There's a Waterfall That Flows Upward in India

In the lush Western Ghats of India, nature puts on a spectacular show that appears to defy the laws of physics. During the height of the monsoon season, a particular cascade near Lonavala becomes a site of wonder. As water tumbles over the cliff's edge, it's met by ferocious winds funneled up the rock face. This powerful updraft catches the falling droplets and sends them billowing back upwards in a cloud of spray and mist, creating the mesmerizing illusion of a waterfall flowing in reverse.

The secret behind this phenomenon is a perfect marriage of weather and topography. The Indian monsoon generates consistently strong westerly winds that sweep in from the Arabian Sea. When this mass of air collides with the steep, vertical escarpments of the Ghats, it has nowhere to go but up, creating an intense vertical wind current. The force of this updraft becomes strong enough to overcome the gravitational pull on the relatively low volume of water, pushing it back over the precipice. This natural spectacle is a vivid demonstration of how local geography can dramatically alter and interact with large-scale weather patterns, turning a simple stream into a breathtaking optical illusion.