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
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
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
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