I was planning for a trip to Tada/Ubbalamadugu falls (which is the actual name of tada falls) for a long time but it kept on postponding. At last on 17 th of December 2010 me and my friends decided to go to the Tada falls the next day, we did a lot of googling before we start but we didn't get the exact details of the place. That's the reason I am sharing my experience here. The experience we had was unique, thrilling, adventurous and exciting. Its a must go place for young guys staying in Chennai and not definitely for old people and young kids because you need to walk a long distance to reach the falls.
Me and my friends started at 7 in the morning. After hitting a heavy traffic in koyembedu, we started to drive towards the Nellore on NH-5. The highway is not proper as Chennai-Bangalore highway which most people are used too. This highway is very much incomplete all though they collect a toll of 36 rs for LMV. There are lot of diversions which killed our time and we were very hungry as the time was close to 9. After two hours of our journey we have just crossed 40 km. We stopped at a hotel for breakfast. The hotel was very good with a integrated CCD on to it and very economical too. After having a heavy break fast we started our drive back.
After traveling 80 km from our starting point we were about to reach tada. And just before reaching the tada we need to take a left turn and take the tirupathi/Kalahasti road. After driving for 10 - 12 kms we were into the Varadaiah Palem village and we asked the locals about the falls (which is actually not required because if you drive down the road there are big boards on either side of the road pointing towards the falls). So after taking a left turn again we traveled for 7 Km and we reached the forest department check post, this road is fairly decent. The entry is 50 per car, 50 per camera, 2 Rs per person. After that there is no road we traveled on a mud road for 3 kms but its very much drivable to Indian standards.Then we parked our car in the parking space, there is small shop over there and also some forest guard peoples are there so we felt very safe to park our car there and started walking. The adventure starts....
Before we start for the trip we had lot of concerns about security and conditions of the road, but having come this far and seeing peoples around the parking space made us to feel lighter. We started to walk towards the falls which is 3 km away from the parking space. On the way we can across royal tub, fish pond, mango pond which are places where people can get into the water.The pathway was very fare enough to walk with occasional downstream which can be crossed easily. After about 2 km of walking the pathway ends and we were not able to see the falls any near distance. All we could see was flowing stream of water through the rocks. And we decided to walk through it.
We felt very adventurous we are not sure what's ahead of us and there are hardly people around and the rocks are quite slippery and we weren't sure how long we can go like this and whether it will actually make us to reach the falls. Yet we started to move forward . And suddenly the climate changed and it was becoming darker at 12, if it rains the rocks are gonna slip more. So we decided to cover the place in a fast pace. Soon we heard sounds of guys making noises and we were joined by a very big gang of boys which made us feel relaxed as we had a bigger company. After climbing through 3 huge rocks and crossing the water stream with fear we had the view of the falls.The feeling we had was truely awesome. After enjoying on the rush of water from the falls for about an hour we started our journey back and it was easy as we know the distance we need to cross.finally,the odyssey ended after enjoying a bath in the small stream we reached our car.
How to reach Tada falls.
Drive in NH-5 towards nellore for 85 km.
Just before you reach Tada take a left turn and take Tirupathi/Kalahasti road.
Once you reach the Varadaiah Palem village look for a sign board or ask local people and take a left turn.
Drive for 7 km you will reach the forest department check post. Then continue driving for another 3 kms to reach the parking space.
Park your vehicles and walk 3 kms (approx) to reach the falls.
What to carry :
Food and water as there is no proper shops, good pair of trekking shoes/slippers as you need to walk on water. Mosquito and insects repellents.
Safety :
There are guards to look after the vehicles and if you go on a week ends you will definitely accompanied by many others.
Best time to travel :
Soon after the rains - November to Feb.
