Dhak-Bahiri, 11 Oct 2009

Bull shitting under the pretext of religious sentiments in India has reached alarming levels long ago and the amount of stink that has permeated the atmosphere is suffocatingly stinky!

Had a close encounter with the filthy stink yesterday on one of the very popular hiking trails in Sahyadri – The Dhak Bahiri. What was the stink about?

Have these -

Females, not allowed. If they try to pay their obeisance to the deity, it renders them impious, and may be, even amount to sacrilege!

However, chaknas and liquor seems to be the prasad offerings to the deity. A lot of the stink-causing villagers, who maintain their double standards, threatened us with dire consequences if the female accompanying us were to climb upto the ‘pious’ cave. However, they carried gallons of liqour atop and created nuisance in the cave.

Behead a live chicken in the cave, cut it, cook it and then savour it along with the liquor. Goes down well with the deity? eh? Utter bull shit. Nuisance values!

No issues with us, since the girl accompanying us had been there twice earlier and not being there for the third time did not bore holes into our souls and egos! But this nonsensical fuss did, maybe..

Other than that …

No offense to the day; it was a perfectly beautiful day with all the frills attached – less humid, not-a-scalding-heat, the freshness of green post monsoons and more importantly a good group to share all this with.

We started from Jambhivali village. Jambhivali can be reached from Kamshet (15 kms from Lonavala, on Pune-Lonavala route).

It takes around 30 minutes to reach Jambhivali from Kamshet. From Jambhivali a good trek of hour and a half brought us to the col between the Kalakrai pinnacle and the Dhak massif. Another 5 minutes to reach the famous rock patch of Bahiri.

The heat, even though not  scalding, was hot enough to try and seek some shade. The cave was left in pathetic condition by the rampaging villagers.. the hooters!

The final stretches of Bahiri patches, need to be negotiated with care. In summers, more so because chances of sun-stroke increases manifold owing to the extremely hot temperatures and completely exposed stretches.

We paid a quick visit to the cave and decided to descend towards the Karjat side. Descending to Sandshi village from Dhak is no-easy task. Why? No defined route as such.. Lot of thickets to negotiate and plenty of avenues to lose the way and get stranded in the jungle as the sun sets down on you and no other option than to spend a night out in the jungle.

We were about to end up doing the same (spend night in the jungle), but for some correct decisions and route finding. After a very long traverse, we reached Kalakrai wadi and then to Mangaon (near Sandshi). It was 7.15 PM by the time we reached Mangaon, the final 30 minutes being in darkness.

From Mangaon, we managed to hire a rickshaw ride till Karjat and the 8.41 PM fast train to CST. Good trek with the fellows, apart for the mind-numbing senseless display on the villagers part. Who were they..? Not worth discussing..!

Check out the photos here -

http://picasaweb.google.co.in/rohanrrao/DhakBahiri#

Cheers ~~~

Arthur’s seat – Chandragad (Dhavale) Trek: Sep ‘09

Another one with a night out in thickly forested jungle infested with wild carnivores! Another night out in a jungle after an encounter with the deadly venomous Bamboo Pit Viper! Another night out in a jungle after some tired bodies with scared souls insisted on walking no further! Another night out in a jungle besides a gushing stream and a bliss..

Well, mid September is surely not an advisable time for the Arthur’s Seat – Chandragad trek, but then not paying heed to deterrent advice is what distinguishes this bunch… ready to rough it out kuch bhi..kaise bhi.. kabhi bhi…

Then what was the worrisome factor? That we were 14 of us and all of them weren’t prepared for kuch bhi and  kaise bhi..!!!

So the much awaited Friday night came as we boarded the Mahabaleshwar bound Asiad and after a bit of quiesence dozed off..! Came dawn and we alighted the bus at 6.00 AM and surprisingly Mahabaleshwar was neither chilly nor were there any traces of rainfall! Quite unusual..

Read complete treklogue here – The Travelarks Blog

Naneghat trek on 6th Sep

I have been to Naneghat 18 times before, but have seen nothing like this one! This was amazing and exhilarating!

“Rohan, mala parat jaychay, mala var nahi yaycha! Var jaychi kaay garaj aahe???” It means in Marathi, “Rohan, I want to go back. I don’t want to complete the trek. Whats the need? Why take the risk?” Not usuallr are these words associated with Naneghat; this time it was!

Read and see (pics) more at http://travelarks.com/blog/?p=69

The group – 25 in number, 19 participants and 6 of us to manage them; an apt ratio of 1:4. Whoa! good figure And I dare say that ratio was not required. It was very much, considering the heavy down pour, chilly winds, ever increasing levels of water gushing down against us threatening to throw us off balance and the reduced visibility due to very thick fog! … just an excerpt

Shri Ballaleshwara at Pali & Sarasgad – Mobiking

I had a leisurely bike ride (a bit too leisurely) and a small hike to the hill-fort of Sarasgad near Pali last week. Shri Ballaleshwara Ganapati at Pali being one of the sacred Ashtavinayak deity, the religious sentiment attached couldn’t be underplayed.

The group comprised of 6 riders and 5 pillions, most of them more of trekker and less of rider. As we always did on our previous rides, we decided to meet up at Panvel bus stand at 11.30 PM on Saturday night. The time schedule was surprisingly not manipulated too much and we managed to set the throttle revving at 11.45 PM. Some of the indolent ones managed to skip their home made meals and forced a halt at Palaspa naka, famously known as the Dutta Snacks junction.

Some Chinese menu was quickly savoured and we moved on towards Pen, taking one of my favourite routes, NH 17 linking Panvel in Maharashtra with Edapally in Kerala. This 1269 km long road passes through the western coastline of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala. However, we had not even 10 percent of this route to be covered and we quietly moved through the smooth boulevards.

As such most part of the route is good and enjoyable, but the curvatures and banking offered by the stretch of road as one approaches Karnala is surely one of the best rides and a treat for any rider. Not only is this portion specklessly smooth, but it also offers ample of curvatures with wide flanks to run-in hard and enjoy the tilt. Couple that with the undulating gradients and it just is… Awesome! Also this stretch of the road is peculiarly characterized by cooler ambiance.

Passed the stretch in in a jiffy and moved on further. Another few minutes of revving and came Pen. Aniket, one of the pillion, has a weekend home (which is reduced to year-end home) at Pen. We decided to take a nap and move on towards Pali early in the morning. 11 trekker, riding over a weekend, a night halt, all geared up for a trek after a long time and did I think of having a quick nap? Absurd! Most of the time went by chirping away at some pointless banters. And when the sleep penetrated the ambiance, it was already 6 AM. 22 sleepy eyes freshened up and hit the saddle.

Rolled leisurely till Wadkhal, helped ourself with some misal pav and tea and then rolled even more leisurely till Pali. It was 8.00 AM by the time we reached there and a further delay of 30 minutes saw us stepping out to climb Sarasgad just when the Sun was starting to get hotter. Cameras were out, and I was busy with my handycam. SOme photos, some masti and the stroll kept on nearing the Sarasgad bastion, which appeared atleast somewhat closer than what it did 30 minutes earlier then. The sun was shining harsh on us by the time we managed to scramble up the upper slopes and enter the fort through the wonderfully carved entrance.

We reached the base of the upper cliff and lay for a cooler break under shadow cast by the overlooking massif. Lying nearby is a huge water tank scarped in the belly of Sarasgad massif. The tank does hold water, but is not potable anymore thanks to   the mindless visitor who have converted this place in to a dumping ground for plastics. It was just 10.00 AM now and we had plenty of time in our hands to manipulate the schedule as required. We decided to make the best use of time on hands by indulging ourselves in the tank cleaning process. The water was shallow which allowed us to enter the tank without much trouble. We tried and removed as much plastic we could then – it amounted to 3 big bag-full of plastic. We removed substantial amount of waste from the tank and packed it in plastic bags so that we could easily carry it till the base for disposal. We could not clean the tank completely, but we definitely removed a hell lot of plastic debris and initiated a small process towards it, thereby feeling good.

We moved on further circumnavigating the massif. There are numerous rock hewn caves, some big and some small in the belly of the massif along the circumference. The fortified walls and crumbling bastions evoked a blended emotions flavoured with the nostalgic pride and neglected present of such magnificence. After completing the circuit we moved up to the top of the massif by 1.30 PM. It was really hot and humid then. We paid our obeisance to Lord Shankar in a temple atop and later relaxed for a while under the shade enjoying the cool breeze. Off went the sweaty T-shirts and it was just pure pleasure to enjoy the cool breeze bare bodied. After some wafer and other snacks being gulped, we started on our descent. The descent was nothing to write about, under the hot sun, over the scree slopes and some thorny bushes. We completed the descent and reached Pali at around 3.00 PM; visited the temple and soaked ourselves in the sanctity of the place.

Lime juice, buttermilk, amla juice and so on rehydrated our parched souls as we recuperated ourselves. Got a pack of Kandi pedha as Prasad and moved on towards our parked bikes to hit the saddle once again. We embarked on our return journey at around 4.30 PM and by then the sun was getting mellow. The ride was quite steady and pleasant with stopovers at Pen for the famous Ramwadi tea. As always riding through the Karnala boulevard was a pleasant experience once again.

Reached Kalyan at around 8.00 PM and after a cold shower hit the bed to drench into the rigmarole awaiting me on Monday. The memories as always are ever fresh!

Raigad & Pratapgad mo-bike trip

Total Distance - 526 Kms
Bike - Honda Shine 125 CC
Top speed – 100 Kmph
Onwards breaks – Kolad, Poladpur
Return breaks - Mangaon
Districts involved – Thane, Raigad
———————————————————————————————————-

Raigad - a marvel of a fort and Pratapgad – a page etched in history books with golden letters, both bring out the nostalgic moments that glorify the Maratha history. Well, emotions and nostalgic moments apart, the very underlying fact that it took a genius in Shivaji Maharaj to built these two marvels can never be over estimated. The brilliance of vision hat designed these forts is clearly evident and it was our desire to capture some of these in our viewfinders. Or more apt would be to surrender ourselves to be mesmerized and captured by their beauty.

Hey amidst all these glories, never ever forget the mobiking flames burning inside us. Reaching out these on our bikes was instinctive decisionl but be rest assured that even if it was planned, we would have done nothing different. Vroom vroom we revved on in the winter chills of November 2008.
——————————————————————————————————–

Embarking bytes – 12.00 midnight departure from Kalyan
It was a late night start. Our destination, Pratapgad, not being a far distance away to stretch our biking journey till the day break we decided for a late start and long breaks in between. The temperature was pleasantly cool for pedestrians, but as we moved out of Kalyan city the traffic thinned out and the drop in temperature was very evident and cruising at 70 Kmph in those conditions was not exactly pleasant. Still the city conditions, pollution and relative congestion around provided dingy warmth and made it bearable.

Hotels -
Numerous dhabas and restaurants provide 24 x 7 service near Shil phata
Konkan Ratna (Pure veg family restaurant), Konkan King (Family restaurant and bar) and some others provide decent sevice

Plus -
Nothing specific to write about any plus on this stretch of road

Minus -
The pavement blocks at junctions and over those narrow bridges are really irritating as these gives enough bumps even at low speeds.
The bridges over the rail tracks are really narrow and speed breakers are unmarked at number of spots on this stretch
Lots of dust and emissions from surrounding industries can be obnoxious
———————————————————————————————————-

Panvel – 1.00 AM; Distance covered 40 Kms ~
We moved cross Shil phata and every time the name crops up I cannot help but warn the riders of the big craters and pot holes that mars the riding experience, besides harming our bikes. First gear, at the most second gear and anything beyond that could have been injurious to my bike’s health and dangerous for my pillion. Enduring bad patches on the way we made our way to Palaspa naka via Kalamboli circle and through Panvel city. Since it was very late in the night the traffic in areteries of Panvel was non existent.

From Palaspa Naka (famously referred to as Datta snacks corner) we turned right and the pleasure of NH 17 (Mumbai – Goa highway) began.

Panvel bypass -
One can take a panvel bypass from Kalamboli circle by proceeding straight instead of taking a left turn. The left turn take through Panvel city. After a short while, the bypass meets JNPT road. From this point a left turn meets at the Datta snacks corner (Palaspa Phata). It is just 2 kms longer than the Panvel city route.

Hotels -
Tapris and some outlets near Panvel ST depot provide tea and some snacks
Some restaurants between Panvel and Palaspa naka are open 24 x 7

24 hour Petrol pumps -
Vijay Automobiles, Kalamboli, Mumbai-Pune Rd, Panvel.
Ph: 022 7452525, HP.
Facilities: Lubes, snacks, coffee vending machine, music cassettes and clean toilets.

Plus – Nothing really

Minus -
Traffic, speed breakers, pollution, dust and haphazard crossing makes Kalyan Shil phata road a not a pleasurable experience.
Road near Shil Phata is the worst stretch of road that one may encounter, potholes and crater ridden. Care for your vehicles, drive in first / second gears.
Traffic in Panvel city can be unnerving during the day (If one does not take the Panvel bypass)
———————————————————————————————————-

Wadkhal Naka - 2.15 AM – 2.45 AM; Distance covered – 70 Kms ~
The road, NH 17 as always was a pleasure, and we got the glimpses of it on the Karnala stretch and beyond, but the extreme chills in the air made riding really unnerving. The fingers seemed to be frozen and clutch sensations feebled away. Then came Pen and some roght stretches of road in between actually proved to be a respite from the cold as I had to lower my speed to avoid the bumps. The cold was quite bearable at speeds of 40-50 Kmph. After Pen, a short ride over relatively uneven road led to Wadkhal Naka.

There are 24 x 7 restaurants at Wadkhal Naka, but we decided to give them a skip and move on. From Wadkhal Naka the road just evens out to perfectness and the high speeds are just inevitable as the throttle opened up under the grasp of my fist. The road zipped under the wheels as we neared Nagothane (23 Kms from Wadkhal Naka). We crossed Nagothane and moved further ignoring the roadside kiosks that seemed to be inviting for a cup of hot tea. That was a mistake perhaps on my part. The chills got unbearable and I started looking out for a tea break. Nagothane was left behind and next probable spot for a tea break was Kolad 16 Kms further away and those 16 Kms seemed aeons away then.

The enigne revved and the speedo constantly hovered around 80 – 90 Kmph mark for another 15 minutes before the dim lights of Kolad tea stalls infused a new lease of life in my frozen soul. A piping hot cup of tea was just what the docter ordered and I relished it whole heartedly.

Hotels -
Hotel Amantran at Wadkhal Naka (Closed at Night)
Number of restaurants at Wadjhal Naka open at night

24 hour Petrol pumps -
Dharamkar Motor Store, Vadkhal Naka. Ph: 02143 9008, BP.
Facilities: Puncture repair shop

Plus – Amazingly smooth roads

Minus – None
————————————————————————————————————

Poladpur break – 4.00 AM to 5.00 AM; Distance covered – 75 Kms
The tea break at Kolad proved to be really helpful, but as they say, sweet moments always seems very short, however long they may be and it was perfectly true at that instant. A 30 minutes break away from piercing through the cold winds was enough to shake the numbness away from my fingers, but on the saddle again was very unwelcome thought. I was shivering when I turned the ignition on and the ordeal began once again; inevitable it was.

Such was the effect of cold that even before riding I decided to halt at the next sight of a tea stall. The options were aplenty then, I knew very well; at Indapur, Mangaon and so on. But little did I knew the urge to finish it once for all was strong enough to ignore the stalls at these junctions and continued to zoom at 90 Kmphs past these. Fllowing a SUV sometimes and mini bus at other provided some respite mentally; I did not know how it mattered then, but now I cannot relate to it at all. Chlling numbness had penetrated my thought process as well then.

Past Mangaon, Veer, Lonere and Mahad in numb senses I continued further. The thoughs of next halt was obscure and moving on was the only thing on my minds. However, at Poladpur the inviting aroma of Bhurji Pav and warmth of cup of tea seemed a bit too much to resist. Off went the engine and on came Bhurji Pav. One thing surely dawned upon me then – The extra spice of green chillies with Bhurji pav can be best enjoyed after enduring the chills of a winter night ride. The warm sips of tea was just an icing on the cake.

Hotels -
Stalls at Poladpur offer Bhurji Pav, Omlette and hot tea to the travellers.

24 hour Petrol pumps -
Doshi Automobiles, Mumbai-Goa Highway, Mahad. Ph: 02145 22387 BP.
Facilities: First-aid, lubes, adjoining restaurant and clean toilets.

Plus – Wonderful stretch of road from Wadkhal Naka to Poladpur. It is a straigh stretch of road with minimum hassles during the night. However during the day, it can be crowded at the abovementioned town destinations.

Minus – Nothing really
———————————————————————————————————-

Kashedi ghat - 5.45 AM; Distance covered – 16 Kms ~
Since Pratapgad was very near and we did not want to venture on Ambe Nali ghat in the dark, we decided to stop there a bit longer. That is when the idea of doing Kashedi ghat came to my mind. Actually, a right turn immediately past Poladpur leads towards Paratpgad and Kashedi ghat, which lies further ahead on Nh 17, was not a part of our planned route.

But coming so near and missing the wonderful curvatures or Kashedi was not really happening and we decided to cover the ghat route and turn back towards Pratapgad. We started at 5.00 AM from Poladpur and continued further. The approximately 16 Kms (8 + of ghat section was a wonderful ride to do and we headed back towards the Mahabaleshwar bifurcation a lot happier than what we would have been if we had given Kashedi a skip. It was still dark when we did Kashedi ghat, but the curves and inclines remained the same and it was a pleasure as always.
————————————————————————————————————

Pratapgad – 7.00 AM; Distance covered – 42 Kms
Post Kashedi ghat ride we took the bifurcation for Ambe Nali ghat and towards Pratapgad. The uneven roads were immediately noticed, especially after a smooth ride on NH 17 so far. It was day break at around 6.00 AM when we left Poladpur behind.

Ambe Nali ghat is a nice one as far as curves and inclines are concerned, but the enitre joy of ghat riding is reduced to zero due to the pathetic condition of the road. There are plenty of craters right in the centre of the road and across all along the ghat route. After a bumpy ride of around 35 Kms ~ we took the Pratapgad bifurcation. After negotiating Ambenali bumps and steep gradient of reaching Pratapgad base, we finally reached there at 7.00 AM.

Pratapgad attracts a lot of visitors owing to easy accessiblity and historic importance that it carries and this day was no different. Families, friends, groups, sholl picnic all crowded Pratapgad today. We quickly had a look atop Pratapgad, clicked some pictures, enjoyed the scenic views from the top, relished the hot plate of Kanda Bhaji and Chaas at Pratapgad before moving towards our destination next –> Raigad.

Hotels -
Food and accommodation facilities available at Pratapgad

Petrol pumps -
No petrol pump enroute Ambenali ghat and at Pratapgad. Fill your tank up at Mahad to last the distance and the steep inclines of the ghat.

Plus – Scenic views along Ambe Nali ghat

Minus - Pathetic road condition of Ambenali ghat
———————————————————————————————————-

Raigad – 12.30 PM; Distance covered 85 Kms ~
My wrist watch clocked 10.00 AM as I started my bike and started back towards Raigad. The thought of enduring the bumpy ride of Ambenali again was contantly playing at the back of my mind and was proving t be irksome – 42 Kms of bumps and roughness again.
Cursing the roads I moved on and I was relieved a bit to reach Poladpur junction and tread again on the smooth runways of NH 17. Another short ride before be reached Mahad.

Moving further we took a bifurcation that led towards Pachad, the base village of Raigad; 23 Kms away from Mahad. The road is narrow and usually with with lot of local pedestrians crossing. We have to keep an careful eye. Also the road condition is not optimal with unexpected pot holes greeting us on the way. The final stretches of the road climbs up the steep inclines and sharp curvatures along the ghat. Steep inclines, sharp corners and rough roads really deems alertness on this stretch. Just before Pachad the road bifurcates. Road on the left leads to Pachad 2 Kms away, while that on the right rleads to Raigad.One must visit the Jija Mata samadhi at Pachad village.

I reached Raigad and parked my bike at pay and park sevice available there. It was 12.30 PM and the sun was shining over head. A sleepless and a chilling night ride made a hot water bath and a good sleep absolute essential. I quickly purchased the rope way tickets (Rs 100 One way; Rs 150 Return).

Hotels -
Food and accommodation facilities available atop Raigad

Petrol pumps -
No petrol pump enroute Pachad. Fill your tank up at Mahad to last the distance.

Plus - Nothing to write home

Minus – Pathetic road condition
———————————————————————————————————–

Raigad -
I stayed at Raigad, got much needed rest, hot water bath and a heavy lunch. Had a good look around the fort the next day as well. Clicked a lot of photographs and retired for another day on top of the fort. It was a long stay atop Raigad and a complete end to end visit with lots of photographs was realized.

Hotels -
Bhavani Mandap – Rs 50 Veg Thali
Deshmukh Khanavala – Rs 40 Veg Thali
Zunka Bhakar, Thetcha – Rs 20 Per plate (1 Bhakri) provided by villagers staying near Shiv Samadhi if told in advance

Accommodation -
MTDC resorts, Zilla Parishad rooms, Raigad Ropeway rooms and Bhavani Mandap

Plus – Decent accommodation and food availability

Minus - It is difficult to get MTDC accommodation on weekends and public holidays.
———————————————————————————————————–

Return journey -
Nothing much or special to write about return journey. I had a late start from Raigad, descended via Chitta Darwaja route, visited Waghbil and then moved towards the parking lot to hit the saddle once again. Bidding farewell to Raigad I proceeded towards NH 17 again. Returning was a monotonous ride with no anticipation or expectation. I had a good lunch at Mangaon, Hotel Sugran and then hit the road once again.

Indapur, Kolad, Nagothane and Wadkhal Naka whizzed past and the congested roads of Panvel appeared sooner than aniticipated. Traffic, pollution and haphazard roads welcomed us once again and I reached Kalyan via Shil phata. It was around 6.30 PM then and the sun was just beginning to setting low beyond the horizon, with memories of past few days mingling merrily in my thoughts.

Cheers ~

Western ghat and Sahyadri: An Overview

Have a look at

http://www.scribd.com/doc/5398003/Sahyadris

Comments and suggestions welcome..

Tha author is contributor and editor of soon to be launched travel and adventure magazine..

Panhala – Vishalgad trek 2008

The historic episode etched in golden hues in the pages of history – Shivaji Maharaj’s escapade from the fortress of Panhala to the fortress of Vishalgad is a perfect example for the phrase ‘against all odds’. Although not to be calculated in the same scales, our biped venture following the same trail was nothing else than against all odds, albeit the odds being of the lesser magnitude.

An approximate route of 75 km to be completed in 3 days, was the task we set ourself for the long weekend. We did not manage to reserve the train tickets for Kolhapur, but alternatively we got our bus tickets booked.  We were lucky for our return journey as we managed to get the reservations done for Mumbai bound Mahalakshmi express. So the travel was taken care of, headcounts estimated and grocery purchased, al the schedules worked out and all geared up were we. It was going to be long trudge and yes we all were very well aware of the fact and were well prepared, until the rain played the spoilsport.

The met department hit the nail right on its head and their predictions of heavy rains across Maharashtra proved very correct. As always is the case with Panchaganga River near Kolhapur, water logging affected large areas of the city. Dams filled till the brim and threats looming large with the impending gate opening.  Newspapers and news channels flashed news stories about submerging Kolhapur and Karad regions. Fields, villages and roads submerged under the murky waters of overflowing Pnachaganga. Our well wishers from Kolhapur also suggested that if the situation continues then all our plans of the trek would be jeopardized and it would have to be cancelled.

With all the reservations made and efforts put in, it was a hard call to make, but rather than finding ourself stranded in flooded areas, we had prudent enough choices. So we decided the cancel the event and even informed the participants about it. Many disappointed faces, until we decided otherwise and took the chance of proceeding with our plans as charted out. Another round of calls followed and everyone was informed about the trek and its proceedings. So it was on and final now after a round of ruckus. It did not end here though!

So it was 9.00 PM, the time we were supposed to meet at Thane on 14th August. Very well and keeping a safety margin we boarded the local train from Kalyan and headed for Thane. Some of the participants had already reached there and were eagerly waiting for us. Mind you, we had all the tickets and reservations with us, leave aside the trek route information and planned charts. Fate had something else in its mind. As we crossed Dombivli station, our train halted and ceased to move for a good hour or so. We were stranded between Dombivli and Diva stations, with darkness and open spaces surrounding us. I cannot describe how intimidating and instable those 60 minutes of static upheaval were.  The scheduled bus departure was at 9.45 PM and we were still waiting for the train to move even as the clock ticked 9.55 PM. We could not have made it to the bus depot before 10.30 PM and we were well aware that it was going to be impossible to board the bus and all our plans were going down the drains with flooding at Kolhapur, not exactly – but with the mess that the slow track on the suburban lines of central railway has to offer.

We asked others to reach the depot and try and explain the situation to the bus driver and conductor and ask them to wait for some time. The conductor refused to budge and set the time to 10.00 PM. It was going to be impossible. Finally the clock ticked 10.00 and it moved, well not the bus but our stranded train. It was another 20 minutes before we reached Thane and another 10 minutes from there to reach the depot.  It was 10.30 PM by the time we managed to reach the bus and thanks to some good convincing and generous requests made by others the bus kept waiting for us. After a lot of ruckus, reservations, rains, floods and then train delays we finally saw the entire team seated in the Kolhapur bound bus – a total of 18 souls, on the trek. The trek began; finally!

Not often you see that even before the first step of the travelogue is written, you find nearly 800 words already occupying the space; that just explains the initial hiccups – the hurdles that we all had to counter to get there. After the entire circus, we set our feet on Kolhapur depot at 7.00 AM on 15th of August. One of our participants was supposed to meet there directly and she arrived an hour later; hour filled with refresher and tea and weight distribution. Everyone arrived and the next as per the schedule was a bus journey to Panhala, which lies at around 20 km from Kolhapur. As the bus whizzed beyond the city limits, we actually saw what havoc had the uncontrolled flow of Panchaganga caused. Floods everywhere, villages submerged, trees uprooted, fields devastated, roads blocked. Even the normal bus route to Panhala had to be diverted and it took nearly 45 minutes extra for us to reach Panhala. Already the bus delay and further extensions saw us lagging by a good couple of hour behind our schedule.

We saw Panhala fort after our breakfast session atop Panhala. Panhala is a Taluka place and actually has lost the charm of a fort with all the tar roads penetrating to every corner on the top. All the sites are now reached by vehicles and it is no more of a hill station rather than a fortress. We quickly wrapped with Panhala fort seeing all the possible and interesting fortification and structures atop and moved on further towards Vishalgad. We exited the fort from Raj Dindi, just before Pusati Buruj (Bastion) from the west. A quick descent of 20 minutes brought us to the lower slopes of the fort and a further walk of another 15 minutes brought us to Turukwadi.

From Turukwadi we started ascending on a ridge falling to our left. Within 15 minutes of gradual climb we reached Mahalunge village. We were well aware that this is the last village that we will see until crossing over and descending the vast expanse of Mhasai pathar.  A 20 minutes climb brought us to the unending expanse atop the rocky bed of Mhasai Pathar – one of the largest plateaus in the Sahyadri ranges. The plateau is actually stretching the the East-West direction, but is very narrow in the North-South direction. The plateau is connected to the mass of Panhala by a small intervening col. We crossed over this col and reached the plateau.

It would be fair to say that we were favoured by the weather and rain Gods this time as the sun shone it light on us and the clear weather allowed us to have our orientation maintained. We all were heading for the first time on this route and a slight misdirection on the plateau can leave us walking in completely wayward direction. We were aware of sticking to the left edge and continue walking till we reach the Mhasai temple. Actually the trail is very well marked now and it is very difficult to miss the trail.  After a walk of an hour and some minutes we reached Mhasai temple. A nice pond of accumulated rain water spreads in front of the temple with a lush green cover occupying the rest of landscape. We decided to have our lunch here. Tiffin were unpacked, chapattis and sabjis with the spice of pickle served for a good meal. Good one hour break before we proceeded further.

We continued on the cart track further until we came across very ancient caves hewn in the belly of the northern slopes of the Mhasai plateau. These are some series of rock cut caves – the Pandavdara leni. However, the caves are now inhabitable with grass and marsh occupying most of them. However, some caves still have dilapidated remains of the carving and lithographs inscribed on their walls. A quick look at these from the exterior and we moved further. A short walk from here brings in sight the only and relatively large tree on the northern edge of the plateau. We descended from here and with in 15 minutes reached a small hamlet – Varewadi. Another 30 minutes walk over the marsh tracks took us to Kumbharwadi village. Actually if we would have continued further on the plateau and then descended from the ridge we would have skipped Varewadi and directly would have reached Kumbharwadi.

It was nearly 5.30 by the time we reached Kumbharwadi and the day still held enough light in its store to allow us to trek further and reach Chapewadi. Chapewadi was supposed to be our night halt for the day. It was a mere 4 km distance and should have ideally required less than an hour, still it took us more than an hour and half before the last member of the group reached there.  It was not the day long trudge that caused the delay or any whiling away on the way, but for the knee deep wet mud and marsh that encountered. Every step saw most of us submerged in knee deep marsh and retrieving without loosing our footwear was a task to handle. Soiled clothes, lost balance, searching for footwear, tired legs and all along some funny incidences saw us through the 4 km long puddle and reach Chapewadi (Also called as Khotwadi) finally at 7.15 PM. A nearby handpump provided the much needed cleanser with clothes and faces washed to drain away the mud.

A quick change of clothes before the kitchen was setup. A hot cup of tea spiced with talks and chats filled the class room of the village school as we occupied them for our night stay. The tea session was quickly followed by moong khichadi, pickles and papad and then the sleep time started invading the ambience. Day long walk with the last few hours including knee deep puddles had drained some of them and a good dinner saw them dozing before anyone realized. Others chirped their way through before eventually falling asleep.

16th August had an early start.  Saturday it was and it was supposed to be the longest and most strenuous part of the trek. Long distances had to be covered to make up for the lost hours on day one.  We started at around 7.30 after a quick session of morning tea and some breakfast in the form of bread jam, biscuits and snacks. It was also supposed to be the most eventful day ahead with treks through the leech infested trails.

Our next destination was Mandlaiwadi, which is a good 1 hour walk away from Chapewadi. One most welcome change was that the path was nowhere near what we had encountered the day before. It was quite firm and not marshy, with maximum depth soiling barely upto our ankles. Knee deep marsh was left way behind and that really helped us to cover distances quickly. We reached Mandlaiwadi at around 8.45 AM and moved further. Arrow marked helped us on the way, as we covered distances between Dhangarwadi, Ambewadi, Malewadi and Patewadi relatively quickly. It took us nearly 4 hours to reach Patewadi and just beyond the village at around 2.00 PM we had our snack – cum – lunch break. A quick refresher and we moved towards Pandhrepani, our supposed night halt for day two.

The intriguing thing that we noticed on day two was the fact that Pandhrepani seemed to be just two hours away right from 1.00 PM, until we finally managed to reach there at 5.30 PM. It is a good 4 hours walk from Patewadi, but villagers in the intermediate wadis seems to have some other ideas and their relative mis-information dazzled us quite a few number of times as our expectations of getting there were always being wrecked with another couple of hours added to it at the next wadi. All along the way we walked over leech infested grassy plateaus, over the bunds of the fields, through the forests of shallow-rooted Nilgiris that were uprooted due to loose soil at its base, flat terrains and so on.

Leeches played a nuisance for some of us. All along the day long trudge leeches managed to suck quite a few from most of us, especially those who were in floaters and shorts. The bare fingers exposed through their floaters offered a good avenue for those tiny leeches to hang on and have satiated their appetites. The worst part – the injected anesthetic doesn’t let us sense the pain and the leeches quite hideously manage to do the job, secondly the anticoagulant injected doesn’t allow the blood flow to cease and bleeding may continue for hours after the leech drop away.  It actually led to everyone checking their pants and shoes/floaters every 10 minutes of so to see if there is that small bug sticking to their feet and sucking on. Some found out, some didn’t.

It was Raj actually who found the first sign of leech infestation and immediately brought to notice the trouble that lay ahead for those who did not bother to wear full pants and shoes. It was one specific person – Vinita.. who has some special affinity for the leeches it seems – somehow manages to invite leeches at the least likely places! She was terribly drained with all those bugs sucking on her RBC’s every now and then. Few others had minor niggles with the suckers too, but manageable!

So after a brief lunch break (sort of) and after 4 hours of walk though the forests and grasslands, over the bunds of fields and terrains we managed to reach Pandrepani at 5.30 PM. The last 45 minutes walk is on tarred road and can be really quite boring to tread on after a day long walk. The distance from Chapewadi to Pandhrepani is really a long one and we covered good ground to make u for the delays on day one.

After sipping on hot cuppa of tea at a local village shop at PAndhrepani, a poha session spiced up the fun talks and masti. We managed to get a cosy stay at one of the houses in the village. The warm ambiance after the day long drench was the perfect compliment anyone would have asked for. Poha was followed by some munching on snacks and after some chit chats; however the long day saw everyone quickly setting up their carry mats and sleeping bags quite early.

Day three it was and the last day of our trek. We had to cover the distance from Pandhrepani till Vishalgad and head back to Kolhapur to board the Mahalkshmi express back to Mumbai. So another long day and more importantly time frame was much more important today as getting back to Kolhapur in time was imperative. So after tea and breakfast session we moved at around 8.15 AM from the village. The day began on confusing note with different people giving different opinions about bus timings and their frequency. Irrespective of all the jumbles, we decided to walk the distance of 6 km till Pavan Khind. The entire route follows the tar road and we briskly covered it in an hour.

We managed to reach Pavan khind at 9.20 Am and really – a glance at the narrow gorge and one just can’t help, but go back and salute the Guerilla warfare tactics of the Maratha and the ingenuity of Baji Prabhu Deshpande. The narrow gorge, then known as Ghod Khind provided for the perfect location to stop the march of the chasing army and allow for the escapade of Shivaji Maharaj to Vishalgad. The narrowness, the terrain and the relative trap-like location proved very effective and with the sacrifice and valour that Baji Prabhu and the fellow Mavlas exhibited, Ghod khind was rechristened as Pavan Khind. We had a brief session at the gushing waterfall that adds to the beauty and enthralls the visitors with its flow. This is actually the origin of Kasari River. There is a project (Kasari Prakalpa) that is being worked on and is being converted into a reservoir. We payed our obeisance with a typical Shivgarjana recited by Amod, a group photo and moved on towards Visahlgad.

We retraced our steps back to the tar road. Vishalgad was still 15 km away from here. The clock now ticked 11.00 and the time crunch began to raise its head. We waited for a bus as informed by the villages, but another person came up and informed that there were no buses available at that time of the day. So we just continued to march on our feet further. The tar slipped under our feet at a brisk pace and it was nearly and hour and quarter before we made our way to Tembhurne wadi.

Just when we were thinking of skipping Vishalgad – Vishalgad is at a distance of 8 km from here – fortunately, we got a jeep from here that was ready to take us to Vishalgad and then back to Amba. Amba is a well connected to Kolhapur. So without wasting much time we all crammed into the jeep and reached Vishalgad after a bumpy ride of 20 minutes. It takes mere 10 minutes to reach the top of the fort. The fort looks nothing like a fort, but is only a crowded settlement of the local villagers. Filth now mars the beauty of the fort and irregular and haphazard houses build on the fort just dims the entire spirits. We roamed around the fort for around 45 minutes or so before retracing our steps down and boarding the jeep.

The jeep took us to Amba within one hour. It was nearly 4.00 PM by the time we reached Amba. As everyone was quite hungry then, we decided to have a quick bite of Misal pav, which unfortunately was not very quick. After the entire chore, we waited for the bus. But since after a wait of nearly 20 minutes bus did not show up, we decided to reach Malkapur – 10 km from Amba – by jeep. We reached there by 6.00 and an immediate connecting bus took us to Kolhapur by 7.30 PM. We reached there barely an hour before the scheduled departure of the train. We managed for some dinner (Veg Biryani) and after a sumptuous dinner, we all headed for our respective berths reserved in the train. Let me tell you, it was an experience to have all 18 people together at the dinner, after a 3 day long trudge. It was so satisfactory to have the entire group together, sharing a good laugh and talk about the trek, completed route and everything, specially after all the stuff – rains, delays and all we had at the start…!

It will always be one of the memorable ones, for various reasons, but cherished nonetheless.

Naneghat-Jivdhan-Bhoranda Nal Trek

We were five of us for this (Naneghat – Jivdhan – Bhoranda Nal trek) and let me tell you it was just more than a fascinating one!

Naneghat as usual offers a good and leisurely hike.. whereas the Khadaparsi, Kalyan Darwaja and Ghatghar route in monsoons just doubled up the bonanza for us.

Bhoranda Nal is a very lesser know Nal descending from the plateau towards Bhorande village and it offers just a obscure path and a long steep Nal descending..just a much needed change from the well beaten track of Naneghat!

All in all.. it was just a wonderful trek…

Photos would be uploaded soon…!

A brief travelogue…

Naneghat-Jivdhan-Bhoranda Nal trek

The prelude…
I pledged my self before taking on to write this piece: It mustn’t be too long a piece..oh keep peace, it won’t be I guess.

It has been to long since I had been to Naneghat-Jivdhan: precisely some years plus a decade back. Well, visiting Jivdhan was like rekindling an old love affair, and in what way did it happen! Five wonderful friends, lush green and few moments that can challenge even the funniest of bones. Oh and that unique Chameleon just made for a perfect finish line. The fresh green perfectly camouflaged the reptile, the slow stylish gait, the grip quite un-peculiar to any reptile, it seemed so very different!

Jivdhan is always a pleasure in any season, leave aside monsoon. Infac it can get a bit tricky if taken a bit casually and the thickets combined with the blinding thick fog can just leave even the localites from Ghatghar guessing their way (they say it, not meJ). Yeah, the fog can leave anyone completely disoriented, Couple that with the sheer vertical cliffs mocking at you, and you often wonder: Hell! Where is the way from? It is there, just in front mates! Go and find it.

Delayed start…
The start wasn’t the most punctual one: well past 8 AM and still reeling at the Kalyan ST depot. Oh we had a day ahead, a long day awaiting our trudge. And the wait eventually ended when our ‘Lal Dabba’ embarked on its journey. A couple of nifty moments passed before we reached the milestone indicating the way towards Naneghat. Alighting from the bus, rucksacks loaded on the backs and five souls wandered along the trail, glancing up every now and then towards the peaking thumb shaped pinnacle of Naneghat: hiding behind the clouds as we glanced up.

Quick wrap of Naneghat…
As one is well aware, Naneghat is now a highway with arrow marks indicating the way every few metres, oh so… a well marked highway, just unmetalled albeit. It was just a couple of hours and we saw ourselves in the fabulous cave keeping a keen eye near the top. A look around the cave barely lasted few minutes (as all of us having already seen the cave number of times earlier). Every time the Brahmi script doesn’t cease to admire me. Moving further through the narrow gorge we moved ahead to embrace the expansive plateau overlloked by the majestic Jivdhan fort. Yeah, Jivdhan and Khadaparsi solicited our visions as the cloud carpet cleared for a brief while. Afternoon lunch and Jivdhan called us, once again, perhaps more eagerly this time!

Towards Jivdhan…
As planned we marched towards Khadaparsi (Vanarlingi) pinnacle. Fog engulfed us and still the footsteps did not hesitate to move on, blinded of course. Perhaps the fog got a bit lenient on us as it uncovered its carpet and we soon realized that we are exactly right angles away from our route. We made the cut and not long before we entered the forest we started our guesswork of the probable path. Numerous cattle trails can be a bit misleading here.

However, a bit of search here and there and just about 30 minutes before we reached the flight of rock cut steps. Moving up and then a comfortable trail leads to the Darwaja in another 30 minutes. Oh the fort is beautiful..old affair rekindled!It was around 3.15 PM now.

Khadaparsi awe…
Before reaching the Darwaja, we also made a brief visit to the base of the Khadaparsi pinnacle (Vanarlingi) and it was just the most amazing view. The base, tall pinnacle humbling our raised head and vertical visions, the breeze and the wonderful narrow cave at the base. Oh check the pics to be uploaded sooner!

Wonderful Jivdhan…
Moving further up, our sights were blessed with some old ruins singling the glory of bygone era, Jivai Devi temple, a shivling… and of course million dollar water tanks quenching our thirsts!

Some brief moments of wandering and look around before we started descending towards the Ghatghar side. On the way we further came across the beautifully constructed Granay still holding the ashes of the 1818 ravage by the British. The granary is exemplary in its architecture. Some more water tanks, Buruj, fort walls and ruins before we traced out steps for the descent. The fog went thicker and rains heavier. We spent a toal of around 2 and half hours looking around and allowing ourselves to be mesmerized by the beauty.

The view from top includes Durg-Dhakoba, Naneghat, Siddhagad, Gorakhgad, Macchindragad, Malshej ghat..of course at the weather’s mercy!

Ghatghar descent…
Carefully we negotiated the tricky blasted steps and a small easy patch demanding proper care. A bit of descent over the mud trail and a total one hour’s descent saw us in the cozy ambience of the Ghatghar village. A hot cuppa of tea, biscuits, spiced up with masti chats and comforting shelter under one of the many rooms that Ghatghar houses; followed by dinner before everyone retired for the night.

Bhoranda Nal beauty…
Next day (Sunday) saw an early rise of 6.00 AM, before everyone quickly woke up and marched for the descent via Bhoranda Nal. Turning our backs towards the Jivdhan fort, we moved straight ahead keeping the Navri and Varhada cliffs to our right. The Nal descends straight towards Fagane/Bhorande village near Moroshi.

The rains made the Nal quite a bit slippery and few obscure trails made our task a bit like trial and error. We guessed, reoriented and kept moving along the Nala: negotiating intervening treacherous patches and boulders. We finished the Nala and then a well marked trail leads straight towards the Kalyan-Ahmednagar highway in another 45 minutes. It is one this trail that we came across the wonderful Chameleon described above (see top).

Adieu friends…
A 10 minutes walk to Bhoirwadi/Fagane bus stop and we boarded a Kalyan bus. A couple of hours ride say us in Kalyan at around 3.00 PM. A good and heavy lunch followed by the thing that I hate the most.. the adieu time.. I hate to bid tata-bye bye to my friends as the trek concludes! Well, it gives me a reason to smile too… as every adios is surely to be followed by a warm welcome, probably a week or fortnight later invariably!

Hail to the Sahyadris (mountains in general) and a bow to all my wonderful friends (Raj, Amod, Vinita, Kinjal) who once again etched some wonderful memories in my grey mater!

Raireshwar-Kenjalgad trek

The ups and downs…
Heavy rains lashing out from every direction on us and visibility reduced to few feet. We were searching for a shelter on the slippery slopes of Kenjalgad and the village below seemed aeons away.  We adjusted for the time being in a small concavity near the belly of Kenjalgad massif and after a brief moment, calmness penetrated the chaotic scene, as we managed to find a nice cave, a warm and a dry one for our night halt.

It is not always the easiest of task to write a positive note when everything goes haywire right from the word go; however I am still inspired to do so plainly because of the fact that everything just concluded so very nicely.

Embarking bytes…
We were 7 of us venturing out for a trek in Bhor region and take on the stormy winds and lashing rains of Raireshwar-Kenjalgad. We were infact alarmed by few friends and well wishers that it wouldn’t be an easy task as it rains pretty heavy and strong winds makes it exponentially effective in this part of the country.  However, we embarked on the journey as decided on 13th June, the Friday night.

The Parel-Bhor bus departed from Parel bus depot right on schedule, 00:15 AM on 14th June. We boarded the bus just by a whisker of time cushion; moments before its departure. The next six hours were going to be along the long winding route to Bhor and everyone was well aware of the fact. After adjusting their rucksacks and themselves on the reserved seats, everyone settled into a comfortable position. Some brief exchange of words with some effervescence of fun and masti bubbling out followed pretty soon. Just a little while before everyone went asleep.

Reaching Bhor…
Bhor arrived pretty much earlier and it was just dawning at 5.30 AM when the bus rolled in at the Bhor ST depot. We all alighted and helped ourself with a nice cup of hot tea and plateful of lemon garnished pohe before our connecting bus to Korle arrived. The bus for Korle is scheduled at 7.30 AM from Bhor depot.  The morning scene at Bhor was nothing less than refreshing and a near timely departure of Bhor-Korle bus saw us rejuvenated.  It’s approximately an hour bus ride before we reached Korle village.

Korle is a small, but well equipped with some amenities and nestled between the slopes of mighty Raireshwar plateau on our right and the fort of Kenjalgad on our left. We reached Korle village at approximately 9.00 AM and started on our trek.  There is now a well laden cart track going right upto the Shwandara route and ends in a ladder propped up against a cliff to aid the villagers and trekkers to scale to the top.  This is a long winding route and some 30 minutes on this boring trail saw us bifurcation somewhere in between and taking on the slopes of Raireshwar plateau midway, no route as such.

The Raireshwar scramble…
We had left the Gaydara route behind and now we were somewhere between the Gaydara and Shawandara route, scaling up and negotiation the boulders, thick bushes and streams along the way. The electricity poles all along the Gaydara route served as a guide and we could see them right our heads, alas hundreds of feet above though. And in between lay the steep slopes flowing from the top of the plateau riddled with vertical cliffs. We decided to scramble atop on one such slope, which seemed fairly scalable. And scalable it was, but for a newbie, it seemed a bit too demanding.

After the scramble, we came across the Gaydara route calmly heading its way atop the plateau and within 15 minutes on this route we reached the top. The total ascend took us around 3 hours from Korle village. Once on top we prudently followed the overhead electric wires and in another 15 minutes reached Raireshwar village. We paid our obeisance to the famous temple atop Raireshwar and headed towards one of the Jangam family; Dagdu Jangam to be precise, for our lunch.

Towards Kenjalgad…
Having a sumptuous meal of Jhunka Bhakar, Pickles and Dahi with some rice, we all felt our bodies cooling off and before the blood ran cold, we quickly decided to head further and start on our trek to Kenjalgad. The route towards Kenjalgad goes via the Shwandara route. A 15 minutes walk from the temple brings one to the iron ladder. Strong winds can make this descent a bit tricky, but we were spared of this by the wind God. We carefully negotiated the rungs of the ladder and headed towards Kenjalgad massif, which was directly lying in our front somewhere, but completely invisible hidden beyond the thick clouds and lashing rains.

The wrong turn…
After 30 minutes walk over the ridge, we came across a junction. The road to left leads to Korle village, the one on the right leads to Ghera Kenjalmachi and the straight one leads to Kenjalgad. We continued straight, until, we did what was probably the impacting wrong turn on the trek. Unsure of the path straight on, we decided to turn right and seek the route from a Hamlet lying below on our right. After a descent on the scrambling slopes of the hill, we reached Ghera Kenjalmachi village. We were informed here that the road to Kenjalgad is actually over the ridge along the hills, which we had left back.

We decided to continue further now towards Kenjalgad as directed by the villagers, albeit at a lower level now. We kept skirting the base of Kenjalgad keeping it to our right, but in vain as the thick fog made visibility poor and the trail continued skirting Kenjalgad massif without leading anywhere to the top.  The clock was ticking too fast for our liking and the winds getting stronger and stronger sufficient enough at times to throw us off-balance. The rains too was lashing pretty hard now at us.

The slopes became more and more treacherous and slippery and for couple of us it made matters worse. Unsure of their stepping slowed down things further. Fatigue ran in their souls and the wet clothes, day long rain drench and long walk had already sent chill running down their spines. The route unsure, visibility nil and the stormy atmosphere made the situation dilemmatic.

The decision…
It was at this point when we decided to look for shelter on Kenjalgad and skip the plan of Kamalgad the next day, as it would have been too late to start from Kenjalgad and do Kamalgad the next morning. The decision was made, but not yet gulped down too readily by some. The reason; Kenjalgad massif want’ still visible and played hide and seek beyond the clouds. Rains got heavier and heavier. Energy and confidence lost by a few.  Some how and some motivation for the warm shelter saw the group moving towards the probable route for Kenjalgad. After a while, cloud cleared a bit, and the massif visible; but the in between lay the steep and slippery slopes of Kenjalgad. By this time we were pretty sure that this wasn’t the route but we had to alternative to take on the slopes and move ahead.

The scorpion-Khekda debate…
We moved on, skirting the slopes and ascending along the trail. The newbie Arun had some issues along the way and so did another guy, who wasn’t a newbie, but just as it sometime happens to the best of us.  Each step seemed to be treacherous them and the territory alien and hostile. Our support managed them all along and they were willingly moving ahead. Kudos to their sprits under the conditions that alienated them completely.  On the way, there was this scorpio-Khekda debate . Seems funny eh?

Well, it goes like this.. I was lending my hand to one of my companion on the trek and showing him the stepping.  That’s when he refused to step and started reiterating, “Tithe Khekda aahe! Meaning there is a crab over there and I won’t step there. I was bamboozed as I couldn’t see any one there and kept on urging him to step further. He was adamant about the crab and refused to step. The slope were slippery and my feet slipping as the loose mud under our floaters slipped away,, slowly but surely. He kept o insisting and told me that Khekda was behind my leg and that it was approaching me feet. It was then I decided to pay heed as crabs usually do not come close and shy away from human feel.  So I turned around and was taken a bit by surprise to find a black-blue scorpion of around 3-4 inches in length approaching my exposed feet and well within the stinging range, barely couple of inches away. I first wanted to yell at my friend and educate him to zoology regarding the difference between a crab and a scorpion. But the striking distance, in which the scorpion was, made me instantly move my feet away and woosh away the scorpion with a dried twig.

The rest of the trip was nightmare for my friend as everyone seemed to keep on asking him the difference between a carb and a scorpion. Lolz.. whatever, it was his insistence on the subject matter, irrespective of the way he perceived it, that made me woosh way the stinger! Thanks you mate!

Reaching the cavern…
A further scramble and we reached the final slopes. The concavity in the Kenjalgad massif seemed like a cave and we had a sigh of relief. Two of the, went ahead and made sure that they reach the place and see if it was really a shelter for the night. Out of the remaining five, two were struggling to scale the final slopes and it was now when the first timer’s ventures required me to actually use the sling to pull him out and see him atop the treadable path. A 10 minutes scramble saw us reaching what seemed like a cave from below, but in fact a mere concavity in the massif. The wind was still strong and rain lashing. The chill increasing and everyone was a bit disillusioned by the fact that shelter was nowhere near and to be seen.

However, the cavern allowed a brief respite from the winds and rains and for the moment allowed everyone to gain back some sanity and instill the same in the ambiance.

Finding the majestic rock cut steps and the shelter…
While others rested, me and one of my friend, Vinita went ahead in search of a decent shelter. We traversed the Kenjalgad base on one side first and couldn’t find anything there. Then we traversed the other side and after a brief easy walk reached the base of steps and a habitable and warm cave nearby. We were quite relaxed on seeing it and finding it suitable for the night stay. We climbed some rock cut steps to reach the top of the fort. The top is devoid of any shelter and houses a few ruins and a potable water source. We had a look around on the top and made our way back to the cavern.

We took everyone to the cave and on the sight of it, everyone was rejuvenated and words started filling the quite space of the warm cave.  Everyone dried themselves and changed to a dry pair of clothes.

The warm tea…
After changing and arranging stuff, we collected nearby partially dried wood and attempted making a fire out of it. We some how managed to light the fire and made a nice warm cup of tea for everyone to savour. The term ‘Hot’ would be in appropriate, but ‘Warm’ was more than welcome in the conditions mentioned above. A brief snack of farsan, cakes, tea, biscuits and such saw the empty tummies filled.

A small while passed before the darkness engulfed and the sparkle of the candle lit ambiance filled warmth and content in the rugged concavity of the rock cut cave, right near the belly of the Kenjalgad massif.

Goodnight wishes… followed after a brief chatter time!

The next day was more or less of return journey and no where near as exciting as the one before. We had a look atop the fort and everyone saw what Kenjalgad was like. The ruins, the fort walls, the view, the water tank and such.  A chiwda session, few mango bites (thanks to Amod) and some munching we made our way towards Khavli village near the back waters of Dhom dam.

Reaching Khavli was a monotonous following of the paaywat and it did not take longer than and hour and the half. Metalled road greeted us and glimpses of human civilization seemed so long since last 20 hours or so. Vinita was gladly seeking the chirps of the aves and trying to capture their soaring flights and spread wings in the sensor of her Olympus.

Kenjalgad was smirking on us standing tall overhead while the fort of Kamalgad still seemed to invite us on the other side of the Dhom backwaters. It is definitely inviting and a visit sooner is inevitable.

The return journey…
We boarded a wai bus from Khavli and an hours bus ride took us there. We had a good lunch and further boarded the Swargate bus from Wai. After a few delays and snags we got into the Mumbai central bus and alighted at Panvel at around 10.30 PM. It was farewell time by now and we all headed home from here.

The tata, bye-bye, adios and adieu all came and went, however it left us with a rising desire to come back and see each other again and continue our tryst with the mountains together.

Special thanks to..
Vinita, Raj, Amod, Tapan. Arun, and Devendra..well that rounds off one and all isn’t it?

Vasota trek

The virgin forest, sunray defying thickets, the fear of wild, the chirping of birds, the charm of unseasonal rainfall, wetting of the baked earth, serene temple, quenched thirsts, satiated conscious and oh God…. let that terrifying roar be far away… this are the memories I cherish about Vasota.

Good Friday, Holi and the Sunday all lined up to set up a perfect long weekend for implementing a long distance trek plan, urging me to venture in far off places like Satara, Koyna valley or far north in the Balgan range. There are lot many forts and ranges with multiple options and fascinating routes on offer to be experienced and after much deliberations and general consensus we decided to set our feet in the thickets of the Vasota, which now falls under protected forest area.

Thursday, 20th March was it, when with our bags stuffed with ration and essentials for the next three days we set off for Satara. We were five of us from Kalyan-Dombivali. Five more persons were supposed to join us at Satara, which they did. We reached Satara at around 4 AM after an overnight bus journey and were joined by the remaining members. A total of 10 members managed to squeeze out time, pacify the families, manipulate their schedules and cherish the dream of Vasota forest range. From Satara, a bus leaves for Bamnoli at 6:15 AM and reaches Bamnoli after around an hour and half journey. We reached Bamnoli, freshened up with plateful of poha and a cup of tea for our breakfast.

Vasota, inaccessibly located far away from the roadways, has to be either accessed via a long circuitous route from Mahabaleshwar-Taople-Vasota or accessed via a very steep ascent from Kokan via Choravane or sailing for couple of waters in the huge Koyna reservoir. This is one of the pivotal factor owing to which Vasota has managed to retain its much virgin ambience in spite of the rampaging footsteps of the trekkers. The forest is very much thick, green and infested with a variety of flora and fauna, and of course the wild animals as well. The wild life in this reserve includes the Bison, Sambar, Bhekar (barking deer) and some other species of the Deer family, Wild Pigs, jugle fowl, rabbits and specially the Bear inhabits these forests. The important predators include the leopard, tiger, panther, etc. It also has its share of the flora and fauna as well as the creepy crawlies including snakes, chameleons, scorpions, etc. Most of these areas have been declared as Protected Areas / Sanctuaries under the Wildlife Conservation Act and need special permission to visit.

“Vasota fort was built by King Bhojraj II of Silhara dynasty. In 1656, Shivaji took control of the fort. There are two forts, the Juna Vasota (old Vasota) fort and the Navin Vasota (new Vasota). Juna vasota, on top of Babukhada, the second largest cliff in Maharashtra is not accessible. New Vasota fort was used to keep British prisoners, till they captured the fort.”

We chose the third option. We reached Bamnoli and after the morning wrap up we got the permission from the Forest authorities to visit Vasota for two days, dated 21st and 22nd. Earlier trekkers used to stay at Nageshwar caves after Vasota visit and descend to Choravane in Kokan. However, now the forest authorities prohibit staying at Vasota or Nageshwar. If one wishes to, one can descend down to Choravane before dark, but staying atop is prohibited. The descend Choravane is very steep and enjoyable and in stark contrast to the opposing slopes is devoid of thick vegetation.
Typical government organization it was, opened at a snail’s pace and proceeded slower. The office formalitites took nearly 45 minutes to complete and finally we embarked towards Vasota from Bamnoli at around 9.00 AM.

After a two hours diesel powered boat ride, we reached Met Indavli at the foothills of Vasota. The boat charges for the ride, irrespective of the head count are Rs 700 as on March 2008. Met Indavli is a very beautiful place located on the banks of Koyna backwaters. The forest authorities have now setup a tented accommodation, The Nirvachan Kendra at Met Indavli fort trekkers and tourists. The tent and accommodation charges are all included along with the visit permit back at Bamnoli itself. The rates as prevalent in March 2008 are 40 Rs per day per person plus other maintenance taxes. The entire trip can be a costly affair one feels, but the fact that the money is pumped in for maintenance of such beautiful forests is heartening.

From Met Indavli, it is a two hours trek to the top of Vasota. The thick forest lining the well defined mud track follows right up to the top of the fort. Treading on the boulevard, even at 12 noon, it is hard to find the sun rays hitting the earth is some areas of these forests, that’s not a hyperbole by any stretch of imagination. In the month of March, the cool breeze amidst the sweat filmed skin is a pleasure to be experienced. On the way barely 10 mins walk from the Nirvachan Kendra one comes across a small rivulet that holds potable water. This is the only water spot before reaching the top.

On the way, we unfortunately or fortunately, did not come across wild species of animals, but some beautiful bird chirps definitely greeted our ears. A bird enthusiast would have been just delighted to be there. Within two hours of a pleasure walk on an uphill terrain we reached the top. The fort walls and few rock cut steps are the traces of fortifications on the way and on the top; first we come across a dilapidated Hanumana temple with a beautiful unsheltered rock idol smeared with red standing amidst the crumbling walls.

From here a path to our left leads straight towards the Babu Kada point in 5 minutes. On the way we come across rock cut water tanks that provides potable water to the trekkers and visitor all round the year. Further ahead, the path took us to Babu Kada, second largest Kada in Maharashtra after the mighty Harishchandragad’s Kokan Kada. The Babu Kada provides an awe-inspiring view of the steep wind eroded cliff of the Juna Vasota fort, a sheer drop of more than 2000 feet straight to the abysmal depths. The remains of the fortifications atop Juna Vasota can be very clearly seen from this point and the thick forest dominating its landscape just seems so very inviting. But the density of the vegetation clearly underlines the difficult approach that one has to take to reach atop the Juna Vasota fort.

From the Hanumana temple, a path leads straight in the thickets and in a short while ends abruptly facing a steep fall into the Kokan. The landscape is just visual delight with an unnamed pinnacle in the foreground and Nageshwar catching our attention in the background. On this way, just a few steps in the forest we come across a dilapidated wada. The remains of the wada urged us to go beyond the walls and so did we. The base plinth on which the foundation of wada lies is still very solid, but the wall have given away. Except for the walls, nothing else leaves a trace for one to conclude that it must be a wada. The inside is completely filled with wild bushes and weeds. With some ruins inside and nothing else to see we just wandered making our way through the bushed and made our way back to the Hanuman temple. Inside the wada we came across pieces of what probably looked to us like a bill/Bison (Gavaa) skeleton.

A path in direction exactly opposite to Babu Kada point leads to an open plateau. On the way there is a Shankar temple which provides the only roofed shelter atop Vasota, that too not enough for accommodation. Also it is at a considerable distance from the water tank. Further ahead, the trail leads through a arched gateway and leads to the extreme end towards Nageshwar. The view from here offers a birds eye view of the entire landscape extending in the Kokan and beyond Nageshwar. The cool breeze and lowering sun made a perfect avenue for the lensmen.

We roamed around the fort and visited to most parts of the fort venturing in the thicket and wherever possible. On one side we could see the vast expanse of the Shivsagar lake and on the other side was Konkan. It was a visual delight.

As the sun lowered, we started assembling our scattered belongings and made provision for a small choolah. The twilight gave away to darkness and we all made sure that we always remained in a group, no matter what! We began our cooking preparations; a sumptuous meal including, dal, rice and potato-kanda bhaji with pickle to add flavor. The dinner preparations occupied us and with interspersed jokes and chats at our disposal basking in the warmth of the dim light that the camp fire offered the entire affair was just an experience to be cherished and remembered again and again.

Following dinner, we slept in the open place in front of the Hanuman temple and the ones who slept in the corner were a bit skeptical. Infact myself sleeping in between did not make me realize the X factor of sleeping on the edge of the thickets. We had nap with regular breaks and the impeding rain and cloud cover always saw us under heavy possibilities of being drenched. But that was not to be, thankfully.

We broke the rule that the forest official had laid by staying atop in the restricted area and had to cough up a fine of 100 Rs per head. We were well aware that trekkers do stay atop and its not a novelty, but considering the occasion of the Holi and extended weekend, the forest authorities were a bit prepared and already had considered the possibility to give us a taste of law. So 100 Rs it was, but the experience of staying atop Vasota and the satisfaction it catered is just priceless.

I would like to end on the same note:

The virgin forest, sunray defying thickets, the fear of wild, the chirping of birds, the charm of unseasonal rainfall, wetting of the baked earth, serene temple, quenched thirsts, satiated conscious and oh God…. let that terrifying roar be far away… this are the memories I cherish about Vasota.