Menal (Falls & Temples)
Monsoon waterfall plunging into a gorge by 11th century temples
Best time to visit Menal (Falls & Temples)
- Jan, shoulder season
- Feb, shoulder season
- Mar, off-season
- Apr, best avoided
- May, best avoided
- Jun, best avoided
- Jul, peak season
- Aug, peak season
- Sep, peak season
- Oct, shoulder season
- Nov, shoulder season
- Dec, shoulder season
peak shoulder off-season avoid
- Go: July to September
- Shoulder: October to February, quieter, and the weather is less of a sure thing
- Skip: April to June
Menal (Falls & Temples) season by season
Winter December to February Shoulder
Dec-Feb the falls thin to a trickle, but the carved Mahanaleshwar temples and the empty gorge rim make a fine 12-25 °C highway stop.
Summer March to May Mixed, read the detail
Apr-Jun is 43 °C on the open Uparmal plateau, the gorge bone dry and the temple stones too hot to linger on; skip it entirely.
Monsoon June to September Prime time
Jul-Sep is the show: the Menali river leaps off the plateau in full spate with spray drifting over the shikharas; wet rock, so mind the rim.
Autumn October to November Shoulder
Oct usually keeps decent flow, washed green scrub and comfortable 20-32 °C days; by late Nov the river fades right back.
What Menal (Falls & Temples) is actually like
Local picnic crowds on monsoon Sundays, priests and langurs otherwise; sleep in Bundi or Chittorgarh, nothing stays here
Getting to Menal (Falls & Temples)
On the Chittorgarh-Kota highway: buses drop at the gate; Chittorgarh railhead about 70 km, Bundi 75 km
Practical ways in: trainroad
Trip facts
- How long to stay
- 1 day
- Budget
- Shoestring
- How busy
- Steady at its peak
- Solo travel
- Doable solo with some planning
- Altitude
- 507 m
- State
- Rajasthan
- Coordinates
- 25.0950, 75.1719
Common questions
When is the best time to visit Menal (Falls & Temples)?
July to September is peak season in Menal (Falls & Temples). October to February is shoulder season: thinner crowds, a bit more risk in the weather. Avoid April to June. Jul-Sep is the show: the Menali river leaps off the plateau in full spate with spray drifting over the shikharas; wet rock, so mind the rim.
How many days do you need in Menal (Falls & Temples)?
1 day is the usual stay. Local picnic crowds on monsoon Sundays, priests and langurs otherwise; sleep in Bundi or Chittorgarh, nothing stays here.
How do you get to Menal (Falls & Temples)?
On the Chittorgarh-Kota highway: buses drop at the gate; Chittorgarh railhead about 70 km, Bundi 75 km. Practical ways in: train and road.
Is Menal (Falls & Temples) expensive, and does it get crowded?
Shoestring by Indian travel standards, and it runs steady at the busiest time of year. Doable solo with some planning.
Nearby, and where to go next
-
Bhainsrorgarh
Rajasthan
A lived-in 1740s fort on a rock spur over the Chambal
50 km from Menal (Falls & Temples), roughly under an hour by road
-
Garadia Mahadev (Chambal Gorge)
Rajasthan
Horseshoe bend of the Chambal from a clifftop temple
70 km from Menal (Falls & Temples), roughly about 1 h by road
-
Chittorgarh
Rajasthan
India's largest hill fort, steeped in siege history
80 km from Menal (Falls & Temples), roughly about 2 h by road
-
Gandhi Sagar (Chambal)
Madhya Pradesh
Cheetah scrubland and fort country around a Chambal mega-lake
80 km from Menal (Falls & Temples), roughly about 2 h by road
-
Bundi
Rajasthan
Sleepy stepwell town, more fairytale than crowded
80 km from Menal (Falls & Temples), roughly about 2 h by road
-
Jhalawar (Gagron & Jhalrapatan)
Rajasthan
Water fort at Gagron and the temple town of Jhalrapatan
150 km from Menal (Falls & Temples), roughly about 3 h by road
-
Udaipur
Rajasthan
City of Lakes: palaces and postcard sunsets
210 km from Menal (Falls & Temples), roughly about 4 h by road
-
Ajmer
Rajasthan
Dargah of Moinuddin Chishti, qawwali nights and Ana Sagar
210 km from Menal (Falls & Temples), roughly about 4 h by road
More places to visit in Rajasthan
- Abhaneri (Chand Baori) Rajasthan
- Ajmer Rajasthan
- Alwar Rajasthan
- Balotra & Tilwara Rajasthan
- Banswara (Mahi Backwaters) Rajasthan
- Barmer Rajasthan
- Bhainsrorgarh Rajasthan
- Bhangarh & Ajabgarh Rajasthan
- Bharatpur (Keoladeo National Park) Rajasthan
- Bikaner Rajasthan
- Bundi Rajasthan
- Chittorgarh Rajasthan
- Deshnoke (Karni Mata Temple) Rajasthan
- Dungarpur Rajasthan
- Garadia Mahadev (Chambal Gorge) Rajasthan
- Hanumangarh (Bhatner & Kalibangan) Rajasthan
- Jaipur Rajasthan
- Jaisalmer Rajasthan
- Jawai Bandh (Bera) Rajasthan
- Jhalawar (Gagron & Jhalrapatan) Rajasthan
- Jodhpur Rajasthan
- Karauli Rajasthan
- Khejarla Rajasthan
- Khichan (Demoiselle Cranes) Rajasthan
- Kiradu Temples Rajasthan
- Kishangarh Rajasthan
- Kolayat Rajasthan
- Kumbhalgarh Rajasthan
- Mandawa (Shekhawati) Rajasthan
- Merta City Rajasthan
- Mount Abu Rajasthan
- Nagaur Rajasthan
- Nawalgarh (Shekhawati) Rajasthan
- Neemrana Rajasthan
- Osian (Osiyan) Rajasthan
- Pushkar Rajasthan
- Ranakpur Rajasthan
- Ranthambore Rajasthan
- Sariska Tiger Reserve Rajasthan
- Tal Chhapar Rajasthan