Dudhsagar Falls

Made famous by the hindi movie Chennai Express, Dudhsagar Falls is located on the border between Karnataka and Goa. Falling from a height of over 1000 ft., Dudhsagar Falls is among the tallest waterfalls in India. Apart from the height, what makes Dudhsagar Falls very lovely to watch is the surrounding forest and the railway track which passes just in front of Falls, little more than midway from the top. Trains passing through, with the water falling behind makes for a great photo shoot.

Dudhsagar Falls derives its name for the local deity, Dudhsagar.  On the way to the Falls, inside the Mollem National Park, there is at temple dedicated to Dudhsagar. But many believe the Falls derives its name from its milky appearance(literal translation is sea of milk). Formed by river Mahadayi(Mandovi, also called Dudhsagar river for certain stretch), Dudhsagar Falls is  4 tiered waterfall but as expected, the number of ‘tiers’ comes down to barely visible 1 as the season progresses from monsoon to summer!

Location and how to get to Dudhsagar Falls

Dudhsagar Falls is located inside Mollem National Park & Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary in Goa and the check post is manned by the Forest Department. There is only one entry at Colem or Kulem which is about 35 kms from Madgaon. There are couple of route options from Madgaon but I took the Mollem route which is very green as it passes through the forest area. On the Mollem-Kulem road, at Kulem, there are parking lots on both the sides of the road. Many residential houses have converted their open courtyard into parking lots. Fee is INR 100.  Private cars and vehicles are not allowed beyond this point into the National Park.

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Booking Jeep safari

The Forest Department does not operate the jeeps to the Falls but Dudhsagar Taxi Operators Association does.  From the ticket counter at Kulem which is also the boarding point, the Falls is about ~10-12 kms  away with a driving time of 40-50 minutes, passing the Forest Department check post and thereafter through the forest area.

Tickets at the counter costs INR 500 per person(full ticket for those above 4 years of age). The jeeps are largely Mahindra Bolero make with a carrying capacity of 7 persons but the Jeep would feel very crowded with 7 adults. I was in a group of 4 adults and decided to book the entire Jeep for INR 3500. Life jackets are mandatory even if not getting into water. INR 40 is the fee.

Additionally, an amount of INR 100 per person is payable to the Forest department plus INR 50 for camera at the check post. Professional cameras are charged more but for my Canon DSLR, which was checked, I paid INR 50.

Prior reservations are possible but Jeep is allotted only at the counter. I did not see any separate queue for those reserving ahead of time.

Trek is another option

Another option is to trek to the Falls. Licensed Guides can charge INR 500 or more per person. I believe there are no fixed charges and one can negotiate especially if in a group. During the rainy season, trek is the only option.

I was lucky there was no queue

There was no queue the day I went around 10.30am. Most tourists should normally start streaming in by 8 am or later considering the driving time from other parts of Goa. I was told the queue at the ticket counter can be very long at times and people have often waited 2-4 hours. There can also be waiting time at the check post also, because the parking space near the Falls is limited. Better to avoid weekends, holidays and peak tourist season in Goa. For some divine reason, I did not have to wait at the ticket counter but waited about 20 minutes at the check post. My Jeep, together with few others were allowed in after about 10 Jeeps from the Falls exited. Possibly, the Forest Department keeps a count on the numbers of jeeps that can be allowed to be inside at a point of time. My driver indicated upto 100 Jeeps can be parked at the parking lot near the Falls.

One Photo ID per family is normally adequate. Copies are not taken, only visual examination is done. Boarding is immediate after tickets are purchased so in case one wishes to use the rest rooms or consume snacks/beverages, better to finish before buying the tickets.

This is the website of DTOA. The online booking option did not work for me.

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Jeep Safari experience

The 45 minutes drive from entry gate to the Falls parking lot is quite bumpy and not very different from other safari drives.  Fairly scenic drive crossing the rivulets on two occasions but I did not spot any wildlife. With the constant running of jeeps to and fro and trains running every hour, the resulting noise possibly keeps the wildlife away.

From the Falls parking lot, it is a 10 minute  up and down over rocks and steps to get to the base of the Falls. Fairly easy for those who are agile but difficult for elderly and those with babies.

The Jeep that took us to Dudhsagar Falls waited at the parking lot near the Falls. A total time of 90 minutes is provided to return to the Jeep. Additional time is charged by the hour at INR 300 per hour. I did not clarify if this is per person or total.

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At the Falls

There are only 2 things to do at the Falls. One is find a comfortable place to sit, admire the surrounding beauty and wait for a train to pass through for a memorable photo. I was told there is train crossing every hour, mostly goods train. Second is to get into the pond where floating is allowed with life jackets. I managed to get under the falling water with a bit of an effort as the falling water tended to push me in the other direction but lack of support and slippery rock face meant I could not stay there for more than few seconds. I must admit the swim was very refreshing, possibly because the water was fresh.

The rocks near the Falls can be slippery when wet. It is a small pond and can get crowded easily. Most people are happy to sit on the rocks and take photos while few venture into the water. I was wondering what would the scenario if 100+ jeeps assemble at a given point of time. That would be over 500 people and the entire pond area would resemble a railway station or even an airport during peak times! Not pleasant at all and certainly not my idea of leisure.

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Change and rest rooms

There was one change room near the Falls but with some stench possibly implying someone mistook it for a urinal. There is another change room on the route from parking lot to the Falls and a bio-toilet. If you intend to get wet, carry your towel and swimming trunks. Or you can also buy them near the ticket counter.

What should you carry to the Falls?

The total normal stay is 90 minutes. Apart from camera/mobile for taking pictures, and change of clothes/towel if getting into water, everything else is avoidable. This includes  water bottle, snacks and so on.  Remember you will have to carry the life jacket anyway. Another option is to change into swimming trunks in the Jeep itself, especially if you are alone.

Plastic bottles are allowed but have to be declared at the check post and if missing on return, a fine of INR 200 per bottle is levied.  Bags are randomly checked at the check post.

What else to do?

The only option appears to be a short trip to a spice plantation located on the Mollem-Kulem road with or without buffet lunch. I chose to skip.

Walking on the railway tracks is no longer allowed

A popular activity once, I was told this is no longer allowed. Legally. The railways have posted guards to prevent the more adventurous types from venturing onto the tracks. Anyone caught walking on the tracks may be subject to a fine or jail term or both. So do check before venturing onto the railway tracks. These tracks are not accessible from the base of the Falls. Earlier, the trek from either Kulem(Goa) or Castle Rock(Karnataka) railways stations to Dudhsagar Falls was fairly popular, especially with youngsters.  

Where to stay?

Madgaon(or Margao) is the closest town, about 35kms from Kulem.  Margao is apparently the Portuguese version while Madgaon is the Marathi version. The drive takes little over an hour. Two decent hotels in Madgaon are Ginger and Cosmique Clark’s Inn and costs 5k or less per night for a couple. Non peak times.  A day trip is also possible from several locations in Goa, including Panaji and many of the resorts on the beaches. Organised tours are available. Will be a long day though.

The internet threw up couple of resorts close to Dudhsagar but the photos were not appealing.  Shangri La Jungle Resort looked decent enough but the location was a bit off.  I stayed in Madgaon. It is neat little town and was ideal for me as I wanted to visit only the Dudhsagar Falls in Goa.

Dandeli in Karnataka, which is famous for adventure sport and wildlife sanctuary, is another option. So is Belgavi. But  doing a day trip is tough as the driving time is +3 hours one way.

Drive from Bengaluru

From Bengaluru, Dudhsagar is ~600   kms away.  About the same as South Goa. That is easily a minimum of 12 hour drive and hence difficult to reach in one day, unless one can exit Neelamangala near Bengaluru by 7am or so. That was not an option for me so I decided to halt overnight on the way. There are 3 possible routes one can take.

If one is not too particular about accommodation, options for halt include Sagar, Murudeshwar and Gokarna.

In my view, the better option is to take the scenic coastal route and drive along the Kanyakumari-Panvel national highway(NH – 66). I took the route via Mangaluru on the way and returned via Shivamogga. The roads were by and large good all through but the Hassan-Mangaluru section via Shirady Ghat was a disaster. Still under construction. Better to get to Udupi via Belur, Dharmasthala and Karkala until the Shirady-Mangaluru highway is fully ready. But the stretch from Udupi to Madgaon was excellent. You can read more about this route here.

Honnavar – Jog Falls road has good view points

On the return journey, I took a deviation at Honnavar towards Jog falls. This route, all the way to Chitradurga via Shivamogga is 2 laned in most stretches and good only in patches. Road widening work beyond Shivamogga is ongoing(as always!). But the drive between Honnavar and Jog Falls is very pleasant. Worth halting at Samshi suspension bridge and Sharavathy valley view point. Jog Falls was disappointing in terms of water flow and the entire area is undergoing a facelift.

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Vegetarian Restaurants

At Kulem, there is only one ‘pure vegetarian’ udupi restaurant on the Mollem-Kulem road where a lady from Karnataka cooks food with a helper. Simple and homely food.  Open for breakfast and lunch. I had lunch here and it was fresh and quite good. All other restaurants serve non vegetarian food and looking at the small size of the restaurants, I was not at all keen to have food there. But for Udupi joint, I would have settled for some snacks- vada pav or corn cob(bhutta) with tea, sugarcane juice, tender coconut water or something like that. Enough to survive until return to Madgaon.

There are toilets near the ticket counter(with shower facility), check post and near the Falls parking.

Best time to visit

During the rainy season or immediately thereafter. I went in January and the water flow was disappointing. I guess summer months should to avoided. One can also take the train between Madgaon and Belgavi for a closer view of the top portion of the Falls during the monsoon season.

Is Dudhsagar Falls worth visiting

Certainly yes bit only during the rainy season or within a month or two thereafter. Other times, better to avoid because when the water flow diminishes, apart from the disappointing view, the water in the pond would not stay fresh for a swim. But if Dudhsagar Falls is not the sole purpose of visit, no harm in visiting. I did not particularly feel disappointed because the overall drive along the coastal road was beautiful and thoroughly enjoyable.

Related post

Coastal road drive, Karnataka