Weekend Getaway from Chennai - Trek to TADA falls

TADA Falls is located near the place called TADA in Chittoor district.Tada is a relatively little known tourist destination in AP. It is known for its waterfall (Locally called as Ubbalamadugu Falls),hillocks and greenery. It is ideal for hiking, trekking and picnics. It is around 85 km from Chennai and 30 odd km from Srikalahasti.

(To reach the falls one must go through the village Varadaiahpalem, about 12 kilometres away, of which only 7 kilometers is paved. During Maha Shivaratri transport services are provided by APSRTC from the village Varadaiahpalem. SUVs or some vehicles with high ground clearance are best suited for the paved road. Even one can hire local auto and reach the forest check post.)

To reach the actual waterfall you should trek for around 3 km from forest check post.There is limited guidance, in the form of arrow marks, provided for the hike. It is accessible only by physically fit people.

After joining Cognizant Technology solutions, Chennai this is my first one day trek. Googled one day treks around Chennai and finally got to know that there are few trekking places near AP border. Chennai sub-urban train ply between Chennai central and Tada. So we opted for Chennai sub-urban train. We left our place at early morning 3AM and reached Chennai central by 4AM.

We took the very first local train to tada at 4:20AM and reached Tada by 6 AM.Its hardly 1:30 hr journey by local train. I suggest you to go as early as possible.We hired an auto to reach the trek base point which is approximately 20 km from Tada. Autowala charged 750 bucks for to and fro journey. We had our breakfast at Varadaiahpalem. From varadaiahpalem you need to take left deviation to reach the forest check post.From main road its around 7 km. No need to worry about the route. Clear directions are available to reach the base. We reached the check post at 8AM. As soon as you enter the forest you need to cross one small bridge. One can witness the crystal clear water throughout the journey. Initial trek was easy and almost flat.

Initial path of the trek






Small bridge on the way

After 1.5km you will find a stream beside Shiva temple. Make sure that you follow the stream untill you reach the top tier of the falls.Actually there are 2 tiers. Most of the people wont go for top tier because one has to trek tediously and need to cross the steep boulders.We enjoyed a lot in the lower tier pool. You can get many pools in the lower part of the falls. 

Crystal clear water streams












Masti time 




Modern babas 

Left the lower tier pool at 11am and reached top tier of the falls by 12pm.It was most difficult part of the trek. Trail is very steep. But after seeing the mighty TADA falls all our pain vanished....!!It is an amazing place to hangout with your best pals.Be careful..! because the top tier pool is very deep. According to the local ppl it is 40 feet deep.

Lower tier falls 




Upper tier falls








Deep Pool






We started descent by 2pm and reached the lower tier pool within 45mins.As soon as we reached the pool, started preparing Maggie.

After having Maggie again we got into pool and enjoyed thoroughly.Left the place by 4pm and reached Tada Station at 6pm.We took 6:30pm train and reached chennai at 8:30pm.

Difficulty level - 5/10.
trek distance - 7 km (up n down) from forest check post.
Total expense - 400 per head.