. They showed us a narrow path on the cliffside of the track to trek down to the fall. 

That path barely had a foot sign and we had to literally find out how to move down. I am not making up any bit of this journey. We had to crawl down some places as it was too stiff to walk. After all this struggle of 45 mins we finally landed to the refreshing water of the fall. It was super crowded. People were swimming, enjoying chilled water. Seeing this we forgot everything and got full energy back, wore our swimming costumes(which we brought with us).

We were about to jump into the water, some security person came and stopped us, they were asking where your life jacket was. You are not allowed without a life jacket. Then we looked around and found everyone was wearing a life jacket. So we enquired from where we can get that. They said it should have been given at the check post which is 12 km from here. We were so thrilled by this torrent we did not think why there is no counter for life jackets in this area. Like all jugadu(makeshifter) Indians we started requesting a few tourists to share their life jackets for 5 mins and we have managed to get 8 for all of us. And finally, time to cherish this enlivening water flow. 

Finally, we reached the bottom of the falls

Enough of fun and relaxation, now it is time to face the reality which we were ignoring from the morning. We were so engaged that we didn't even realize that we were in big trouble until we searched for a cab to return to Goa. There were so many cars waiting outside, so we approached a driver and asked the rate. He denied and told all the cars that came with passengers, they are not allowed a single extra passenger. If they get caught they will be penalized by a 3 days trip. We didn’t believe him and asked a few more drivers and got the same response. We asked them to call a driver to come to pick us. They replied there is no mobile network here. 

We didn’t have proper breakfast, there was not a single shop. And we did not carry any food with us. So the situation was we were thirsty, hungry, didn’t know how to return, no mobile network to call for help, and were clueless about what to do next. Then one driver suggested walking for 12 km to reach Kulem where we will get a cab. We were like “are you kidding boss?” But soon we realized that there was no other option left other than walking for 12 km.

Without further delay, we started walking with a fully tired body, no clue what was waiting next for us. While walking we continued trying to stop each car for lift and checking the mobile network. Then one driver stopped and asked us to walk for 3 km where we will find a house. The house owner may help us to get a cab. We got our energy back and reached near to that house. After shouting several times one lady came out and we explained the full story. Initially, she tried to arrange a cab but she could not. She suggested climbing back to the railway track again. Goods trains will halt at this place, so we can get into that to reach Kulem.

This time we had a stair which made this climbing job a little easier. We reached there and waited for almost an hour. Finally, a train came, but the driver was not ready to allow us as this is illegal. We four ladies played a crucial role (;)) to convince the driver. 

We never thought we would have an experience of goods’ train ride. Yes, it is completely different from a passenger train ride. When we boarded the train, we felt sort of relaxed. At that very moment, we felt a heavy jerk and we were about to fall, somehow balanced ourselves. No, there was no accident. This is how goods’ train brake systems work. If you are not standing with cautious or full support, you may fall. We could not take any more risk, so we all sat down on the floor. Finally, we reached Kulem, had our lunch, boarded a train to Madgaon, and safely reached our hotel.