Standing right under the NIAGARA FALLS – Maid Of The Mist!

The Niagara Falls is well-known as one of the largest waterfalls in the world. Until now, I had read about the Niagara Falls in my Geography books in school, and then maybe saw few videos on Niagara Falls in the National Geographic Channel. But boy! What an experience you have, when you actually stand right there and watch it live. The grandeur of the crystal clear waters and the gushing winds make this place a visual delight. It is a geological wonder indeed.

Journey from New York to Buffalo City

There’s an interesting story behind our travel from New York to Buffalo City. We were so focused on budget travel during our visit to New York, that we actually managed to save on accommodation charges for 2 consecutive nights. Our trip to Niagara Falls was planned in such a way that we would board the bus from New York after 10 PM -> sleep in the bus -> reach Niagara by morning -> then again board the bus from Niagara the same night, and reach New York by morning. So, officially, we slept 2 nights in the Greyhound buses.

This might sound a little hectic, but works best when you are on a tight schedule. Otherwise, you can always book a 1-day stay at Niagara in Buffalo City. There’s nothing much to explore in the city, other than the Niagara Falls.

Total travel duration : 8 hours approx.

Bus Fare (per passenger) : $50-55 approx.

Niagara Falls – Buffalo City

After boarding the bus from New York, we reached Buffalo city early in the morning. Needless to say, the bus journey was amazing with spectacular views on the way, especially in the wee hours of the morning. From the bus terminal, we took a local bus to the Niagara Falls USA Official Visitor Center. We dropped our luggage at the lockers, freshened up and headed straight to the Niagara Falls.

What a spectacular beauty of nature it is! No matter how many pictures I clicked – how many videos I recorded, nothing can ever do justice to the sheer grandeur of the Niagara Falls! You should definitely add this on your must-visit list in New York.

Check out this amazing capture of The Niagara Falls, from the Terrapin Point (Horse Shoe Falls).

Unique Features of Niagara

Terrapin Point Horseshoe Falls stats –

• • Crestline : 2500 ft / 762 m

• • Height : 167 ft / 51 m

• Summer daytime flow : 675,000 gal/sec / 2,555,150 l/sec

I was so thrilled with the overall experience that I published a series on the different shades of the grand Niagara Falls on Instagram. The pictures are unedited and raw. Yes, Niagara waters did project colours of different shades from different viewing points. Certain aspects of nature are simply beyond human understanding.

Check out the exciting series on #ColorsofNiagara here –

Shade No.1 : Greenish-Blue

Shade No.2 : Mix of Turquoise-Blue + Aqua-Blue

Shade No.3 : Sea-Green

Shade No.4 : Marine-Blue

Shade No.5 : Mix of Teal-Blue + Turquoise-Blue + Sky-Blue

Last post on the Instagram series :

Maid of the Mist – Niagara Falls

No visit to Niagara Falls can ever be complete, without going on an adventure trip called – Maid of the Mist. From the top viewing point, I could see tiny looking boats carrying people clad in either all-blue or all-red and head right under those grand waterfalls. It looked scary! It looked insane! But, something within me, kept pulling me towards it. I was so curious to know about it.

Why were people even willing to stand right under one of the largest waterfalls in the world? Isn’t it scary?

On reaching close to the entrance of the Maid of the Mist, I realised that the blue plastic raincoats were for people boarding the cruise from the American side – New York. The red ones were for people boarding from the Canada side. This was an added thrill! I was standing right at the border of the 2 countries – USA and Canada. It might seem very childish, but I had never been to border areas in any country that I travelled so far. Being able to stand right at the border and view another country, right at the other side, somehow gave me an all-time high!!

So, after purchasing tickets for the cruise trip, we were all set for the adventure ride. The funniest part was all the passengers stood out in the dock and I quickly grabbed the favourite spot of the dock – the bow (front tip of the ship). I was all set to cruise towards the menacing waterfalls head-on. We were given plastic raincoats and the cruise took us right below the gushing waters of the Niagara. As we inched closer and closer to the gigantic waterfalls, I couldn’t muster more courage to keep recording the video of my journey.

Take my words on this! You’ll get a HUGE adrenaline rush amidst the wind, waters (almost pouring all over you like rain), especially while the ship picks momentum and sails towards the waterfalls, with all its might. Especially for a slightly hydrophobic person like me, this marked another instance of my journey of gradually overcoming this fear of water.

All I can say is I had never felt this before! This memory will stay with me for a lifetime. 

A small token of advice –

Are you suffering from hydrophobia too? Let go off that fear today and move an inch closer to best aqua-experiences of a lifetime!

Hours of Operation : 9AM – 5PM (weekdays), 9AM – 6PM (weekends) in general.

Tickets : $19.25 (Adult), $11.20 (Child : 6-12 years)

Travel Tips

• • If you are on a budget travel and plan a trip to Niagara from New York by bus, try and book for Thursdays or Saturdays. The fares are mostly lowest on these days.

• • You don’t have to worry about your luggage and accommodation, if you are on a 1-day trip to Buffalo City from New York. You can drop your bags at the lockers available in the Niagara Falls USA Official Visitor Center. Additionally, you can get any travel related assistance, neatly maintained public restrooms, complimentary WiFi at the center. So you don’t have to bother about any accommodation booking in the Buffalo City.

• During winter, spring and fall, crowds tend to be less, hotel room rates drop and the unique change of seasons is well worth a visit.

After witnessing such wonders of nature, I feel like a mere speck on this planet. I think this comes close to what Heaven might look like!

Much Love,

Wander Bird