In Search of a Waterfall in Shangarh – Barshangarh Waterfall

I had no idea if there was a waterfall in Shangarh during my visit back in Oct 2019. It was just a weekend trip; I roamed around in the village returned to Delhi. No one even told if there was a waterfall. However, during my recent visit in July 2021, after spending two days I was told that there was a waterfall in Shangarh. That too when I had almost decided to leave the village and move to some other place for the next stop of my journey. So then I decided to stay a day extra and explore Barshangarh waterfall of Shangarh.

This visit was just more of a nostalgic experience and an escape from Delhi’s hustle bustle. I had spent nearly a year and a half without any travel due to lockdown and this was the first journey out of Delhi. So, I had no itinerary, as usual I never have any itinerary. I am more of an unplanned traveler. Had I known earlier that there was a waterfall in Shangarh; I would have explored it the very first day of my arrival at the village. Alas! It didn’t work out the way it should have been. I mean think about it. You visit the same place twice and still miss out the most important thing to do. I had written a blog on things to do in Shangarh and if you read it, you will find I hadn’t mentioned if Shangarh had a waterfall since I myself wasn’t even aware of this.

The waterfall is located nearly 3.5km away from Shangarh. You can take a walk or also can take your vehicle there. The hike/ride starts from the road passing by the meadows or Devta Ground. Then it passes through Goshati and Darari villages. It almost feels like passing through thick conifer forest from the Hollywood movies.

Dogs and Thick Forest – A Journey to Barshangarh Waterfall of Shangarh

After spending two days at Snow Line Homestay and another two days at Café Stories n More homestay, I looked for another place to stay. As it was raining every day and I wasn’t able to move out of the village considering it was peak of monsoon and landslides; I was left with no other option but to extend my stay day by day. I was supposed to stay there for two or three days. And I ended up spending six nights. Though there were several homestays around but I was looking for something in my budget. I called a few but couldn’t get something reasonable

I came to Mountain View Café which is located at a short distance out of the village. This is a small café run by Negi bhai who failed to recognize me when I told him that I came in Oct 2019. Though I am sure this time he had saved my number. I sat there and met a lady who was also staying in Shangarh. She was working on her laptop and I asked her if I could sit since the other table was occupied. The café had only two tables with four pair of chairs, i.e. one on each. She offered me cigarettes which I politely declined. I talked a lot about traveling. I asked Negi bhai if I could get a place to stay. There was a homestay which was under construction next to his café. He assured me to be relaxed and he would arrange.

So, he got me a place which was not a homestay but a room in someone’s home. And told me the way to the waterfall. The next day I packed my bag (water bottle, speaker, power bank, camera, etc.) and left the room for Barshangarh Waterfall of Shangarh. The terrain was full of mud (due to rain). This whole path had no sign board. You only have to use your brain and ask people on the way to reach the waterfall of Shangarh. And that’s what I did every now and then.

The best thing about trekking through such places is the dogs you meet on the way. The pahadi dogs (mountain dogs). These cuties will follow you anywhere you go and will give you full company. Though I was walking alone to the waterfall, I was accompanied by not one, not two but three dogs which kept on following me till the last. At times, it may look scary, especially if you aren’t a dog person. Since I am an animal lover, and I just can’t avoid this unconditional love, I always get followed by these animals. I had some really amazing shots with these dogs which followed me in the quest of exploring Barshangarh Waterfall of Shangarh.

I almost felt like Simba being followed, guided and escorted by my guardians. Imagine this, I am walking and then there is a dog walking in front of me, one dog is walking on left of me and one on the right of me. Trust me; I was enjoying this situation more than the waterfall for which I had come here. There were many places on the way, where I took a halt and did a short chit chat with my guardians. We clicked numerous photographs and even shared biscuits. It’s such an experience to trek with the dogs when you don’t see any human as far as you look.

And I couldn’t reach Barshangarh Waterfall

Yes, that’s right. I couldn’t reach the waterfall.  I was told that I had to cross three water cascades and three puliya (small bridges) and then I will see a giant tree with iron nails on it and past that was the waterfall of Shangarh. I had reached the last cascade which itself looked like a waterfall. However by that time, it had started raining and also started to get late. I had walked almost 3km away from the main village crossing several points on the way. There was no home, no shop, no cafes. It was just a desolated area and almost looked like the jungles of Virginia from the movie Wrong Turn. I don’t remember if I had cellular network or not.

The clouds had covered the sky and turned the day light into dark. Soon it turned foggy, cutting the visibility to certain extent. I started walking fast back to the village since I was drenched and I had camera, phone, speaker, etc. in my bag which wasn’t waterproof. Noticing the weather, returning to the village was the only option I had. Moreover, there wasn’t anything on the way like a home or a shop or anything where I could stand and save myself from rain. So I sat under the canopy of a giant tree and somehow managed to avoid getting drenched.

When the rainfall got a little slower, I made my way back to the village. This time, the terrain was all muddy and marshy. I had my boots totally covered with mud as if I had come from some mud fight. When I reached the café, I had almost gotten dark. This was my last day in the village as it was my 6^th day. I was planning to go Haldwani from there but considering the weather conditions, road blocks and landslides due to monsoon, I changed my mind of going there. Since I couldn’t explore the waterfall of Shangarh this time too, I am sure to go there again and then explore it.