Vajrai Waterfalls near Kaas, Satara

I saw a news update on a Marathi channel about this waterfall around 2 years ago and it claimed that this waterfall could be India’s tallest waterfall. This was not a well-known waterfall and it is a bit tricky to reach to it. The main waterfall comprises of three layers and the new item said that if the three layers were taken together, it could rival Jog falls in height. The surprising part was this waterfall is very close to Kaas plateau which is extremely popular with visitors during the flowering season.

With a short trek, you can see the side view of the falls. But this means that we won’t be able to see the full three layers until the base. There is also a route to the bottom, but that requires a walk of around 3 hrs through rough terrain (guide required). Even for the side-view, i would recommend taking a guide (not expensive) unless you want an exploratory walk of your own.

Location of Vajrai waterfalls: Kaas lake is a little ahead of the main flowering area of Kaas. The parking on the other side of Kaas is next to the Kaas Lake. There is a small dam on the lake. This overflows and feed Vajrai Waterfalls. The dam is itself quite a popular picnic spot and you can find the usual crowds with Butta in their hands. You have to start your diversion from this point. The map below shows the section you can drive on and then a small walk will take you to the view of the falls. The first photo shows the location on the main road where you have to take the diversion to the left. There is a shop on the right, behind which is the path to the Kaas Lake. There is an old building on the left. This is the road you have to drive on.

This side-road is a kuchcha road, but can be managed in any car. Check out the vide i took on my return, to see the quality of the “off-road”. We took a guide from the shop – Jayaram. He was very good and patient. He had to be patient as we were with Advika (who was 7 months then) who had to be protected from the heavy wind and rain. This meant that our walk was slow. Also, every 10 ms required a photo session 🙂

We parked the car at a “junction” where there was a huge hill to the left. Then, we walked towards the valley to find an appropriate view point. The short walk (20 mins) was very interesting as heacy rain was on and off, but the wind was extreme. Look at what happened to a new umbrella!

Then, we came to the edge of a rock beyond which we couldn’t go any further. The view of the falls (and its sound) was amazing. Well worth the effort. Hopefully, i will do the trek to its base soon. You can also get a view of the falls from the other side. Look at the map below. From the marked village, you can see the falls. Also, you can get a guide from that village (or Jayaram himself) and walk the forest to the base of the falls. I have seen some pics of the full falls taken from the base and it is amazing. The last video is of the kaas lake/dam.