Sadu Chiru Fall is more popularly known as Leimaram Fall because of its closeness to Leimaram in the Bishnupur District of Manipur. But the certified name for the waterfall is Sadu Chiru. The local name is derived from the Sadhu Chiru Hills, after which the village is also named after. The waterfall was manually enlarged and brought to the present state by the hard work of Sadu Chiru village men and women and thus, it is not befitting to give any other name other than Sadhu Chiru Waterfall. It is around 29km from Imphal and fall under the Senapati District.
Sadu Chiru Waterfall is no doubt the most popular waterfall in Manipur. In a state surrounded by mountains, one would expect lots of waterfalls like the ones in Meghalaya and Sikkim, but honestly there are not many waterfalls in Manipur. Manipur has poor and in some cases no road facilities to most remote parts of the state. The insurgency problems surface too often, that only a handful of tourists visit the state. Among all the North-East states Manipur is the least explored, you’ll hardly see any foreign tourists, except for a few who visit for official purposes. There’s a lot to tap from tourism, but with the Armed Forces Special Power Act still imposed and many militants groups lurking in the forest, especially along the Indo-Myanmar border, tourists don’t feel safe visiting the state.
Leimaram in that sense is safe and has a road running from Imphal right up to 300m at the base of the fall. The drive from Imphal to Sadu Chiru Village was pleasant, except for a brief deviation from the main road, National Highway 150 is one of the best highways in the state. Imphal is often referred as the ‘Jewel of India’, after the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru gave it the title during his visit to the state. The Imphal valley is surrounded by green hills on all sides. Sadu Chiru Waterfall is at this precise point where the hills roll down into the valley.
After a few minutes drive from Imphal city, the plain was dotted with yellow stalks of harvested rice, only intercepted by small water bodies like lakes. It is not long before you begin to see the hills. Further inward from the main road the road was cracked in many spots. The road began to climb a slope and steadily the climb became more prominent. The green hills were very close now. The road ran through a local checkpoint at Sadu Chiru Village and ended blindly on a small leveled parking lot with makeshift shops on one side. A small road led into a dense forest with only the faint sloshing sound of water. After buying an entry ticket for Rs.10 we rushed up to the waterfall. Reaching the fall was a good 5-10 minutes climb from the parking area.
The waterfall is 15m high and came cascading down from thick tropical forest. There are two more falls hidden beneath this green forest, but they are not open to public, perhaps because of the precarious and steep landscapes. Though not dominant, the waterfall was beautiful.
