On the way from Mumbai to Lonavala, there is a ghat section near Khandala with hills on one side and deep valley with waterfalls on the other. Ulhas river originates from this valley and thus called as Ulhas valley or Canyon valley or Tiger valley.
With a height of 320 feet, Canyon Valley Waterfall happens to be one of the most beautiful waterfalls located close to the city and is the only waterfall seen during summer.
Canyon valley trek surprises you with its features. Unlike other treks, you descend first , cross the river and then ascend . Descend is from Lonavla and the trek ends at Khandala near Kamat restaurant.
ENROUTE TO LONAVALA
We started from Mumbai by Indrayani Express and reached Lonavala at around 8.00 AM. Our meeting point was near ticket counter at Lonavala Station. There were participants from both Mumbai and Pune.
THE TREK
After a brief introductory session and breakfast, we headed towards the valley. After 45 minutes of walk we reached the mouth of the valley. The trek starts with a sudden descend.
There were small crystal clear water ponds on our way and we took few minutes break to click photographs.
Then the group continued the walk through rocks by climbing and jumping.
And then the first rock patch appeared and all of us crossed it without major hurdles.
The next rock patch was a little difficult. We passed the bags and then the participants crossed one by one. Volunteer's helped others to descend. Those who have already crossed got an opportunity to take some rest. It was somewhat difficult for the first time trekkers.
Finally we reached the base of the valley. We walked towards the waterfall. The continuous sound of the waterfall started hitting our ears in the silence.
The water is mixed with sewage from Lonavala, so not really clean and refreshing. But visiting this ones all season this waterfall is worth visiting. There was a big pond under the falls and most of us jumped into it. After a nice bath, we opened our food packets. That was our lunch for the day.
It was around 1.00 PM, we started our ascending. This was new in this particular trek.
There was a stream and water pond to pass and hardly one person can walk through the edges by catching the rocks. The beautiful view of the water stream was worth spending the time just looking at it and relaxing.
Then we continued our climbing. There was one small waterfall and we filled our bottles. After 3 hours of trek, we reached the top of the valley. After few minutes of rest, we moved towards the highway to take a rickshaw to Lonavala.
Surely, Canyon valley trek is one of the most exciting trek I ever had .
