Athirapilly-The magnificent' Niagara 'falls of India

It was the month of July. I was in my vacations and was attending the international youth conference at DRCM Chalakudy, Kerala. Once done with the conference I along with my friends just like every year planned to visit some tourist places nearby Thrissur and since it was the last day of the conference, at 2 p.m, Youth who had come for the conference some of them had already packed up back to their homes while others like me who had come in groups were excited to travel around. We hired a taxi from DRCM outskirts and asked the taxi driver to take us to some tourist spots nearby. And this is when he mentioned a few names like Chalakkudy river, Charpa, Vazhachal and  Athirapilly. He even described the above places and the exact location. And this is when we decided to go to this place called as ‘Athirapilly’. 

It took almost an hour to reach this place. Once we got down I found a no of stalls with eatables and a small kind of market. There was a counter for paying the entry fee. We had to pay Rs.15 per head and get the entry pass. Here was a board which read out ‘visiting time only from 8a.m to 6 p.m . 

Once done with the registration we had to walk on the interlocked path which took almost 10-15 minutes and then was a small portion of the semi-rock surface which led to the waterfall area. It was surrounded by a lot of greenery and bushy areas were one would really never get tired of walking. All the way there were monkeys snatching bags containing snacks from other tourists and so we had to be really very careful over our bags. 

While we were almost nearby, we could hear the rushing water and could even feel the water droplets splattering on our faces. Once we reached the waterfalls, we saw something which we did not see until then, something beautiful... Something which I would never stop thinking about. The natural splendor and the crystal flow of water had stolen my heart. It looked as if heaven met the earth.

A view of Athirapilly falls  Credit: Google Images


Since it was raining and we did not carry any extra clothes we could not dip ourselves in the water. I just immersed my feet in the gushing water and played around. It was monsoon and so it was in full spring. The climate kept changing once in 15mins.There was an instructor nearby who explained to us different things about this place. 

Athirapilly falls is also called as the 'Niagara Falls of India and is basically located in the Sholayar ranges of the Western Ghats. There was also a jungle safari visit were one can see the various  fauna including the endangered Great Indian Hornbill, the Lion-Tailed Macaque and the Nilgiri Langur.

By then it was already 6, so we had to leave the place. Overall the experience of traveling to Athirapilly falls was enthralling. I would love to visit this place again.