Kalavantin Durg (21st December, 2008)

Kalavantin Durg is a pinnacle which lies adjacent to the famous Prabal fort, near Chowk, off the Mumbai-Goa highway. The V-shaped notch between the triangular Kalavantin durg and the adjacent massive Prabal plateau, along with the saddle shaped top of Irshalgad are easily identifiable from the highway. It was used as a watch tower to keep a vigil on the adjoining forts and the surrounding area.


Height: 2300 feet

Range: Matheran/Karjat Range

District: Raigad

Grade: Medium

Way to Reach: Reach Panvel by local train/ST bus. From Panvel ST stand, you can get ST buses to the base village of Thakurwadi. The first ST bus is at 7 am.
If you miss the ST, one can get 10-seater autos (Tam-tam) from near the ST stand. You will have to negotiate the rates for the same. They usually charge around Rs.200 for 10 people.

As you are reaching the village, look out for Zoya health retreat on your left. There will be a left turn in front of the retreat. The road ahead goes to the Thakurvadi cillage, take the left turn till you arrive at the gate of a private property. Autos are not allowed beyond this point.

The Climb: From the resort, the tar road climbs up gradually. After walking for almost 10-15 minutes on it, and after crossing a small bridge over a nala that is broken, one hits the proper trekking trail. This route climbs up gradually for about half an hour. At one point, where the route turns to the left, there is a small narrow path that climbs along the ridge from the right. This route climbs continuously, and is steep, full of scree... but is pretty safe. This route may turn slippery in the monsoon. Both these routes meet at a flat plain, where there is a small pinnacle sort of a collection of rocks.


The a furthre gradual climb of about half an hour takes you to the base plateau. The village of Machi Prabal is located on this plateau. From here, the route bifurcates. The right one goes to Prabalgad from besides a well, and the left one goes to Kalavantin Durg. The route to Kalavantin climbs up from the village, the path being full of loose rocks, and reaches the col in another half an hour. From here, there are rock cut steep steps all the way to the top. The climb over this portion can get quite in the monsoon, as the steps can get slippery and the wind can be pretty strong in the col.

At the end, the path is made of loose soil, and again, can be quite tricky and thrilling in the monsoon. Then you reach the rock patch of about 10 feet high. There are proper holds available, and climbing it is not an issue.

The Route Map

Climbing time: Thakurwadi to Machi Prabal ---> 1- 1.5 hours
Machi Prabal to the top ---> 1 hour

Total Climbing time: 2-2.5 hours

Fascinating spots: Undoubtedly, the rock cut steps and the final rock patch.

Forts visible from the top: Badlapur hill, Haji Malang, Navra-Navri, Mhasmal, Chanderi, Nakhind, Peb

Kelve-Teen, Prabal and Karnala

The Gadeshwar lake and the dam located at the base of Chander-Mhasmal-Peb-Nakhind can also be seen. The plateau of Matheran and the col between Peb and Matheran can also be located.

View of Kalavantin Durg from Prabalgad
(Photograph: Kiran Belose & www.marathikatta.com)

Accomodation: Since its a One-day trek, accomodation/over night stay won't be needed. But If required, the villages at the Machi-Prabal village can provide space outside their homes in the courtyard for an overnight stay.

Food and Water: Carry your own foodstuff. Water not available on the top. The well at Machi prabal village is the source of drinking water. The villagers can also cook food for the trekkers if requested.

The trek to Kalavantin Durg can also be couple with the trek to Prabal as a one day trek. Also, one can also do a 2-3 day trek of Kalavantin-Prabal-Matheran. From Machi-Prabal village, one can get to Varosa village on the other side, in about 2-2.5 hours. From here, one can climb up Matheran via the ladder-route, or the One-tree hill route.

Kalavantin Durg - A beginning of the Winter trekking season!

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Participants : Sudhir (Leader) , Karthik, Ashutosh and other members of theYoungsterz.

A hiatus of almost 3 long months and my feet were really itching for some action. I had been quite busy, joined a job... then left it... busy with my applications... etc etc. All I could manage was a couple of long distance cycling trips, but I was looking forward for some trekking. December was nearing to an end, and I needed some warm up for my Dalhousie trek, and along came the trek to Kalavantin durg. I had missed this trek earlier this year in the monsoon.. but I was really fascinated by the pics, that I couldn't resist from joining the Youngsterz for this trek.

After a disastrous Saturday night, which was spent painfully, being awake in spite of watching a soporific movie "Lamhe", hoping it would put me to sleep, but to no avail.. 5.45 am meeting point at Kurla on a cool Sunday morning was a torture, but I had no option but to sacrifice on my sleep... The earlier evening was quite pleasant, with light drizzle here and there springing up a surprise, and I hoped for a rainy trek.. I was surprised to see Ashutosh and Karthik standing under the indicator.. These guys were with me on my previous trek to Bhimashankar, and like me, they didn't go for any climbs after that trek. We caught the 5:58 local to Panvel, and after half-dozing around and commenting on the hilarious posters pasted in the train, we reached Panvel. After a light breakfast of Kanda poha and tea, we walked to the auto stand, where we caught a share-10 seater tamtam to Thakurwadi village, some 17 kms away. We had a large group of around 23 trekkers, and we were joined by another group of 7, who were also going to Kalavantin Durg. They turned out to be NCC cadets, and Sudhir's seniors.

After the introductions and instructions, we started our trek at around 10 am.. There were 3 doctors, including myself. One was a lady doc practising as a GP, other was a pathologist from GSMC. It was a gloomy morning, clouds obscured the sun and the azure sky, which was visible when the clouds had parted for a few minutes... The tar road slowly turned into a curvy muddy trail which then began climbing gradually. After an easy walk, Sudhir asked us whether we wanted to take a little tougher route or the easy route, and everyone enthusiastically and unanimously opted for the former.... Soon everyone was huffing anf puffing up the steep ridge... which then led to a flat ground, having a small pinnacle-like arrangement of rocks.. Everyone wanted to climb up that pinnacle and pose for the photographs.. It is a pretty popular site for photography I guess, as I had seen many photographs taken there when I had searched for Kalavantin on google... Anyways, I was enjoying the surrounding view... Could see the entire Matheran range till Haji Malang... I even spotted the Gadeshwar lake, where Nishant and I had gone cycling and camping in October... It was quite a bad weather for photography as the sky wasn't clear and the light was pretty bad. After about half an hour of rest, we resumed our walk. We soon reached the plateau, and then the village of Machi Prabal, from where the routes to Kalavantin and Prabal bifurcate. After talking to a local teen, I got to know that it is a small village of about 24 huts. There was no school in the village, and a Balwadi (Nursery) was opened only recently. The village kids usually went to the nearby good school at a village near Panvel, and stayed in hostels. After a photographys session and refilling the bottles with well water, we proceeded on the final part.

The route further towards the col was quite rocky. It was pretty windy near the col, and I only imagined how strong the winds would be in the monsoon. I remembered the Chanderi trek, where I nearly lost my spects due to the strong wind. The really exciting part of the trek was just about to start... as I gazed above, I saw the steps, neatly cut into the rock face of the mountain. Looking at the height of every step, I wondered what the height of the soldiers in that era would be... Since there were a couple of first timers and many non regulars int he group, we climbed at a slow pace till we reached near the rock patch. The rock patch was about 10 feet high. Sudhir and others helped everybody, one by one to the top, where the other group whom we had met earlier were already present. Then up came the bags one by one, and we formed a circle, and had a feast. It was literally a feast, as I had never seen such a variety of foodstuff in any trek I could remember... right from plain fruits like bananas and oranges, to biscuits, chaklis, chivada, bread and butter, theplas, chapatis, sabji, fried rice, khakris, and yeah.. even Mutton balls... it had everything... and yeah, as an uncle from the group righly commented after the lunch, "If anyone has brought any ice cream, please take it out...." ... and yeah, that was the only thing missing... I didn't have much other than 2 bananas, some chaklis, biscuits and a couple of theplas, as I avoid eating much on treks (Thats a different thing that i hog like a dog from a famine struck village after I reach home)...

Then came the best part... Karthik and I found a really sweet spot, and slept, God knows for how long... I was awoken by a rude slap of the rope by Karthik... It was time to leave...
Getting down was always going to be a tricky business... It took almost half an hour for everyone to get down the rock patch.. and as we carefully made our way down the steps to the village, I bade Kalavantin adios!! The rest of the descent was quite easy, and we lolled along to the base village of Thakurwadi by 330 pm. After having some much needed shot of hot tea, we scrambled into the St bus at 4.15 pm and slept all the way to Panvel.


Return journeys after a trek never appealed much to me, but then I was happy that this time we were on our return journey earlier than I had expected, and my batteries still had some power in them to carry on for a couple of hours... Panvel-->Dadar-->Malad journey was such a pain in the you-know-where!! But thankfully I got the 6.35 pm Borivali fast leaving from Dadar... Aaaah!! Lord really had some mercy on me...

All set for the Dalhousie trek from Dec 29-Jan3, and then a visit to Dharamshala and Mcleodganj now.. Just heard in the news that it has snowed in the north... Just can't wait to get going!! :)

Link to the Photo Album:

Kalavantin Durg (21st December, 2008)

Cycling -- Titwala, Ganesh temple (29th November, 2008)

--- COMING SOON ---

Cycling -- Gadeshwar Lake, Panvel (18-19th October, 2008)

--- COMING SOON ---

Cycling -- Gorai-Manori-Marve (11th October, 2008)

--- COMING SOON ---

Bhimashankar - Ganesh Ghat (27-28th September, 2008)

---COMING SOON---

Avchitgad (6th September, 2008)

Sitting among the hills of the southern Konkan, near the town of Roha, are some little known or forgotten forts. Amongst these are Avchitgad, Tagad and Ghosalgad. Avchitgad is located near Roha and is a good place for a one day trek. The thick forest cover is quite refreshing.

Height: ~1000 feet

Range: Roha (South Konkan)

District: Raigad

Grade: Easy

Ways to Reach: Reach the town of Roha, a few kilometres from Nagothane on the Mumbai-Goa highway. Regular St services are run between Mumbai and Roha.

From Roha, Avchitgad can be climbed from the base villages of Medhe or Pengalsai. Medhe is about 7 kms from Roha, and can be reached by Roha-Nagothane ST. Pengalsai village is about 5 kms from Roha.

From Pengalsai: From the Roha ST stand, start walking towards Nagothane. Then take the right, the road leads to a bridge over the Kundalika river, before arriving at the base village. From here, one reaches the top within one and a half hour.

From Medhe: Reach Medhe village by Roha- Nagothane ST. Or else, one can get off at Medhe if you are coming from Mumbai by a direct Roha ST bus. After crossing the village, we come across a temple of Lord Vitthal, and further ahead, the narrow path leads to the top in about one hour. In between, this path meets the one coming from Pengalsai in the col.

The route is very easy to climb, but its quite easy to get lost due to thick vegetation.

Climbing time: 1 1/2 hours from Pengalsai or Medhe village.

Fascinating spots: Avchitgad has 2 main bastions. One to the south has inscriptions on it. The main entrance to the fort is still intact. It is situated next to the rock - cut carving of a horse. The route further ahead leads to Large tank, with steps leading downwards. Its more like a small lake, but the water here is not potable. Futher, there is a small temple of Lord Shiva. From behind the temple, the route climbs down to many small water tanks. The water in some is potable. You can see a small idol of Bhanani devi here, as well as a small one of Pengalsai devi.
Two canons sit atop the fort. From the south eastern side of the fort, there is a view of the river Kundalika and the Rohaghat area. To the west, you get a view of the creek at Salav.
The enitre path to the top of the fort is through thick green vegetation. The trees found here are Australian Acacia, teak, mango and jamoon. Several varieties of birds and animals like boars, monkeys, foxes, hares and even an occassional leopard have been seen here.

Every Sankrant, villagers from th surrounding villages gather enthusiastically on the top of the hill fort for their annual fair.
The small ganapati temple near Pengalsai village, and the waterfall at Medhe village is worth seeing.

Forts visible from the top: Telbaila, Sarasgad, Sudhagad, Dhanagad, Korigad, Raigad.

Accomodation facility: One can find many hotels and Government guest house at Roha. There is no place to stay on the top.

Food and Drinking water: Carry your own food. A couple of tanks behind the Shiv temple on the south-western side have potable water.

Mahuli (13th July, 2008)

Height: 2815 feet

Range: Shahapur

District: Thane

Grade: Easy

As we drive on the Mumbai-Nashik highway, as we approach Shahapur-Asangaon, we can see the long range of pinnacles on the left. This range consists of 3 forts, Palasgad, Mahuli and Bhandargad, and other pinnacles. Mahuli is a very famous spot for trekking and waterfall rapelling during the monsoon.

History: In 1485, Leek Ahmed, the Nizamshah conquered Mahuli fort along with other forts in the Konkan area. In 1636, in the efforts to save Nizamshahi, Shahaji Raje took shelter at Mahuli fort along with his wife and Shivaji. The Moghuls attacked the fort under the leadership of Khan Jamaan. Shahaji fought hard, but in vain.
Later, in 1658, Shivaji won back the fort from the Moghuls, but in 1666 returned it to them under the Treaty of Purander. Since it was considered as 3 seperate forts (Palasgad, Bhandargad and Mahuli), Shivaji saved his 2 forts as he was supposed to surrender 23 of his forts under that treaty.
In 1670, Shivaji led a surprise attack on the fort in the middle of the night with 1500 soldiers, but the alertness of the Rajput Killedaar Manohardas Gaud foiled Shivaji's plans and 1000 maratha soldiers got killed. Manohardas understood that Shivaji will once again attack the fort. He left his post and Allaviddi Beg became the new Killedaar. On 16 June, 1670 Shivaji and his soldiers charged and attacked the fort and conquered it.
In 1818, The fort passed over from the Marathas to the Britishers.


Ways to reach: Reach Asangaon railway station on the Kasara line of Central Railway. From the station, start walking towards the Mumbai-Nashik Highway. After walking for about 10 mins, we come across a petrol pump on the left. One can have light snacks in the restaurant here. A further 5 mins walk, and a path enters towards the village and the famous Manas Temple of the Jains. From here, Mahuli village is at a distance of approximately 4 kms.

The Climb: Reach the Mahadeo Temple near Mahuli village. From behind the Mahadeo temple, the route begins. Avoid a bifurcation just ahead of the temple that goes to the left and gets you to a Ganesh temple. Take the narrow straight route off the main road, which after 15 mins comes across a big stream. We have to cross this stream. The road to the left that goes along the stream leads you to the waterfall. After you cross the stream, the path turns left and then gradually climbs up to a plateau in an hour. Then it runs along the ridge and reaches the massif. A further climb of an Hour takes you to the iron ladder, about 10 feet high. Climb the ladder and you reach the top. A further walk of half an hour takes you to the ruins and further ahead, the cave.

Climbing time: 3 hours from the Mahadeo temple.
Takes about 1 and a half hour (max) to reach Mahuli village from Asangaon station.

Fascinating Spots: After climbing the 10 feet Iron ladder to reach the top, we come across a couple of water cisterns. Further ahead, the route bifurcates. Right one goes towards Palasgad and the left route goes towards Bhandargad. On the way to Bhandargad, we pass through a forest and come across the ruins of a palace and a lake. Further ahead, we reach Jamun Bag, and this leads to a ridge, which leads to Bhandargad. On the right, about 500 feet below is the Kalyan Darwaza. One can ascend through Kalyan Darwaza by Rock climbing. It is possible to climb down and up the ridge to Bhandargad, from where the Pinnacles of Bhatoba, Navra and Navri make a fascinating view.

Forts Visible from the top: To the East - Ajoba
To the South east - Harishchandragad, Bhairavgad, Naneghat, Jeevdhan, Gorakhgad, Siddhagad, Bhimashankar
To the South - Matheran
To the South west - Mallangad
To the West - Vajreshwari and Tungareshwar
To the North West - Kohoj
To the North - Tansa lake
To the North East - Alang, Kulang, Madangad, Ratangad

Accomodation: The gatehouses on top of Mahuli can accomodate a few people. However it is advisable to complete the trek in one day.

Food and Water: Carry your own food. A couple of cisterns near the bifurcation are sources of clear water.

Matheran via Chowk-Varosawadi-Ladder route (5-6th July, 2008)

Height: 2636 feet (803.5 m)

Range: Matheran-Panvel-Chowk range

District: Raigad

Grade: Hard

Ways to reach: There are several routes from which one can get to Matheran

• From Neral, catch a Taxi to Dasturi naka (Rs.50 per seat)
• By Mini train to Matheran
• Walking on the tar road/track from Neral
  
• Bhivpuri to Matheran trek at the Garbett point
• Chowk to Matheran trek via Shivaji Ladder at One tree hill point
• Via Gadeshwar temple at the Louisa point
• There is also a route that climbs upto Monkey point
• From Peb fort, along the ridge that joins Matheran and Peb

We had taken the uncharted Chowk - Varosa - Ladder route which is quite unfrequented and relatively unknown. The route opens just beyond the Charlotte lake and the Pisarnath temple.

Reach Panvel by ST bus/local train. From Panvel ST stand, you can get an ST bus to Chowk fata, or you can hire a tuk-tuk (10-seater share auto). From the Chowk fata, walk along the highway towards a small path on the right that climbs upto the railway tracks near the railway bridge over a nullah. Climb on the tracks, and walking along the tracks towards Chowk railway station, cross over to the other side towards the chowk village. You can see the saddle-shaped peak of Irshalgad towering over the Chowk village.

(Click on the map for a larger view)

The Climb : From the base village of Chowk, keeping Irshalgad in your sight, hit the ridge that climbs upto the base village of Irshalwadi at the plateau on the top. The route starts as a tar road from the chowk village, that goes adjoining the Morbe dam at the right. After walking for about 15 mins, you reach the base of the ridge. The route now starts climbing up gradually in a zig-zag manner, giving a spectacular view of the Morbe dam, the reservoir and Matheran, till you reach the crest of the ridge in about half an hour. Climbing along this ridge, you will reach Irshalwadi in about one hour. This village is on the plateau at the base of the peak of Irshalgad.

From here, the route turns right along the base of Irshalgad. Then there is a sort of diversion, the route to the left goes towards the ridge between Irshalgad and Prabalgad. We have to take the right one, which cuts across a field and then descends on the other side. Walking on the ground, with Prabalgad on the left, reach Varosawadi village. The main village of Varosawadi was previously situated at the base of Irshalgad, but later the Morbe dam was built, and the village shifted further upstream at its present location. Here you will cross the river, and then walking along the base of Matheran, reach the base village of Umbernewadi.

From Umbernewadi, we can see the spot where the ladders are situated, which is distinctly red in colour due to landslides, and is slightly bulging creating a gully. The route then climbs up steeply along the ridge. Here, we cut across a stream in between. A steady climb over a rocky route for about One and a half hours and we reach a spot where theres a wodden ladder like thing. Theres a tree trunk, about 5 feet in height, with 3 notches to keep our feet and climb up. The route then ascends steeply over a rock patch, and you reach the 1st ladder (~ 2 hours from Umbernewadi).

The 1st ladder is about 10-15 feet in height and is situated right at the base of the huge rock face. It is made of iron, and a few rungs are lose, kept in place by metallic wires. Once you climb this ladder, a very narrow route then goes to the right, traverses the rock face towards the gully. Here, you will reach a cave with a temple. (we believed its the real Pisarnath temple, as at the top of the gully, we saw an arrow pointing downwards... and as most tourists won't be able to get down here). Beyond the cave, take left and inside the gully, you will encounter the tallest ladder of the 3, towering over you, inside a waterfall (In the monsoon... I don't think the waterfall would be present in the summer months).

The 2nd ladder is made of Bamboo inside the gully and is almost vertical. It is about 25-30 feet high, and is situated right in the centre of a small waterfall. The rungs, made of bamboo, are quite slippery in the rains due to moss and utmost caution is needed in climbing this ladder. Only one person should climb this ladder at a time.

Immediately, after climbing the 2nd ladder, you will encounter the last ladder. It is also made of bamboo, but is somewhat twisted. It is about 8-10 feet high. Then there is a high rock patch that has to be encountered in the gully. The rocks here are quite sharp, lose and slippery due to moss and the rushing water. This region is quite dangerous, as many landslides have been occured.
Climbing for about half an hour, and you reach the Matheran plateau. A 10 mins walk from here to the left and you will reach Charlotte lake.

Fascinating spots: Matheran is a hill station with about 30 points.
Some really good points are -->

• Garbett point
• Louisa point
• Sunset point
• Echo point
• Monkey point
• One tree hill
• Panorama (Sunrise) point
• Charlotte Lake

Forts Visible from the top: Irshalgad, Prabalgad, Kelve teen, Peb, Sometimes Karnala and Manikgad when the sky is clear.

Climbing time:

Chowk fata ---> Chowk village : 1 hour
Chowk village ---> Irshalwadi (along the ridge) : ~ 2 1/2 hours
Irshalwadi ---> Varosawadi : ~ 2 hours
Varosawadi ---> Umbernewadi : 30 mins
Umbernewadi ---> 1st ladder : 2 hours
1st ladder ---> 2nd ladder : 10 mins
2nd ladder ---> Matheran plateau : 45 mins

Total Climbing time : approx 8-9 hours
Food and Drinking water: Carry your lunch for the day along with snacks. Also carry plenty of drinking water if trekking in the summer months.

NOTE: Please attempt this trek along with experienced trekkers only. It is quite an exhaustive and lengthy trek, and the final rock patch is quite dicey. Carry plenty of water along if trekking in summer.

Matheran via Chowk-Varosawadi-Ladder route
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Participants: Parag, Nishant, Alok, Minesh, Rohit

The Beginning:
This was going to be a difficult trek, thats what was getting me fully pumped up for this trek. Alok and Minesh decided to sleep overnight at Panvel ST stand, while myself and Nishant joined them at the bus stand early in the morning. Rohit, a fireman, was a bit late as he was coming back from his night shift. It was a lazy Saturday morning at Panvel and then we decided to fill ourselves with some good breakfast before our trek. Hot Vada pavs made their way down our oesophaguses, as we caught a share auto towards Chowk. We got down a bit ahead at the main chowk fata, and then we had to start walking back a bit till the railway bridge over a small stream. We climbed up to the railway line and decided it was a nice place to do some photo session. The large and newly built Morbe Dam was to our right, and we started walking on the tracks towards Chowk railway station. Just before the station, we crossed over to the other side towards Chowk village. Irshalgad was looking quite fabulous, with its saddle-shaped pinnacle been covered with clouds. Nishant always teases me, that Irshalgad and Manikgad are the only two forts I know as I can identify them from anywhere cause of their peculiar shapes... :)

The Climb towards Irshalwadi:
After walking on a tar road for sometime, we came to a small temple in Chowk village. We then repacked our stuff, prepared ourselves for any chances of rain, changed clothes and were ready to hit the trail. Rohit had just been back after doing a basic mountaneering course with an A grade. He showed us his ultra compact and cheap sleeping bag, with which I was really impressed. The trail lead us to a spot where there were a cluster of small huts with typical thatched roofs.. from there, we had a splendid view of the Morbe dam and the reservoir. Irshalgad was on the left and Matheran was on the right, the atmosphere was cloudy and windy and was ideal for trekking, and my feet were simply itching to get started.
The Varosawadi village was previously located just near the base of Irshalgad and Matheran below the One tree hill, but was later relocated further upstream when the Morbe dam was built.

As we passed through the small village near the base of the ridge that led to Irshalwadi, we were greeted, first by small village kids, who I think got really facinated after seeing my cam.. They just started pulling my hand demanding chocolates... Then there were the village dogs, warning us about our tresspassing through their territories...

The initial climb was quite gradual, and a bit zig zag, and soon we reached halfway over the ridge in half an hour... The wind over there was simply awesome, and we were nearly caught off balance at a couple of places. The ridge really took a test of our cardiovascular fitness, as we huffed and puffed over the slippery moss ridden path. Nishant and Rohit made their way ahead and reached Irshalwadi, which was located on the plateau at the base of Irshalgad. Minesh, Alok and myself lolled behind, as I got ample of opportunities to get some good shots. It took us about 2 hours to reach Irshalwadi from the base. After a quick fill of our bottles from the village and asking directions, we made our way towards Varosawadi.

The tiring walk towards Varosawadi:
I felt so good after being so close to Irshalgad, "My fav fort" as Nishant said... but yeah, that was not what we had planned to climb. So we went ahead from the village, took a right and neared a field on the plateau. I was nearly depressed when I heard the villager tell us that we had to get down the plateau from the other side to reach the River. All the efforts and energy in climbing that ridge and gaining that height was wasted, as we crossed the field and started climbing down the plateau.. Within half an hour, we were back on the flat ground, and walking besides the river on our right and Irshalgad and the massive Prabalgad on our left. The entire experience of being in that valley simply cannot be described in words.. Being surrounded by mist covered mountains laden with innumerable waterfalls, the aroma of wet mud after the rains in the air, the sound of a million birds involved in a jamming session and of that of the flowing river, and the cool breeze blowing around... I made up my mind to come here sometime in the future for camping for a couple of days...

But the slushy ground made life difficult for us. Fresh rains had caused water logging and loosening up of the soil throughout, and our feet were simply sinking in that mud, if we had taken a wrong step. We did not meet any villager on our way to ask for directions. So we started planning our own way out. As it was first told that we were gonna climb up via the Shivaji-Ladder route (Which we later came to know that Shivaji Ladder route led to One tree hill and was a different route), we kept a ridge at the extreme right of Matheran as our reference point, and we thought the village would be there at the base of that ridge. So we decided to cross the river and cut across to the other side and walk towards that ridge instead of trying to go all around it. The river was thankfully not in its full flow, and the water was thigh deep and was completely chilled.. The banks of the river showed signs of subsided flood waters with dead trees and washed away river banks. We were now walking towards the base of Matheran, in a direction back towards Chowk, where we met a wood cutter, who told us that we were walking in the opposite direction, and told us that the Varosa village was further upstream instead.

So we again started walking upstream, and finding a shady place near a stream, we had a break for lunch. It was almost 3 pm and we had less time on our hands as the sun sets quite early in these areas, and also the darkness comes up earlier due to monsoon clouds. After a filling lunch consisting of Thepalas, baked beans, sandwiches and achaar, we began our trudge towards Varosa. Then another villager told us that we did not have to go all the way to Varosa, as a right from a junction would lead us to the base village of Umbernewadi. He showed us the spot where the ladders were located, which was a fairly distinguishable spot, which was completely red due to landslides in that area.

The Over-friendly Villagers of Umbernewadi and the climb towards the Ladders:
After walking a few minutes, we saw a cluster of huts that constituted a village. No sooner were we in sight, about 5- 10 villagers including kids came running towards us, like the coolies come running towards you to take your luggage at a train station. I felt like being a white skinned foreigner in India. We asked a villager for directions, but he insisted that it was too late for us, and that should spend the night in the village and that he would make good chicken for us. All the men in the village baring a couple were so obviously drunk. One particular person far away in the field was shouting his guts out and told us that he will show us the right way. These village people do such things to earn money. We politely declined their offer to stay in the village, and after much coaxing and cajoling, we agreed to take a middle aged person along with us as a guide to show us the correct route to the ladders.

That elderly person led us and we began our actual ascent of Matheran. It was quite a tiring part of the trek, as we had already walked so much through the day. But that gentleman who was guiding us, was so full of energy, partly cause he was a regular on that route, and partly cause he had alcohol running in his blood... We then reached a stream, where he showed us the right route.. We looked behind and were surprised to see that there were 2-3 other drunk villagers following us. We paid our guide 10 bucks, and got rid of them and started our ascent. I had to take a sip of Electral here as it was too humid, and the climb made it worse. After a steep climb of an hour, Rohit and me were far ahead of Nishant, Alok and Minesh, who were trekking after a long time. We came across a small rock patch, where there was a wodden ladder like thing, made up of a thick branch with 3-4 nothces made in it. Rohit jokingly said that we had reached the first ladder. The view from the rock patch was too good. Irshalgad, Morbe dam in the far distance and Prabal on the right were making a beautiful sight.

The Final Chapter of our Adventure:
A further half an hour climb, and I reached the first Iron ladder, the few rungs at the bottom were broken, but I made to the top quite easily as it was a pretty broad ladder. Rohit was waiting on the ridge at the top and he seemed fairly excited cause he had gone and seen the second and the third ladders.

I went with Rohit, traversed the curved rock face and reached a small cave with a Shiv temple. Rohit told me that it must be the real Pisarnath temple. I asked him, where are the other ladders, as the road seemed to end ahead. He smiled and said, "Follow me.. wait till u see this..." and I followed him ahead on that narrow path in which i could barely keep one foot at a time on the ground. The path led up into a Chimney like terrain, and my eyes simply lit up with what I saw... There right in front of me stood a tall ladder, about 30 feet tall, fixed on the ground by big stones, and yeah.. Right in the middle of a waterfall !!!! I simply said.. Are U sure Rohit? Oh yes... hundred percent, I climbed it and it was perfectly stable, and theres one more small ladder above it. Whoa!! I looked back and all I could see was the valley far down... and further away I could see the rain clouds approaching faster and faster, and the rain had begun as a slight drizzle. We came back and waited in the shelter of the cave for the others.

After about 15 mins, when Nishant did not arrive and with thick rain clouds covering the entire valley, with strong winds and visibility being almost nil, I got worried and asked Rohit to check them out near the first ladder. And voila!! Nishant was stuck at the first ladder.. he was simply standing on the ladder, unable to move, as strong winds, rain and thick clouds lashed the valley... I dont know what exactly happened to him, but after a bit of struggle, everyone was finally at the cave, and later, staring in awe at the ladders...

We decided the other in which we were supposed to climb the ladders. Rohit was to go first, followed by Nishant, Alok, Myself and then Minesh at the back. The ladder was slippery cuz of the moss and also, cause water was falling on our faces and bodies from above. While climbing such ladders, we have to take care to place our feet not at the centre of the rung, but at the sides, cause that is the strongest part. After tackling the 2nd ladder, the 3rd ladder was a smaller version of the 2nd one. After that, lay a section of rock patch and lose rocks with water streams flowing through it in front of us. The surface of the rocks was damn slippery and I was finding it quite difficult to find grip at some places. Half an hour later, we were finally on top of Matheran, looking down behind of just what we had come through, with satisfaction...

The stay and the journey back home:
We made our wat to Lake charlotte and Pisarnath temple where we had hot tea and some biscuits. It was misty in the evening and sun was setting.. I could not control my urges and took out my packet of cigarettes. Rohit saw it, and declared "The trek is now officially over, and now we can have cigs..." and we lit up our cigs in satisfaction... smoking in that atmosphere was such an amazing experience.

The walk back to Matheran market place was such a pain, in the darkness and in the wet mud filled with horse dung here and there. At the market place, we found a place to stay for 500 Rupees for a night and 10 rs per head for a bucket of hot water to take a bath. We took a bath one by one, and then we hogged on kababs and chicken biryani at Khursheed's dhaba.
Then i bought a pair of cheap chapples for myself, and while the rest went to sleep, Myself and Nishant spent an hour at the market place having a good chat. That night I could not sleep on the floor, as the guys who were our neighbours were having a booze party till late in the night.

Morning came and we began packing wearily, and soon we were on our way. Alok bought some purse for her fiance and we walked the way from Matheran to Dasturi naka, and then by a taxi (Rs. 50 per head) to Neral. We just missed the local, and had to spend about an hour at the station. We did some photography here and there, and finally caught a train back home.

It was quite a tiring, but adventurous trek.. with Alok, Rohit and Minesh giving a wonderful company... we are now planning to trek the same route in the summer or the winter months :)

Karnala (29th June, 2008)

While passing through the dense jungle on the Mumbai-Goa highway between Panvel and Pen, we all must have seen this weird thumb shaped pinnacle jutting out into the sky. This is the fort of Karnala, in the famous Karnala bird sanctuary.


Height: 2500 feet

Range: Panvel - Matheran

District: Raigad

Grade: Easy

History: Till 15th century, the Nizamshah had control over this fort. After that, this fort has seen many many rulers, like Shivaji, the Moghuls, Angres and the Peshwas. In 1818, Colonel Procter of the East India Company captured it, and was under the British rule till 1947. The inhabitants of this region are tribal-adivasi people who lead a simple life and have preserved their art form - The Warli paintings, for thousands of years.

Ways to Reach: Reach Panvel by local train/road. From the ST stand, catch any bus going to Alibaug or Pen and get down at the Karnala sanctuary gate.


The Climb: You have to buy an entrance ticket at the counter. Adult fare is Rs.20/-

As you enter the sanctuary, a short walk on the tar road leads to a board depicting information on the fort and the sanctuary. Here the route bifurcates. The left one goes up to the fort, the right leading into the sanctuary. The short climb over rocky route leads to a small col in about 45 mins. from here, the route turns right and leads to the plateau, where the temple of Karmaidevi is situated. From here, the route climbs up and a climb over rocky steps leads us to the entrance of the fort in about 30 mins.

Climbing time: 1 1/2 to 2 hrs

Fascinating spots: From the main entrance, the route bifurcates.

From the left, we can reach the pinnacle and the caves, where numerous water tanks are located. The tanks do not have potable water. Here, the route from the right joins from below at another gate.

Remnants of an old storage rooms are also visible.

Further beyond the pinnacle, the route leads us to 2 bastions. At the entrance of the Southermost machi, is the carving of an ancient legendary animal called "Sharabh".


Forts visible from the top: Prabal, Matheran, Irshalgad, Manikgad, Sankshi
Sometimes, on a clear day, we can also get to see the forts of Peb, Nakhind and the Mumbai Harbour (In the west).

(Prabal, Matheran and Irshalgad)

Accomodation: The caves on the top, but usually not necessary as its a one day trek.

Drinking water: The water cisterns near the remnants on the top of the fort.

Food: Carry your own food. Else, you can get food near Panvel ST Stand, the village below, or the Karnala restaurant about 10 mins walk further on the highway.

CAUTION: There are lots of bee hives present in summer months on the top of the pinnacle on the Northernmost face. Also, few bee hives are present in the caves. Utmost care must be taken by the trekkers staying in the caves not to disturb them. Also, pinnacle climbers should avoid the northern face and instead use the western or the southern face, as few accidents have occurred in tha past because of the disturbance caused to the bee hives.

Karnala Revisited
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Participants: Parag, Nishant

29th June was the big match day- The Euro 08 Final, between Germany and Spain. But I had a day to kill time, and as my earlier trek got cancelled, Nishant suggested we go for an easy one dayer to Karnala, as it would serve as a good outing in the monsoon.


So the plan was fixed, and we left early morning to Panvel. We had a heavy breakfast in the hotel near the ST Stand, packed our lunch consisting of half a dozen bananas, and hopped inside the ST going to Alibaug, before the rains could get us completely wet. Half an hour's bus ride, and we were at the entrance of the sanctuary...

I cannot describe, how awesome the air around the sanctuary smelled like.. The light drizzle, and the air was full of the aroma of the wet soil, and pierced by the occassional Tweet-tweet of the various exotic species of birds that reside here. This was going to be a trek-cum-photography practising session for us. We trodded along, capturing the occassional Moth feasting on the leaves, or the giant yellow and red crabs playing hide-n-seek, or the tiniest red or green insects that we in our everyday routine life even fail to see... We happened to pass by a group of experts, probably from the BNHS, and we got a few tips regarding the various insect species. We passed them by, and then met many other groups on the way to the top, groups consisting of naturists, or village kids, or young college girls wearing sandals with heels, and some few Germans... The plethora of the wild species coincided with that of the humans visiting this place.

As we reached the plateau, the rain started to become a bit heavy, and the cool breeze was sending a chill by the back of my neck. Finally we reached the top, and decided to explore the caves at the base of the pinnacle. We found the only dry place on the top, inside a cave near the water tank. We were soon joined by a group of kids from nearby, and as we had our banana-lunch, saw them taking a splash in the cave waters...

We decided to explore the bastions, where all the other groups were having their lunch and photo sessions. I finally managed to get a snap of a snail, which i failed to get while climbing up. After a few mins stay, we decided to return. Nishant's shoes were completely torn, and his chappals were not helping much, as we slipped our way on the slippery smooth wet red soil. Surprisingly, we found the snail, whos photograph i failed to capture while on our way to the top. Finally I did manage to get his snap :)

We reached the highway in an hour or so, and immediately got a ride in a tuk-tuk back to panvel. We had the most amazing fag session afterwards in the cool rain-struck afternoon.. and after hot teas , kothimbir vades and another round of cigs, we made our way back to the station, where luckily we got the 430 pm Andheri local train.

It was such a refreshing experience. I think, everyone should experience the nature by coming for this trek once every monsoon. Karnala and Kanheri caves in the national park are such beautiful and easily accessible places, where a person with good enough fitness can easily climb. After all, everybody needs a break from the regular mundane life.

[p.s. Germany lost to Spain 0-1 :'( :'( ]
Link to the Photo Album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=44500&l=35347&id=670750758

Sankshi (15th June, 2008)

Height: ~800 metres

Range: Panvel region

Grade: Medium

Ways to reach: Reach Panvel by ST Bus/ Local train

From Panvel ST stand, catch a local bus going to Pen or Alibaug and get down at Chunabhatti village. From there, walk towards Balvali phata on the highway. Alternatively, one can ask the conductor if they will be able to stop the ST bus at the phata itself, as the walk is about 1 km.

From the phata, walk towards Balvali village (15-20 mins).

A single route from the village, crosses a couple of streams, a field and artificial dams and gradually climbs up to a plateau. A walk of about 10 mins and you reach the durgah of Peer Badruddin.

Then from the base of the mountain in front of the durgah, the route becomes rocky, and after a climb of an hour or so, we reach the small cave at the top. Here we can see many water cisterns.
At the final portion of the climb to the cave, we come across a narrow water pipeline. Here, the route to the left goes up steeply into the col, and should be attempted by only experienced trekkers. The route to the right, goes along the rock face. Here, the patch is full of scree and is quite windy. After a small rock patch, we reach the cave.

The route from the cave to the top should be done with proper caution, especially in the monsoon, as it is full of scree, steep and slippery. One reaches the top in about 30 mins.

Climbing time: 2 1/2 to 3 hrs



Hill forts seen: Karnala and Manikgad forts , with which Sankshi fort forms a triangle, can easily be recognized because of their peculiar shapes. On a clear day, one can also see Prabal, matheran, and Irshalgad.

Accomodation: The Balvali village at the base or the Durgah. The cave on the top can barely accomodate 2-3 people.

Food and water: Snacks and food can be arranged in the village. But as it is a one-day trek, its prudent to carry your own food and water. The tank near the cave has potable water, but the ones at the top dont. Drinking water is also available at the durgah.

History:

• 15th century - Gujrat sultan ruled over the fort
• 1540 - The Nizam captured the fort
• Gujrat sultan then recaptured it with the help of the portuguese
• 1656 - Shivaji included it in Swaraj
• 1818 - British conquered the fort

Some 400 years back, Peer badruddin came with some 500 odd followers from the middle east over here. The durgah was built after his death.

SANKSHI FORT TREK
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Participants : Parag, Shaldavya, Kiran, Vineet, Anthony, Wilson and 16 other members of Bhramanti group.

This was my second trek with Bhramanti after my Manikgad trek with them last year. We started from Andheri, Anthony was our trek leader. At Panvel, the entire group assembled and we walked towards the ST stand, about 10 mins away. The bus to alibaug was totally full, and to make matters worse, we were caught in a huge traffic jam on the Mumbai-Goa highway, just near Karnala fort. There was no sign of rain and I started perspiring like pigs...

After an hour or so, we finally managed to get out of the jam (A broken down truck in the middle of the highway had caused the jam). After getting down at the Balvali phata, we proceeded to the village, where a villager greeted us with a basketfull of Gavthi Mangoes.. They were the most succulent and tasty mangoes i had eated for a long time. There were thousands of mango trees all around us, and we were sucking on mangoes for the most part of our trek. After getting the instructions about the route, we started off and stopped at a clearing where we all introduced ourselves. I met Shaldavya, who was working in Glenmark, and was also an amateur photographer and a wild life conservist! We struck together immediately and clicked some great shots together on the trek. It was an easy gradual climb to the durgah, where we were greeted with showers for the first time. After refreshing ourselves and filling our bottles, we started our actual climb.

The climb was just like Rajmachi... rocky, and easy... but the girls in our group were having a tough time. The final climb to the cave was so windy, that everyone decided to take a break at that point. The wind was literally blowing us away from our feet, just like I had experienced it on the Chanderi trek last year. The actual fun was the final climb which was a bit dicey, and full of scree, and myself and Shaldavya were busy doing stunts and getting up a more difficult route everytime :)

At the top, there were a few village kids who were jumping up and down the tree tops like monkeys. we went to the Col, which was amazing. We had our lunch consisting of baked beans, khakras, fruits, rotis, biscuits and of course, mangoes; and we started our descent. It was slow cause many beginners were there with us. At the rock patch below the cave, a huge chunk of wet, porous rock just came into my hand. And I nearly fell to my death. I stayed back along with Anthony to guide everyone else below. At the durgah, we had another break, washed ourselves, and finally reached the base of the plateau in another hour. Shaldavya had a bad moment as he fell inside a pit at the bottom of a pit, and nearly drowned. His Fuji digital Cam though couldnt survive the fall and malfunctioned.

We reached the highway late in the evening, and there was no bus available to transport us back to Panvel. We walked to Chunabhatti village, where we had some snacks, tea and cigs before we went back to the nearest bus stop in a tuk-tuk. After waiting for nearly an hour or so, we finally got a lift from a tempo rickshaw. All 22 of us got stuffed inside the back of the tempo like goats being send to the slaughter house. The rick though couldnt handle the load, and 9 of us had to get down and walk back to the stop, while the girls and a few others went ahead. We were lucky enough to get a lift from a truck, a few mins later, and we met again at the Panvel railway station, from where we caught the train back home.


All and all, a very eventful trek, for all the incidences on and off the road. A nice beginning to the trekking season this year for me and awaiting the next one...

Link to the Photo Album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=43451&l=bb84d&id=670750758