Koshmal Waterfalls – Hidden Treasure in Dangs
The Koshmal Village Story.
One day, we were out in Dangs. We were wandering lavishly on the roads with no place in mind.
My brother, Kunj then suggested that we go to a village, Koshmal. It was a remote village in Dangs. And supposedly, it was known to have the highest waterfall of Gujarat.
Why not? So we set out to reach there…
On the way to Koshmal (Also known as Kushmal.) Met this little puppy on the road, cute piece right?
Story to be continued. Due to lack of time, I’m pausing the post here. Will update soon whenever I get free time.
So I’ve finally updated this post after reading comments. Enjoy! (11th August, 2017)
Koshmal from Bird’s Eye View [Drone Shots]
My young brother, Kunj Dodiya, recently visited the place again and has published a joyous video of Koshmal Waterfalls and surrounding area. Link to video or watch it below.
Koshmal (Kusmal) History In Nutshell
First off, I’d like to put some aliases of this place on the table. It is known as:
- Koshmal (કોશમલ)
- Kushmal (કુશમલ)
- Kusmal (કુસ્મલ)
- Koshmad (કોશમદ)
All refer to the same place. For exact location of this place, please scroll down to the location section.
The waterfall located at this village is known as Bhigu Dhodh amongst local people.
There’s also a story related with this mountain. In Mr.Keyur Konkani’s words,
“Raxasi Bird Egg & Ram Laxman came and resolve this area’s problem.”
Yes its vague. If you happen to be at Koshmal and get to know the history more, please comment here.
Location Information and How to Reach
Koshmal is tricky to reach. As Mayur commented in comments, you may end up heading nowhere.
I certainly don’t want your trip to end up as treasure hunt! 😛
Please find Custom Map with detailed directions and waypoints to the village:
Directions above start from Point A: Waghai Town and end at E: Koshmal village.
Attention Please
To illustrate the directions in old style:
- Reach Waghai if coming from Vansda
- Pass through Waghai town and head towards Bhenskatri on SH 171
- After 5-8 mins of driving, Dungarda village will be sight. Cross the bridge on the river.
- Take right turn after crossing the river
- Continue straight now on. No turns needed
- After about 20 mins of ascend, you’ll reach to the village.
If you’re coming from Bhenskatri, reach till Dungarda village, and take left turn. (Of course, don’t cross the river.)
Please note that there could be other ways as well, above route is the route that I had taken.
Roads are top-notch, no need to worry.
Roads are smooth all the way to Koshmal.
About The Waterfall Location
Regret to say that I don’t have exact coordinates of the fall. You’ll need to ask any local villager for the entry point of trail.
It’s a 30 minutes walk from main road to the waterfall.
Take Help of Locals
When I reached to the village, I met with Janu Dada. He was en route to his rice fields and I asked him if he could lead us to the waterfall.
He happily agreed to.
My recommendation is take any local with you. Even though there’s clear trail to the waterfalls, it is highly possible that you won’t be able to make it to the falls alone.
Offer them some amount to guide you. The locals are very poor and this can be helpful income for them.
Distance Matrix
From | To | Distance in km / Approx. time in hr |
Waghai | Koshmal | 20 km / 45 mins |
Surat | Koshmal | 120 km / 2 hours 30 mins |
Valsad | Kushmal | 100 km / 2 hours |
Vansda | Koshmal | 35 km / 1 hour |
Saputara | Koshmal | 71 km // 2 hours |
Best Time
Monsoon, hands down.
July first week to September last week.
You’ll be amazed by the greenery and serenity this place offers.
We stopped at Koshmal Valley for this view. Rays piercing through monsoon clouds
What to See
Now, please note than Koshmal, isn’t a tourist place.
Koshmal is a typical Dang village (Undoubtedly with nature’s beauty). It’s not commercialized. Don’t expect any hotels or any other tourist facilities.
I, for one like serene places without any touch of modern civilization. I found Koshmal to be an excellent place for my taste and that’s the reason sharing it here. If you’re like me then pack your bags without a second thought. 🙂
The village, from here trail to waterfall starts
Coming back on what to see part:
- Vast mountain range
- Lush green landscapes
- Surreal sunset (If the sky is clear)
- Shiv Temple (On the way to Koshmal)
- Ram Mandir (Also on the way to Koshmal)
- Rice fields
- Adivasi lifestyle
- And of course, the waterfall
Nearby Places
- Mayadevi Temple
- Bhenskatri (A small town)
- Girafalls (The most popular waterfall of Gujarat)
- Waghai Botanical Garden
- Kilad Campsite
- Janki Van
- Vansda National Park
Food & Accommodation
Take food with you. As I mentioned earlier, this place is just a village and has no tourist setup.
Same goes for the accommodation.
You can stay at Padamdungari Campsite or Kilad Campsite.
An exhaustive list: Places to stay in Dang
A view point setup by North Dang Forest Department
About the Waterfall & Trekking
The waterfall, to me, indeed appeared to be the highest waterfall I have ever seen in Gujarat.
Janu Dada, my (psuedo) guide that day told me that reaching to base of waterfall is possible. (My brother, Kunj Dodiya had been to there. His experience was breathtaking.)
As the sun was about to set when we were there, we didn’t attempt it. But looking at the geography of the place, I thought that to be one hell of a trekking experience.
Check Dam built near waterfall.
Personal Tips
- Go to this place only if you like nature in its purest form
- Get out of the place before sunset
- Try to reach to the base of waterfall, it’ll be an extravagant trek
- The place can be covered in 2-3 hours (+3 if going to base)
- Take one local along with you
- Please don’t litter the place. Don’t be smartass like this artist.
- The village people live in extreme poverty. If you’re well off financially, take old clothes, toys etc with you and donate to them. The gift will make their day and their honest smile will make your day. 🙂
Donate if possible. This photo is from a trip to Kalam Dungar
Some More Visual Poetries
A few feet before water crashes
Protection railing put by forest department
No fence needed. This is to mark boundaries.
Kunj. Many of the photos are taken by him
Signing Off
I hope I’ve covered everything that you need to know to plan a trip to Koshmal.
If you liked this post, please share it with your circles or drop a comment down. I will be happy to hear your feedback.
Photos by either me or Kunj Dodiya. Taken on OnePlus X & Nikon D5300.
Sanket Patel
દર્પણ ભાઈ તમારો દરેક બ્લોગ એટલો વ્યવસ્થિત હોય છે કે એને વાંચ્યા પછી બીજું કઈ સર્ચ કરવાની જરૂર પડતી નથી .. ખુબ જ ઝીણવટ થી દરેક જગ્યા ની માહિતી હોય છે .. સાથે કોન્ટેક્ટ ડિટેઇલ હોય છે જે સૌથી ઉપયોગી થાય છે ..આમજ બ્લોગ લખતા રહેશો અને નેચર ને લગતી માહિતી આપતા રેહશો🙏🙏
Darpan
Hello Sanket Bhai,
Thanks a lot for the kind words!
Dharmesh Shah
Hello Mr. Darshan Dodiya ji,
Can you please share me your personal number on my mail…..
I really appreciate your guidelines,
I really eager to visit these Awasome places with my beloved friend’s crowd as suggested by you…..
Darpan
Hello, please send me an email by (https://darpan.blog/link-up/) and I will try to help the best I can. Although I have moved to USA now so not very familiar with the area.
Roshan Gangani
Hey,
it is possible to derive by two wheel like passion, splendor?
Darpan Dodiya
Of course, totally possible.
Gwynneth
Hi Darpan
Thankyou for sharing your information and beautiful photographs.
My friend and I will be visiting Northern India at the end of the year probably November which seems to be cooler 🙂 We are avoiding the Monsoon season like the plague however the Dangs appear to be at their best at this time!! Of course as visitors/tourists we want to see the “Big” sights like the Taj Mahal and the wonderful chaotic scenes which are the street of Delhi but it would be nice to just “BE in the moment” of tranquil nature just like you and your brother at this waterfall and meeting the locals.
Living in Australia we also have poverty of course – but I believe it is not at the soul wrenching level and depth that can be found in India – thanks of course to our national Health and Welfare system.
I find it interesting that your town has an abundance of Teachers as my friend and I both work in a school – not as qualified teachers but as qualified Education Assistants working with students that have a disability we assist the teachers deliver an individual education program for each student. There are 8 students aged 13-14 years in my classroom with one teacher and 2 Assistants. This ratio is excellent actually exceedingly generous which was not the case many years ago when I first started my work in schools. Thank you again for your blog and a little snap-shot into your life and home country. I very much enjoyed your blog as I felt it is was not aimed at the mass-commercial tourist but reached out to me as a person and not as a commodity.
Thankyou. :);)
Ali Tinwala
Beautiful waterfall. Ensure you visit here in showery season. else you will fill no any unique experience. Try not to go to bath here it may be unsafe. Numerous pitiful incidents occurred here and government has sufficiently set notice board to be alert. Tea, espresso and dry snack you can buy from stall available here. This is photographic area so take some decent snaps here. again if conceivable try to arrange your trip in rainy season.
Darpan Dodiya
Thanks for sharing the tips Mr Tinwala. You’re cent percent right: there’s no fun going to this place outside of monsoon period.. 🙂
Harsh
I know it’s a tad bit too late, but, awesome bro!
Darpan Dodiya
Thanks man 🙂
Shweta Udupi
Hi Darpan,
I stay in Navsari. Just chanced on your website and lo! Your articles are a treasure trove of travel information in and around Navsari. Just feel like getting in the car and start exploring The Dangs. Your travel blogs will surely be my first option on information when I plan to travel to Saputara. Keep up the good work. Good luck.
Darpan Dodiya
Hi Shweta,
Thanks a ton! 🙂
Happy to see the blog igniting the traveller mode. For next couple of months, I have some personal priority tasks. Once it is over, I will add plenty of more places here, for now the photos and content are resting in hard disk drive. Stay tuned!
chirag gohil
from past many days i visit your website and blog and they really good, i am introduce to you website when i am searching about Don hill station on google, and really worth to visit your website, you the best one explorer from south Gujarat and your website is best travel blog site as of now, keep this work continue, your Instagram profile is also really good, really great place to see , the natural beauty of south Gujarat and dang we so lucky live in south Gujarat with this natural treasure, really good job done by you and your friend, thank you fro introducing this place surly try to visit this place, your photos was amazing which is taken by you and kunj, good job,
Darpan Dodiya
Hi Chirag,
Thanks a ton for dropping by. Your comment is highly motivational for me. Yes you’re right there, we’re lucky to live in South Gujarat to enjoy the scenic landscapes.
Happy to see this blog helping adventurers like you. If you happen to visit any new place, please share its details with me. I will add it here and it could help more people.
Cheers!
Bhavya Gandhi
Very well described, Sir !!! Really superb clicks(Well done Kunj !!). It’s my pleasure to share.
Darpan Dodiya
Thank you very much Gandhi sir 🙂
Sharad Bahiram
Bahut achhi information mili dang district ke bare me i live in Maharashtra near by don hill station
I like travelling. Mostly in dang aapki information bahut kaam ayegi
Thanks Mr darpan
Darpan Dodiya
Aapka bahot dhanyavad. 🙂
Aapki comment mere liye motivational hai.
Mayur
Hi darpan
After reading your blog about koshmal we tried to went koshmal but we were not able to reach koshmal as we stuck around kalibel village and not found any way to reach koshmal.
With the help of locals we came to know that there are two ways to reach koshmal and we tried that but on the midway we just feel like treasure hunt!! So we came back without exploring koshmal
So can you please give more details how to reach and what to see etc… By replying and updating this blog
Waiting for your reply
Darpan Dodiya
Hey Mayur, sorry man.
That shouldn’t have happened to you. I got lazy and didn’t update the post. 🙁
I prepared a custom Google Map quickly with directions from Waghai. If you’re coming from Kalibel/Bhenskatri, you need to reach to Point B (Dungarda Village) first.
I’m having hard time figuring out exact location of Koshmal Falls and entry point to the trekking path. I tried Maps Satellite view but to no luck.
Please allow me some time. Photos taken from my phone might be geo-tagged. I will find them from my hard drive and try to get exact location.
Darpan Dodiya
Link to the Maps: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1AuBc5PnHdcqpfd6S_S4Fw9ZsMuE&usp=sharing
Darpan Dodiya
Hi, I have updated the post and covered almost everything. Please have a look.
Mayur
Thanks man…..
pragnesh pandya
Dear Darpan you shared a very vary useful information for nature lovers. Really, appreciated your efforts.
Should our group go at kosmal waterfall in this season (July month). Is there stay facility nearby ? Please share more information about the new place. Which one is best waterfall to visit giramal or kosmal ?
Once again thank you for information for all your posts.
Darpan Dodiya
Hello Mr Pragnesh,
Thanks a lot for your kind words. Means a lot to me. 🙂
I will update the current post about Koshmal to include more information. Please hold on for a while. I will update you once it’s updated.
It’s difficult to get to the base of Girmal. (Note that it’s difficult, not impossible.)
Whereas, trekking to the base of Koshmal is a wonderful experience. You can bath as well.
Girmal is known place so it will have some shacks for food and all.
Koshmal, is just a remote village. Expect no tourist infrastructure.
Also, you’ll hardly see any crowd in Koshmal.
Based on above comparison, you can now decide yourself. 🙂
pragnesh.j.pandya
Thanks for your prompt reply
I surely share information on Facebook.
Darpan Dodiya
Appreciate it. 🙂
Darpan Dodiya
One kind request,
If you liked the information here, would you please mind to share it across. Maybe on Facebook or WhatsApp or anywhere you feel like.
I’d like to see more and more travelers exploring the Dang region.
Darpan Dodiya
Hello Mr Pragnesh, I have updated the post. Please have a look.
Akash
cover photo looks awesome!
waiting for full post darpan bhai..
Darpan Dodiya
Avse avse.. 🙂
Keyur Konkani
give me your email id
I have it
Darpan Dodiya
Sure, its [email protected]