Important Waterfalls in India

• A waterfall is a place where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops in the course of a stream or river. Meltwater also falls over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
• Falls are common in the upper course of a river, where lakes spill into valleys in steep mountains, and along the steps of old plateaus.
• A plunge pool, also called a plunge basin or waterfall lake, is the deep hollow in the stream bed at the foot of a fall. The force of the falling water cuts it into the rock.
• Falls affect river life. They limit the spread of fish and aquatic invertebrates along a stream, so species and food chains differ above and below a fall, and some aquatic insects live only in the fall itself.

Waterfalls: Types and Formation

Types of Waterfalls

• Ledge: water falls vertically over a cliff, keeping partial contact with the bedrock.
• Cataract: a large, powerful waterfall.
• Horsetail: the falling water keeps some contact with the bedrock.
• Plunge: fast water drops vertically, losing contact with the rock surface.
• Block: water falls from a relatively wide stream or river.
• Multi-step: a series of falls of about the same size, each with its own sunken plunge pool.
• Segmented: distinctly separate flows form as the water falls.
• Cascade: water descends a series of rock steps.
• Punchbowl: water falls in a narrow stream, then spreads into a wider pool.
• Tiered: water drops in a series of distinct steps.
• Fan: water spreads sideways as it falls, while touching the bedrock.
• Moulin: a waterfall in a glacier.
• There is no standard way to measure a waterfall’s height or width. Many figures are estimates, so no ranking should be read from them alone.

How India’s Falls Arise

• Falls mark places where a river meets a sudden break in its slope. The diagram above shows the commonest case, hard rock over softer rock, which is undercut until the lip collapses and the fall retreats.
• Peninsular India has old, graded rivers, so most of its falls come from rejuvenation and superimposed drainage. The fluvial landforms concerned are knick points and hanging valleys.
  • Plateau steps: the Peninsula descends towards the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal in steps, each marked by falls. The Ranchi, Rewa and Rohtas plateau edges are examples.
  • Western Ghats scarp: short streams drop steeply west. Jog on the Sharavati is the best known.
  • Bundelkhand: the Betwa, Dhasan and Ken have cut steep gorges, rocky banks and falls.
  • Narmada rift: besides Dhuandhar and Kapildhara, it drops 12 m at both Mandhar and Dardi, and 8 m at Sahasradhara near Maheshwar.
• Himalaya: natural falls occur at several sites and are valuable as sites for hydroelectric power.
  • Power was generated at the Shivanasamudra falls from 1902.

Waterfalls of India

Key Facts

• Kunchikal Falls, at Nidagodu near Masthikatte in Shivamogga (Shimoga) district, Karnataka, is the highest waterfall in India on the commonly used total height. It is formed by the Varahi River.
• Vajrai Falls, about 27 km from Satara in the Sahyadris of Maharashtra, is called the highest in some lists, at about 560 m, which would put Kunchikal second.
• Dudhsagar Falls means “sea of milk”, and is formed by the Mandovi River.
• Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, is known as the city of waterfalls.
• Nohkalikai Falls, near Cherrapunji, one of the wettest places on Earth, is the tallest plunge waterfall in India.
• Agumbe, in the Western Ghats of Shivamogga district, is known as the Cherrapunji of South India.
• Nohsngithiang Falls, also called the Seven Sisters or Mawsmai Falls, is a seven-segmented fall 1 km south of Mawsmai village in East Khasi Hills district, Meghalaya.

• On this map, Rakim Kund belongs on the Rohtas plateau in Bihar, and Gokak in Belagavi district, Karnataka. “Kampty” is Kempty, and “Hogenkkal” is Hogenakkal.

Waterfalls by State

• Karnataka
  • Kunchikal Falls, Shivamogga: tiered.
  • Barkana Falls, Shivamogga: tiered.
  • Jog (Gersoppa) Falls, Shivamogga: listed as cascade, with a single main drop.
  • Magod Falls, Uttara Kannada: two tiers, segmented.
  • Hebbe Falls, Chikkamagaluru: two tiers.
  • Kalhatti Falls, Chikkamagaluru.
  • Keppa Falls, Uttara Kannada: fan type.
  • Koosalli Falls, Udupi: six tiers.
  • Dabbe Falls, Sagar, Shivamogga.
  • Shivanasamudra Falls, Chamarajanagar and Mandya: segmented.
  • Kudumari Falls, Udupi: horsetail.
  • Muthyala Maduvu Falls, Bengaluru Rural.
  • Gokak Falls, Belagavi: on the Ghataprabha.
  • Chunchanakatte Falls, Mysuru: on the Kaveri.
• Goa and Maharashtra
  • Dudhsagar Falls, Goa–Karnataka border: four tiers.
  • Vajrai Falls, Satara: three tiers, listed as the second tallest plunge.
  • Kune Falls, Pune: three tiers.
  • Thoseghar Falls, Satara: three tiers.
  • Pandavgad Falls, Thane: plunge.
• Keralam (Kerala)
  • Meenmutty Falls, Wayanad: three tiers, segmented.
  • Soochipara Falls, Wayanad: three tiers.
  • Athirappilly Falls, Thrissur: block and segmented.
  • Vazhachal Falls, Thrissur: shown on the map.
• Tamil Nadu
  • Thalaiyar Falls, Batlagundu, Dindigul: horsetail.
  • Agaya Gangai, Namakkal: one tier, segmented.
  • Coutrallam (Kutralam) Falls, Tenkasi: on the Chittar.
  • Kiliyur Falls, Yercaud: fan type.
  • Hogenakkal Falls, Dharmapuri: on the Cauvery.
• Andhra Pradesh
  • Talakona Falls, Chittoor region: listed as the highest in the State.
  • Duduma Falls, on the border of Koraput (Odisha) and the Visakhapatnam region of Andhra Pradesh: plunge.
• Odisha
  • Barehipani Falls, Mayurbhanj: two tiers.
  • Khandadhar Falls, Kendujhar and Sundargarh: horsetail.
  • Joranda Falls, Mayurbhanj: plunge.
• Meghalaya
  • Nohkalikai Falls, East Khasi Hills: tallest plunge.
  • Nohsngithiang Falls, East Khasi Hills: segmented.
  • Kynrem Falls, East Khasi Hills: three tiers.
  • Bishop Falls, East Khasi Hills: three tiers.
  • Beadon Falls, East Khasi Hills: three tiers, twin of Bishop Falls.
  • Sweet Falls, East Khasi Hills: horsetail.
  • Langshiang Falls, West Khasi Hills.
  • Elephant Falls, near Shillong: shown on the map.
• Mizoram: Vantawng Falls, Serchhip: two tiers.
• Jharkhand
  • Lodh Falls, Latehar: two tiers.
  • Lower Ghaghri Falls, Latehar: cascade.
  • Rajrappa Falls, Ramgarh: a Hindu pilgrimage centre.
  • Hundru Falls, Ranchi: segmented.
  • Johna Falls, Ranchi plateau edge.
• Bihar
  • Kakolat Falls, Nawada: cataract.
  • Bundla Falls, Kaimur.
  • Rakim Kund, Rohtas plateau.
• Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh
  • Bahuti Falls, Mauganj, in the Rewa region: two tiers, the tallest in Madhya Pradesh.
  • Chachai Falls, Rewa: on the Bihad, coming down from the Rewa Plateau.
  • Keoti Falls, Rewa: segmented.
  • Rajat Prapat, Narmadapuram (Hoshangabad): horsetail.
  • Gatha Falls, Panna.
  • Dhuandhar and Kapildhara, on the Narmada.
  • Tirathgarh (Teerathgarh) Falls, Bastar: listed as block and as horsetail.
  • Chitrakoot Falls, Bastar: on the Indravati.
• Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand
  • Palani Falls, Kullu: surge type.
  • Kempty Falls, near Mussoorie.
  • Sahastradhara, near Dehradun: shown on the map.
• Rajasthan: Chuliya Falls, on the Chambal.

Famous Waterfalls: Details

• Kunchikal Falls: cascades over rocky boulders, for a total of 455 m according to the World Waterfall Database.
• Athirappilly Falls: on the Chalakudy River in Thrissur district, rising in the upper Western Ghats at the entrance to the Sholayar ranges.
  • Described as the largest in Keralam, about 80 feet high, and nicknamed “the Niagara of India”.
  • A State-proposed hydroelectric dam above the falls was disputed from the 1990s through 2021. The Kerala State Electricity Board resolved on 19 March 2025 to remodel it as a tourism-friendly project, and critics say the risks are unchanged.
• Jog Falls: the highest untiered, single plunge in India, at 253 m, on the Sharavati in Shivamogga district.
  • Also called Gersoppa or Jogda Guindi. It is a famous tourist attraction, and a hydropower project stands near it.
• Dhuandhar: on the Narmada at Bheraghat, about 20 km from Jabalpur, dropping about 15 m into the Marble Rocks gorge.
• Rajrappa: where the Bhera (Bhairvi) joins the Damodar, from about 30 ft, in the old Hazaribagh district and now Ramgarh.
  • The Chhinnamasta Temple stands nearby, among impressive rock formations.
• Hundru: in Ranchi district, about 45 km from the city, with a 320-foot (98 m) drop on the Subarnarekha at the edge of the Ranchi Plateau. Its panoramic view draws many tourists.
• Hogenakkal: on the Cauvery in Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu, near the Karnataka border, often called the most beautiful fall of southern India.
  • Stanley Reservoir and Mettur Dam lie downstream.
• Kempty (Kamtee): in the Mussoorie hills, about 15 km from the town.
• Chitrakoot: near Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh, on the Indravati, 29 m high and also called the “Niagara of India”.
  • It falls across the full width of the river, looks majestic in the monsoon, and is a place of Hindu pilgrimage.
• Teerathgarh (Tirathgarh): at Kanger Ghati on the Kanger River, about 35 km south-west of Jagdalpur, plunging 91 m in a single drop. It is listed as the highest in Chhattisgarh.
• Rakim Kund: on the Gayghat River, a tributary of the Ausane, in Bihar, at the edge of the Rohtas Plateau, where a series of falls forms.
• Shivanasamudra (Cauvery Falls): long described as the second biggest fall of India, given as 101 m in older accounts.
  • It lies in Mandya district, with parks and gardens, and is surrounded by the Kaveri Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Kapildhara: on the Narmada in Madhya Pradesh, where it descends from the Amarkantak hill, about 8 km from the source.
  • It falls 100 feet on one count and 23 m on another. Kapil Rishi is believed to have meditated here.
• Gokak: on the Ghataprabha in Belagavi (Belgaum) district, 52 m high and horseshoe-shaped at the crest, resembling Niagara on a smaller scale. Power has long been generated nearby.
• Kutralam: on the Western Ghats, at about 167 m, in the Tirunelveli region, now Tenkasi district.
  • It has nine falls, and is nicknamed the “Spa of South India”, for the medicinal properties attributed to its water.
• Keoti: on the Mahana River, a tributary of the Tons, in Rewa district, at the edge of the Rewa Plateau. It is a knick point fall, 98 m high, segmented with a single drop.
• Johna (Gautamdhara): a hanging valley fall at the edge of the Ranchi Plateau, where the Gunga hangs over its master stream, the Raru. It drops 43 m, and is a knick point caused by rejuvenation.
• Chachai: in Rewa district on the Bihad River, a tributary of the Tons, coming down 130 m from the Rewa Plateau. It is a knick point caused by rejuvenation.
• Duduma (Dudma): a 157 m fall on the Machhkund River, on the Odisha border, supporting a large hydroelectric project.
  • It is an important place of pilgrimage, called Matsya Tirth.
• Dudhsagar: a four-tiered, 310 m fall on the Mandovi, in Goa near the Karnataka border, 60 km from Panaji. It is among the most spectacular sights of the monsoon.

Waterfalls of the World

Famous Waterfalls

• The world’s waterfalls include these, several of them on international borders.
• Iguazu Falls: on the Argentina–Brazil border, the largest waterfall system in the world.
• Niagara Falls: on the Canada–United States border, between Ontario and New York, a collective name for three falls.
• Victoria Falls: in southern Africa on the Zambezi, on the Zambia–Zimbabwe border. CNN listed it among the Seven Natural Wonders.
• Kaieteur Falls: in Guyana, twice as high as Victoria Falls and five times as high as Niagara.
• Angel Falls: the world’s highest uninterrupted waterfall, on the Churún River, a tributary of the Caroní, in Venezuela.
• Paulo Afonso Falls: a series on the São Francisco River in north-east Brazil.
• Livingstone Falls: a run of huge rapids on the lower Congo, below Malebo Pool, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• Boyoma (Stanley) Falls: seven cataracts on a curve of the Lualaba between Ubundu and Kisangani, in the former Orientale Province. Below them the Lualaba becomes the Congo.
• Tugela Falls: seasonal falls in the Drakensberg, in Royal Natal National Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
• Utigord Falls: in Norway, also called Ramnefjellsfossen or Utigardsfossen, unofficially listed as the third highest.
• Alexandra Falls: on the Hay River, Canada.
• Idaho Falls: on the Snake River, United States.
• International Falls: on the south bank of the Rainy River, Minnesota, United States.
• Browne Falls: above Doubtful Sound, in Fiordland National Park, New Zealand.

Highest Waterfalls

Artificial Waterfalls