Kataldhar waterfall trek ❤️ Could it get any more beautiful

The moment i saw the close up pictures of a huge waterfall in front of Rajmachi I was awestruck. I did some research to find its name as Kataldhar waterfall . There are very rare moments for a regular trekker to come across something so exciting that it leaves an ever-lasting impression. Kataldhar waterfall trek was one such experience which i like to revisit every monsoon. Over the years the trek has got famous and the route now has many trekkers on weekends. This Kataldhar waterfall blog will be your trek guide to plan this Kataldhar trek yourself. More offbeat waterfalls & treks at the end of this post.

Is Kataldhar Waterfall Trek difficult for beginners ?

The Katladhar waterfall trek is downhill towards the waterfall which means after you have reached the Katladhar waterfall , taken your photos and consumed most of your excitement you have to climb all the way back UP to the top to TWO MANGOES which is very strenuous. Along with this, the route towards the Kataldhar waterfall is very confusing and passes through dense forest enclosure. The forest is so thick that at places the sun light doesnt even reach the ground. Needless to say that the route is very confusing , damp and dark. This all makes it to be a “Difficult Trek” based on the risk of getting lost. However with this spot getting very famous you will find many people on weekends hence reducing the difficulty level. Update 2023 : This is now a famous trek with more crowd on weekends hence I now term it as an Intermediate trek

Bro Tip:
There are whole lot of ribbons which are tied to the trees to guide you on the proper route. Keep an eye out for these ribbons and cairns ( stones placed on one another like Dahi Handi). Just trust your instinct to reach here and if you feel lost its ok to return back to the previous proper ribbon point.

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How long is the Kataldhar Waterfall Trek ?

It would take about 90 minutes from TWO mangoes to reach Kataldhar if you are fast. You can easily spend more than 2 -3 hours at the waterfall. While it would take about 2 hours to return as it is an uphill climb back to the top. Overall Kataldhar trek time can be said to be 6 hours. But if you visit all the other waterfalls like we did you can easily add 3 more hours.

Kataldhar trek : Khane me kya hai ?

This trek is as untouched as it gets . So no stay or food options around the waterfall. One can get snacks at Hotel Kataldhar near TWO Mangoes or at small hotels enroute to Rajmachi. Update 2023 – This trek has now become super famous & food stalls crop up through the route especially on weekends. ( checkout my trek food & trek gear )

Where can we stay for Kataldhar waterfall trek ?

There are no stay options at Kataldhar waterfall. One can stay at Lonavla ( During my Lonavala trip I had stayed at the luxury resorts of Dukes Retreat & Upper Deck). One can also plan a multi day trek of Kataldhar and Rajmachi with stay at Udhewadi ( base of Rajmachi) for the night . Putting tents in the forest is a strict no – no as its too dense a forest. As a worst case scenario one can stay in the cave near Kataldhar instead of venturing late into forest.

How to Reach kataldhar Waterfall from Mumbai & Pune?

Where is Kataldhar waterfall located? Kataldhar is located on the trek route from Lonavla to Rajmachi as such there is no base village but just a walking trail. Kataldhar waterfall is 10 kms from Lonavla, 80 kms from Pune & 90kms from Mumbai

Lonavla is the nearest Railway station for Kataldhar waterfall

The Kataldhar waterfall trek starting point lies on the famous route from lonavla to rajmachi just before Fansarai village. On the left of the route are two mango trees which is the starting point of the trek ( I know its not a clear marker, but thats all that it is . Henceforth referred to as TWO MANGOES, more about it below)

Route from Lonavla to Kataldhar

Route 1: ( 8 km walk from Lonavla Railway station ): From Lonavla Railway Station ask/search route to Rajmachi route and start walking. Use google maps to search Upper Deck Resort which is at 5kms . Just ahead of this resort is Waterfall1 where you meet the road from Route 2. This route is famously known as the Upper Deck resort Route. From here onwards just walk straight to Two Mango Point where the trek starts. NOTE: Proper road is available till Upper Deck resort after which there is a small trail till you reach Waterfall 1 where you meet the Route 2 which is rough car road ( check map below)
Route 2: (6.6 km road from Mumbai-Pune Expressway) Route from Kune Village: This would be nearer for people from Mumbai side or for those who want to take their vehicle. Just start walking from under the Mumbai- Pune expressway towards the Della Adventure & continue ahead to Rajmachi. After Della the road is bad , good for offroading. ( I guess Della has paid the officials to get the road concretised till there entrance ) This would be about 6.6 kms till the start point. I call it the Della Route

Both of these above routes meet at Waterfall 1 mentioned in the route map below & from here the starting point of TWO MANGOES is about a km away.

TAXI: there are sumo Taxi’s available from Lonavla Railway station which would charge for 1000 bucks till Fanasrai they can drop you at the Kataldhar trek start point. If you are lucky you might get a shared Sumo Taxi for 100 Rs per seat but chances of that happening are less

Here is Waterfall 1 Location & Waterfall 2 location which you can find in the Kataldhar trek map below

My journey : Kataldhar waterfall trek blog

My friend Amit had turned up from Delhi and having read my Devkund waterfall blog he wanted to go there. Since Devkund is very crowded on weekends I took him here. Since we had time constraints to walk all the 9 kms to reach the trek starting point from Lonavla Railway station. I took my bike all the way. That day it rained heavily and we had a pleasant drive through Lonavla ghat

Once I left the the Mumbai – Pune expressway on to the old highway i took left turn which takes you to Della Adventure . As we moved from under the Expressway towards Della Adventure the road was all concrete and surrounded by plush villas and old houses. After Della the roads are nothing but mud and stones. Most organised treks make you walk from here . But since we had time constraint we took our bike ahead right till the starting point .

The incessant rains had caused multiple waterfalls enroute. This was one of the first waterfalls that had sprung to life . The entire rock of a hill had turned into a series of waterfall. (Referred as Waterfall 1 in the route map at the top of the post). This is the spot where both the walking trails meet just after the Upper Deck Resort. This is a beautiful waterfall which itself can be a stand alone attraction. I walked near to this waterfall to enjoy the first waterfall of this monsoon. Many people enjoyed the waterfall & ended there monsoon picnic but we had bigger things to look forward to. The thought of standing near a huge waterfall really got me excited.

From the small hut in front of this waterfall we had garma garam chai and started towards the Kataldhar waterfall. The rough road wriggles through hordes of trees. From here I tried looking for these TWO MANGOES on the left of the road which is the start point of Kataldhar trek.

Initially i missed these & went a bit ahead. This mistake in finding the TWO MANGOES entrance proved to be a blessing in disguise as we reached another waterfall just few minutes ahead( This is referred as waterfall 2 in this blog). There was a small hut in front of this waterfall selling hot snacks. It was the perfect moment to have some hot maize, groundnuts and an omlette ( said no to Maggi – no to Maida, no to plastic waste). With all the hot food it was time to explore this waterfall 2 as well

If it was some one else he would have had enough excitement for the day and head back but not us. It was now time to head to the main attraction of Kataldhar Waterfall. I parked my bike in front of this hut near waterfall 2. We had to go back few steps to find the missed starting point of TWO MANGOES for the Kataldhar waterfall trek. We descended from those mango trees to reach a plateau.

On this plateau we had couple of water stream crossings after which we entered the jungle. We descendl for the next 30 -60 minutes. There are many monkeys / langurs visible on this descend.

At the end of this descend is a small stream which leads to a plateau. After stream crossing there is huge fallen log which acts as quite a trail marker. Since we were already late we took quick pics and entered the even denser forest to continue our assault towards Kataldhar waterfall

From here taking the route on right we entered deeper in the forest. Here onwards it only gets darker with bigger trees covering the area. Daylight barely reaches the soil. As such you can spot many crabs, long earthworms, monkeys & whole lot of birds. If you are lucky you would spot snakes.

Just follow the ribbons and go back if necessary in case you feel a bit lost. This game of darkness and feeling of a damp Cherrapunjee forest continues for a bit till we reach a small ascend to finally hear the crescendo of Kataldhar waterfall. Before you know it a huge waterfall starts appearing in front of you through the small gaps of trees. My hearbeat skipped a beat to this monster of a gracious waterfall.

As i drew comparisons between the Bahubali waterfall CGI and Kataldhar waterfall, i felt this was as close it could get in reality . The camera was out and I could have easily clicked more than 1000 pics.

The rains occupied us throughout the trek and the clothes inside the raincoat were already wet. It was now time for my soul to get drenched in this one of a kind beauty.

We moved a bit higher to reach towards the main waterfall. Enroute to the waterfall is a small cave which gives a panaromic view of the waterfall with the Rajmachi fort in the front. This cave was the perfect place to eat our lunch. I had bought Thalipeeth and though they were cold they warmed up my appetite.

On days with lesser rain, one can climb down to reach the bottom of the waterfall to reach a small cave. The waterfall covers that cave & it is a wonderful experience . However due to heavy rainfall that day i decided against going there as water flow was beyond a normal waterfall , almost felt like a river 😁

After resting for some time in the cave I tried to go underneath the mighty waterfall. Just going in the periphery of the waterfall was enough for me to understand the power of nature. I couldnt go directly below the waterfall & decided to come back to the cave.

I did not want to leave this place but Amit was running on a tight schedule and had to return hence i unwillingly started the return trek but not before clicking another hundred pics. More pics on my Insta. I remembered the time I had seen Kataldhar for the first time from top of Rajmachi and it was love at first sight. From that moment to sitting in the cave besides Kataldhar the love story was complete

The return trek was a climb back to the top and was going to be a tiring climb especially after the busy day we had. I had my bottle refilled with Kataldhar water and Glucon-D. Recharged i started on my return journey counting crabs. I counted more than 50 yellow ones.

As i reached the top I had a hot chai & makka. With that I was all set for long ride home.

Till next time.

Adios.

That’s it for the Kataldhar waterfall blog.