Total climbing time approx 4 hrs
Things to see: Namrata devi temple
Kotwal Smarak-- Freedom fighter Kotwal was shot dead by the britishers here in the 18th centuryBoth of them are on the western side of the fort and one has to come on a 2-day trek to see them.
Accomodation: One can stay in Siddhagadwadi school for the night.
Further left, we could see the twin pinnacles of Gorakh-Macchindra, which appeared as tiny babies in front of this huge monster! The route to the col was pretty easy walk on level ground but was very confusing as numerous trails were criss-crossing each other and we were walking on pure instincts! But eventually we lost our way, not once but twice.. but i realized that i was making the same mistake i did on my Peb trek last yr and decided to turn back. It turned out to be the right decision as we were actually leading to the col between Ahupe and Damdamiya. After taking precise directions from a villager whom we met on the way back.. we re-joined the real trail. After an hrs walk on level ground, the route started to climb up steadily. Our poor cardio status started showing immediately as we started getting palpitations after 15-20 mins of climbing up..
Time for some Glucon-D!!! This route which climbed up thru the col was pretty rocky, but went up thru thick forests, so had relief from the scorching heat! These forests are a continuation of the Bhimashankar wildlife sanctuary and are pretty thick even in winters and summer months.
After an hr and a half"s climb, we were relieved to reach the Mahadarwaja of the main plateau on which Siddhagadwadi is situated. After we climbed the col, the route bifurcates.. the one to the right lead to the mahadarwaja while the one to the left led PROBABLY to Ahupe ghat.. from where we can do Siddhagad-bhimashankar 3 day trek [which we were planning to do earlier]. Anyways, after walking for half an hr we reached the village of Siddhagadwadi. Its a very quiet and small village, consisting of about 10-15 huts , population of abt 200 and few fields. From here we could see Gorakhgad which appeared so small.. we were easily above the level of its pinnacle. We camped at the village school, and after a quick wash and lunch, were ready to head for the pinnacle. It was quite late , around 2 pm and we didn't have much time. So we decided to hire a guide from the village who can lead us to the top, as we couldn't afford wasting time in finding the right path. His name was Naresh, 23yrs old.. quite a helpful chap..
So we started our final "REAL" climb to the top , with Naresh leading the trio. As he was accustomed to climbing this place.. he started scurrying up while we were left behind, huffing and panting!!! :) I t was an interesting climb.. we were chatting with Naresh about the village, about him,.. and about the sky,the stars and the universe .. till the rocky patch began. It was a very tough climb.. not because it was technical or something, but because it was totally exposed, and there was a lot of scree throughout. The rock cut steps were very narrow and quite high and slippery. The route cut across many dried up water falls, looking at which i realized that this must be a pretty hard part during the monsoons when the path becomes even more slippery. Initially i was climbing up pretty easily as i had the experience of 7 yrs behind me, but after a few slip-ups cuz of the scree (scree= a mixture of loose mud, small rocks and dried up vegetation which makes the path slippery), Naresh told us about an accident last winter when a guy became over-confident and he slipped and fell to his death. Well that was pretty helpful Naresh.. thank u very much!!!! :(
We finally reached the Baba's cave after about 45 mins of climb. The Baba is a middle aged man who is staying in the cave for about 7-8 yrs. He welcomed us and made us hot tea.. which was ammmmazingly refreshing. He even kept a record 
of all the trekkers who've visited this place. We proudly entered our group name.. "The Falcons" and i ended up filling up an entire page with my experience, ending up with "JAI HIND"!! Well the party had just started as the rock patch further up to the top was even more treacherous, Exposed, and as slippery as it can be.. My best companion for the last 7 yrs of trekking, i.e . my shoes.. we keeping me safe all the time.. but they had begun to wear out .. and the sole of the right show was also beginning to get split into half.. i was sweating profusely , as i had to concentrate really hard, but the shoe thing was also in my mind. One look down, and i could see tiny houses like ants straight down into the valley.. and i had no chance of slipping this time as i could see my fate if i slipped, as that of the loose rocks , which went tumbling down into the valley with each and every step i took.. But then i saw Naresh climbing up like a mad daog in front of me.. and he was wearing just a pair of rubber slippers!!! well that really made me forget about all my worries and the three of us climbed on like monkeys!!
It was an overwhelming sense of achievement when i touched the dried up grass and mud on the pinnacle... a dream realized... Siddhagad conquered at last!! Zankhan.. i wish u were here at this time!!
We then made our way to the Machi or the Citadel which is at the northern end..
It was a beautiful sight.. from left to right we could see the peaks of Gorakhgad, Macchindra, Ahupe, Damdamiya, Bhimashankar and Padarkilla. The sight of the plateau and its triangular projections, and the water reservoir and the villages and fields below gave me that "On top of the world" sort of feeling..
So after some sight-seeing and an extensive photography session, we started our descent, which was gonna be even more dangerous than the climb. While descending, we were looking straight down into the valley and it took immense concentration to negotiate that patch. Understandingly, it took us more time to get down to Siddhagadwadi than it took to climb up.
After a quick filling up of bottles we made a dash for the descent from the plateau. It was 5.30 and the light was fading pretty quickly. We weren't ready for this scenario and so were not carrying our torches. the moon, which had already risen wasn't looking all that helpful either. So we gad no option rather than to run all the way down.. and that is what we really did. We LITERALLY RAN all the way down to the base of the plateau thru the entire rocky col.. We started playing our usual F-1 race game.. with Amit in his Ferrari and myself in my Mclaren shooting down .. playing stepping stones.. on our pure reflexes! At one point Amit unfairly straight-lined a chicane and took the lead from me,.. and even Refused to take the Drive-thru penalty!!!! :(
But we were battered..and bruised.. This dash-thru coupled with the grueling descent of the rock patch put a lot of pressure on our knees and feet.. and the result was in numerous blisters and tremendously aching feet for me and cramping calves for amit! Time for another Glucon-D break!!!
But that didn't help us much. though we descended the entire col in less than half an hr.. the sun was already setting at 6 and we still had a lot of distance to cover. We just kept on dragging our legs.. or rather .. our legs were just dragging us... as we had to reach the village before the light faded out completely.. A nitro boost here and there and a few more determined efforts and we finally reached the village just before the light faded away completely at 7 pm. The Falcon , with one wing and both his feet clipped off, had successfully completed the trek!
The bus journey back to Murbad wasn't pleasant either, with the pathetic road (it didn't even qualify as per the definition of the road) and the ST bus.. a lethal combo.. adding to our woes!! So we Rocked away.. we head banged away.. not out of pleasure but out of sheer helpless compulsion, to Murbad. Thankfully we got a direct bus to Kalyan and we slept all the way to dadar in the local train and back home..
Back home and i spent the rest of the night with aching Foot, 7 blisters.. 2 off them 1cm in diameter.. and an upset tummy... But i wasn't complaining.. as i had achieved what i wanted to for so many yrs!
SIDDHAGAD CONQUERED AT LAST!! JAI HIND!!!
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