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Travel Tales from India and Abroad

Unseen Places in Andaman Islands: Wimberly Gunj Waterfalls

Posted on January 3, 2012

This is a guest post and photos by Inder of Gizmobhai. When they said they wanted to talk about unseen places at Andaman, how could I refuse?

 

The Waterfall
Wimberly Gunj Waterfalls

Most come to Andaman and Port Blair for its beaches. But few explore its hidden beauty in forests and fresh water bodies. Partly because none of Tour operators promote or conduct tours of such places as also the fact that these places have not been developed enough to promote tourism. This also amplifies the importance of these places and gives the requisite kick to the more adventurous types. One such place is the Waterfalls at Wimberly Gunj

Location: It is located near Bamboo flats near Port Blair and is reachable by both road and by sea through Ferry. The distance from Port Blair Airport to the place by road is about 30 kilometres as it takes a very circuitous route through some bad roads and is only preferred by those who have a mortal fear of travelling by sea. For other the much easier way is by Ferry from Chatham which is located in Port Blair.

How to reach there: From Port Blair Airport, take a right turn to reach Junglighat. At the Goal Ghar Junction, some 3-4 kilometres away, take a right turn and travel straight for about 7-8 kilometres. After crossing Haddo and Delanipur on the way, you reach a point where there is only one Right turn with a down slope. Catch that to reach the waterfront. Take the road bridge to reach Chatham which is a small Island with a Wood Factory and a shipping terminal for commercial ships and Ferry services to Bamboo Flats. At the end of the road is the Ferry Junction. You will need to buy a ticket for a four wheeler for Rs 50/- which you will be required to self drive and load onto the ferry. Individual tickets cost about Rs 20/- per head. The Ferry boat which can accommodate about 6-8 cars, 30 motorbikes and more than 100 people at a time is pretty big and fast and takes about 15 minutes to reach the other side.

The Ferry Ride & Beyond: The ferry ride gives you some amazing photo opportunities. The Ross Island can be clearly seen from the middle of the channel. You also get to see the city from the sea. Once you reach Bamboo Flats, take the road to the left and go straight for about five kilometres. Cross Wimberly Gunj Main Market and leave a large school and playground to your left. After about 500 metres of that, find a place to park your cars (there arenโ€™t much space available) and take the foot track on the right side of the road deep into the forest. At this juncture, I wish to admit that having a local guide becomes essential at this juncture.

 

Playing at the Waterfall
Playing at the Waterfall

The Destination: It is a waterfall located deep into the forest. The downstream of the same river is crossed twice on the way. The foot track is narrow and offers an amazing glimpse of deep forests and flora all around with a sense of real adventure. At the time of first crossing, one has to wade through the cold running water of the stream and there is also sufficient place to sit and rest. Second crossing comes pretty soon after that. After we reach the river stream for the third time, we have to then go up the stream through it wading through the ankle and sometimes knee deep water. The experience is absolutely thrilling and I bet most of us have never had the chance to do something like this. We went with our kids and my four year old son was just relishing the entire experience.

The trek finally culminates at the waterfall with adequate sitting area and a small lake formed deep enough to swim and play around. The freshness and the taste of the sweet running river water will take away all your tiredness and make you fully energetic again. A bottle of wine or beer along with good food can only make the experience once in a life time as it was for us.

 

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11 thoughts on “Unseen Places in Andaman Islands: Wimberly Gunj Waterfalls”

  1. Tushar says:
    January 3, 2012 at 8:51 am

    Woo HOooo This rewind memories of Goa Dudhsagar visit.
    A question: what would be approx. budget expense per day to tour Andhaman?

    Reply
  2. Tushar says:
    January 3, 2012 at 8:53 am

    Correction:
    What would be approx. budget expense per day to tour Andaman and Port Blair.

    Reply
  3. Gizmobhai says:
    January 3, 2012 at 11:27 am

    Hi Tushar, the biggest expense is Travel. if u can manage cheap tickets, rest will come easy. the trip to this particular place cost about 200 rupees for four of us excluding food and drinks. Do visit gizmobhai.com for more travails of Port Blair where we are currently located

    Reply
  4. Meena Menon says:
    January 3, 2012 at 12:09 pm

    At times i think that these treasures need to remain hidden… opening up tourism here may soon take away its charm

    Reply
    1. sanchita says:
      January 3, 2012 at 9:52 pm

      Meena, i agree. this particular place can perhaps never be developed for it is so difficult and tiring to reach. but such places do need to exist to satisfy the cravings of the more adventurous ones. we were lucky to be able to go there thanks to one local contact. other i think hardly anyone even in Andamans knew this place existed. Sanchita

      Reply
  5. Sanand R says:
    January 3, 2012 at 9:39 pm

    Happy New Year Mridula! Andamans brings back memories. Spent holidays there with my parents. Your post took me to those golden days of fun and of course, no worries!

    Reply
  6. Dinesh Ahuvaliya says:
    January 9, 2012 at 2:54 pm

    wow lively waterfall, most of the forest tourist place in India are not known…. I like your blog keep it up

    Reply
    1. sanchita says:
      January 24, 2012 at 2:17 pm

      Ya Dinesh, this is one of the loveliest place that we have been to in our last two years in Andamans. Recently we also went to Mt Harriett which is the highest mountain in South Andaman. Check out some of the pics and the write up on what they are on my travel blog, http://www.travelblog360.com
      The exact link to the blog is this
      http://www.travelblog360.com/blog/2012/01/24/andamans-islands-mt-harriett/

      Reply
  7. CHATUR MOTI says:
    February 7, 2012 at 9:08 pm

    please tell me the source of that wimberlyganj waterfall

    Reply
    1. sanchita says:
      February 8, 2012 at 7:32 am

      Did not get it? its a rivelut flowing thru the South Andamans through Mt Harriett Ranges.. the place that u see is the small waterbody created due to a waterfall…the fact that fresh water bodies are rare in Andamans makes this particualrly attractive.. the not so easy track to the site makes it even more worthwhile ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  8. Subash Bidare says:
    September 6, 2012 at 5:31 pm

    Wow, I missed this during my visit to Andaman’s last year. Was thinking I had the best time as we stayed in Barefoot, Havelock for a week – did explore the hills around Havelock, but sure have missed this. Well the positive side is – it makes a good reason to visit Andamans again ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply

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About Me

I am Mridula Dwivedi and I started this blog in 2005. It has been an amazing ride. I have visited 32 countries till date! I have worked with many tourism boards and prominent travel companies. My blog was featured on the BBC and the Guardian.

I did my Ph.D. from IIT Kanpur. I worked full time in academics till 2015! I quit my job as a professor, thinking I will take a break for one year, which turned into five.

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