Amazing Falls in Asia

NOHKALIKAI FALLS (Meghalaya ,India)

Tucked away in the forgotten northeast corner of India (near its border with Bangladesh) sat this towering freefalling waterfall. It's not often that you get a waterfall this tall with pretty reliable flow, which says something about the fact that it was still flowing when we visited in November 2009 following a particularly weak monsoon season so a lot of falls in this area were really suffering from lower-than-usual flows. The climatic anomaly was despite its location in the Cherrapunji Hills which was said to have been one of the wettest places on earth thereby boosting its reputation. However, even despite its lower flow upon our visit, you can't deny its dramatic cliffside location while the color of the cliffs contrasting the bright blue pool at its base further added to both the mystery and allure of this falls.

 GINGA FALLS AND RYUSEI FALLS (Japan)

Affectionately referred to as the "husband and wife waterfall," this waterfall pairing immediately was memorable to Julie and I thanks to the grand scene of having two waterfalls tumble side by side split by a giant rock and backed by snowy mountains hinting at the wildness of Daisetsuzan's backcountry. Such tall and permanent waterfalls don't come like this often, especially when they came as a pairing, and it was easy for us to include this Japanese married couple on our list.

DETIAN/BAN GIOC WATERFALL(China, Vietnam)

Easily China's most picturesque waterfall, we could make a case for this also being Asia's most picturesque as well. If you combine the main multi-tiered falls with the neighboring Ban Gioc Waterfall in Vietnam, this could have been one of the largest (if not the largest) waterfalls in the country. But we thought it was the backdrop of ghostly karst mountains penetrating the often steamy and misty air that really have this falls the character and scenery that ultimately put this falls at the top of our Top 10 Best Asia Waterfalls List. In fact, it was pretty easy for Julie and I to lose ourselves in a combination of multicultural villages (there's a market where both Chinese and Vietnamese could be heard) and the subtropical karst scenery that was very reminiscent of the world famous Guilin. This waterfall could've easily cracked the World's Top 10 had we not come when the falls was at its lowest flow for the year in late April 2009. So if we already think this is the best Asian waterfall as is, what does that say about the falls if we had come closer to the end of the rainy season? We certainly hope to have that chance and see it the way it ought to be seen!