Trek to Harihar हरिहर (Ghoti-Vaitarna, Igatpuri)

Difficulty Rating: 4/5

Height- 3676 ft.

Per head cost- 300 ₹ (Mumbai to Mumbai)
1 day- 1 night

The beginning: 
Our group consisted of 5 to-be Electronics Engineers and 2 full Engineers, so total group of 7. The destination being Igatpuri (इगतपुरी), we were equipped with sweater, blankets, monkey-cap, mufflers etc and were ready to spend the night at Igatpuri ST stand with the mercury level falling below 10 °C. Our train journey mainly consisted of making fun of our college professors, how our external examiner looked funnier than any existing cartoon, discussion on how 'awesome' our college facilities were.... and most of the time- एक दुसरेकी टांग खिचना.... The discussion on IMS management classes-marketing strategy lasted for quite some time !!

If your leader says the trek is tough, its not because the trek is tough, its because he/she is weak and has zero confidence in you. I had 2 newbies in my group and they appreciate my confidence in them :)

We reached Igatpuri station at 3:10 AM, and the moment we got down the from the train, we got the feel of the cold night we were about spend there. At the ST stand, Abhash and TSEC Tarun were off to sleep- डोक्यावर कानटोपी अन अंगावर चादर, अगदी गावठी style माध्ये !! Meanwhile Manoj and Aaditya found a small piece of half-burnt wood and brought it inside the bus stand, and made a शेकोटी out of it. To keep the fire burning, we used the posters of local politician as the fuel and at the same time, Aaditya made sure that each and every poster was removed from the wall !!

At around 4:30 AM, one by one, we all went to sleep and had a quick nap of an hour and a half. SAKEC Tarun didn't have any intentions of sleeping (ट्रेन मे बोहोत सोया था) so he was keeping a vigil- may be it suits his aspiration for joining Indian Army !!

Journey till Nirgudpada (निरगुडपाडा) aka Taakehars (टाकेहर्स): 

The first ST bus was scheduled at 8.45 AM (2013, timings might change). The next bus was at 2.00 PM.

The awesome village roads, full of twists and turns surrounding the Vaitarna lake would be definitely worth mentioning. The traditional rural cattle smell, the hay-stacks, small farms, bore-well was the common yet pleasant sight to look at rather than the everyday concrete buildings and busy roads  in the city. On the way we come across helluva Sahyadri mountains lying in the Igatpuri region, prominent being- Anjaneri, Trimbakeshwar, Bhasgad, Tringalwadi, Fani Dongar, Alang-Kulang-Madan far far away and Harihar of course.

The Trek: 

The ST bus reached Nirgudpada at 10:25 AM. We packed our sweaters-mufflers etc, tightened our shoe lace and started the trek at 10:30 AM.

If you arrive from Khodala or Igatpuri, Harihar would be on the left-hand side. Just where the bus stops, take any route going towards the fort. It is confusing to find the correct trail out of many complex-intermixing trails, but focus on the trails which climbs towards the plateau on the left side of the fort. From the plateau, the ridge takes you to the start of another gradient and later to the rock-cut steps. After that the route to the top was straightforward, but a bit exposed to valley. Take extra care while crossing this section. Here are a few snaps of overall journey.

The village ends here. Started climb for the first plateau

TSEC Tarun and SAKEC Tarun

Fani Dongar (फणी डोंगर) in the background

Harihar Fort (हरिहर किल्ला)

Climbing the first set of rock-cut steps

Crossed the main entrance (महा दरवाझा) at 11:38 AM

Hanuman Temple at top (हनुमान मंदिर) 

Reached the highest point of the fort at 12:05 PM

Lunch:
Aloo parathas (आलू पराठा), Theplas, Puri bhaji (पुरी भाजी), Shira (शीरा) consisted of our lunch. Our lunchboxes were empty within 15 minutes they were opened. It was worth noting how the items were gobbled- given the tough climbing conditions.

Descend: 
Reached the base at 3.10 PM. Clicked a lot of pics on the way. Here are some of them..

Second pair of rock-cut steps

Small rock patch

A walk to remember !!

Fun time

The video below shows a part of the descend.

Return Journey: 
In the evening there are two ST buses- ST to Kasara and ST to Igatpuri (both at approx. 3.30 PM ) from Nirgudpada. If not the bus, Jeeps usually ply on the Ghoti-Vaitarna road from Trimbak, and can drop you at khodala. At 3.20 PM we left Nirgudpada 'on' a Mahindra MaXX (yes, we were literally sitting on the carrier) which dropped us at khodala and from Khodala, another MaXX till Kasara railway station. One can also catch a ST bus from Khodala to Kasara, but since we didn't know the timing we preferred a jeep. The total passengers travelling on the jeep were 22 + 1 driver (front 3, 5 on middle seat, 3 hanging outside on the left side, 3 hanging outside on the back side and 8 people sitting on the back seat).

TSEC Tarun and SAKEC Tarun on the top of Mahindra MaXX 

Khodala to Kasara is 25 Kms. After some 17 Km ride, the small dirt road joined the Mumbai-Nashik Expressway- but on the wrong side of the road!! We were in a vehicle, which was driving on the right hand side of the busy  AH47, with other vehicles speeding towards us from the front. After the 2-3 Km of this circus we joined the 'our side of the road'. We reached Kasara station at 5.00 PM roughly and boarded the local train to Kalyan (which was the only option before us). From Kalyan, caught another local to Mumbai CST and by 10.15 - 10.20 PM everyone was at home.

Here's the link to the Marathi version written by Aaditya Gurav. Its a book in pdf format. Click here to download the book.

Please note: We had 2 newbies in our group and we all made it to the top. It depends on their spirit, confidence of leader and their trust in you. Its not possible with commercial big groups, and they will frighten you to not join as they don´t want to take any risk, but maximize profit. Trekking is fun guys, especially when history is involved in it :)

Our Group:
Abhash kumar, Manoj Patil, Ninad Vilankar, Aaditya Gurav, Tarun (Gangwani & Kaushik) and me.

Short adventure near Peb fort

This is a short cut route. 

Height- 2000 ft.

Per head cost- 140 ₹

The view of Matheran (माथेरान), Peb (पेब ) fort, Nakhind (नाखिंड), Chanderi (चंदेरी), Neral (नेरळ) and Panvel (पनवेल) region as seen from the top of Mountain X.

The Overview:

The fine day of 11th October, 2013. Plans were being executed as scheduled (thanks to Anurag). We were clueless that the destiny had so much laid down before us that day. It made us lose our way in the forest, forced us to climb the dried-up waterfall route, compelled us to climb a 100ft. 75-80 degrees of rocky patch- and for what? to find ourselves onto a completely different top, which we named "Mountain-X". It was 2.30 PM, and we were at the top of 'X'. The route to Peb was now crystal clear before us. But the time constrained us to follow the return path.

Anurag, Maitreya, Saurabh

The correct route to Peb (Better you ask for directions @ base and then proceed):

1. Neral > Fanaswadi > Peb
Ask a villager at Fanaswadi about the directions. A bit complex route. More chances of getting lost if visiting for first time. Villagers might help out here. Make the decision of taking a guide here itself. Because, if you are lost out there, theres nobody to help you out.

2. Neral > Electric Tower route > Peb
Clear route. Risky at some places, but manageable. It follows via thick forest and 'X'. Only concern is forest. Stick to the route and it'll take you to the top. After reaching 'X' descend into the gully between Peb and 'X'. Follow the visible route to Peb. The diversion to the right, big enough to spot, leads towards Panvel. Overall longest route and lesser chance of getting lost.

3. Neral > Waterfall route > Peb
Will write about it once we try it out.

Maitreya

The silver lining:

Though we lost our way, we successfully climbed the rock patch. Not only that, but made Saurabh climb the route too. It was tough, but "we finally did it'.

We had the climbing gear but didn't use anything of it. The team consisted of four of us- Anurag Muley, Maitreya, Saurabh Shah

Trek to Manikgad Fort, Washivali (Complete Guide)

Region: Rasayani, Panvel
Height- 1876 ft.

Per head cost- 108 ₹

Water is available at top during Monsoon

It was the dawn of 13th July, 2013. As planned Abhash, Ninad, Atul met me at Dadar station at 6.15 AM. Bhavesh, Suresh and Manoj were supposed to board the local train from Mankhurd station. Tarun called us to inform that he will be joining us at Nerul station. Everything went as per our timetable and all were in the same train. We reached Panvel (पनवेल) station at 7.30 AM after having boarded the 6.35 AM local from Kurla station.

Note: Before you start, check out my latest visit to Manikgad too. It has lot of info which I couldn't cover here. Click here.

The start:

We walked to Panvel ST bus stop, which falls at a distance of 10/15 minutes. The trek to Manikgad (माणिकगड) fort begins form Washivali (वाशिवली) village. We boarded the 7.45 AM ST bus to Lohop village (लोहोप), a village after Washivali. The bus was crowded but still we managed to find ourselves some seats. The bus left as per the scheduled time. The charges till Washivali were 20 ₹ per head. When we were outside the Panvel city the bus broke down, unable to start again. Luckily there was another ST bus behind us, but sadly it was going to some different village. It dropped us at a junction named Siddheshvar (सिद्धेश्वर), from which Washivali village falls at a distance of 20 minutes. From there we boarded an Auto that took us to Washivali village for 10 ₹ per seat.

The Route :

From Washivali, two routes originate from the main road. The first right proceeds via Katarwadi (कातरवाडी). The second right goes via Dhangarwadi (धनगरवाडी). Then both routes meet ahead after about an hour. We took the second route.

We started towards Vadgaon (वडगाव) village. We came across a big temple (to our right hand side), and we took a right turn there and entered a village (from behind the temple) and proceed to Dhangarwadi. This route has a full green cover throughout, till the route from katarwadi meets this one. So we started walking at 9.00 AM from Washivali village and reached Dhangarwadi at 10.15 AM. Dhangarwadi lies a few steps away from main route to Manikgad Fort. This is the last shelter and there are no houses nor huts after this point.

Tip: No need to go all the way to Vadgaon village. This saved a lot of our time. People with cars usually go till Vadgaon village. We travel by state transport, and if you are also planning to visit by a state transport or similar, then I would recommend you to start your hike from Washivali village. Its easy, safe and you will meet people on the way. Just ask for way to Killa (fort) and the villager will point out to you.

The long traverse:

The next level of the trek was the long & tiring traverse till the Hanuman temple. The route till this location was a straight forward, but the places near waterfall had completely gobbled-up the route and hence left us on a wild goose chase. Every time we encountered a small waterfall, the route following it had disappeared, eaten up by huge boulders. So, many times we found ourselves lost amidst thick forest, with no route visible ahead of us but only thorny bushes and irksome mosquitoes. But thanks to our team work, we were able to bring the horses back on the track.

Somehow we managed to reach the Hanuman temple and started walking straight ahead. And this is where we made our first mistake, the mistake of the day, which costed us our precious 45 minutes.

Getting lost in the forest:

We were carrying this (stupid) map and were navigating the route exactly as it was drawn there. Now, what map said was to continue traversing after the Hanuman temple and then after about 20 minutes the climb starts (this is what map told us). So we did, and walked and walked and walked. We knew we were lost. Because there was no route at all. It seems we were making our own route. We were so very much lost, that we could easily make out that we were heading to Mashyachi Khind (माश्याची खिंड), the col between the Manikgad valley, while the route to the top should be heading to our left.

The miasma of despair:

We were walking continuously for 3 hours straight, without even resting for a bit. We got lost in the forest, took a wrong turn to get diverted from our path, spent some of our precious time to get on the correct route and what not. We decided to reach the Hanuman (हनुमान) temple for analyzing our further course of actions. No one was able to think clearly. Suresh was the first amongst us to panic, he had enough of all this and wanted to start the descent right away. It was a frustrating as well as disappointing moment for all eight of us. Disappointing, because we had trekked for three hours, continuously, without resting. Frustrating, because the fort was still envelope by thick fog and was still not visible. What was the point of walking ahead if the goal is not in sight ahead? I mean, how could this happen? We were following the map exactly as it was. We had came this far and so, we were determined to reach the top. But how? Ninad and Bhavesh were busy contemplating on the possible errors we might have committed; Tarun, Abhash, Manoj and Atul were enjoying the merry mellifluous sound of the water stream, while Suresh were resting, too frustrated to think of anything. The Miasma of despair had started rising. I was afraid of the worst, what if we can't find our way to the top?

Ready to roll again !!!

And just when we were about to forfeit our plans to ascend the fort, two dogs came hopping out of nowhere with their masters following them. And pointing towards them, Tarun gave a sudden jolt of joy and shouted, "lets ask them". They were the local villagers from Katarwadi, who had come hunting in the forest. We approached the one in the front and explained our situation to him.

We persuaded a villagers to show us the way and he gave us a positive nod. Now we were on our feet, ready to roll again. Now Suresh, Atul and Manoj too geared up, thanks to some gentle coaxing from Abhash. It was 12.00 PM then. After walking for about a minute, we came to the spot where the route manifolds into three different paths (earlier, from where we had taken the one to the right, only to find ourselves amidst thick forest, having lost our way). The villager told us that the correct route was to take a left turn, instead of right. He took us till the turn and ask to follow that route. We were on the correct track again and highly delighted at the same time. 

Stupid Map!!!

The trek to the top was a gradual climb, but comparatively easy and was accomplished in 40 minutes (again, without resting). The bliss experienced by the adjacent valley, Mashyachi khind was indeed a moment to savor. The route followed under the thick cover of the forest, all the way to the top of the fort.

The Fort:

Well, the fort was not actually a fort, it was more like a vestige of a few standing structures. The first door to the fort (महा दरवाझा) was completely destroyed. The second door, was atleast, looking like a door, and had a sculpture of lord Ganesha (गणेश) inscribed on it. There are more than four water tanks, two on the way, and the rest on the top, with the one tank resembling the size of a huge swimming pool. There was a small temple on the top, unfortunately, with no deity inside. The God/Goddess idol was probably stolen by invaders. Beside the temple, there was a (चुन्याचा घाणा). We spent like 45 minutes on the top. We had our lunch while enjoying the fog. The clouds had completely blocked the visibility, so we were unable to enjoy the valley, but we enjoyed the thrill of having our lunch on the very edge of the fort.

The Descend:

Now that we had accomplished our purpose of coming here, we had all the time in the world to start the descend. After the prolonged photo session, we started the climb down at 2.00 PM. When we were midway near the Mashyachi Khind col, the sky had started clearing, exposing the magnificent view of the valley. We even came across two odd groups, probably amateurs, accompanied by a guide from nearby village, while we were navigating the forest patch. They looked enervated and had gloomy faces. They must have had a tough time walking the stretch of 12 Kms. But we were happy we successfully climbed the fort without any guide or something.

Now we were heading for a mini-waterfall which we had encountered on our way earlier. We spent complete 30 minutes, 3.15 PM to 3.45 PM, enjoying the moment to the fullest. The rain was, as usual, making his intermittent display throughout the trek, which kept us lively at every moment. As we approached the village, we made slight changes in the plan, and decided to progress via Katarwadi village, instead of the route via Dhangarwadi. The route was a bit untidy as it went through the village, but somewhat similar to the earlier route we took.

We reached Washivali village at 5.30 PM. We were waiting for the ST bus to arrive, when Atul, Manoj, Suresh were searching for a secondary mode of transport. A TATA Magic guy promised us to drop at Panvel station for 40 ₹ per head. We reached Panvel station, right on time to catch the ~6.30 PM local train.

For newbies, I would recommend you take a guide with you (don't rely on any map). This was my second time here and I have almost learnt the route by-heart now.

Thanks to Atul Mallya (and his HTC Phone camera), we were able to preserve the Manikgad adventure in the form of photographs. All these snaps were captured from his camera.

Update: Click here to read my November 2014 visit to Manikgad.

Trek to Asherigad (Complete guide)

Height- 1800 ft.
Per head cost- 150 ₹

This unknown fort of Asherigad (अशेरिगड) caught my attention on the internet, where it read "..... Asherigad is a tough trek and should be done in presence of an expert....."  "....... Take a villager from Khodkona to to show the path as the route is tricky......"  and other bombastic text related to the trek. So I decided to visit this less known location with my college buddies to check the reality. So, I started searching the information about this fort on the internet and was surprised to find that the information provided was not to the mark and it would surely misguide a neophyte trekker. Hence, this post is specially dedicated to those trekkers who want to reach the top of this fort without anybody's help and without getting lost in the Forest.

This time also we were total 5 (Abhash Kumar, Tarun Kaushik, Pratik Soni, Jigar and me) with Abhash's 3rd trek and Tarun's first. The journey starts from Palghar Railway station. In the morning there are two trains that ply to Dahanu Road, namely 5.15AM slow local (from Dadar) and 5.40AM fast local (from Dadar). We caught the first fas-train to Dahanu Road (DN) that starts from Churchgate station at 5.24AM - Dadar: 5.40AM - Palghar: 7.27AM

We reached Palghar station on time and had a cup of tea, before beginning our transit. From Palghar (पालघर) we can either take a ST bus or a 6 seater auto, known as Tumtum (टमटम) to reach Mastan Naka (मस्तान नाका). ST bus was scheduled at 8.30AM. Instead of wasting our time for half an hour, we hopped in a Tumtum. The Tumtum rates are were 25 ₹ per seat till Mastan Naka. On the way we crossed two ghats, namely Manor Ghat (मनोर चा घाट) and Vaghoba Ghat (वघोबा घाट). The road also passes through a small dam built over Surya River (सूर्या नदी). After 25 minutes of tumtum ride we reached Mastan Naka. A TATA Magic (छोटा हत्ती) usually ply on the NH8 (Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway) which took us another 30 minutes to reach the Village Khodkona (खोडकोना). 

Khodkona is a small happy village. When we arrived the school children came running to welcome us (It was a weekday). Cheerful lot, they were. All had a sweet, naive smiles when posing before our camera.

We followed the main byway right upto the outskirts of the village. We need not jump any fences or compound walls. The trail follows right beside these fences. But we had to cross the water-streams at several occasion.

Direction marker

A tip for Novices: There are no diversions on the route at the starting. Follow the main route. It will take you right into the Forest. The climb to the fort doesn't start immediately after we come out of village, but after a gradual walk for about 15-20 minutes. The trail will gradually turn upwards and turn progressively towards right side. This is where actual climb starts. And if you think you are lost, then search for the white arrow marked on stones and tree trunks. The full trail to the top is marked. All we need to find the proper route is to find the arrow marks.

A short break

At a spot, the stream is so close by that we decided to spend some time in it. We set off again. Soon the forest cover grew very thick along the route. It was 9.30 AM in the morning, still the darkness resembled 7.00 PM and no sooner a light shower of rain started. The trail here was full of huge boulders and rocks and navigating became a bit tough here. Tarun and me were searching all over for the arrow marks in order to find the way. The rest followed us. Abhash was fully exhausted; so were Pratik and Jigar. They were slowly following us. At a point we thought we were lost when a huge boulder stood before us. But the arrow mark was right behind it and we knew we were on correct track. We had to search small stones, boulders and even tree trunks for finding these arrow markings. There were instances when the trail was blocked by fallen trees. After maneuvering these difficulties we finally reached the col. At this point Pratik and Jigar decided to stay at the col as the trek was too much for them. .So now we were just three of us who were going to make it to the top. Although Abhash was tired, he never complained about the difficulty of the trek. He always makes it to the top no matter what. He always says reaching the top is equivalent to the feeling of an achievement which nobody can miss.

Abhash and Traun

The route after col is pretty straight forward but steep. There is a small open temple of Vaghoba hidden in the trees. We continued the climb. There were rock cut steps carved on the rock. The route was pretty steep then. At the main entrance we found this ladder placed over the route. This was the best part of the trek. There was valley on one side and steep climb on other. The presence of the ladder is inconsistent, sometimes present, sometimes missing. But it was there for us this time.

We were not alone that day. There were fellow villagers from Barhanpur (बऱ्हाणपूर), a small village on opposite side of Asherigad. There is a direct route from Barhanpur that leads to the col. Which means there are two routes to reach the top. One via Khodkona and other via Barhanpur village. The villagers told that the route was not manageable. I guess the difficulty of both the routes were similar.

A stone carving of a crown

Source of drinking water!

After another series of rock cut steps, we came to the top of the fort. Top of the fort is also covered with dense forest. There are bountiful of water tanks at the top. One pond is filled with violet Lotus. We couldn't capture much snaps on the top as rain had started pouring and restricted the visibility. We managed to find the cannons at the top near to a cave (temple). The rock structure at the top has developed a huge crack (facing the Ahmedabad highway). The structure looked strong though, and we had our lunch there. Pitla (पिठलं) & chapati was new to Abhash and Tarun & they loved its taste.

After exploring the top we started the descend. The rain was still pouring lightly and we still managed to cross the slippery route upto the col. The trail after col was time consuming as the rocks and boulders were slippery and the leaves on the ground added the risk of slipping. The arrow marks were helping throughout the trek. 

We hit the base at exactly 3.30 PM, after 2 hours of descend. Now the return trip was going to be a pain in the ass, as the probability of ST bus or the tumtums is very less. We were randomly waving our hand to any vehicle that showed up on the Highway. After 15 minutes of perseverance, a kind truck driver stopped for us and promised to drop us at Virar phata (विरार फाटा). We reached virar phata at 4.45 PM and had refreshment of Masala tea and samosa. There is a bus service from Virar phata to virar station, and the buses ply every 15 minutes. The rates are 14 ₹ per head. 

Well, in conclusion the route to the top is not that tough and with proper care, easily navigable. Also, we don't need a guide or any instructions from any villager. The overall experience was thrilling and the day was well spent. It was Traun's first trek which he enjoyed it to the fullest, keeping a promise to accompany us to the next trek. And Abhash was eagerly waiting for me to declare the location of the next trek.

Trek to Peth Fort (Kothaligad), Ambivali (Via Peth Village)

Difficulty Rating: 2/5
Height: 1500 ft
Best Time to visit: Throughout the year
Per head cost- 190 ₹ (Including lunch, breakfast & snacks)
Water (potable) available only during Monsoon inspite of bountiful water cisterns on top

Trek to Kothaligad (Peth Fort) was specially organised to mark the end of my tenure at ISTE SAKEC as a General Secretary (To celebrate the free Saturdays!!). So, we decided a fine Tuesday and set off. First train to Karjat, that leaves CST at 4.44 AM (Dadar at 5.02 AM), was decided as meeting place for us five trekkers. The train reached Karjat (कर्जत) at 7.10 AM. This time we were Anurag Muley, Darshak Sanghvi, Manoj Patil, Devang and me.

Karjat ST stand is just a 5 minute walk along the road parallel to the railway station to the east side exit. We had to catch the 8.30 AM Jamrukh (जामरुख) bus. Ambivali (आम्बिवली) is village before Jamrukh, which is also the base village for Kothaligad (कोथळीगड). The bus dropped us at Ambivali at 9.35 AM, almost an hour of a journey. Per head cost of ST bus journey till Ambivali was 32 ₹.

Started the actual trek at 10.00 AM from Ambivali. On the way we met this fellow villager, with his bullock cart, carrying his food stock to Peth (पेठ) village. After maneuvering the twisting and winding bywalk, we reached Peth village in 45 minutes. 

We managed to find a few approachable waterfalls and a few streams on the way to Peth village. But since they were not in our time-table, we decided to visit them while returning.

The final climb advents from Peth village. The forest cover continues till the top of the fort. Throughout the climb, Rain happily poured and we too enjoyed its happiness. And sooner, we were on the top of the Fort.

This was the biggest of the cave that could easily accommodate a crowd of 40-50. We preferred to eat our snacks outside, though, as the cave was filled with the stink of the bats.

Extreme Engineering: To reach the top of pinnacle, rock cut steps are carved from inside the pinnacle, known as (कोथळी) in Marathi language. This route originates from inside a small cave. Each step is 1.5 to 2 ft. high. The whole structure is carved out of a single rock structure. Intention for making this Fort was to keep a vigil on the activities happening in and around Mawal region. It can be considered as a Medieval watch tower.

Reached the top at 12.00 PM, exactly after 2 hours of intense exploration at the base of the pinnacle. The route circumscribing the pinnacle was a bit risky, not fully but a few spots were. We still followed the route and found lots of water tanks, huge caves with small openings that could accommodate about 100 people at a time. The fort has lots to be explored.

There was a temporary shelter at the top and behind this shelter was this small water tank. Water from this tank was not worth drinking.

Came back to Peth village and halted at Bahiravnath Bhojanalay, a mini Restaurant run by Mr. Kiran Sawant. Rice plate (unlimited) for 90 ₹ was enough to overcome the tiredness of a day. In his courtyard we spotted a back portion of a cannon. No strong evidence is found regarding this canon.

It was my second visit to Kothaligad, first was during my school days, when I was in 2nd Grade.
This visit has surely helped me refresh the memories of my previous visit.

For more photos, click here.