Lohagad... and Lohagad. :P

Second one of those 11th-hour treks and I’m getting quite used to the lack of advance planning which was a must in the past. We (I, Angad and Rohit) confirmed the ‘Trek to Lohagad’ a day before and were off on a Saturday dawn.

I’ll start with imparting pure information-

• Malavali is the destination, one station away from Lonavala. Pune-local-trains are a blessing.

• Walk starts from the Malavali station itself where you cross the Express Way using a ‘suspension’ bridge and follow a straight road which leads you the fort.

• Feel free to ask the locals, they are happy to help.

• You reach a fork when you reach a cluster of buildings which provide shelter to tourists and stuff. Landmark? You’ll cross a school on your way here. Straight road. No hassles.

• At the fork, on the left you’ll see a flight of steps leading to Bhaje Caves. Again on the left, you’ll witness a normal wide path leading you by the base of the mountain to the Twin Forts.

• Twin Forts? Yes, fort Lohagad and fort Visapur stand adjacent to each other and intimidating those with a romantic heart and passion for Maratha history.

• There is also an option of turning right from the pre-mentioned ‘fork’ and following a path through fields and small streams to the main path. I recommend this path in case of absent rains since it promises a photographer’s paradise and tiny bit adventures.

• The main path is covered with rocks and is a pretty simple, gently inclined climb.

• One curve on the main path gives a first-hand impressive view of the Visapur fort which stares back haughtily 45 degrees to your line of vision. The faraway stone walls and watchtowers speak of a forgotten time and forgotten glory. Strength emanates through every bit of the fortification though. And this is just the first view from miles away.

• Path then branches out in a muddy road which leads to Lohagad. The main path continues up to Visapur.

• On following the muddy path, there comes a short valley where Visapur and Lohagad are on either side and wind is set loose to run wild! The valley is windy and hell yeah, it is windy. Two cliffs on either side from the most powerful two forts in the region (3 other forts in the nearby region) don’t fail to remind us of our humility. Impressive is not even a word.

• A straight path leads from below Lohagad to the point where steps to the fort begin. Lots of hotels at the foot provide good food and reasonable charges. A sigh of relief in case it’s raining hard.

• Climb to the fort is interesting and a guide is present on the fort to part with basic information about the area.

• The top of Lohagad is huge with lots of rain-water reservoirs, a couple of unnamed but not unmarked tombs, wind, fog, wind and a bit more of wind.

• Lots of places to see atop Lohagad including Temples, Tombs, Cannons and also a view-point called ‘Vinchu-Tok’ (the Scorpion Tail). So named because the shape of the range of hills visible below resembles a Scorpion’s tail.

• Fortification doesn’t fail to impress and again makes Romanticists sink into the lost glory of the Maratha reign. No wonder the fort was named Loha-Gad, the Iron Fort.

• Quality of descent, like the climb (ascent), is not worth mentioning because on no account are you faced with challenging terrain. A very simple trek which can be called a sight-seeing trip. (Unless you want to spice it up like we did! Read on…)

• Many detours and side-routes available probably in Summer and Winter but disappear in monsoon thanks to lots of rainwater and dense foliage.

• And so we wind up the Pure Information part.

We made the trek crazy.

First-
I and Angad decided to take a fairly impossible detour for no reason at all. Rohit chose the obvious path while we went on with our crazy, wild and daredevil-ish idea. It gave me scratches and a couple of bruises. Also- made us walk through a gushing waterfall, waist-deep in cold water, on slippery bed. On reaching safe ground, we were both, for some weird reason, tempted to take a dip in the small pool created by the merging of 3 waterfalls. Was it due to the presence of cute girls in the same pool or we were just high on something or something else... no idea boss. :P
But I'm glad we didn't do it in the end. Soaked as we were due to rainfall and waterfalls, that alone gave me near-death experience by shivering in cold on Lonavala station. It was so freaking cold where I'm wet to the marrow and wind finds it fit to blow itself on my cold self. Woah!

Secondly-
Rohit made sure that the return journey reservation was for 25th September and not 25th July as we would have gladly liked. Also, this interesting discovery (that the date printed on the ticket is wrong) was made after getting on the train and seeing someone sitting on our seats.
Good stuff. :)

Gist-
An easy trek, very good for making people walk but total absence of challenging terrain if you keep following main paths. Lohagad-Visapur is a must-visit for History-enthusiasts and Romanticists.

Farewell fellas… until the next Sahyadri trek. Godspeed!
*whooshes away*

Rajmachi - Full On!!

A week’s notice, few hurried arrangements, impulsive decisions, comic agreements, an unforeseen-turned-useful purchase and a canceled priority… this is what helped me realize the eventful trek to Rajmachi.

One of my weirdest treks in and around Mumbai.

But then- my experience is another (and probably funnier) story. hehe

Few basic directions to direct readers who are looking for directions-

:P

1. Get down at Karjat station and, facing Pune side, go left.
2. Ask for Bridge, give reference to Rajmachi, walk your way to a bridge where you will get seat-wise Minidors (Dukkars) :P to Kondivade village. Rs.15 per head can be expected.
3. Don’t ask the rickshaws… it ain’t their job to go down that 15 km road to the village… they make us laugh by asking for 250 bucks.
4. Minidors can either drop you at Kondivade or proceed to the foot of your destination ‘hill’. (‘Mountain’ for first-timers) It is your cake. The small village at the foot is a 10-15 minute walk from Kondivade… a scenic, enjoyable walk. I Recommend.
5. The walk is recommended since it warms you up. :)
6. On reaching, ask the villagers for directions to Rajmachi. They are happy to point it out. (There are exceptions. A certain bloke just stared at us for a couple of minutes before I’d the sense to ask a slightly responsive human being in the area)
7. The ascent begins slowly… quite easily up a small track.
8. As forks start appearing and forest starts getting dense, small white arrows are a big help. Arrows have been marked all the way to the top at certain irregular intervals. They are useful nonetheless.
9. At the very top, when you are kinda drained, a God-sent bloke has his shack up there (selling lemon juice, food, pepper-mints with free-of-charge water) only on Saturdays and Sundays. Sakharam, the name. Try asking him his name… he’ll tell you his full name each time with fervent admiration for the same.
10. A village is another 15-20 walk from Sakharam’s shack.
11. At the village, you may get good food and a place to stay too. Also- you get the option to climb both the forts, visible from the village.
12. You may get down the same way (much faster now that you’re descending) you came up, from Karjat. You may also walk all the way to Lonavala… which a pro can take around 4 hours.
13. Climb from Karjat takes around 3 hours for pros. 4 hours, if you have any first-timers who need frequent breaks.

We were a small group of 3, including one first-timer. We reached Kondivade by 8 and completed the climb by 12:15. Placing an order of lunch, roamed around for an hour and had our lunch at 13:30.

Weather changes and worry of the descent in the rain had us climbing down immediately and we were back at Karjat station by 19:30. Minidors stop leaving Kondivade for Karjat after 6. Their rates shoot up and we paid 50 bucks per head (for the entire vehicle) for the 15 km journey. We don’t regret it though.

That’s about it- Pure Information.

:D

Note:

Now dont form conclusions that this has been my only trek! I've trod upon the Garhwal Himalayas.. Tapovan, Dharwa Top and stuff..
Just that, I didnt write nothing on them.

Cheers,

Missed The Nose

A Distant Dream :P

'Twas the weirdest trek ever!
This ‘expedition’ to the Duke’s Nose, Khandala was lead by me and it was a great experience. It taught me to carry maps of the area, a compass and a pen knife too!

We were a group of 7. (Me, Ruta, Rohit, Nikhil, Pranit, Akshay and Aniket)

We alighted at Lonavala station from the Indrayani Express at eight in the morning. Grinning in excitement which was bubbling within, we started trudging along the tracks towards Khandala station. Covering the 8 km distance in an hour, we went on and followed a track which went over a hill.

Note: Watch out for trains while walking down the tracks. They come without warning, speeding like hungry demons.

As the track ended, we walked through the Tata Power Station… the guards showing us the way instead of shooing us away. Onwards we went and things started getting all crazy.
We came to a spot in the greens where there were hills on our right and the left. Before us and below, was some small town and villas. I and Rohit drew little maps in the ground (which we had memorized from the Wikimapia) and came to a conclusion that the Nose was right behind us.

Note: Actually, it was behind the hill on our right. Don’t guffaw loudly but compliment our confidence. You should have seen my determined jaw.

We started out through the dense bushes. Road was not easy. It wasn’t even trampled upon. Making way for ourselves through the thorny shrubbery and cobwebs we walked on. Nikhil kept making marks, using his pen knife, on the trees in case we need to return this way. We were yelling, laughing, teasing each other and listening to our grumbling stomachs, all at once.
We met small dead ends but chose the other route every time. We knew the direction of the hill which we believed boasted of Wellington’s and his Duchess’ Noses.
At last we came across a stream. It was merry and we refilled our bottles. Going across, we found out that there was no way ahead. Since we had to climb up the 3000 feet hill, we decided to do it through the stream. The foliage was dense and the air was cool. Crabs watched us invading their waters. They did not resist. They should have tried at least.
We climbed all the way up. We slipped, we fell. We helped each other up and we dodged falling rocks. One of us dropped his cell phone while one of us (me) lost his senses.

Note: I have a firm footing. Just that, I’d started singing ‘The Longest Day’ by Paul Anka all of a sudden.

When the road was found blocked by a dead tree, we climbed right over it. We were Warriors. Only I belonged to the Rainbow. (Don’t bother)
Once up, we were ecstatic and started yelling for food. Clambering up the gentle slope, we found ourselves on a plateau. We had to go to the other side to be above the Nose. (We’d lost our way, remember?)
Then Rohit asked me why the peak opposite us looked familiar. I gazed at it and heard my jaw fall on the grass below. The majestic Nose looked back at us haughtily. We looked back at it in disgust and wonder and hence our faces bore comical expressions.

Note: “Why didn’t the god-damn Wellington blow his nose?! We could have caught on the signal!!” My mind was yelling this at that time.

Being optimistic, I was happy that we had reached the same height and the trek was much tougher than what the ‘Nagpahni Dongar’ had promised us. We had food, clicked snaps, removed our wet clothes (socks and in the case of Aniket, his handkerchief).

Note: Aniket washed his muddy handkerchief around 4 times and he enjoyed the process of watching it becoming dry.

We walked around barefoot, contemplated life looking at the greens below, and joked around. An occasional glance at the Nose didn’t leave us red-faced.
After an hour and a half, we climbed down another easier route. We were exhausted but joyous. Carrying twin bags of Cooper’s Chocolate Walnut Fudge *drools over drools*, we caught our evening Indrayani back home.

Carrying your own food is a must. Lots of drinking water sources on the wrong paths as well as on the right ones. Buffaloes tend to scare you by exhaling loudly. Dogs start barking without reason. A pup may accompany you if the journey between Lonavla is made on foot using the road.

A lunch at Kamats Green House is not recommended. Okay food with illogical prices. If you prefer washbasins placed in a hard-to-see corner and enjoy a full view of the kitchen, it’s the best place for you! If you detest people looking at you while you talk, make a point to always visit the place. The waiters never glance at you while taking your order. But yes, they are prompt. The restaurant boasts of ‘delicacies’ like:
1) American Sev Puri
2) Italian Kurma
2) ‘Strawbary’ Dolly
3) Butter ‘Scoth’
4) ‘Potata’ Vada

5) 'Aerated' Bisleri (what the heck?!)
Boy were we happy having reached the right place! Though we did wonder why we weren’t offered ‘Mexican Rasam’ and ‘Odisi Pasta’…

Things I learnt:
1) A guide isn’t really necessary. Just make sure you don’t lose your way if you want to reach a pre planned point.
2) Carry maps if you want to and explore the surrounding area while eating.
3) Never try to eat a sandwich in front of a buffalo. It gets angry.
4) Instincts are not that trustworthy.
5) Never try to convince older blokes to leave their window seats in the train. They won’t give a damn, ever.

6) Never peep into barber shops in Lonavla. They frequently help blokes shave their armpits and the sight aint pretty.
7) Dogs prefer looking in the opposite direction when a vehicle’s coming towards them at full speed.
8) Some flies can bite and how!!

Though we gave Hon. Nose a miss, the trek was good and I’m looking forward to the next one. :)