I heard about Chikhaldara when studying in 5th standard at Amravati, Maharashtra. We had a lesson in Marathi textbook.
HVPM (Hanuman Vyayam Prasarak Mandal) is a very famous physical education institute in Amravati. Many children living in the nearby areas often used the campus to play in the evening. I used to play in the HVPM facility with friends regularly. Management or the staff of HVPM never prevented us from playing or using their sports equipment. Once while playing in the ground I heard a teacher in HVPM instructing her students about their weekend trip to Chikhaldara and Muktagiri. That was when I heard about a new place Muktagiri. Children in school used to talk about these places but I did not have a chance to visit as all the travel plans were decided by parents.
After a couple of years my father was transferred to Achalpur, which is a town in Amravati district close to both the places. In fact, hills of Muktagiri could be seen clearly from our house in Achalpur. That was when I had my first chance to visit these fairly remote places. 40 years ago they were not very famous, enjoyed poor connectivity and maintained their seclusion from tourists. Spotting wild animals was common and people were worried about their own safety rather than taking pictures.
Muktagiri is a holy place and is not a typical tourist destination for fun. It is home to more than 50 Jain temples situated on the hill surrounded by thick green forest. As the name indicates it leads the path to mukti. The place is located on the bank of small river called Mukta which streams in the middle. There is a beautiful two step cascaded waterfall on the river at a walking distance from the main temple.
Muktagiri is located 7 kms away from the main road. In those days direct bus service was available only during the annual function. People had to make their own arrangements during other times. Most of the middle class families could afford only a bicycle. Cars were a luxury affordable only to some rich so most of the visitors walked to Muktagiri from the bus stop on the highway.
My father had a friend who used to drive a horse cart and he took us to Muktagiri on a Sunday. Horse cart ride saved us from walking. Rainy season was about to conclude but the surrounding was still very green. Mukta was full of water and the waterfall looked big. A small stream on the top of hill is separated by a rock, and makes the water fall downhill in multiple columns. After landing the river flows on flat surface for some distance and jumps again from the hill to reach the ground level in a single column. The black rocks behind the waterfall were very clean and the white stream of water constituted a perfect contrast. If the upper waterfall resembled a gracious handsome royal personality wearing rich clothing and ornaments, the lower one looked like an aggressive warrior roaring with anger.
Except for the regular people staying in the temple complex and a group of children for annual school trip, there was hardly anyone around. We did not have a camera so I don’t have pictures of that perfect day. The locals were very welcoming. There were some basic rooms constructed for the devotees. One of the rooms was promptly opened for us without any formalities to rest and have lunch. There is a big temple surrounded by big walls at the base. While chatting to a local he urged to plan a longer visit and spend a night. He advised to reach before sunset as the main door was closed before dark. The cattle was shifted inside to safety as the river was frequented by tigers and other wild animals at night. He suggested that spending a night on the wall could facilitate spotting a lot of wild life. Although it was a day trip done many years ago I still remember every moment spent in Muktagiri. The place was focused on spirituality and lived a simple life.
In the summer following our visit to Muktagiri, my father’s office planned a trip to Chikhaldara. All the employees and their families joined and we spent a day going around the hill station. It was summer and streams had dried up. The hills had assumed a brown yellow look. I had heard names of the famous points in Chikhaldara from friends and a few were visited but overall I wasn’t impressed. There was a small pool of dirty water at Bhimkund. As the legend goes Bhim had washed his hands at this place after killing Kichak. During our visit the pond did not have clean water adequate enough for a child to wash hands.
After a long time I had another chance of visiting both the places again a few years ago. Although it was Diwali we were experiencing an extended rainy season. Chikhaldara looked awesome this time. Not only the forest lands but even the walls of Gavilgad fort wore a thick wet green cover. I love to see green hills engulfed with fog and clouds and can keep looking for hours. Rain water cleans the dust from the leaves and provides them a fresh clean look.
Waterfalls in full vigor could be spotted everywhere and the one at Devi point was flooded. If the first trip to Chikhaldara was a little disappointing, the second one made an awesome experience to remember.
After Chikhaldara we paid a quick visit to Muktagiri. Changes that have taken place in the lives of middle class Indians in last couple of decades were clearly visible. There were many cars parked outside the complex and a number of people could be seen near the waterfall playfully splashing the water although it was only knee deep. A development fee was charged to visit the waterfall and the temples on hill. Big complex to accommodate the visitors had been constructed and probably more construction was in the pipeline. Upper waterfall was full of moss and water was barely visible as the river had thinned down. The lower waterfall bore a look of water being released from a hosepipe.
I am not sure if the tigers still come for water every night.
Curious Explorer 