The Jonha Falls (also called Gautamdhara Falls) is a

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...

located in

Ranchi district Ranchi district is the most populous district of Jharkhand state in eastern India. Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, is the district headquarters. It was established as a district in 1899. History Iron slag, potsherds and iron tools have been ...

in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...

Geography

Location

Jonha Falls is located at Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the district. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.

The falls

Situated at an edge of the Ranchi plateau, the Jonha Falls is an example of a hanging valley falls. The Gunga River hangs over its master stream, Raru River and forms the falls. One has to descend 722 steps to admire the surroundings. Water in the falls drops from a height of . The Jonha Falls is an example of a nick point caused by rejuvenation. Knick point, also called a nick point or simply nick, represents breaks in slopes in the longitudinal profile of a river caused by rejuvenation. The break in channel gradient allows water to fall vertically giving rise to a waterfall.

Culture

There is a tourist rest house which encloses a Buddhist shrine with a deity of Lord

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

. A temple and an ashram dedicated to Buddha was built atop Gautam Pahar by the sons of

Baldeo Das Birla Baldeo Das Birla was an Indian entrepreneur. He contributed to the establishment of the Medical College Calcutta, and also built the Laxminarayan Temple, Delhi, also known as ''Birla Mandir'', which was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1939. B ...

. A fair is organized in Jonha every Tuesday and Saturday.

Transport

The Jonha Falls is from Ranchi. It is approachable by both road and train. Jonha Station is just 1.5 km from the fall. For travel by road, one has to take the Ranchi-Purulia Road and after travelling for about one has to travel about off the main road.Sir John Houlton, ''Bihar, the Heart of India'', p. 144, Orient Longmans, 1949

References