Chitrakote Falls

The Widest Waterfall In India, On The Indravati River In Bastar · Chitrakote, Chhattisgarh

The widest waterfall in India, where the Indravati river drops about thirty metres over a horseshoe-shaped cliff in the Bastar region of southern Chhattisgarh, and often called the Niagara of India. In the monsoon it becomes a thunderous wall of brown water several hundred metres across; after the rains it separates into many clear streams, and small boats go out into the pool below. The falls are about forty kilometres from Jagdalpur, the district town, which is the base for a region known for its Adivasi cultures, tribal markets and the Bastar Dussehra, a festival that runs for about seventy-five days and has little to do with the Dussehra of the rest of India. Nearby are the Tirathgarh falls and Kanger Valley National Park, with the Kotumsar limestone cave. The honest context: parts of Bastar have long been affected by a Maoist insurgency, and some rural areas are unsafe. The falls, Jagdalpur and the main sights are on the established tourist route and see steady visitors. Stay on it, travel by day, and take local advice. The best months are just after the monsoon.

Chitrakote, Bastar District, Chitrakote, Chhattisgarh, 494442, India

NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED; confirm locally. SECURITY FIRST: parts of rural Bastar are affected by a Maoist insurgency, so travel by day on the main route and check current advice. The usual pattern: the falls are viewed in daylight, with the resort area open into the evening; boats run only when the flow allows, usually from about October; Kanger Valley and Kotumsar cave keep daytime hours and are typically closed in the monsoon, roughly June to October. THE TRAPS: arriving in the monsoon expecting boats, planning Kotumsar in the rains, and driving back to Jagdalpur after dark.

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