There are two waterfalls located in Toiduchhori from the same water stream.The trail between the two waterfalls is through the water stream of the waterfall itself. During a dry season it would take approximately 30 minutes. But during a heavy rainy day it is a trail between 90-120 minutes. Also it is extremely risky to do compared to the dry season. This story is regarding our trekking of that dangerous trail. We headed towards the upper Toiduchhir waterfall from the lower one. Despite its high risk, it was one of the most beautiful and adventurous trails I’ve ever encountered till that day.
After enjoying the picture perfect waterfall lower Toiduchhori we were preparing to move to the next one, meaning the upper Toiduchhori waterfall which is practically around a 30 minutes of walking distance from this waterfall. There is a path available which is just adjacent to the waterfall. It is almost perpendicular (70-80 degrees) for climbing. But not difficult, only at several stages you have to be careful of the slippery stones.
After successfully reaching the top of the waterfall, a skittishness grabbed me instantly. Rainy season is beautiful in the mountains, but full of latent dangers. A sudden slip from such a place could only throw you to the bottom of the waterfall. This was the shortest path to reach the upper waterfall. Most of the stream (jhiri) were under water. At some places the flow of water was immense.
I was trekking barefoot. My sandals just betrayed me like always. I think during this particular trekking I slipped more than any other trekkings in my life. I found it extremely difficult to gripe the slippy stone surface using my naked feet. Also I had a couple of massive blisters on my foot from yesterday’s trekking near Risang waterfall.
Over the waterstream gallons after gallon of water were just rushing down there through the meandering stream. You must have to be circumspect before making every step. At the top of this mighty stream the whole team was waiting for me. Cause, after that the stream was more mightier than ever. It’s basically a narrow rift between two banks of the stream. Even during the dry season, you have to cogitate on such places. And as it’s the rainy season, all of us were full with jittery.
In the process of crossing and moving, at one place I slipped on the mighty stream. I just pushed my foot on the stream and that mighty flow just thrashed me down. I lost the grip from my team who were holding me. During this cataclysm our two tribal guides were with me falling down. My teammates had nothing to do in that situation. I could only see several pairs of legs standing beside the stream and everything was happening so fast that they couldn’t react at all.
But the two tribal boys (Polen and Monobikash) were excellent. Both of them responded lightning fast. They were literally running over the water, falling and standing again and again until they had safely pushed me to a safe place beside the stream. I could have been injured seriously, or that could have been my last expedition. Those two boys risked their life for me. That’s why I always prefer tribal people as an oracle in the mountains.
After crossing this place, further surprises were waiting for us. The waiting for the next move was even deadlier than the last few. I was totally enervated by the previous incident and sunken by jumpiness too. So did the other members. When one of us was talking about returning back, the other three were opposing him. When I was offering a retreat, the other three were opposing. Certainly we were confused at that point. It went for several minutes. Interestingly our poor Bengali guide was with us too. While writing this, I can easily remember his face. Similar to us, he also got appalled by the dangerous path ahead. He was silent like dead on that processing.
In the meantime, our two tribal guides were planning our next move. Both of them were nonchalant about returning back. The two laconic boys had only one thing to say “after crossing this, everything is simple, this is the last one”. They were fomenting us to push forward instead. The path we have climbed before was easy to climb up, but deadly difficult to climb down. These two expert lads know about it. It would be more risky to climb down that vertical trail. That’s why they were not interested in retreating. I like their attitude. Despite their young age they are superbly expert when it comes to mountains.
It’s basically a crevice. The water level was somewhere from knee to waist height. The flow of the water was extremely mighty. And the narrow passage had almost 15-20 feet tall walls at both sides. The width of the passage was 2-3 three feet. We didn’t see the sun for an hour. It felt like an advent raining. We were afraid of flash floods. Trust me, nothing could have been saved there if any flash flood occurred. But the Almighty was with us. Using their experience and judiciousness, the two tribal boys helped us to pass the deadly cranny one by one. Also our Bengali guide required a hand from them to pass the path. He was the most nervous person from the seven of us.
After crossing that uncanny place, we were exulted. Now the water level was higher (2-3 ft) but it was on flat land. So we didn’t face any difficulties for the rest of the 10 minutes of trekking. After that we reached the upper step of the Toiduchhori waterfall, which is known as Kasing waterfall to local people. I’ll write about that later and also how we four exuberant people returned to Dighinala.
How to go
To visit this Toiduchhori waterfall, please do not take any guide from the Dighinala. You don’t need this. At best you can take any local who will drop you near the Toidu Para, or at the Chappa Para village. From the Toidu para hire local people. Tribal people are arduous, fast responders and know the hills better than anyone else. It would be around 100/150 Taka per person (as of 2012). Just express your desire to those people, and they would do the rest by their own responsibility. It would be 6-7 hours of trekking for going and returning. This trail between the two waterfalls is extremely dangerous during the rainy season. If you want to avoid risk, do it in winter.
Toiduchhori,
Dighinala,
DIstrict: Khagrachhari,
Country: Bangladesh
Written by Lonely Traveler,
For blog alonelytraveler.com
Saturday, 14 July 2012
