After touring the temples, we went to see the other places in Khajuraho, most prominent among them being Raneh Falls, called the mini Grand Canyon and also the Niagara Falls of India. These are approximately 20 km northeast of Khajuraho and the name Raneh comes from the term "rain."
Ken River encompasses the Panna National Park and Raneh Waterfall is located exactly where this Park starts
Within no time we reached the Panna National Park and the Ken Gharial Sanctuary reserve forest. we had to take a forest pass, a ticket for our car and we were asked to pay for a designated forest guide, which is compulsory for all
The reserve forest has no tigers or leopards but many blue bulls, deer, monkeys, peacocks, and jackals. There was plenty of greenery with varying shades of green, which was of course, very pleasant to the eyes, and there was a small canteen and washrooms.
As we went in, suddenly we heard a roaring sound and were spellbound by the sight in front of us; we saw huge multicolored canyons amidst which a myriad of waterfalls, both small and large, gushed and danced merrily.
It is said that during the rainy season there are so many waterfalls that one cannot even count them and during the dry summer and winter months, when the waterfalls decrease in number, the canyons, which were created millions of years ago from molten lava erupting from volcanic activities become clearly visible.
The Ken river runs through a narrow gorge of these igneous rocks and forms a 5 km long and approximately 30-meter-deep canyon .These rocks are mainly of pink granite, green and yellow dolomite, red jasper, black basalt, and brown quartz.
According to our guide, Raneh Falls is the only place in Asia that has all five types of igneous rocks in one place. It also contains different minerals like zinc, copper, iron and lead. I thought, "Thank God luckily it is a reserved forest area and so everything is safe as mining is strictly not allowed
The best time to visit is February and March; however, Raneh Falls is worth visiting in both monsoon and non-monsoon seasons
The Raneh Falls presented a magnificent and scenic picture with the different colored rocks surrounding us, contrasted by the green pristine forest spread around. as there were few people when we went, we felt as if we were in a natural paradise all by ourselves
The Ken River is a prominent river in India, as an alligator national park has been set up along its banks. The climate here is very suitable for both alligators and crocodiles, though alligators are not native to the Ken River. The falls look more beautiful in the rainy season when the multicolored rocks glisten and shine, trying to compete for attention with the mighty Ken River.
Panna National Park remains closed during the rainy season, as it is the breeding season for most animals, and it is worth noting that Raneh Fall is closed for visitors on every Wednesday evening due to the forest department.
After seeing Raneh Falls, about which even people who visit Khajuraho don’t seem to know, I felt sad that we are not able to project this beautiful falls as a tourist spot. Having visited and enjoyed the Niagara falls from both US and Canadian sides, I felt we can definitely call this a mini Niagara of India
We next visited the Pandav falls in the Panna district, which were close to the Raneh falls and 35 km from Khajuraho
Pandav Falls is 30 meters high and located on a tributary of the Ken River. The falls are named after the legendary Pandava brothers of the Mahabharata, who supposedly visited this area. Caves and shrines that commemorate this legend can be seen around the pool below.
As our mythology says, the Pandavas, Rama, Seetha, Lakshmana, and sage Sankaracharya have toured almost the entire country evident by the traces they have left behind them; we see these when we travel and visit those places after so many hundreds of years
I always wonder whether they had special powers and flew in the air; otherwise, how could they travel such long distances in those primitive times without any mode of transport except maybe horses?
Once we got down from our car, we realized that we had to climb down around 200 to 250 rough steps to visit the caves. I was hesitant to descend, as I knew what goes down has to come up again, ha ha! But our driver insisted that we visit it, as it is a very beautiful and serene place
We came to a spot where the water was gushing down the falls; when we started, it was quite hot, but as we climbed down the rough steps, the temperature kept getting cooler. By the time we reached the bottom, I felt I had come to a hill station; we could hear a lot of birds chirping sweetly as if they were welcoming us
We found a bowl-shaped pond and few old caves to one side; the pond had many fish swimming merrily and few lazy turtles and the water was said to potable and quite tasty, as it was fresh
We saw a few families having a picnic lunch there. There were monkeys, which always make me instinctively clutch my handbag tightly
We came across a few caves that did not seem to have gotten any attention from the authorities. I gingerly stepped into one; it was musty with water trickling down from the ceiling and abundant number of bats were doing their usual hanging yoga
Hindu Mythology says that the Pandavas in Mahabharata spent a part of their agnathavas here during their exile. I felt it would have been a very convenient place for them with fresh water nearby
At the base of the falls we saw a lot of very old trees, some of which had bear claw and jaw marks indicating that bears visit this place to get the honey from the top of the trees and some of these trees apparently have medicinal value
Khajuraho is a place to definitely visit if one needs to open up their mind and understand the great Indian culture; it will in turn make us more broad-minded and receptive about the enigma of sexuality in Indian culture.
We have to visit Khajuraho not only for its unique temples but also for the beautiful hidden jewels, the Raneh waterfalls, and the Pandava caves and falls.
I was very happy that I could go to Khajuraho to quench my curiosity and also to see two awesome waterfalls
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