Trek to Matheran [आंबेवाडी ते धोदाणी]

Date: 1st March, 2015
Per head cost: 80 Rs.
Water available at Matheran.

Matheran

It was the first day of March 2015. Usually, March is the month in which the seasonal transition occurs- winter to summer. But this March was different. This March was historic. Fresh rain showers had washed the whole state of Maharashtra and it was altogether an uncommon phenomenon. We felt as if it was our 'monsoon trek'... The light drizzle while climbing to One-tree hill from Karjat (कर्जत), the fog-engulfed roads of Matheran (माथेरान) and the golden tree-tops while descending from Sunset point (to धोदाणी village). 

" Group consisted of Aaditya Gurav, Abhash Kumar, Ninad Vilankar, Tarun Kaushik and me. This was first trek for Abhash since he shifted to Bhandara "

How to reach: Karjat ST bus stand is at a walkable distance from Karjat railway station. At the bus stand ask for the bus with destination Chowk or Murbad, that goes via Borgaon-bypass or Borgaon-phata (बोरगाव फाटा). The frequency of buses is good and it takes about 15-20 minutes and a fare of 8-10 Rs. Karjat to Borgaon bypass is 7 km and bypass to Ambewadi is another 7 km. For a larger group (>7) private jeep or tum-tum can be arranged from Karjat itself, directly to Ambewadi.

We started from Karjat station and reached village Ambewadi (आम्बेवाडी) at the foothills of One-tree hill (Matheran). We started the trek at 8.45 AM. The sky was filled with the Stratus clouds and the odds were that it would rain soon. The memories of Sondai were fresh and it felt like the month of August. As we took the road to Ambewadi, mountains of Irshalgad, Prabalgad, Sondai started making their presence known. We could also spot the silhouettes of Manikgad and Karnala far off.

Irshalgad

Morbe backwaters.
Outline of Manikgad fort is visible.

The initial climb is along the ridge and ascends gradually till the first plateau. The trail also enters a small forest cover and ends at the plateau. It had started drizzling by the time we reached the plateau and the clouds turned Nimbostratus. There was a well near the plateau and the water level was above the expected level. We decided to quench our thirst before attempting the last leg of the phase one of our trek.

Last part of phase one was a steady climb through the gully. We encountered huge boulders on our way from here. इथे जवळच एक शेंदूर लावलेला मोठा दगड आहे. From here we took twenty minutes to reach the col joining Matheran and One-tree hill. The clock ticked 11.30 AM. We had our lunch here and spent quite a time taking pics of the valley. The waters of Morbe Dam looked even more blue and the environment a little bit more greener. And not to mention the usual chilly intermittent winds- the speciality of Matheran. 

At about 12.30 PM we left for Matheran. Our next destination was the main market. It was indeed our luck that we got to experience Matheran as it is usually during Monsoons.

Tarun Kaushik, Abhash Kumar, Ninad and Aaditya

Typical 'Matheranic' view

A left turn from the market, taking the uphill trail to our right we started the last part of the second phase i.e. to reach the Sunset point. The trails were very confusing and the only drawback of Matheran is the lack of direction markers. We managed to reach our destination by 1.30 PM. Since the morning we managed to walk non-stop till the One-tree hill, and then till Sunset point. Hence we decided to rest here for some time before attempting the descend to Dodhani.

Group selfie.
(From Left: Aaditya, Ninad, Tarun, me and Abhash)

What was meant to be a short break, turned out to be an hour of time-pass. The atmosphere was brilliant. A 360 degree view from here gave us a commanding sights of Prabalgad, Kalavantin Durg, Malang gad, Ganesh-Kartik, Mahismaal, Chanderi, Nakhind, Peb and Matheran (Sunrise point or Panorama point). City of Badlapur was clearly visible. We could even see the part of Arabian sea from here.

Prabalgad and Kalavantin enveloped in fog

At 2.30 PM we took off from there. A descend to Dodhani took hardly an hour or so. There's a temple midway. Also you can see the well-stacked hay on the trees near Chinchwadi village (enroute). The flock of white cattle egrets flying on the green background was quite pleasing to watch at.

We could hear the crackers and loud celebrations from up here which meant we were nearing our destination. A wedding ceremony had just concluded and the band was waiting for their transport back to the city. A tea stall owner (टपरी वाला) told us to wait for the bus and it should be probably on its way. We had a cutting each (just 5 Rs. with masalaa) as we waited for our ride.

Chanderi fort et. al.

After Panvel, usually, everything is pretty much a routine. But what stood out was the fact that we could easily spot the Irshalgad and Karnala pinnacles while crossing the Vashi creek!! Again, thanks to the March rains!!

Trek to सोंडाई

Date: 9th August, 2014

Water available during Monsoon
Per head cost: 80 INR (Dadar to Dadar- including lunch)

Railway line

Sondai is not a fort but a small mountain in Karjat region (Matheran range). The top shelters the temple of Goddess Sondai. The 45 minutes are sufficient for climbing the mountain. There are about three to four water tanks on the mountain. 

Sondai Mountain

How to reach: Karjat ST bus stand is at a walkable distance from Karjat railway station. At the bus stand ask for the bus with destination Chowk or Murbad, that goes via Borgaon-bypass or Borgaon-phata (बोरगाव फाटा). The frequency of buses is good and it takes about 15-20 minutes. Karjat to Borgaon bypass is 7 km and bypass to Sondewadi is another 6 km. There is no direct bus to Sondewadi village (as of 2015). For a larger group (>7) private tum-tum can be arranged from Karjat itself. Although, no such service would be available for return journey from Sondewadi. If lucky, you might find some transport from Ambewadi bypass road (the bypass that goes to One-tree hill Matheran).

There are 2 trails to reach the top, one from Wavarle and one from Sondewadi. The trail from Wavarle has a long traverse along the mountain, that meets the Sondewadi trail at the top (much before the tanks).

As a general supposition, it was to be a simple walk on the twisting road along the Morbe (मोर्बे) backwaters, with an estimated climb-time of 45min. to 1.00 hr. from Sondewadi (सोंडेवाडी). But one wrong turn made it a 2hr climb. This was from Sondewadi. To reach Sondewadi itself, one needs to walk for 1 to 1.5 hrs. Transport was available, but we preferred walking the 5 km patch all the way to the base of the mountain. The flowing rivulets, breezing wind from the gigantic reservoir clubbed with gentle rain showers added a completely different flavor to the walk. The 50 shades of greenish groves, chirping of the several hundred birds, the yellowish vegetation with red-orange colored flowers making their way out of the shrubs, the herd of cattle lying lazily in the muddy pond- how often you get to experience such moments ? 

To Sondewadi

It was 10.30 AM when we started our climb. With the clouds still looming over, rains showed no sign of abating. From the col we headed-up straight, almost circumambulated half the hill, and then climbed from back. The one trail which appears to descend down the forest goes to the Wavarle village (वावर्ले) via the Wavarle dam. So, to wind-up, we started from Sondewadi and ended up climbing the trail from Wavarle  which consumed much of our time. 

Near the water tanks

At the plateau there are two water cisterns dug out from the stone. Above that, lies a 3-5 mts tall rock, followed by a newly built metallic ladder. Just after the ladder, there is a square water tank dug inside the stone wall and lies exactly on the edge of the trail. The trail goes right up to the top of the mountain where we found the idol of local goddess Sondai Devi (सोंडाई देवी) and other stone sculptures of other deities underneath a tree. The final part is a bit exposed to valley, but quite manageable. 

This mountain protrudes out from the main Matheran rage and has a height less than that of the main range.  Sondai Devi is worshiped by the locals from the nearby villages and the top is maintained by them. A glance from above shows the expanse of the Morbe dam and Wavarle reservoir. 

Sondai Devi

We took the descend route to the Sondewadi village (and not Wavarle) and because of which we reached the base in a whooping 25 minutes. And as we approached the village the school kids took us to a nearby waterfall. 

While descending...

The clock ticked 3.00 PM as we took the road back to karjat station. We could spot Manikgad far off, then silhouettes of Karnala, Irshal pinnacles, Kalavantin-Prabalgad, One-tree hill (Matheran) along the road. We met these two kids near the waterfall, deeply engrossed in mud-sculptures (we kind of disturbed them). They said "शाळेसाठी आम्ही अश्या लहान लहान गोष्टी बनवतो. आम्हाला मजा येते". 

Extra-Curricular activities!!!

A perfect end of a typical monsoon trek! The route cannot be missed. We preferred walking from the Borgaon phata, all the way till Sondewadi. Some people prefer shared jeep and autos from Karjat itself, which for us, was very expensive.