As the cable car takes you from one bank to the other, you can’t but help be awestruck by the expanse of the waters of the Narmada. You can hear the roars of the waterfall as the water gushes down 10 metres, splashing the surroundings with a fine mist or ‘dhuan’, hence the name Dhuandhar Falls. Equally captivating is the view of the marble rocks at Bhedaghat, glowing in the golden sunlight.
Centrally located, Jabalpur is one of the prettiest plains in the country. As it can get uncomfortably hot in the summers, and the ropeway and boating is closed for the monsoon, the best time to visit is in winter.
Our first stop was Bhedaghat. Located around 25 kms away from the town, this little village is one of the country’s most famous places. We were a tad surprised to see so many vendors that early in the morning. Selling carved soapstone artifacts, they actually were pretty interesting. But we decided to defer the shopping and looked for a boat instead. There were lots of them, and we hired one, which looked reasonably clean. The guy also offered to be our guide, which we thought was great.
As we set sail, the different hued rocks shimmered in the sunlight, and left lovely colored reflections in the water. Naturally carved and breathtakingly beautiful, the only jarring note was probably our guide pointing out where different films were shot, the most recent being the Shahrukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor starrer Asoka.
Back at the ghat, we picked up some trinkets, and headed towards the Dhuandhar Falls. Hungry after the boat ride; we bought some fruit and made a picnic out of it. In any case, it was a long walk from the parking lot to the falls. Majestic as it appeared from the cable car, being there was totally awesome. The spray from the falls hits you at the viewing gallery, as though a blessing from the River Goddess.
We observed quite a few local lads diving from rocks for a fee, and there was also a guy doing the dead man’s float. The falls were far more crowded than Bhedaghat with a lot of picnic goers around, but I guess a place so beautiful and awe inspiring is bound to attract visitors.
We wanted to see the Balancing Rocks, and did go there but the area was quite filthy. Kind of a disappointment after the serene marble rocks and gushing waterfall.