During the last leg of our Kerala trip in April, we were staying at Monkey Tribe Hostel in Munnar. The hostel had mentioned a hidden waterfall trek in the morning, but we missed the group because breakfast took longer than expected. So four of us decided to go on our own.

The trek was supposed to be around three kilometers round trip. It does not sound like much until you realize that most of it is downhill while going and uphill while coming back. Even though Munnar is a hill station, the afternoon sun was surprisingly strong.

The walk itself was beautiful. We passed through jungle trails, stopped every few minutes to catch our breath, and kept asking each other, "How much further can this waterfall be?" We were tired, but the conversations made the journey fun. Looking back, the walk became the best part of the day.

The hostel had given directions, but somewhere along the route there was a small yellow board that we completely missed. We were busy talking and walking downhill. Instead of taking the right turn, we kept going straight.

Soon the trees opened up and we reached a rocky riverbed with large stones and small pools of water trapped between them. We assumed the waterfall had to be somewhere ahead. So we continued climbing over rocks, helping each other across difficult sections, especially one friend who was having a hard time with the terrain. Every few minutes we would say, "It must be just ahead."

It never was.

The pools we found had stagnant water, and none of us wanted to jump in. I even walked ahead alone for a while to search for the waterfall. What I found instead was a shed snake skin on the rocks. We looked at each other and without saying much, turned around and started walking back.

Since we were sweating in the heat, we filled a bottle with water from one of the pools and poured it over ourselves. Not exactly a waterfall bath, but it worked. We spent the next few minutes laughing, dancing, and pretending that this was the plan all along.

Then, on the way back, we finally saw the small yellow board.

The waterfall was actually behind us the whole time.

By then we were too tired to continue. We could see it from a distance and honestly that was enough. The climb back to the hostel took almost one and a half hours and felt much harder than the trek down.

One final surprise waited for us. Deep in the jungle we found a small house with an overflowing water tank. A pipe was spraying water into the tank, and after debating for about ten seconds, we borrowed the stream for a quick shower. It was probably the most refreshing moment of the day.

We returned sunburnt, exhausted, and incredibly hungry. We never reached the hidden waterfall, but somehow that made the story better.