Monsoon Magic – Trek to Dudhsagar Waterfalls
With the monsoon at peak, its right time to head to the magnanimous Dudhsagar falls, when it would showcase its glorious best.
Three railfans from Chennai and Hyderabad, Benher, Raghupathy and Harish Kumar decided to trek to Dudhsagar waterfalls.
Day 1: The three of us met at Hubli and from where we took Haripriya Express to Londa and a Autorickshaw to Castle Rock, from where we trekked to Caranzol. With the conditions really bad, the station master suggested us to head back to Castle rock or Londa for the night.
Day 2: We took 7311 directly to DDS and spent the whole day at the falls, before Ben left back home by Goa Express, while the other two of us decided to head to Panjim for the overnight stay.
Day 3: For the return journey we took Amaravathi Express to Guntakal and split from there.
By the time, the caboose passes by the wind shifts and the mist headed in our direction, easing out on the passing train. Lucky fellows, all those on the caboose! Photo by Harish Kumar (Harish Kumar)
The Penta of WDG-4s going light down the Ghats appears around the corner as we wait for it at Dudhsagar Station. Raghu and I took these locos to Kulem, while Ben boarded Goa Express to Belgaum. Photo by Harish Kumar (Harish Kumar)
The super a.k.a. Goa Express charges ahead before an unofficial halt at DDS, behind Gooty WDG-3A #14554. Photo by Benher (Harish Kumar)
Day 3: we are set to travel one last time during this trip, through the amazing Braganza Ghats onboard Howrah bound Amaravati Express. While the train was put to wait for over 30 minutes, we see this pair of WDG-4s #12117 and #12046 playing around at Kule
…and then the clouds showers down rapidly, forcing passengers on the platform back on to their coaches. Kulem is such a lovely station. Photo by Harish Kumar (Harish Kumar)
Short while later, the Vasco - Kulem passenger arrives and the loco is being switched back.
Sequence 1 of 4: The Khalasi unlocks the switch. Photo by Harish Kumar
(Harish Kumar)
Sequence 2 of 4: Pulls the lever down to switch the line. Photo by Harish Kumar (Harish Kumar)
Sequence 3 of 4: Signals the loco to proceed. Photo by Harish Kumar (Harish Kumar)
WDG-3A #14702 acknowledges!
By this time our train started moving out and I board the train. Photo by Harish Kumar (Harish Kumar)
Dudhsagar falls in full glory! One this day there was lesser mist and more clouds. Photo by Raghupathy (Harish Kumar)
Gooty Baldie twins swings along the curve as it pushes ahead towards Dudhsagar Station. Photo by Harish Kumar (Harish Kumar)
We get a “proceed” at Caranzol. The visibility was as bad as it was couple of days earlier. Photo by Harish Kumar (Harish Kumar)
The final push up the Ghats and we would soon be at Castle Rock, winding up the magical 3 days here! Photo by Raghupathy (Harish Kumar)
We sign-off with BIG thanks!
3 days of pure fun, bliss, adventure, surprises, and thrills. Plenty of pleasent memories to carry with!
Thank you all for sharing the fun! Photo by Benher
(Harish Kumar)
Recent comments
Thank you all for your comments and kind words. This really means a lot for us.
Posted by Harish Kumar on 2010 Nov 29 07:15:56 +0000
Awesome album. Superlative!!!!!
Posted by Sandeep Bhate on 2010 Aug 17 14:29:16 +0000
Excellent photos... Three cheers to the three musketeers who did this trek... Fantastic documentation of one of the finest scenic ghats in the world that too in Monsoon... Great work... Thanks a million for sharing the pics..
Posted by Gowri Sankar R on 2010 Aug 15 16:49:42 +0000