Devkund Waterfall ❤️ What makes it so special ?

Devkund waterfall is one of the most famous waterfalls in sahyadris. What makes Devkund waterfall special is the huge plunge waterfall pouring into the crystal clear green pond. The ponds clarity & the power of waterfall depend on the rains that day changing the waterfall from milky white to brown as it is formed by the rainfall received in Plus valley of Tamhini Ghat. This Devkund waterfall blog will provide you all the information necessary to plan this trip yourself. If you like Devkund waterfall you will surely love similar waterfalls & treks mentioned at the end of this post.

Is devkund waterfall difficult for beginners?

Devkund waterfall is a straight forward trek with well marked trail , hence I would term it as a easy trek. However it becomes super risky on a rainy day. Devkund waterfall is the outlet of rainfall received from Tamhini Ghat’s Plus valley. Because of this huge catchment area and a small exit as Devkund waterfall the area gets flash floods even if it rains slightly more for short durations. Also the Devkund trail passes by the Bhira dam which is quicky submerged because the water level rises rapidly because of similar water flow from Kundalika valley adjoining the plus valley. Hence the area is closed for tourists during July-Sept due to the risk involved.

Is guide needed for devkund waterfall ?

It doesn’t matter whether you need a guide or not you will have to pay Rs 50 per person as guide charges or entry fee. Due to the few mishaps in the area because of flash floods mentioned above guides are present throughout the Devkund trail. Without this payment you wont be allowed inside from the entry point. If you are a smartass you can go around the village & cross a hill and join the trail without paying Rs 50 but that’s overkill 😁. Once you have paid the money and put down you name in the register you can start walking on the trail which passes by the Bhira Dam to reach the Devkund waterfall.

FUN FACT: Devkund literally means ‘God’s pond’ & once you see that pristine beauty you will get that heavenly feel. Devkund waterfall created by plus valley & streams from Kundalika valley flow to Bhira dam which is then released to form Kundalika river which is famous for river rafting. There is also Andharban trek which starts in Tamhini Ghat and ends near Bhira dam which provides a brilliant view of Devkund

How to Reach Devkund waterfall from Mumbai & Pune ?

Where is Devkund waterfall located ? It lies in Bhira, Patnus in Mangaon Taluka of Raigad Maharashtra. The nearest railway station to Devkund waterfall is Mangaon Railway station( 30 kms) & Lonavala station (80kms). However it would be convenient to reach here by roads from Mumbai (170 kms), Pune (110 kms) & Lonavala (52 kms).

Devkund by public transport:

• Nearest railway station to Devkund from Mumbai & Pune would be Khopoli railway station which has ample connectivity from Karjat station. The route from here by ST bus would be Khopoli > Pali (Rs 40)> Bhira (RS 20). There are frequent buses from Khopoli to Pali. From Pali to Bhira there is limited bus connectivity (06:15, 08:45,10:15,13:45,15:15,16:15,18:40) . Apart from this buses there are shared autos form Pali to Bhira. For return journey from Bhira > Pali last bus is at 17:00 hrs , please confirm this once you reach Bhira to avoid surprises.
• Also there is faster route from Pune/Lonavala to reach here via Tamhini Ghat, Bhira lies near the end of Tamhini Ghat. I didnt find any public transport for this part. May be someone can enlighten me, else driving directly by personal vehicle would be preferred. Swargate>Chandni chowk > Paud > Mulshi > TamhiniGhat > Bhira.

Devkund by personal vehicle: Let google maps be your best friend. Set location to Devkund waterfall start point or Tata hydro power plant, Bhira if you cannot find Devkund waterfall & enjoy the beautiful ride. The route from Mumbai/ Pali side is covered with lush green trees, while from Pune side you can enjoy Tamhini Ghat.

Devkund waterfall status ?

Month	Waterfall	Access
Jan – June	NO waterfall till rains	Open
Jul	Muddy & Heavy Flow	Closed in Rains
Aug	Muddy & Heavy Flow	Closed in Rains
Sep	So white & pretty	Might open by Sept End
Oct	So white & perfect	Open
Nov	Lucky to see waterfall	Open
Dec	Do you call this waterfall ?	Open

How long is the Devkund waterfall trek ?

It takes around 75 minutes at full steam to reach from parking spot to waterfall. However if you attempt this I am pretty sure you would stop after every 10 minutes where you will click 100 pictures. I don’t care if you are a photographer or a gorilla with a camera, the route is just too beautiful to not stop every now & then to click some. Trust me I did the same. So it would take around 90 minutes to 2 hours to walk about 6.5 kms to reach Devkund waterfall.

Where can we stay for Devkund waterfall trek ?

Due to high demand Bhira villagers have started to provide homestays and lodging services. Also if you are into camping, few camping options have also opened up by the Bhira dam. Once you reach the village you can spot many hoardings advertising the same & you can select from the available options. At such beautiful location I prefer to carry my own tent & prepare my own food ( checkout my trek gear & trek food )

Devkund waterfall : Khane me kya hai

As mentioned before many villagers have started hotels where you will get home made food. On trail many make shift stalls are available on weekends where you can get lemonade , maize & noodles. Also reduce your plastic footprint wherever possible by carrying water from home & not buying plastic bottles, preferring home made food like upma, sheera, maize, etc over packaged chips, noodles which generate lot of plastic wrappers

Devkund waterfall trek blog : TheFreeBird’s story

Inpsite of all the expected crowd I went there on a Sunday as I was possessed by the waterfall & could not wait any longer. I tried to make the most of it by finding secluded spots away from the crowd. There are many secluded smaller ponds in the water streams parallel to the trail. Such ponds contain crystal clear flowing water which is nothing short than a marvel in itself. As the weekend arrived, I could barely sleep that night since I was bubbling with excitement. By the time sun came out I was already near Khalapur. The early Free Bird catches worm.

BRO TIP:

Devkund waterfalls has become super commercialized and should be avoided on weekends to beat the crowd. You can either go here early morning , complete the trek and return on the same day or you can reach Bhira in the evening , camp by Bhira dam or stay in the village accommodations and start trek early morning to avoid the crowds.

TheFreeBird

The road till Imagica is crowded & gets better till Pali. But once we take a left from Pali towards Bhira, the route becomes exceedingly scenic. There are rivers flowing by and the route is covered by canopy of trees. When we have such beautiful roads, time passes by quickly and I had already reached Devkund waterfall parking lot in Bhira. I unwillingly paid the ridiculous Rs 30 bike parking , Rs 20 village taxes & Rs 50 for guide, totally unrequired & enforced fees. With formalities completed I started on my trail to Devkund. Excitement levels had reached the sky.

With the trail being well marked & guides present throughout the route there are no chances of getting lost. As the trail passes by the Bhira dam you feel a sense of peace in life. The vast expanse of water shimmers calmly and for a moment you forget all the tensions in life. I would surely come back here to camp by the dam someday.

We passes by the dam for about 30 minutes when we stopped to relish the views & breakfast we bought from home. Soon the trail changed direction away from the dam towards the mountains where we now had a water stream running parallel on the left side

Being a sunday after every 5 minutes a guide would walk by with 20 odd people behind him. On enquiry I found out that they spend 1300 for this trip, while I ended up spending Rs 300 for the entire trip. I would wait for them to pass to have the peaceful time to myself. Remember its the journey that matters more than the destination. Of course I love Devkund waterfall but I also love hearing the transparent water streams gushing down through a jungle.

My plan was to find more relaxing streams & ponds enroute before I reached the main attraction. As I had seen hordes of people going ahead, it made for sense to enjoy the secluded spots before I reached the crowded end point. While walking on trail at a certain point I could hear the stream, so I changed direction towards the sound and reached this natural jacuzzi

I swam for a while & sat with feet in water getting free pedicure from the small fish. After a while I went ahead to find few more secluded ponds which totally reminded me of the transparent ponds of Meghalaya.

Going ahead the trail reaches a stream crossing where we crossed from the bottom instead of the bridge since the water levels were low. During heavy rains , this bridge is the only way to cross the roaring stream. You can imagine during heavy rains, the water level almost touches the bridge , such is the power of nature. On the right side of this bridge the huge rocks are smoothened out over years of flowing water. And this feels like place which can be stand alone hit if people could appreciate how beautiful it is

This spot was beautiful and I decided to go ahead till the small waterfall where I could feel the current was getting stronger. I tried to go ahead and reached a natural dam where I decided to stop as you can never guess how strong the under current of such confined space can be .

I found this spot to be the best spot till now which was very unique like the another so called secret Devkund which has recently become famous. However on a rainy day this spot would be totally submerged & hence I was happy on my perfect timing in October, in August this would be a river.

This was the final stop before I started towards the main attraction. Last part of the trail is bit of a hike through a slightly dense forest cover. This last part can be tiring for elderly but doable. The crescendo of waterfall had started to rise as I moved closer towards the Devkund waterfall. By the time I reached the waterfall the water sound was mixed by the crowd shouting. This felt like I had reached Esselworld’s waterkingdom. Behold the might Devkund waterfall.

The waterfall falls from what feels like atleast 200-300ft into the green pond. This beauty is no wonder named Devkund – God’s pond. If you remove all the people from the place the waterfall gushing from the plus valley would echo in every possible direction and the ambience would be so heavenly , only nature God would be bathing here. As an anti-climax, after all the swimming I had done since morning I didnt feel like getting into this water with hundred others in the crowd. I thought my journey was better and decided to come back here on weekday to beat the crowd and have the entire Devkund to myself. With growing popularity that seems to be a distant dream but hope is what keeps the world alive. उम्मीद पे दुनिया कायम है

There is also a stall beside the waterfall from where I got a hot vada-pav and decided to climb a bit higher to get a better perspective of the enormity of this waterfall. The view from top was much better with a hot vada-pav. The afternoon light had light up the pond differently . I just sat here taking it all in for hours as with time many people started to leave the pond making it look even more appealing.

After a while with a heavy heart it was time to head back home. I could stay here for days without getting bored but had to leave now with hopes of revisiting Devkund on weekday ( after camping by the Bhira dam). With so many beautiful memories I rushed home on my bike.

Bye !!

Thats it for the Devkund waterfall trek blog.