Chasing Waterfall Through Torrential Rains

I’ve been away from the world of blogging for two whole months and that’s a significantly long time. It wasn’t a planned getaway as such, no intentions of taking a break from social media, but just happened that way. I got a little absorbed in my own world with the usual ups and downs of living life. Amidst all of that, the best thing of traveling and exploring kept happening. So, that leaves no room for any kind of complaints!

As you can imagine, I have a lot to write about.

To start with, let me provide an outline of some of the waterfall that I have visited this monsoon. Except one, all of these are from Meghalaya. I will describe them in greater detail in a future post. This is just a sneak peek.

Prut Falls

The gushing waters of Wah Urwan (Wah means river in Khasi), located in Laitlyndop Village falls from a height of 40 m. creating this elegant sheath of white spilling over the ledges. I can easily rate this as one of the best waterfall I have seen in Meghalaya. This waterfall provides a unique opportunity of seeing it from behind the fall – the first of many such waterfall experiences I have had this monsoon.

Pic 1: Prut Waterfall: This picture shows a part of the waterfall. (Mobile Shot)
Pic 2: Prut from behind the fall(Mobile Shot)

Mawsawa Falls

The waters of Wah Umlapieng gently tumbles down through the boulders on its way, creating the captivating Mawsawa. This waterfall is more broad than tall and is a treat for the eyes.

Pic 3: The captivating Marsawa from a distance as we first saw it. (Mobile Shot)

Lyngksiar Falls

The layered Lyngksiar surging and plunging down the rocks through the green valley was as picture-perfect as you can imagine. This waterfall has two views, one at the mouth and the other at the bottom.

Pic 4: Lyngksiar was just too beautiful for words. I could spend my whole life staring at it. (Mobile Shot)
Pic 5: At The mouth of Lyngksiar. (Mobile Shot)

Wei Seidong Falls

The famous three-tiered waterfall, which was discovered recently and has become a hot tourist spot in the past 3-4 years. This gorgeous waterfall is formed when the white water benevolently cascades down a linear step-like pattern on the rocks.

Pic 6: The famous three-layered Wei Seidong. Remains way too crowded now.

Dainthlen Falls

The gorgeous legendary waterfall of Sohra, known best for its marvelously gorgeous vista. Besides, it is associated with ‘U Thlen’, the gigantic serpent of Khasi folklore, from which the waterfall is said to have derived its name.

Pic 7: The legendary Dainthlen, pictures do no justice to its sprawling surroundings.(Mobile Shot)

Wah-Kaba Falls

This waterfall is surrounded by scenic views of lush green hills and valleys. It descends from a steep rockface and drops into the gorge from a height of 170-190 m. Like Dainthlen, it is associated with a Khasi folkore, which claims that two fairies, one black and the other white reside in this waterfall.

Pic 8: No lens can do justice to the panoramic scenic beauty of Wah-Kaba. (Mobile Shot)

Nohsngithiang Falls or Mawsmai Falls

Popularly known as the Seven Sisters Waterfall because of the seven segments that come cascading down side by side. There were more than seven cascades this time, thanks to the excessive rainfalls. Plunging down from an altitude of 315 m., it is one of those waterfalls that I associate with my childhood having made umpteen visits here.

Pic 9: The magical play of light and shadow when the rains paused for a bit was quite a sight to behold at Mawsmai Falls. (Mobile Shot)

Elephant Falls

The most touristy waterfall in Shillong, another one that I associate with my childhood. Elephant Falls used to be a mandatory visit for all guests who visited our home back in the days. During those days there were no steps and no railings. Climbing down used to be an adventure through moss covered rocks and boulders. I can still visualize moms and aunts clad in their 6 yards saris, precariously maneuvering their way down.

Pic 10: The touristy and forever crowded Elephant Falls. (Mobile Shot)

Dudhsagar Waterfall

Dudhsagar is the fourth tallest waterfall in India, the grandeur of which is pretty well known. It is located on the border of Karnataka and Goa where Mandovi River plunges from a height of 320 m. Most people trek to the waterfall during monsoon season, which is the best way to experience the spectacular fall. We took a train to Goa from Bangalore, which is the second-best way to experience it as the train line passes right through this waterfall. It was an experience of a very different kind with water sprinkling across the train compartment drenching us right through the skin. There was no way to click pictures. Here’s a video of the same that I had posted on Instagram.

Author: neelstoria

Traveling, Gardening, Trekking, Hiking, Storytelling, Writing, Nature, Outdoors, Yoga, DIY

9 thoughts on “Chasing Waterfall Through Torrential Rains”

  1. Hey! Glad to see you back! Stunning photos. I’m hoping sometime in the next couple of years the world situation will be more conducive to travel as posts like this are just making my list of places I need to go longer!

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Those waterfalls remind me of the ones in parts of Java. When you have a mountainous and hilly region that is blessed with a lot of rain, you’ll get spectacular waterfalls like these. When I was looking at your photo of Wah-Kaba, I could almost feel the cool air with gentle sprays of water. It must have been quite spectacular to see it in person!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hey Bama…hope you’re doing well.
      You’re so right that hills and rains make for an ideal combination for the best waterfall views. The places I have visited are extremely scenic, most of them can hardly be captured through camera. That’s just a section of Wah-kaba, only a 360 degree view will give a proper feel of the place. That’s true for most nature places, though.
      I am eager to check out your latest posts and all the new places that you might have explored by now.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Some of my favourite waterfalls. Dainthlen and Nohsnigthiang are old favourites. Also Nohkalikai, which you haven’t shown. I missed Prut. Weiseidong is new to me. More crowded than Elephant? That would be something.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I didn’t go to Nohkalikai this time. It’s so touristy now that I don’t enjoy it much. Wei Seidong has become popular only in recent years. I’d say it’s as crowded as Elephant. It has two viewpoints. The first one certainly was as crowded. The next one requires climbing down a precarious set of ladders so probably wouldn’t be so much crowded. This time seeing the crowd, we didn’t feel like climbing down. The rest of the waterfall, Prut, Marsawa, Lyngksiar, are ones quite newly opened at Sohra. Each one is fantastic and one can spend an entire day in each. There’s a lot to explore. Also, no usual tourists there. Probably because it needs more time.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Simply amazing, Neel! I had been following your travel adventrues of these past few months on Insta and I am truly glad that you could soak in all those bounties of nature. I was also looking forward to reading all about it and you have obliged with a great start. Do continue… 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hope all is well with you, Narendra. I have been away for a long time and yet to catch up with all that you would have posted in your blog. And, I’ve seen some great stories in the making on Insta once again. 😀
      Thank you for much for reading this post. I hope to be a little more regular now.

      Liked by 1 person

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