Rabandara and Phurlijharan Waterfalls, Kalahandi – A Day Trip
Rabandara Waterfalls
Rabandara Waterfalls lies about 15 km in the South East of Bhawanipatna, which is the District Headquarters of Kalahandi District in Odisha, India. The road trip from Bhawanipatna to Rabandhara Waterfalls is quite scenic for nature lover, specially the last 5 k.m. narrow motorable road to reach the waterfall which passes thru a small range of moist deciduous forest on either side. Visit this place after monsoon from September to February. There are 2 waterfalls at a distance of 750 meters here, known as “Sana Rabandara Waterfall” – the smaller waterfall and “Bada Rabandara Waterfall”- the bigger waterfall of the two. You can buy the tickets at the entry gates itself, no other special permit required.
There is no designated place as such for car parking but enough space available near the Bada Rabandara Waterfall to park your 4 wheelers on road side. This place also has a small Children’s Park and a Restaurant where you can have lunch or breakfast. Restaurant name is “Maa Manikeshwari Restaurant”. This restaurant is opened by Pajipata Vana Surakhya Samiti (VSS)., Lanjigarh Tehsil.
The Vana Surakhya Samiti is set by Odisha Forestry Sector Development Society (OFSDS) which is an autonomous organization under Forest & Environment Department, Govt. of Odisha for implementing forestry projects through the field establishment of forest department in the state. The goal is to improve the capacity of Forest department by collaborating with VSS and other self-help group for sustainable forest management and technological upgradation in forestry. The restaurant is a way of providing extra income to the VSS to strengthen them financially. You can order your lunch in advance as well here so that once you are done with site seeing, you can quickly have your family lunch without much of wait time for meals getting served. At the time of writing this, the restaurant contact number was #7008856526. So, this provides a nice option even for a family with small kids to come and visit.
There are warning signs of poisonous snakes dwelling in the vicinity of the jungle next to it. Please be mindful of your legs and the surrounding while venturing in to the jungle out of curiosity. There is a toilet available nearby in case you need a bio break.
This is quite a popular picnic spot. So, on New Year, it gets very crowded. On weekends, mostly in the afternoon you will see good crowd flocking in here. If you wish to click your photos with only Waterfall in the background and no crowd, reach early before afternoon or may be on weekdays for the photoshoot. This gets closed by 5:30-6pm IST.
Phurlijharan Waterfall
Phurlijharan Waterfall is about 16km away in the South West of Bhawanipatna. This waterfall lies in the Karlapat Wildlife Sanctuary and on the banks of Sagada River. This waterfall is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Kalahandi District and is well connected thru the State Highway 44 (SH 44).
Karlapat Wildlife Sanctuary is spread over 175 square km in Kalahandi district mostly covered with dry deciduous forest. It has rich Flora and Fauna with
- Mammals– Leopard, Sambar, Gaur, Barking Deer, Elephant, Pangolin, Malabar Giant Squirrel, Indian Wolf, Nilgai, Mouse Deer
- Birds – Horn Bills, Parrots, Peacock, Red Jungle Fowl etc.
This being in a wild life sanctuary, there are multiple signs of Elephant crossing zones along the SH 44. You can buy tickets at the counter near the gate and visit this waterfall. Phurlijharan gets closed by 5:00 pm IST. This place is quite well maintained now a days with stairs reaching down the waterfall. This helps even for any elderly person who can at least walk on stairs also to get down and view the falls from down. The height of the Phurlijharan waterfall is just about 30ft, so don’t get upset with the height, just sit for a while on the rock before the waterfall at its drop point, enjoy the surrounding with the cool breeze getting created due to the waterfall. There is a Children’s Park, and an Eco-Shop available. You might encounter some wildlife if you are lucky here mostly in the evening along the SH 44.
You can visit Phurlijharan Waterfall round the year but best time to visit is from October to February. Again, this place too gets crowded in the yearend like any other tourist places. So, take your conscious call while visiting this place with family on yearend. No food available nearby. So, carry something for incase you feel hungry to munch in.
How to visit
You can visit both the waterfalls Rabandara and Phurlijharan on same day with your own vehicle or rented one. Start in the morning, have breakfast and go to Rabandara Waterfalls around 11am. Spend some time good time 1-1.5 hours at both the small and big waterfalls at Rabandara and come back to the Maa Manikeshwari Restaurant to have lunch. Post lunch, you can also sit on the benches or promenade to waterfall for a while and then leave for the Phurlijharan waterfall by 2-2:30pm IST. Then you can spend time at Phurlijharan till 5pm and wrap up the trip.