Pandavkada Falls, Khargar

The natural swimming pool

Pandavkada water falls

Since the rain continues to shower its blessing, we too thought to make the most of it this year, and off we decided to go to another waterfall, and this time we chose Pandavkada.

Pandavkada waterfalls is situated in Khargar, Navi Mumbai.  Nearby spots to visit are the Central Park and Valley Golf Course, said to be Asia's largest golf course.

How to Reach:  If you are traveling by train, get down at Khargar station in the Harbour Line and take a rickshaw to the falls.  You also have NMMT buses plying in this route.  If you are traveling by car, use the Sion Panvel Highway.  It is a very easy-to-follow route.

This waterfall was closed to public for a couple of years due to many accidents/drowning that took place.  But after a lot of precautionary measures undertaken, it was open to public this year.  My brother-in-law went there a couple of weeks back and there was lot of water and the videos were tempting to watch, the waters beckoning us to come soon.  Unfortunately, when we went there, there wasn't a lot of water, yet it did not stop us from taking a splash.

We booked a cab that took us right to the main entrance.  There are two ways to go.  One is where people get down near the race course and your foot trail begins from here.  Secondly, you can take a left after the race course, pass right through a village and this takes you more closer to the trail.  We took the second option.

While passing through the village I had thoughts of how lucky these villagers were that they could still enjoy their village life while having a city only a stone's throw away.

Since we did not have plans to spend the whole day there, food was not a major concern.  We left home by 11 a.m., reached there by 11:30 and were back home by 4 p.m.  We just carried little snacks to munch away.

Once you park your vehicle, it is only 15 minutes' walk to the streams and another 10 minutes' walk to the falls.  The path is a mud trail lined by balsam flowers and fields.

They have constructed walls in the middle of the stream and it blocks the water at two points and forms a natural swimming pool that is 3 to 4 feet deep.  It is floored by sand and is safe to swim as there are no rocks in these pools.

It would be a good idea to pack your eatables as we did not find any nearby shacks or food suppliers and most tourists were also carrying their food.

If you choose to visit the falls in the afternoon, you can also spend some time at the Central Park which opens at 5 p.m.  It is the largest park in Mumbai and very well maintained.  They have excellent facilities in terms of kids' park, variety of play tools for kids, boating, and a soon-coming-up amphitheater.  Parking is free and well maintained toilets at every section of the park. You will find a collection of musical instruments all over the park along with a short write up/description.

This year I have had the opportunity to visit a lot of places and we did not have lot of money in our hands, and I learnt that happiness is not expensive.  With a little planning, one can enjoy a fun-filled picnic within one's means.  We have never picnicked in the monsoons, and it was a refreshing change this year that we explored a lot of places.

Life is waiting for you.... Go grab it!!!