different varieties of "Caladiums "Brandywine" in our garden

That's snowy enjoying the green surroundings

Hike at Hirve Waterfalls - Goa

The amazing scenic waterfalls at Hirve- Valpoi

This was an unexpected hike to one of the most amazing scenic waterfalls ever. It was a Sunday morning and Me and my friends were to go to explore the village of Valpoi, famous for its temples and rock art. A guide was to accompany us. Our first destination turned out to be Hirve at Valpoi.

That's the gang all set for the hike

As we entered the quite village with lush green beauty, I was taken back at the site of 16 waterfalls all packed in tight into a small viewing area that could be seen from the foot of the hill. That was the time I realised my friends had arranged a hiking trip to the waterfalls. The Monsoons being in full swing in Goa, the waterfalls looked amazing.

in the village of Hirve, backdrop you can see the waterfalls

farmers in the fields

The lush green village

The village houses

We started our hike around 12 noon.

All set to move up that hill

and the journey up begins

It was a long trail up, through the fields, slippery rocks, small streams, through shrubs, veils, along a distance of almost 1.5 kilometers up the hill.

One of the many little water stream we had to cross on up way to the waterfalls

Another stream

I was almost exhausted by the time I reached the first waterfall and almost wanted to come back home from there. But when the guide said this will be all over by the time you reach the water fall. So continuing my journey up the hill, I could see the houses down in the village like tiny ants.

The view of the village from the top of the hill

The view of the village from the top of the hill

It was raining heavily, but the sweat was still dripping down. As we moved upwards in the arms of mother nature, it seemed lovely. But it was a little difficult for me as I was not prepared for it, climbing this steep mountain with just slippers was turning out to be hard for me.

Ah I did not realize I even had a smile on my face as I hiked

But the lush green beauty, the exotic plants and trees, leaches and worms on the trees, the chirping of birds, the little reptiles crawling and the gushing sound of the waterfall ahead kept me moving.

The hairy worms

the hairy worms, lucky none of us got stung by them

I did take a break for 10 minutes in between and then began my climb.

Time for rest/refreshments

Recharging the energy in my legs

Time for refreshments

As this waterfall was not much known to people, there was not much crowd compared to the other waters fall that I had visited and that was proving to be an added advantage.

That was the toughest stretch of the track

that the tangled vine tunnel

Can you spot the person in green, Ya am lost there somewhere

We finally reached at the 1st water fall, it was spectacular, just looked like milk gushing down the rocks. But I had made up my mind that I won’t have bath there, so I restrained from having bath at the first waterfall. It was a great coincidence to see my name "Rohan" painted in yellow on one of the rocks up the waterfall, though it was not to clear as the waterfall was gushing with water. There was a little temple of Sai Baba built there at the foot of the water fall.

The Sai Baba temple


The first waterfall


The first water fall


Wonderful site of water trickling down the rocks


Spot the word "Rohan" in yellow paint on the rocks



Thats the Second waterfall


That's the second waterfall

After spending 1/2 hour there and getting refreshed, we started moving to the next waterfall. Now this was turning out to be more difficult as with the rain, it was getting slippery but none of us had a fall.

Nature at its best

It was fun as we moved in a group, Some were yelling, some were teasing, some were swearing that they would never come back and I had started to enjoy it. The second waterfall was also a very beautiful one. When we reached here, it had stopped raining and there was nice bright sunshine and the colours of rainbow could be seen in the little droplets splashing up the waterfall but in a few minutes it started raining again. So we started to move towards the third waterfall. This was a nicer waterfall and we could actually go up and sit among the rocks there. Most of my friends started having a bath there. I could not control myself, so I finally joined the wagon. It was soooooo very cold and to add to this it was raining nonstop. It was almost 3 pm and we could not open our lunch as it was raining.

Enjoying at the third waterfall


Enjoying at the waterfalls


Enjoying at the waterfalls

the rocks all along the hill

I could not bear the hunger, so I started with a veggie salad meal, I started with cabbage and cucumbers. I was happy no one clicked photos of me then, as it was a site to be watched as I was trembling with the cold water in the waterfall and it was raining continuously and I was with a bowl full of salad munching. We could not click much photos fearing that our cameras could be spoiled but with the rain, but we did get some splendid pictures. As the rain stopped he had our lunch which cooked and brought by our friend. It was vegetable fried rice, chicken masala gravy, chicken roast and salad ofcourse (most of which was eaten by me earlier).

So after cleaning the vessels, we headed back home. On our way back it did not rain much but it was very slippery. We visited each of the other two waterfalls which we had visited earlier and I had a little bath at each of these to refresh me. We did find the carcass of a wild boar on the way down.

So finally we reached back down to the village, the rain had stopped now and I preferred to sit down in the fields and look back at the amazing site of all those
waterfalls, all big and small, 16 in number. We had a hot tea served at one of the home of a family there. It was exhausting, but it was amazing experience at these amazing scenic waterfalls.
Ill be back there someday :-)

If you a hiking enthusiast, do visit the Hirve waterfalls at Valpoi - Goa

The princess of the village shielding herself from the rains

Time to rest my tired legs


Picture of some plants that I felt matched my t'shirt :-)

baga beach

Baga Beach

Baga once used to be a very quite fishing village. It is situated to the northern end of the Calangute beach. But today with the boom in Tourism, It happens to be one of the most crowded and frequented beach in Goa. All along the coast baga is lined with beach umbrellas and beach beds with foreign tourists sun bathing. You can find lots of water sports here. Compared to the Calangute beach, Baga beach has a more interesting landscape. Anjuna is the next beach after Baga. In baga one can see the meeting of the riven and the sea. It has lots of beach shacks all along the beach. Baga is famous for its night life as the world famous discotheque " Titos" is situated here.

A fisherman casting his net in the Baga river

A group of tourists having an early morning exercise at the Baga

Vagator Beach

Vagator Beach

Vagator is rocky beach. It is located amongst a huge cover of palm trees. One can see the Chapora fort from the vagator beach. It is one of the very famous beaches of Goa. It has a very busy night life here with a lot of beach parties. The foreign tourists are dominant here and one can find good accommodation, restaurants and facilities like internet and banking are readily available. It is very close to the Anjuna beach where the flee market is organised. It basically is a fishing village.

A majestic view of the vagator beach Goa, from the chapora fort

A view of the Ozran beach from the top of Vagator, Goa

A foreigner parasailing from the hill top at Vagator, Goa

A view of the vagator beach, Goa

Ashwem beach

Ashwem Beach

Ashwem beach is a very beautiful beach. Yet another name on the list of remote beaches of Goa is the "Ashwem Beach". Its also a little rocky beach. Goan famiies go to Ashvem beach for having their picnics. To the north of Ashwem beach lies the Mandrem Beach and down south is the Morjim beach. This beach has a number of beach shack. It also does have some good accommodation in the form of little resorts. But the most ideal accommodation here is the beach huts made of palm leaves.

Ashwem beach is also the nesting place for the olive ridley turtle which is a rare species. The nesting season is between September to February which also happens to be the peak tourist season of Goa. This beach happens to be my personal favorite, as its situated away from the hustle and bustel, and a great place to relax.

That's myself at the beautiful Ashwem beach

A spectacular sunset at the Ashwem beach

[ click here for more on the ashvem beach]