My Travel Diary

Mumbai>Kashid>Pune>Lavasa>Pune>Mumbai

2010-10-19T07:39:00.000-07:00

Oct-17-2010

Its been 102 days since i became the proud owner of a Royal Enfield Standard 350cc UCE machine. So far we've clocked just above 4500km, most of it being contributed by my daily office trips and some occasional rides inside Mumbai. I've been planning to take my bull out of mumbai for some time now, but was not sure about how i should do it, alone or with some riding clubs. Gradually the frustration of being the owner of an under-utilized machine started to eat my head and there it is, a three day weekend.
The first destination that came to my mind was Lavasa near Pune. As anyone in the IT industry will do, I also opened up Google and did some fact findings and route tweaking. Finally on the Friday of the week, 15-Oct-10, I had a final route-map with an estimate of the distance I'm going to cover. This was the route i decided to take: Patlipada(thane) - panvel via palm beach road - pen via nh17 - alibaug - kashid beach - kolad - pune via tamihni ghat and bhor ghat - stay at pune - lavasa - pune - panvel via nh4 - patlipada.
I left my home at 6:05 AM on 16th Oct 2010. From the Eastern Express Highway, I cut through the Airoli bridge and entered Navi Mumbai. At Sanpada, I got a full tank refill @ 55.48/litre. Then I tried to find out the entry to the Palm beach road for some time, but I couldn't find it. I was using the GPS/map in my N5800, and got a little too much confused in the end. So decided to move ahead, and I reached Panvel. My first pit stop as per the plan was at Vadhkal, where I planned to have my breakfast by around 7:30AM. But from Panvel, again the route got confusing, and I took the Pune highway instead of the Goa highway. The four lane road was almost empty with all the vehicles going through the Mumbai Pune Express Highway, and I kept on going and going for a good amount of time. Even I crossed some signboards saying that the road leads to Pune, but I was so immersed in the joy of driving that I didn't bother to notice all the sign boards. After a good 45 minutes, I smelt something fishy, as the road to Pen was more crowded the last time I went to Alibaug. So I decided to stop and check, and there it is, I'm on NH4 instead of NH17.
I was near Khopoli by that time, and there is a connection to Pen from a couple of kilo metres ahead of my current location. So I took that route and reached Pen. By the time I reached Vadhkal and stopped for breakfast, it was 8:50 AM, and I was late by around 1 hour 30 minutes, and I had travelled an extra 75km. After breakfast, I continued my trip to Kashid beach, which is around 55km from Vadhkal off the Goa highway (NH17). I reached kashid beach by around 10:30 AM. The beach was very less crowded, may be since I reached so early. But this gave me the freedom to select the best located hammock nearest to the beach. The owner of the shack gave me a good tea and omlet. I had a nice nap there for some time, and by 12:45PM, i started the second leg of my trip to Pune.
From kashid, I reached Kolad and refilled my water storage, as the route ahead is through the ghats and I can expect no place to buy water when required. Pune is around 120 km from Kolad if we're going via Mulshi and Tamhini ghat.The route is pretty scenic and there is very little traffic en route. The condition of the road is pretty bad, especially the ghat roads. When you are climbing up and negotiating sharp curves, if the roads are not good, it'll scare the hell out of you. Just a little after kolad, I decided to take my helmet off so that I can give my senses a little more "nearer to the environment" feeling. Also I wanted to listen to the thumping of my bike. I've to admit, the new version of the bullet lacks that old thumping. But I like the looks of the new silencer, it suits the size of the vehicle. Tamhini Ghat and Bohr ghat took more than expected time, as the roads were bad. I could reach Pune only by 5:00 PM. By that time, my shocks were making wierd noices, and the brakes were at the tip. First thing I did after reaching Pune was to fix the brakes with the help of a mechanic. It was the end of the first day trip, and I had covered around 330 km in around 11 hours of travel. I stayed with a friend in Pune, and went to a couple of pubs to spent some money and to get some booze.
Sunday morning 7:00AM, I left to Lavasa. Again, there was very little traffic in the road, and it was very nice climate at that time of the day. Lavasa is around 65 km from Pune (where I stayed with my friend) and I reached there by 8:45AM. There wasn't much to see there in Lavasa. It is situated in the valley of a couple of hills, and there is a beautiful lake which passes through the middle of this planned city. But the route to Lavasa was very beautiful. There was a dam and a lot of sharp curves to negotiate. And on the way, I met some bikers doing stunts. They were really amazing, the way they negotiate the curves is just like what you see in the professional bike racing. By the time you reach the end of the ghat, there are a couple of good hair pin bends which you need to take care of. I've to admit, as a novice, I did it in a very bad and weird manner. At the top, you've to give your name and details to the security. And you get a very nice view of the city from the top. From distance, it reminds you of Venice, with colorful buildings and the lake passing through the middle.
I roamed here and there for some time, and I was not able to find out a place from where I can have some tea or breakfast. So I decided to leave and by 9:00AM, I left Lavasa. But then I didn't find it a good idea to take the same route back. So I checked my map and saw a route through Sinhagad and Khadakvasla parallel to the lake that I saw in Lavasa. And I decided to take that route. A little into the route, I lost network coverage, and my map was no more working. The road was very bad, barely wide enough for a car. It went through the forest with the lake at one side and a hill on the other side. There were absolutely no human presence anywhere in the road for quite some time. And it was getting a little scary. But I was not ready to trace back the route, I wanted to go ahead. After what seemed to be a never ending journey by the side of the lake, I reached the Veer Baji Pasalkar dam. From there, I continued riding and reached Khadakvasla. By 10:45AM, I again entered Pune city limits. I spent some time there with my friend, and left to Mumbai by 3:30 PM. It was my first ever trip from Pune to Mumbai via NH4. Believe me, since all the traffic is in the Express Highway, and since bikes are not allowed there, you'll enjoy a very nice trip on NH4. The entire 2 lanes seems to be dedicated for you. The only disturbance you can get are by the cattles crossing the roads. When I was coming down from the Khandala ghat, the petrol level went beyond the reserve point, after giving me a good 44kmpl mileage. I got a full tank from Khopoli Reliance Petrol Pump @ Rs.55.54/litre, and resumed my journey to Mumbai. At 6:30 PM exact, I reached back home after covering around 630KM over 2 days. Thus ended my first trip outside Mumbai on my bullet. And I really really enjoyed it a lot. Looking forward for another trip with my bull. :)

Tikona

2010-02-07T22:44:00.000-08:00

Tikona is a 3500 ft high fort situated in Tikona-Peth village near Kamshet which is around 60 km from Pune towards Mumbai and around 20 to 30 minutes drive from Lonavala off the Express Highway. As usual, I went with the YHAI Mumbai group with around 30 members. This time, I had my fellow colleague/room mate/ college buddy Visakh also with me. We left from Thane at 6:00 am, and caught up with the team at Sanpada.

This was indeed one of the most memorable treks I ever did, the reason being that the trek was conducted on my birthday, and that my trek buddies Ganesh, Mangesh, Tejasi and Chitra had planned a small scale celebration by cutting cakes while we stopped for breakfast. I was really surprised, and I couldn't do much other than thank all those who wished me. Seriously guys, it was really unexpected and even I was not thinking much about the day. When I saw the cakes and the knife with Ganesh and Mangesh, the thought didn't go through my mind that they are going to celebrate my birthday. Thinking that the cake may be home made or something like that, and it is for all the people, I offered to cut it into 30 pieces. Mangya was then telling me, its for that purpose only, and I've to cut it. What followed was an unexpected, but a memorable birthday celebration in my life.

After breakfast, we drove for another one and a half hours, and reached the base village Tikona Peth. On the way, we could see a small dam, and the lake formed by that dam. The climb was an easy one, though the path leading to the top was a little narrow. It takes only one to one and a half hours to reach the top. On the way to the top, there is a small temple and people can rest and have food at this place. Once on the top, we can see the remains of the fort, and from there we could also spot the dam and the lake at a distance. From the top, we can also see the two paths leading to the fort, one from the front side and the other one a little longer route which approaches the fort from the other side, and meets the first route near the temple.

At the top, there is a small cave like structure where we sat together and had lunch. Also those caves has water which seemed to be potable. After lunch, we started our descend, and though it was a little slippery, it was not that hard. After reaching the base village, we went to the nearby dam and spend some quality time there near the lake. There is boat service in that lake to carry people to the other side. The lake also looked safe, and most of the people in my team went ahead to have a bath in it. After spending some time there, we started our trip back at around 5:00 pm.

As mentioned earlier, it was an easy trek, but still its a refreshing one too. The steps leading to the fort and the scenery around the hill will be more interesting during the monsoons. And for my dear trek mates who made it a memorable one for me by celebrating my birthday, thank you so much. :)

SGNP - Kanheri Caves (Rock Climbing and Rappelling)

2010-01-10T22:01:00.000-08:00

The rock patches near Kanheri caves in Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Borivali are good spots for practicing basic rock climbing and rappelling techniques. There are mainly 3 such patches where these activities usually take place. One of them is near the Kanheri Entrance, and its around 60ft high. It is an easy patch, and with the help of ropes and harness, people with least experience can climb it easily. The second one is around 90ft high, and to reach there we have to go a little beyond the Kanheri caves. This patch is a bit more tougher than the first one. Even though with the help of proper equipments we can climb it, its a little exhausting. The third one of 120ft is beyond the 90ft patch, and we couldn't get a chance to go there.

I went with a team of around 30 people. Since the team was big, we split into two and one team headed towards the 60ft patch while the other team, in which I was, stayed near a rock piece which was around 20ft high. We got a warm up session there, but it was a little hard. The rocks are having sharp spikes here and there, and while climbing though they provide good holds, our fingers were paining by the time we reached up. Since the patch was a small one, there are no rappelling options there. Then we went to the 60ft patch where we had a good rappelling session.

After the 60ft patch, the program was supposed to be concluded, but our leader Mr.Satish Rajput took some of us to the 90ft patch. But after reaching there only we came to know that the equipments were in another sack with another person and he had already reached outside the national park. The mighty rock wall was infront of us, and we had only a couple of ropes with us. But we didn't feel like turning back. So Satish climbed up first, fastened the rope on top, and the rest of us climbed the patch with only one rop tied to our belly. It looked a bit risky before the climb, but once started, it went ahead smoothly.

The best thing with the rock climbing sessions is the physical exertion. Most of the time, we have to stretch our legs and hands to get a good hold on the rock, and then we have to support our entire weight on those awkward positions. You know, some of the muscles in our body which we never use in our day to day life, they'll struggle a little and will wake up from hibernation. Though for a couple of days, they'll keep on complaining and bugging you in the form of pain and cramps, still you'll feel a mental pleasure. Thats what is most important, right? :)

Kohoj

2009-12-15T09:57:00.000-08:00

Kohoj is a famous trek spot near Palghar. It is a medium grade trek which can be done in a single day. Palghar is the nearest railway station connecting the place to Mumbai and Surat. From Palghar, one has to go to Manor and stay on the Vada road towards Vaghote. The fort is visible from the road itself. On the side of the path leading to the fort, there is a big lake in which we can see the reflection of the hill and fort which is on the other side of the lake.

The hiking took us around 2 hours to reach the top. Even though I struggled a little bit to catch my breathe in between, I guess a person with reasonable fitness can climb it without much stress and strain. The path to the top is through the bushes and trees, and hence you wont get the entire wrath of the sun. We took a person from the base village who was really surprised to see how easy we got tired. A couple of times, he got really bored and restless and started pushing us to keep on walking.

After climbing about 80%, we'll reach a small flat area where there are a couple of water tanks and a small temple. Villagers still worship in the temple and the water in the small tanks are not good. After staying there for some time, we continued our hiking. On the top of the hill, there is a rock structure which looks like a human statue. People say that it is natural. We decided to camp there itself. After roaming here and there on the top and taking some snaps of the valley, we had our lunch. It was indeed a lavish lunch. There was a small cistern near the place where we had our lunch. The water from that cistern was potable.

After spending around 2 hours there, we started our return trip. The slop is a little steep and slippery. It took us some good amount of time to reach down. By the time we reached near the pond, we were too tired. We were running late also. We reached the main road only at around 6. Then we waited for an S.T bus for a long time. At last, tired of waiting, we stopped a national permit truck and got into the back side of it. It was an awesome return trip. Being in the back side of a truck in the night for a ride,That too on a not so well maintained road was really awesome. By 7pm we reached Manor and started our long wait for another ST Bus. We got one only by 8.30 and it was the last bus from Manor to Palghar. We just reached in time to catch the 9:00pm passenger train to Mumbai. And ya, this was the first time I've ever been to a double Decker train coach. Indian railways put such coaches in passenger trains between Mumbai and Surat.

The trek was a nice one. As always, it'll be a nice option to visit during monsoon season since it is not so much risky and the surrounding areas are so scenic. I'm looking forward for the monsoon season to come. :)

Avchitgad

2009-11-23T10:16:00.000-08:00

Avchitgad is a fort situated in Roha in Raigad District of Maharashtra. It’s around 300 high with a medium difficulty level during the beginning of the winter season for a person with average fitness. :) The path towards the top is a narrow one with lots of bushes on both sides. It’s a climb of around 1 to 2 hours. The path is slippery in some of the places due to loose soil. We had a couple of kids from the base village to show the way. Once on the top, there is a huge arch which is the entrance to the fort.

The fort has a temple on top. There is no place for accommodation during night. Also the couple of cisterns on top of the fort looked pretty unreliable. The view from the fort covers a vast area. A railway station and rail line can be spotted not so far away. The spot is an optimum one for one day trips. The ascending part of the trek was pretty easy, but the bushes and small plants on the way side were causing lot of troubles. Almost all of the people in our team had a good number of bruises by the time we reached downhill. There was a big well at the base. Once we reached down, some of our team mates went into the well for a swim and they really enjoyed it a lot. The trip started at 6:00 am from Dadar, Mumbai and we reached back at Thurbhe (where I got down) at around 8:30 pm. It was a nice one day trip and was good enough for keeping the mind and body refreshed for another month.

Mumbra (Rock Climbing and Rappelling)

2009-11-08T17:13:00.000-08:00

I've been looking forward for a rock climbing experience for quite some time. And I was wondering why the organisers are not coming up with such an event. So as soon as I found out this trek option in YHAI Mumbai unit's schedule, I decided to go for it. The program was conducted in Mumbra, a place near Thane in Maharashtra. The location is very near to Mumbra railway station which is the second station from Thane towards Kalyan. The hill is visible from the station. There is a temple on top of that hill, and the rock climbing spot is just a few minutes walk off the road that leads to the temple.

The spot is a very common one and lot of people come here from the city for rock climbing practice during weekends. Even though we reached there by 8:00 am, there were already groups out there and one of them had occupied the main rock patch. So we decided to practice on some of the small rock patches. Our team had a number of very experienced rock climbers. They selected the rocks that can be used for practicing, and provided us with good moral support through out the event.

To be frank, I was a little nervous in the beginning. But somehow it went without much problems other than me sliding down a small rock patch due to lack of proper grip a couple of times. But still, it went on with out giving any injuries. After practicing for about an hour, we spend another hour for rappelling. Rappelling is a technique for coming down from a height using equipments such as ropes, slings and harnesses. It reminded me of the action movies where the security forces climb down walls using ropes. Even for hardcore rock climbing we use such equipments, but ours was a practice session which was mainly aimed at improving the body balance. Rappelling was easy, and can be done by anybody with an average physical fitness.

The entire exercise required a lot of effort from the muscles through out the body. And they've started complaining also. Most of the rock patches had a very thin hold on which we need to cling on with the tip of our fingers. I know it was a very low grade setup, but for beginners it was like a pretty good deal of effort. But we all enjoyed it and as far as I'm concerned, there should be more such things in life which will make all our lazy muscles do some sort of a work.

Rangana

2009-08-17T23:35:00.000-07:00

Rangana is a hill fort located in the Konkan Region near to the Maharashtra-Goa border. Its around 490 km from Mumbai and 90 km from Panjim. I had this nice trip with YHAI Mumbai unit. It was an overnight trip. We started from Mumbai on 14th August night, and came back on 16th August early morning. We were a team of 17 people carrying all the items necessary for cooking food and this was my first overnight trek.

The trip started at around 8:30 pm on Friday from Borivali and I joined the team from Dadar at 9:30pm. We took the Mumbai Goa highway and had our dinner from Bhadkal. We reached the nearest town to the trek spot at around 7:30am and had our breakfast from there. From a nearby hotel, we took parcel for lunch. At around 10:30am we reached the base village. We got ready near a temple in that village, and started the climb by 12:00pm.

The fort is around 2500 ft above sea level. The path was through dense forest, thanks to the monsoon. We had to cross a number of small streams on the way. The climb was a little steep and not that easy even though the path was pretty wide at certain stretches. The villagers told us that there are two paths to reach on top. One was around 5 km, its the shortest one, but a little more steeper than the one we chose. We covered around 7.5 km in 4 hours. It was also raining heavily once in a while. At 4:00 pm, when we reached the top, everyone was drenched in water. The view from the top was beautiful. The entire green valley looked awesome. The monsoon has brought a lot of greenery and scenery. :)

Inside the fort there is an old temple, and we decided to stay there for that night. There is also a lake on top of the hill from where a number of waterfalls originate. We had a couple of tents with us, and we set them up. But due to the heavy winds, one of the tents showed some signs of inconsistency, so we decided to remove that. There was one another group of guys from Belgaum in the temple. We shared our space with them.

Then we started the cooking spree. We had tea and tomato soup. Then we had a small team meeting, and the leader shared a lot of information about the things we should remember while going for a trek. After that meeting, we had our dinner inside the temple. Aftere dinner when we came out for washing plates, the entire hill top was covered in clouds. We went to a nearby well to wash the plates, and it was very difficult to find our way back to the temple. By around 9:30pm everybody were asleep. It was an awesome experience to sleep in a temple on top of ahill with not much people around. The only sound we could hear was that of the rain drops and the crickets.

We got up in the morning into thick clouds and the time was around 6:30am. After breakfast, we started our descent at around 8:30am. The descent was easier compared to the climb, and it took just 2 hours for us to reach the base. On the way, we spotted a snake coiled on a plant. That was another first timer for me, first snake in the Sahyadri treks. :)

After changing our dress and getting fresh at the base camp, we left the place at 11:00am. On a roadside small hotel, we had non-veg lunch. And once in the car, everyone fell asleep. After 2 hours, we stopped for tea, and then only I noticed that the driver didnt completely covered the bags on top of the car with plastic. The bag that was suffering was obviously mine, but somehow it managed to avoid severe damages. After tea, we saw a Marathi movie in the bus, and even though I didnt understand the dialogues, I could manage with the story. :)

I reached back home at around 2:00 am on Monday. It was my first overnight trek and was enjoyable to the core. The stay in the temple with lot of wind and fog around was awesome. The scenery of the valley from the top with the lake on the foreground is simply amazing. I was so much excited and refreshed on Monday, and had enough energy to go to the office and stay awake till 8:30pm. It was simply amazing. :)

Kalsubai

2009-08-10T20:36:00.000-07:00

Kalsubai is the highest peak of the Sahyadri in Maharashtra. Its about 5400ft above sea level. There is a temple on top of the peak and its the place of worship for villagers in the valley. They go up and down the peak once in a while and hence the toughest climbs on the route are being replaced with iron ladders and steps with railings for support. This additional arrangement has made the trek safer, comfortable and less interesting.

I went with YHAI-Mumbai unit. This was my 3rd trek with them and it was a one day trek. We went at 6:30am from Majiwada, Thane. We took the Mumbai Nasik highway and reached the base of Kalsubai at around 10:00am. This place is near Kasara and we had to travel for around 30 minutes off the Highway. When we reached the base village, it was cloudy and we couldn't see the peak that we were going to climb. After a brief self introduction, we started our climb.

Its a steady climb with steps and iron ladders at regular intervals. The path was slippery due to rains, but during climbing it didn't cause much trouble. The steps with railings start after covering around one forth of the climb. The scenery was so beautiful. And the landscape was amazing with lot of greenery. It wasn't raining, but the climate was cool and cloudy. There were lot of other groups including villagers going to worship in the temple on top. We were only able to see till a particular point on top, and behind that it was covered with clouds. Those who had gone to the top before told us that it was only three forth of the climb and behind that there was another peak on top of which the temple is located.

We took enough pit stops and by around 2:00pm we reached on the top most position. There was a flat portion on top where the temple was located and the area was surrounded by yellow railings. There was clouds all around and the valley was invisible. We went to the edge, and everywhere it was white clouds. The wind was so strong that it was very difficult to stand there without holding on the rails. Standing on the edge facing that strong wind was really amazing. It was worth the climb. You feel like your face will blow off. Then the most amazing sight came to view. The clouds moved away revealing the valley behind. It was more awesome. I dont have words to express that feeling. :)

We spent around 15 minutes on top and then we climbed down to a spot where there is a well and some plain area. We had our lunch. It was heavy lunch with lot of varities. And then we started our ascent by around 3:00 pm. The ascent was easy compared to the climb. Usually its the other way around. When it is raining, climbing up is easy even though exhausting. The problem with coming down is that you've to balance a lot and your legs will be trembling by the time you reach down. Same thing happened hear also, but it didnt took much time to reach down. We reached at around 4:30pm, but we were expecting to reach down by around 5:30 pm only. The last part of the ascent was slippery and in most of the places I was sliding down. :)

At around 5:30pm we started back. Just after a couple of kilometres we spotted a rainbow spanning from the valley to the top of a small hill. It was an amazing scene. I had never seen rainbows so close. We had a brief photo session, and by the time we left the area, the rainbow was gone. It was sheer luck that we spotted it. We reached back at Majiwada, Thane at 9:00pm. All of us enjoyed a lot. For me, it was an amazing trek, but Sudhagad Sarasgad is still in the first position. :)

Sudhagad Sarasgad

2009-07-29T00:23:00.000-07:00

This was my second trek with YHAI Mumbai Unit. We went on 26th July 2009, and our team consisted of 17 people. Our actual plan was Sudhagad, but due to certain unavoidable circumstances we included Sarasgad in our plan at the last moment.

We went in two taxi cars, and our first destination was Sudhagad. Its a 2200 ft high fort which is in the Pali region. We reached there around 9:30 am and after the self introduction by team members, we started off the trek. From the beginning itself it was raining. On the way to the top, the leader was saying that we had to cross a stream 3 times. And twice we crossed. It was very interesting, and by around 12:00pm we were back at the banks of the same stream ready for the third crossing. But this time, the leader who went ahead of the other team members to find out the route was unsuccessful. And we all were so depressed to realise that we had lost our way in between. But then the spot where we got stuck was a good location with a small waterfall and also the amount of water was less. The deepest area had water only till knees. So we decided to spend our time there.

Everybody enjoyed a lot in that spot. We had lunch there itself and while we were having lunch it rained heavily. Then the water in the stream became muddy and also the level and speed of water flow increased. We were not in a position to go to the stream anymore. So somebody put in the idea of going to Sarasgad. And as soon as the suggestion came, everybody agreed to it. So we went back to the base village. Sarasgad is around 15 to 20 minutes drive from there. We reaced at the base of Sarasgad around 3:00pm. And we planned to come back by around 5:30 pm so that we can be back in Mumbai by 9:00pm.

Sarasgad is a straight climb. On top there is a huge rock on which the fort is located. In the middle of the rock patch, there are steep steps leading to the top. The steps were slippery and the approach to the steps also were a little tough. But we decided to go up, and reached on top around 5:30pm. Everybody was aware of the time, but no one gave much importance to that. On top we saw some watertanks and caves. People from villages use that place as a hangout. There were lot of waste papers and plastics all around. And the rock structure was awesome. Next to Sarasgad, there is another couple of small hills. The villagers were telling some stories linked to these hills from the Ramayana.

The ascent from Sarasgad was steep. And we came down at the base at around 7:30 pm. From the nearby village, we had some light refreshments, and we left Pali at 8:30pm. And above all, our taxi driver was such a nice guy because he never missed a chance to get his machine upto 110-120 kmph. :)

This was indeed the best trek I had till date. The rain, the streams and the forts, everything made it an unforgettable event in my life (provided there wont be any amnesia or alcheimers). :)

Dhak Plateau

2009-06-29T10:28:00.000-07:00

Dhak is a small easy trek location near Karjat. I went with YHAI Mumbai unit for this trek. Its a good trek for the monsoon season. The team with which I went had kids and seniors, and they completed the trek without any problems.

I was supposed to join the team in Ghatkopar at 6:15am. They were in the local train to Karjat. But I woke up only at 6 and my head was spinning at that time, thanks to the rocking saturday evening @ sports bar, colaba. But I managed to take a quick shave and bath. When I get into the auto to the station, I had all the required items in my hands and shoulder and God only knows how I managed to put all those things in the bag before reaching the station. By the time I reched the station, the train had left. So I had to take the next train and reached Karjat 40 minutes late @ 8:50 am. Karjat is around 80 km from Ghatkopar.

The team had 21 people and we got into 5 autos from Karjat station. By 9:15 am we reached the base village. The climb was an easy one as mentioned earlier. Half way through the climb, we could see Karjat town at a distance. It was a cloudy day, and very soon it started raining. The approaching rain from Karjat was an awesome sight. I was happy also because it gave me a chance to use my newly purchased rain cheater.

The rain never got too heavy. But we all were drenched. A little more up to the hill, we were all inside the fog and we couldnt see beyond a few metres. By around 12:00pm we reached the village on top. The top of the hill is a plateau and the villagers do paddy cultivation there. When we reached on top, there was thick fog which soon faded away revealing the paddy fields. We also met some villagers and what stunned us was the fact that each time they had to buy something, they had to do "Dhak trekking".

There was a well near the village from which the villagers took water for daily purposes including drinking. I drank lot of that water, but later when looked into the well, I thought I should've done it earlier. The water was muddy and didn't look good. But then the thought that the villagers are using it for years gave me some relief. But still I learnt a lesson : Never ever do things without proper analysis. Mind you, its not for the first time I'm learning that lesson. :)

We settled in a hut in the village. There also we got the same water and somebody was asking whether the villagers boil that water before drinking which obviously they didnt do. But after the initial hesitation most of us had that water. For lunch we had a large variety of food including chicken sandwiches from Damien, lot of teplas and ofcourse the orange jam I got from my home @ Kerala and the big loaf of sandwich bread which I managed to get from Chakraborty of Sports bar the day before.

After lunch I had a walk around with a couple of others. A villager was there who explained a lot of things about Dhak and their lifestyle, but since he did it in Marathi, obviously I couldn't undesrstand a word. He showed us how to catch crabs which are available in abundance and his son managed to get us a couple of them. But unfortunately I stepped on one and crushed it to death. :( And there was a huge yellow frog. It was the biggest frog that I had ever seen.

After spending a couple of hours on top, we decided to go back. There is a Dhak fort also, but because of time constraints (thanks to me for that initial 40 minutes delay), we decided not to go for that. The desent was ok, but it would've been worse had it rained further. By around 5:00pm we reached the bottom. Everybody was so happy to have a trek in the rain.

From the base village, we took some autos to Karjat station. And we had Vada Pav in a nearby tea shop. There was a local train at the station to CST and we got into it just in time. Unlike the last Rajmachi trip, I didnt get a chance to glance at the loco addition in Karjat station to the trains heading towards Pune. And through out the return trip till Ghatkopar, I was standing @ the door. The feeling you get there, when strong wind accompanied by heavy raindrops falling on your body is awesome, believe me. :)

Rajmachi

2009-06-08T23:54:00.000-07:00

This was my second trek in Mumbai. I went with YHAI Malad unit. It was a night trek and also, it was the inaugural trek of the unit's monsoon trek season. The meeting point was at Lonawala. I went with the team leader and some other members of the team from Dadar at around 3:00pm. And we reached Lonawala at around 6:00pm. By the time all the other team members joined the team, I had some chikkies and fudges from a couple of shops. :) Everybody assembled in the bus stand by around 7:00pm and introduced themselves to the other team members. Then we headed to a nearby restaurant for dinner.

After dinner, at around 9:00pm, we started our walk. Everybody had a torch with them, but the sky was very clear and it was full moon day, so there was no need at all for a torch. There was an almost well built road through the forest to some resort. So the walk was not difficult. We saw a couple of groups of youngsters chilling out in the silence of the darkness. Also we saw a dam on the way. But the most memorable of all the sights was that of the fireflies on the trees, blinking like the dancing bulbs that we use to decorate our house during festivals. It was an awesome sight and throughout the trip, we could see the same sight to both our sides.

We had a walk for around 5 hours, with lot of breaks in between. The team leader was telling that we had to cover around 16km. And after a seemingly endless walk for around 5 hours, at 2:00am, we reached Rajmachi. The village lies in the valley of the Manoranjan fort overlooking the Konkan. Next to the fort is another one, the Srivardhan fort overlooking the Deccan plateau. We were told that we will be visiting these forts once the sun is up. So we settled in the village and all except me had a very sound sleep till 6:00am. I didnt have any blankets and it was so cold in the night that it was simply impossible for me to sleep. But still I was in a mood to enjoy that.

By around 7:00am everybody was up and after the breakfast all were ready to take off. We started off to the Manoranjan fort at around 8:30am. After taking a round on top of the fort, we moved to the next fort. Enroute there is a small temple and there were a couple of similiar groups settled near the temple. Srivardhan is the biggest of the two forts. We refilled our water bottles from the cistern on the way to the fort. Once we reached the top of the fort, the team lead explained a lot many things about the history of these forts and the other forts that are visible from there. But since most of this was done in Marathi, I could follow very little. :)

By around 11:30am,we were back in the village and we went to the nearby temple and pond. After spending some time around, we had our lunch from the village. Then after a short nap, we started our descent. We were taking a route different from the one we took from Lonavala, and we were descending towards Karjat. It was just 4 to 5kms, and it was steeper and slippery. Also it was the hottest part of the day and the heat was too much. I underestimated the route and the toughness, hence didnt carry much water. Another reason for not carrying enough water was that in the previous night, during the easy part of the walk, the two bottles of water had given me enough strain to my shoulders. Anyways that proved to be a bad decision and I really had to preserve so much during the trip to keep water till the end. We reached the village at the base of the hills at around 4:30pm.

Once in the village, we were expecting some means of transportation like the tam-tam (bigger version of auto riskshaw) to take us to Karjat station. But unfortunately we couldn't find any, so we had to walk another 2 kms. Then we got some autos and all were in Karjat station. By the time we reached there, the train in which we had planned to leave had already left. So we waited for another hour in the station eating vada-pav. :)

Karjat station is where the trains going to Pune are provided with additional locomotives to cover the hills enroute. Almost all the trains are given additional 2 locos and the bigger goods trains are given 3. It was ofcourse a nice experience for a person like me who is an admirer as well as fan of the rail system.

I reached home at around 8:30pm. The trip gave me some nice memories like the scene of the fireflies and the two forts which once served the role of watchtowers for the Marathi Empire against the invaders from both the Konkan and the Deccan.

Mrug Gad

2009-04-12T22:32:00.000-07:00

Mrug Gad is a fort near Jambhulpada on the Khopoli Pali road. It was my first trek. I did with Youth Hostel Association of India, Kandivali Unit. There were 17 members in the team excluding me, and I didnt knew any of them (except me :) ).

The trip was on April 12, 2009 and we went on a private vehicle. We had vada-pav from a small village in the Khopoli Pali road. It took around 3 hours to reach the base village Bheliv. There we had the intro part when everyone stays in a circle and introduces themselves. We got some kids who were ready to guide us to the top from the village.

The climb was an easy one. There was not much vegetation around. The heat was unbearable. And it took us around 1 hour 30 minutes to reach the top. After about 75% of the climb which is kind of decent slop, there is a steep rock patch. This rock patch has got steps carved in and it makes it easy to climb it. Once that patch is covered, there is a small plateau with a dry cistern. We decided to settle down there. A further walk on the plateau will lead us to the tip from where we can see the base village. That point is around 1700 ft high. And near to this point, there were two cisterns, and people with me were telling that one of them had cold water and the other had hot water when they were functional. Except for a part of a bastion and the cisterns, there weren't much signs of a fort. We had some refreshments near the cistern and started the descent in around 1 hour.

The descending part was a little tough because of the dry sand and the heat. On the way down, somebody who went off the track found out a small cave and I had a torch with me. So we went inside. It was a small cave of about 2 ft high and 10-15 metres long. Once we reach the other end, there is a dip and from there its further 10 metre that leads to a open space of around 3 to 4 ft height. Its now a residential area of bats and there were bats inside and ofcourse there was a really foul smell. The movements made the bats vigilant. Since we didn't want any problems, we had to rush back and it was the most exausting part of the trek. I never knew that moving in a crouching position was so exhausting. Everybody had to be really careful while coming back due to the slippery surface and it took us around 2 to 3 hours to reach down. And it was the hottest part of the day. By the time we reached in the base village, we were all kind off dehydrated. All were badly hoping to get some water all over the body. There was a handpump at the village and everybody were literally taking a shower. :)

After reaching the village, we had our lunch. We also had a plan to go to the nearby pond. But because of the heat that plan was dropped. By around 3:30pm we started our journey back home. We took the old Khopoli Mumbai road. And by around 6:30 pm, I reached my home at Ghatkopar, really exhausted and badly in need of a deep sleep. The sun had taken a lot of calories from my body, and I was not able to provide enough calorie supply to meet my body's demand. :)

Kashid (Alibag)

2009-04-05T20:58:00.000-07:00

Kashid is a beautiful beach almost 35km from Alibag towards, the direction of Murud. The beach is a beautiful stretch of about a kilometre with two small hills on both ends. The road runs parallel to the beach and on the other side of the road, its thick forest. There are also a number of farm houses on the beach side.

You can find a number of small refreshment stores in the beach. The shopkeepers have setup lot of shacks on the beach which we can use. The only condition for using them is that you should buy something from the respective shop. The shops also have footballs, volleyballs and flying disks which can be taken for rent at a nominal rate.

The beach is, as mentioned, almost 1 km long. There is not much crowd. Jogging on the entire stretch is really fun. People play lots of games like football, volleyball, cricket and so on. The crowd is also good, mainly family and friends groups. The sea is safe and we can go upto 20 25 m into the sea (non-swimmers). There are a couple of horse carriages which takes you through the beach. Also you can ride a horse for 5 to 10 min by paying Rs.50/-.

Kashid beach is a very nice place to spend your weekend. Especially if you are from Mumbai, you’ll find the place very energetic and you can get enough fuel for another month of hectic work [if you are able to take yourself back from there. :)

Getting there:
Launch/Catamaran services are available from Gateway of India, Mumbai to Mandwa, which is some 20 km from Alibag. From Mandwa, the boat service people arrange bus service to Alibag. The rate for this is also included in the boat rate which ranges from Rs.65/- to Rs.110/-. Once you reach Alibag, you can take a State Transport bus going to Murud. Kashid is almost 30km from Alibag and it’ll take about 1hr to reach there.