Kundamala

A temple village by a weir with water cascading over rocks that has a exceptional viewpoint from a dangerously unstable scary pedestrian bridge.

The attempt to find these offbeat untouched places took a different turn this time when a colleague bounced of this location of rocky gorge near Pune. Kundamala is just about 30 KM from Pune center. On the way to Mumbai, it is a 15 min diversion before you enter the expressway and couple of railroad crossings.

I was hoping to witness a lot of water overflowing from the dam which would be filled with people of all ages. That’s the usual perception one has when you talk about dams, monsoons, and picnic spots around Mumbai or Pune. Fortunately for me it wasn’t the case. This place was well hidden from a lot.

With the dam overflowing, this beautiful landscape would not get the due respect it otherwise does. It did come to my surprize, almost amidst an overly populated city this natural beauty was still preserved and kept dirty, as dirty as possible for a human to take the credit for

Kundamala Waterfall, a weir with water cascading over the rocks, is just 1 km from Begadewadi railway station and about 3 km from old Pune Mumbai highway is situated at the bank of Indrayani River.

At the first glace, it looked like the water must be gushing thru the rocks at a very high speed. One can observe many stone hole formations of different shapes & sizes created by the flowing water. Though beautiful it’s seemed pretty risky if one decides to carelessly walk around.

Given that I travelled here in the month of October, I got an opportunity to witness these stone holes. On a rainy Monsoon day, this place is a perfect setup of ta disaster. How dangerous it would be to venture out on this waterfall and then getting down in the river without the knowledge of what lays below.

Just when I was just wondering, if it would be a good idea to drive over at wall and get the trill of “Water Wading”, what astonished me was that this is a regular driveway for the villagers to cross the river from one bank to another. :D. I was still wondering and there were people already water wading their cars

All I need is very little inspiration

If one decides not to use this route 🙂 to cross the river, there is a narrow bridge that leads you across the river. What I assumed to be a footover bridge was in reality very popular with bike riders. Of course you have to let go the fact that the bridge is declared unsafe for any activities

Two way traffic on the bridge needed me to plaster myself against the edge of the bridge. Given that there were no real walls on either sides of the bridge, the idea of sticking to the side of the bridge needed to be taken very cautiously. You don’t want to slip and toss yourself into the river below.

I made it across without much fuss, distracted by the gushing waterfall on one side and the Indrayani river cutting its path through the gorge on the other. I had to take pictures of the strangely hollowed-out rock formations 🙂 … Yes traffic jam .. and I was the reason, even when I was on my feet 😛

Towards the end of the bridge is a colourful temple constructed in the middle of the river, devoted to Kundrai Mata (Mother). The villagers of kundamala are said to be the decedents of this kuldevi

Once on the other side, after a visit to the Kundrai Goddess, I spent few hours exploring the area, waiting for the sun to make an appearance. Not feeling lucky, I decided to retraced my steps across the rocks, thru the flowing water then over the bridge back to where I belonged.

But then, Was there another way back that I had not explored yet? 🙂

And like all good things have to come to an end … this short drive to the edge of the city left me with memories!! Which, sought to remind us that even in trying times with busy schedules – beauty exists; it always has; out there; and inside us. Always within reach. SO LET’S GRAB IT

Explore Maharashtra