18 August
THE Bontala Waterfall in the forests of Chin State’s Matupi offers an amazing vacation for holiday makers.
The waterfall has become popular among local and foreign trav-elers due to its promotion in the media.
The fragrance of pine trees floating in the air of Matupi, walking on the pebbles around the waterfall, along with monkeys, birds and wildlife in the forests, are attracting a wide range of visitors.
With seven falls, the Bontalar waterfall offers an impressive sight in a very scenic location. Each waterfall is about 60 ft high.
The name Bontalar comes from the local Matu ethnic language “Bung Tla”. It means flowing neat and tidy.
Camping at Bontalar
Road access to the falls has improved, and travelers need to walk about three miles from Matupi to reach the falls.
Previously, vacationers had to walk for some 15 miles to visit the waterfalls, while camping nearby for one or two days. Since 2013, the road has reached a point three miles from the waterfall.
Natural beehives in cliffs
Natural beehives in the cliffs around the Bontalar Waterfall are another impressive sight.
In the evening, visitors can see groups of monkeys from the forests vying with each other to grab pieces of beehives that are within their reach.
According to local residents, there once were some 1,000 beehives in the cliffs. But, today the number has fallen to below 500.
The Bontalar is at the peak of its beauty in the rainy season, with very large amounts of water flows down the falls.
The waterfalls attract large numbers of visitors in the summer.
But, its beauty in summer is not as magnificent as in the rainy season. Year by year, the water flowing over the falls has been decreasing in the summers. In the rainy season, there are few people who visit the falls due to natural barriers, such as possible landslides which can block the roads.
According to residents, the river provided large amounts of water year round until 2000. Now that there is less water in summer, local people blame land reclamation and deforestation along the river be-yond the waterfalls.
To save the Bontalar Wafertall, residents demanded strict law enforcement of deforestation in the area.Translated by GNLM
