Tiger Falls-Chakrata
Tiger Falls
No one seems to know why is it called thus? Is it because of the roar of the water falling down the cliff ? Or did they have tigers here in the olden days? Who knows? But one thing is sure that it is difficult to find such untouched and peaceful spots, even in the hills, nowadays. A similar site in say, Mussorie- Kempty Falls- is overcrowded, dirty and hideously designed, to say the least. Here there was no one except us. Yes, we had the Tiger Falls, all of it, to ourselves, absolutely!
And there is no masonry pond, no garishly painted barricades to restrain tourists, no dhabhas, not even a chai shop. Thank God for small mercies! There is just this stream of water tumbling down a cliff, with a roar and a spray, to drench us with joy. The water gushes into a small shallow pool, in a clearing in the hills, and gently meanders down stream, past terraced fields. Nothing could be simpler, really. But then simple things often provide the most joy in life.
To reach the falls from the roadhead is as simple, if not easy. There is a path, narrow but cemented, part of the way. And it goes down and down, past a few village cottages, terraced fields and a stream which it crosses. Yes, the same stream which tumbles down the cliff. The fields had "arabi" or colocassia and ginger planted at that time- autumn that is. The "makai" or maize had already been harvested by then and the bright yellow cobs hung out on the walls of the houses to dry out in the sun.The trek down the hill is perhaps half an hour from the falls and one has to walk a small distance in the bed of the stream. If saving your shoes is more important, one could perhaps try to balance oneself precariously on small round stones gathered alongside. A small flight of steps, a turn to the left and the roar hits you, the spray drenches you and Tiger Falls presents itself to your view.
The water is cold and the spray colder. Even the warm afternoon sun could not persuade us to take a shower under the cascade, though we did wade into the shallow pool. There is nothing to do there but to savour the magnificent feeling of joy which comes from being up so close with nature. The roar of water rushing down the chute, the fine white spray, the vines that cling to the face of the cliff almost like a dark green curtain, the exquisite pain in the soles unaccustomed to walking barefoot on pebbles in the stream and above all, the clean air which the lungs are not used to- these are the things to be cherished forever.
Life appears idyllic in the hills but is far from easy. That we discoverd, when we had to climb our way back to where we had parked the car. One has to huff and puff and push and cajole each other to reach the top. And it is not amusing to stop for breath almost every ten steps. And the villagers do that path several times a day, sometimes in the night too. And sometimes it is slippery and at others they are carrying loads of stuff on their backs. But such is life and it goes on.
And so, if you are tired of the drudgery of your grinding routine, just take off for a few days to the hills and to Tiger Falls. Believe me, you will not regret your decision.
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