Parsik Waterfall

This is my fourth trek to Parsik in almost three months. By now most of my friends and my parents are of the opinion that I am truly obsessed by the trek. For this trek the heavy rains and the view of waterfall from Shaunak’s place proved to be the catalyst. I was insisting Tej to come for the trek and with a little persuasion form Shaunak he agreed. This was his fourth trek too. We asked Akshay and Rajas too who had accompanied us for the previous treks, but making excuses they didn’t come. Even Ninad, who was with me during Raigad, had some other work. So the triad of trek maniacs left for the trek on 19^th of July at 9:00 am.

First of all we started the climb from a bit different route than the one we had used the previous time. But after that we ended up at the same spot. But now the same route was misguiding us. Last time we came, there was no grass only some trees shedding their leaves. This time round it appeared that there was green carpet laid all over the ground. It was treading into unknown territory. Making some wild guesses we made our way to the rift between the mountains that we had climbed the last time to reach the top of the mountain. Once at the foot of the rift we were in two minds again as to climb the rift which was filled with dense grass or to go by the edge of the rift which had comparatively less grass. I tried it but instead of tall grass there was heavy fungus every growth. So it was decided that we would be sticking to our old route now. By now we had tried to do things differently but ended with the same things. Traversing the rift was way much difficult than we had assumed it to be. The wet soil was making life hell. To add to it there were small insects in the grass like flies. These flies were different from the regular ones but seemed more notorious. But fighting all odds we made to the top in 45minutes.

Once on the top, we were rewarded with scenic beauty. Lush green lands around us seemed like velvet. The breeze felt like a force coming to greet us to the top. The winds through my hair, the light drizzle, enchanting greenery were the pleasures I wished to have and I had them right now. These are the wishes a trekker makes at the beginning of every trek and very few have their wishes fulfilled. I was a one such lucky trekker today. After spending a good half an hour we moved on.

By now the drizzle was transformed into light rain. But still it was pleasant. We moved on the hill that we had skipped last time due to some different objectives and short of time. But this there was no hindrance in our way up. Soon we were on the top and snapping pictures. At one end there were some boulders peeping out into the valley that lay below. So we decided to provide them company. In no time we were on the rock and peeping into the valley below. We realized that the rocks were protruding out of the hill and forming a overhang just below where we were standing. So without wasting anytime, we had our cameras out of their bags. After our fingers were tired of clicking, we sat for lunch. Shaunak had brought the very traditional and healthy “jhunka-bhakri”. After devouring it we moved into the woods nearby. They seemed like just a border to the grassland ahead. Over hear there was a small pond. This was very much like the ones we see in the movies. It was fairly big and numerous stones in to. Numbers of dragon flies were watching us over here. There was a tree at one end. Standing on the stones Tej and Shaunak snapped a couple of pictures. Over here there was a small way leading out of this place. We followed it and were soon in dense forest.

Over here we had no idea as to which way to go. Shaunak by now had started voicing his wishes to go the waterfall. I had never been to this place before even with my dad. So my guess to the road was as good as anyone. But ad mist this we could hear a small stream of water flowing. We reached the place where we could see the rivulet. Now we had an address as to where the waterfall was. Following it we found many fascinating insects, birds, stones etc. By now a number of other streams had joined our stream and a rivulet was formed. There was ankle deep water by now. It was very much safe and assuring to have the rivulet guide us. When I was a kid and used to accompany my father to Parsik hill he always took us to a spot which was very much near the big waterfall but very much safer. Now I was looking for the same spot and soon reached there. The nostalgic moments of 1999 which was the last time I had come here were being re lived by me. Shaunak was feeling as if he was in heaven on seeing this place. He likes water to a great extent and knowing this me and Tej kept him on a tight reign.

After spending about an hour in the water and another half in the greenery around we started to descend. After having had a bath in the water and with clean clothes on us we had no intentions of getting dirty again. I suggested the same route that my dad preferred. So we were on a nostalgic journey again. Even Shaunak was part of the group my dad had brought along once. This route was comparatively much easier and cleaner than the route we had taken to climb up. All three of us were very much pleased by this route. Tej was playing some soft music on his cell phone. The journey until now was very much pleasing. But this was short lived.

I heard something move in the forest on the slopes below us. I figured it out that it was a monkey. Soon there was another movement and Shaunak saw it too. It was some 100 feet below us. I asked Tej to stop the music. The music could be disturbing the monkeys. In this region-which is a natural habitat of these animals- disturbing them could be a huge mistake. So I instructed both of them to move quickly and make least noise possible. We found a small waterfall like formation in the rocks nearby and decided to climb down through it. Moving swiftly and cautiously through the waterfall we reached the hutments at the foothills. These hutments were the signal of completion of the trek.