Trek to Prabalgad & Kalavantin

Date: 7th Feb. 2015

Per head cost 214 Rs.

Completed this trek in one day, starting from Panvel at 8.00 AM.

Kalavantin as seen while climbing Prabalgad

The Start:

The state transport bus was running late by 30 minutes, a bad start I must say. We started the trek at 9.00 AM sharp from the lord Hanuman (हनुमान) temple. The previous visit to Kalavantin durg  (कलावंतीण दुर्ग)  from Thakurwadi (ठाकुरवाडी) village had simplified a few things for us. This time we took several shorter routes to the otherwise long and  zigzag route till Prabal Machi (प्रबळ माची) and reached the plateau at 10.00 AM. Many trekkers and picnickers prefer to stay at Prabal Machi to visit the duo. But our plan was to complete the two treks in a single day.

Trek to Prabalgad:
We entered the village and exited from the extreme right, crossing the first few electric poles, parallel to Prabalgad (प्रबळगड). Our plan was to enter the fort from the V-shaped gully, also known as Bail Shingi chi vaat (बैल शिंगाची वाट). Most of the route to Prabalgad is covered by the forest and hence offers quite a 'cozy' climb. The gully is made up of several boulders- both loose rocks and scree at few places. The steep, rock-solid stone on both the sides tapers towards the main entrance of the fort. Although the main entrance (महा दरवाझा) lies in a dilapidated condition, we still can visualize how it could be back then. This whole route reminded me of the climb to Hargad (हरगड) fort (the one from Baglan region).

Once we reached the top an old, rusted iron board welcomes us. It has the detailed description of all the worth-visiting places on Prabalgad. The route bifurcates from here to North and South directions. the left one goes to the edge from where we can see the Kalavantin pinnacle, and the right one goes up to the Kala Buruj (काळा बुरूज).

Exploring Prabalgad:
We started off to the Kala Buruj point. Well, the top is mostly a forest patch. A dense one, I would say. Akin to Matheran. I read it somewhere that Prabalgad was first on the list of government to develop as a tourist destination. But several factors, like lack of perennial water source on the top, accounted for the failure of the plan. But that is what kept Pabal, untouched from the evil forces of Tourism Industry.

On the way to Kala Buruj

Almost there....

That's the Kala Buruj !!

Irshalgad

Plateau of Prabalgad is no doubt huge. But Matheran is even bigger. Water at Prabalgad is available at both the ends (N/S). There are two water cisterns dug out into the solid-rock foundation at the southern end. Other water sources are hidden inside the thicket of trees and it is possible to access them with the help of a local guy. We could see Matheran, Manikgad, Irshalgad, Morbe dam, Mountain of Sondai, Peb fort from the southern tip. It was 12.00 Noon. We had light snacks under tree shade and proceeded to the Kalavantin view point (north tip).

Morbe Dam Backwater

We reached there in one hour (at 1.00 PM). Even here there are two water cisterns (hidden inside trees). From this tip we can sight the Chanderi fort, Mahismaal, ShriMalangad, Ganesh-Kartik pinnacles and Kalavantin (right in front).

Kalavantin as seen from Prabalgad.

Me !!

Prabalgad to Kalavantin:

On the way..

We descended through the V-gully and took the traverse till the Kalavantin-Prabalgad col or khind (खिंड). The less trotted route was hardly a foot wide. We could see several honey combs aigned on the overhang cliff of Prabalgad. The trail was broken at several places and was sometimes covered by the boulders. We reached the col at 2.30 PM, rested for ten minutes, an again started the climb for Kalavantin. The final rock patch seemed easy this time.

Rest time...
We earned it...

At Kalavantin top

We met a trio near the rock patch. They couldn't find the way to reach the top and were waiting for us (They happened to spot us from the top, traversing the Prabalgad). We showed them the route and they followed us to the top. Woohoo !!! We reached the top at 3.00 PM. We had successfully carried out our plan.

Climbing down

Trek almost done now...

End journey:
It was a time to relax now. Well, we had covered up a long distance while walking continuously, without taking short breaks in between (except for the snack time). So we decided to spend a few moments here, experiencing the tranquility of the mountains. We were all alone on the top with nobody to disturb us. It was fun, just staring at the vast Sahyadri tops, watching the golden eagle glide across the valley and tweeting swallows making sharp turns while in flight.

The trek as now almost finished with all the goals achieved for the day. We reached the Prabal Machi  at 4.15 PM. Everyone was hungry. We didn't had a proper lunch for the day, and it was our lunchtime now (yes at 4.15 PM). With a heavy lunch, lemonade and tea it was time to move on. It was almost sunset now (at 6.00 PM).

We reached the Thakurwdi (ठाकुरवाड़ी) village at 7.15 PM and decided to rest at the lord Hanuman temple, and it seemed legit since it was saturday (शनिवार). Our ride to Panvel arrived at 8.08 PM, just in time for us to catch the 9.14 PM CST local train from Panvel station.

Group: Aaditya Gurav, Manoj Patil, Ninad Vilankar, Tarun Kaushik, Yamuna (my sis) and me.

Trek to Chakedv - Parvat - Mahimandangad - Nageshwar - Vasota

All the forts are of type- Forest Fort (वनदुर्ग)
An article written by Kalpana Dilip Phal (mom).

Trek to Manikgad (16th November, 2014)

16th November, 2014
Water was available at the top

Manikgad

Introduction:

This post is just a short version of our my visit to Manikgad. To read the official guide to Manikgad click here. To read about what to see at top of the fort, continue reading. If you like what you read then comment below and let me know. 

The Team:
At the start we were just four of us- Aaditya Gurav, Ninad Vilankar, Vinayak Pol and me. But while returning 12 trekkers got added up as their guide betrayed them on their way back and they had to rely on us to reach the village at the base.

Near a dried-up waterfall route

The beginning: 

This was the second visit with my friends and a third visit overall. The November rains, the day before, had washed the city and we were greeted with a pleasant weather, perfect for trekking. We left Panvel at 7.45 AM. From the highway we could see the silhouettes of Kalavantin-Prabalgad, Irshalgad, Matheran, Chanderi, Mahismaal, Nakhind, Karnala and many more forts far off. And within an hour we reached the Pataalganga ( पाताळगंगा ) Industrial Estate and crossed the mammoth Reliance Factory.  

The route:

We followed the same route as described in my previous blog. We had visited this fort earlier in the month of August 2012, and the rain clouds had completely blocked the visibility making it difficult to spot the route correctly. We thought that in a sunny month like November it could be easy to trek Manikgad. But the picture was different altogether. Thorny bushes and Karvy trees had made the trek- not difficult, but time consuming. 

On the traverse up to the foot hills of Manikgad, theres a reservoir- Jambhivali (जम्भीवली) which can be seen below at some height. And moving for another 30 - 40 minutes from here, we come across a small shed housing a Lord Hanuman carving. Near the Lord Hanuman  carving, some distance inside the forest, we also spotted a small carving of a unknown deity.

On the top:

Unlike last trek where we had to expedite the trek due to time constrains, we had some more time in hand this time. We had the opportunity to explore the fort. Trust me, there lots more to see than just 1 huge water tank and the main stone entrance. At the top there are about 8 to 10 water tanks, a small shed, a Shivling besides that shed, vestige of a standing structure, an almost fallen-apart wada, a set of stone-stairs, carved-out Ganesh sculpture on the main entrance, chunyacha ghana, a destroyed entrance to the fort (just besides the main entrance) and lots lots more.

Me!!

Water cisterns on the top

Jambhivali reservoir as seen from the top

Encounter with the Bees:

I had never heard anything about the existence of the bees at Manikgad. At 2.00 PM they appeared out of nowhere, just after we entered the fort (near first water tank) and buzzed past us from above our heads. Well, there wasn't any attack of any kind but that moment was scary enough.

To read the detailed description of the route click here. This link will take you to my previous post on Manikgad trek. Hope you enjoyed reading.
Aloha!!

Note: All the pics used in this post are courtesy of Aaditya Gurav. 

POV bicycle ride, Goa, INDIA

'If adventure sport is a reel, cycling is its protagonist'

This was my first attempt at shooting POV videos. The roads along the river bank are pretty much isolated from the city and free of any traffic. And once desolated, these unpeopled roads are perfect for bicycle ride. This road here is no exception. 

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. 

Trek to Kalsubai & a visit to Bhandardara

Date of Journey: 12th & 13th July, 2014

Kalsubai (कळसुबाई) is the highest peak in Maharashtra with 5400 ft. or 1650 mtr.
Please Note: Highest Fort in Sahyadri is Salher (5141 ft. or 1567 mtr.)
Click here to read more about Salher Fort

Trek to Kalsubai & quick visit to Bhandardara, IN from Deovrat Phal on Vimeo.

The Overview of the trek:

The most awaited and the most procrastinated trek of all times. We have been planning to climb this mountain since our first day in college but was left out due to some unknown reason. On the 12th July, close to midnight, heavy downpour welcomed the Mahanagri Express on platform number 18 at CST station. Amidst the crowd, we managed to push ourselves in and found some empty seats in the general compartment. The downpour continued till Kasara, and seemed to plummet as the train approached Igatpuri station. We had fresh kanda bhajji (कांदा भजी) and tea at the railway canteen and proceeded to the bus stand. Igatpuri bus stand is 10 minutes of leisure-walk from the station. The sound of the motors revving broke the 5.00 AM silence, and a Bhandardara bound ST came out of the yard. At Bari (6.30 AM) we had another good strong cuppa and began the climb. 

Kalsubai bus timings, travel directions and more: There is a direct bus from Kasara station in the morning ~7.10 AM connecting the Kasara local train. Destination is Bhandardara and goes via Igatpuri-Ghoti.First bus in the morning is from Igatpuri ST bus depot 5 AM. 

The trail starts with the small tar road entering village and then turning left out into the open fields again. With every step, the trail climbs-up. Multiple ladders and metal stairways are fitted all along the way-up, making the climb easier. With enough fun and breaks, we reached the top at 10 AM. Strong winds along with the rains had restricted the visibility of the surrounding mountains. The Kalsubai top is best known for viewing the mighty Alang-Madan-Kulang forts, the most difficult forts in Sahyadris. 

Although the village at the base of Kalsubai had experienced a relatively lesser rainfall by this month, the rain clouds at the top of the mountain showed no signs of abating. We started to climb down by 11.00 AM. It was taking a bit longer as the Jamun and Bush-plum trees were slowing us down. The route was filled loads of Jamun trees and we just couldn't resist passing by them without tasting the fruit. So the clock ticked 1.30 PM when we were at the base of Kalsubai. 

We proceeded to Bhandardara (Wilson Dam):

The air was ripe with the pleasant showers and the sky had started clearing as we waited for our transport to Bhandardara. We almost spent an hour, waiting at the bus stop, chatting with a school kid and dozing off in-between. Our ride to Bhandardara arrived at 2.45 PM. The stop name is Shendi village. The bus conductor told us buy the tickets for Shendi village and not Bhandardara.

Expanse of the backwaters

We were lucky to get the 4.30 PM, Kasara bound bus, directly from Bhandardara (Shendi). From Kasara, as usual, local train back to Dadar !

Note: The forest covered route and several steep iron ladders were the only attraction of Kalsubai. I remember my sister climbing it when she was 7 yrs old. This trek officially marked the end of my Semester 8 as well as my 4-year journey of Electronics Engineering, together with Aaditya Gurav, Abhash Kumar, Manoj Patil and Tarun Kaushik.

Trek to Harishchandragad

28th and 29th June, 2014
Camping in the Cave at the top
Water available at the top
Cost: 220 Rs (From Dadar to Dadar, including healthy food and breakfast)

There are plenty of trails going to the top of Harishchandragad. A difficult beeline route, known as Nali chi vaat (नळी ची वाट) exists, which joins the Kokan Kada (कोकण कडा) a massive parabolic overhang cliff. There are multiple Nali chya waata and they all need fit people. Climbers have climbed the parabolic overhang (कोकण कडा) too. The trail of 'Junnar Darwaza' starts from Khireshwar. The most preferred route via Tolar Khind also starts from Khireshvar village, and later meets the route from Junnar Darwaza. Khubi phata (खुबी फाटा) is well connected by Public transport.  Harishchandragad can also be accessed from opposite side- Pachnai (राजूर, अकोले) and also from लव्हाळे village.

About Harishchandragad:

Belonging to 6th century, countable number of relics of the bygone age are still found here. At the base of the mountain, resides the Nageshwar (नागेश्वर) temple. There are carvings of different Hindu deity, right from the ceiling to the floor, which are pleasing to watch at. At the top of the mountain, 4700 ft. above sea level, lies yet another ancient temple- Harishchandreshwar (हरीश्चन्द्रेश्वर). Sounding the temple bell and listening to its clangor was, as usual, a divine experience. Behind the temple is the cave of Kedareshwar (केदारेश्वर) and the (supposed to be) origin of the river Mangal Ganga (मंगळ गंगा). Harishchandreshwar temple lies at the center, surrounded by different caves. 

I have created this short video based on adventure we had there. The snake in the video is a baby-python, and no, it wasn't harmed while filming the video. Enjoy the video. 

An Adventure-packed trek to Harishchandragad from Deovrat Phal on Vimeo.

Our Journey in a nutshell:

We boarded a Pune bound ST bus from Kalyan, at 6:35 AM, going via Manchar - Junnar, and got down at Khubi phata (खुबी फाटा). Khubi phata to Khireshwar village is a ~3 KM walk (also a good warm-up exercise). We climbed Harishchandragad via Tolar khind route, which is a traverse through the mountain.

We visited the Taramati peak, Kokan kada but had to skip the citadel (बाले किल्ला) due to time constraints. On the next day, we had a swim in the Pimplagaon dam. Roughly around 4:30 PM we caught the ST bus to Kalyan, and reached Dadar station at 9.30 PM.

Day1:

Visiting kokan kada was top on our priority list. After having a light lunch we took the road to the cliff. The sky was partly-cloudy which means not suitable for experiencing the sunset. Whats so special about this kokan kada ? Well, there's a parabolic overhang beneath the cliff and when the wind blows inwards (towards the cliff), it gets an upward momentum. Throw a small tree branch- it falls few feet below and then rises with the wind to atleast 200 ft in the air above the cliff. Do experience this once in the lifetime. Try throwing water, the water droplets fly upwards!!

Note: Please do not throw plastic bottles or any plastic waste. It becomes difficult to clean those. Its a bad scenario if the bizarre place like Kokan-kada is infested by plastic. 

It started getting darker by 6.30 PM and we headed to our caves (pretty nomadic eh!!!) With Maggi Noodles and Bhakri for dinner, we went to sleep in our cozy sleeping bags and mattresses.

Day2:

It was 3.45 AM in the morning. We (Ninad, Sumit, Aditya and me) stepped out of the cave. The sight was quite spooky. It was dark, the fog had engulfed the whole top and we couldn't even see beyond the the 3rd feet. Not to mention the bone-chilling cold !! By 5.30 AM everyone woke up and we started our trek to Taramati peak, the highest point of Harishchandragad. It was even more spookier at the top than we expected. the valley was covered in the clouds on both the sides, and we were walking on the ridge, not having a single clue about the depth of the valley. We encountered a few steep rock-climbs at some places which were exposed to the valley. But we couldn't see the valley in the first place and so no fear while climbing !! It wasn't raining, but the strong winds and the clouds felt as if it was. The experience was nostalgic. Only sad luck was that we were not going to experience the heavenly sunrise.

A long way to go....

From left: Nikhil Phatak, Ninad Vilankar, Aditya Gurav, Sumit Ghogale. The Mountain is hiding behind the thick mist ahead. There are jeeps available to reach Khireshvar, but they charge heavily. So we preferred walking.

Cormorants 

Some reptiles- dead ones

Some reptiles- live ones

At Tolar Khind
The famous carving of a tiger

On the way. Almost half-way.

On the way

The route from Junnar Darwaza meets somewhere near this small shanty. This is after the rock-patch. The remainants of fort walls can be seen here. After this, there is still a long way to go. The arrow-markings all along the route helps to trace the proper route.

Temple of lord Ganesh- at the top

Temple of Harishchandreshwar

Water cistern

The square lake - Saptatirtha Pushkarni Lake

In this picture, is the सप्ततीर्थ पुष्करणी तलाव. This lake has 14 small temple like compartments (as seen in the pic). When my parents visited this place some decades ago, they had the 14 Lord Vishnu idols in them. Now these idols are shifted to different temples (Harishchandreshvar etc.). Although the lake looks in a bad shape, the locals said that there will be a cleaning mission soon happening here.

Mountains surrounding Harishchandragad

Experiencing the divine "Kokan kada"

A really big group

From left: Nikhil Phatak, Pratik Ghag, Me, Aditya Sapate, Aditya Gurav, Ninad Vilankar, Tarun Gangwani (Grey shirt at back), Alok Narayan, Sumit Ghogale. And Manoj Patil was busy on his phone, as usual :)

Shivling inside the cave (Kedareshwar)
The world ends when the fourth pillar falls

Now this is a big Shiv Linga right there. A tradition- go around the Shiv-Ling in the 4-feet waist-deep  freezing cold water! Its very safe, but cold. There were four pillars holding the temple. Now the temple stands on the single pillar. The legend- the World ends when the fourth Pillar falls. And personally, I don't have a good reason (yet) as why I should not believe this old legend ! The water in this temple never dries out, not even in Summer !

Descend

Descend

A hole inside the mountain
It called a Nedha (नेढ)

The Junnar Darwaza route goes via this Nedha. This route is not frequented, but exists. It would be an adventurous journey to try this route.

Nageshwar temple
At the base of the Mountain

This is a very old temple full of carvings and sculptures from the ceiling to bottom. It houses the शेषशायी विष्णु sculpture.

Pimpalgaon Dam.
A swim is a must here

A Note: Harishchandragad is super crowded during weekends. It is changing its designation from a trek to 'picnic spot'. People ring the villagers to "book" a cave for them. You may also find tents near the caves. Beware, late night chaos in the caves is common now. If you are planning to go to Harishchandragad for peace, then aim for a weekday. If not, then I strongly recommend you to carry your own tent and sleeping bag, and camp somewhere else, away from that boisterous crowd. And if you don't have a tent, cave is the only option, and you find an empty cave, then take it! Its still first come first serve. Do speak to the locals, they might help you.