Rajmachi - Perfect for Camping

Date: 12 January 2019

Planning:

So, winter season was here and since a long time we hadn't trekked. It was difficult to make a plan because everyone was busy with different things. And suddenly out of nowhere My Friend Ajinkya asked me if I was interested in a stay plan at Rajmachi. At first, I was hesitant as I had saved that place for a pre monsoon trek for the fireflies Festival. But I knew it was not possible to go on a trek for a long time until everyone became free. Ajinkya had already planned this trek with his other friends and I had to just join them which was going to save me from the task of planning which is tedious. Also, since he and his friends had visited the place a couple of times there less chances of us getting lost. So, I gave my confirmation a day before.

Train Journey:

We decided to catch an afternoon Thane-Karjat Train. Half of the people I was quite familiar with as they were my seniors. We got a place to sit together and we started with ludo. The game was taking interesting turns and before releasing we had reached Karjat.

Karjat to Rajmachi:

We went to the Railway Canteen and had some breakfast. Then we walked up to the Shri Ram bridge. There's a Tum -Tum (Rickshaw) Stand here from where we can take a Rick up-to the base village of Rajmachi. We agreed on a fare of Rs 400. You can use your Bargaining skills here. We realized on our way that the rivers which are flooded with water during Monsoons were now dried up and the lush greenery of had turned into Golden Hay.

Kondhane Caves:

Our trek started with full enthusiasm with songs being played in the background. The trek up to the Kondhane Caves isn't steep but it was tiresome because of the weather. Few us us went to explore the caves while others sat down to relax. The caves have beautiful stone carvings. Most of the people just come to visit the caves here instead of trekking up to the top.

Caves to Rajmachi Village:

Now we had started climbing some steep patches. Our breath and water seemed running out. One by one everyone's bottles finished and yet we were to cover a long distance. Just as it happens usually few of us were heading forward while others were being left behind. So we were taking breaks to rest and wait for others. We did have Ors, Glucon-D and some military energy boosters to help us keep going. Also, I had saved a bottle of water in case of emergency which we finally ended up finishing before reaching the Village where we were supposed to halt for the night. We witnessed the beautiful sunset during one of our breaks and reached the village before dark. 

At Rajmachi Village:

Just before the temple is the quiet Rajmachi Village. We reached there completely exhausted and thirsty. The first thing we did was sit down and drink a lot of chilled water. We were shown our room which was a pretty decent room with lights, blankets and nothing more we could expect in 60 Rs per head as the stay charges. We freshened up, had some snacks and sat down to play Uno. We enjoyed the game a lot. At night we played Q&A with everyone bound to answer the questions asked.

At night we had our Dinner at the Locals House who had prepared Chicken for most of us. But I enjoyed my Pasta which I had brought. Post Dinner we went for a walk in the dark woods. It was pitch dark outside and we were scared of wild animals. Late night we went out for Bonfire in open fields. It was a cold night. The starry sky and mellow songs being played in the background made it our bonfire perfect. We were enjoying it so much that we had bought a lot of firewood to keep it burning. 

Morning Trek to Peak:

I woke up at sharp 5.30 AM and woke up others too. We freshened up and took just one bag with water uphill. It was just the break of dawn when we reached the peak. We had nice motivational morning music being played in the background. At the cliff we took our spots and stared at the open sky, waiting for the sunrise. And slowly, the golden rays of the sun gave a bright colour to the clouds and meadows, mountains and valleys. The first rays of the sun were cool and bracing to the eyes. At a hilltop, the beauty of sunrise is beyond description. The hill-tops and the valley below seem to be bathed in yellow light. All of sudden, the golden ball shining in the sky grows big in size. We were lucky to witness this magical moment with our friends. 

We had lemon juice from the man at top. Then we explored the Fort a bit and started our descend down.

Leaving for Mumbai:

We went back to our room in the Village. Had our breakfast and filled our water bottles for our Trek downhills. We moved quickly so that we could reach Karjat Station in Time to catch the train. But as we reached the station we came to know that being a Sunday the trains were going to leave in Evening directly. So, we had our Lunch at a nearby Restaurant. Then we waited for our train at the railway station and finally reached Home with wonderful memories of the trip.

Watch this video for more Details

KALAVANTIN DURG TREK- WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS FORTRESS!

KALAVANTIN DURG TREK- WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS FORTRESS!

DATE: 29TH JANUARY 2018

Making the plan:

So finally, it was planned. A very long standing plan.Prolonged - sometimes because of the risk of trekking in rain and sometimes due to friends being busy. This time it was quick and easy. Just decided the date forwarded message in all groups. Got quick positive replies. Confirmed the smaller details on the WhatsApp group and we were set to conquer the world's toughest fort.

Towards Panvel station:

So according to our plan we met at thane by 6.10 to catch the 6.20 am panvel train from thane. Others were going to meet us directly at panvel station. One of my friends didn't show up on time. Despite it, we kept moving according to our plan because we were unable to contact him. The instructions were clear in our message if you miss the train you miss the trek.

The S.T.:

We caught the 8.00 am st towards Thakurwadi i.e the base village to Kalavantin Durg. It was a 30-45 min journey from Panvel st stand.

The route:

We started our trek at 8.30 am. The entire trek can be divided in 4 parts.

1.From main road to Prabalmachi plateau-1 and half hours

2.From Prabalmachi plateau to last stall.

3.The stairs

4.The final rock

Most of the trekkers leave the trek either at stairs or at the last rock, during the rainy season as this part becomes the most difficult then.

Part 1:

This can be further divided into two parts.

1.A simple walk towards starting point of trek

2.A climb after a  walk.

The route is well marked. And you can ask locals if you are confused.

During the first half we were just excited to start our trek and started recording our experience. Everyone was full of energy and enthusiasm.

Then we started climbing. Our group was divided into 3 parts and we were moving one behind the other. Taking photos and four stops we reached the Prabalmachi plateau. En route there were picturesque points and locations to have a few clicks. After that you'll come across two small idols of Hanuman. After a small trek, post this you'll come to the Prabalmachi plateau. 

There are good washrooms, water, food, and stay facilities provided here. You can hire tents for camping and can also give orders of food to the locals. 

Part 2:

Moving through a village you have to start trekking again.

You will come across a few stalls. After a hike you'll reach the last stall. From here the main part- for which this fort is well known begins.

Part 3:

The winding 85 degree rock cut stairs are directly exposed to a fall on one side and Mountain to the other. These are rightly named as the stairs to heaven. They are uneven and very high. They might be very risky in monsoon but were fairly easy in winter. They are definitely not for the faint hearted and people having vertigo.

Part 4:

After the stairs comes the last rock patch. It is a straight vertical climb of 20 feet approx. There are two ropes provided to climb. However they are short in length and it's advisable to carry your own rope too. You have to pull yourself up and stretch all your leg muscles to get a hold on the rock. You have to be very careful that you won't let go off your grip of the rope. Few of our experienced trekkers got up and tied our rope and gave a helping hand to pull others up. It's recommended that those who aren't able to climb these rocks must stay down. Also you can leave your bags down and go up.

Finally conquered:

The moment you reach the top, you become speechless. You find a mesmerizing view of various mountain ranges. These are accompanied by several waterfalls and fog in the monsoon season. The feeling of conquering the world's toughest fortress is in itself such an amazing experience.  The top offered a panoramic view of the surrounding mountains.

Descending:

After clicking many pics we started descending. This is more difficult than climbing up. First was the rock now. Omkar struggled a bit at getting down this rock. However I didn't find it that difficult despite my height. Flexibility of muscles was all that was required. And when our friends were descending. We were also shooting our descend on stairs. It was a thrilling experience to climb down these. Then at the Prabalmachi plateau we washed our hands and faces. Got fresh, and moved down towards a quiet stall where we decided to have our lunch.

Lunch:

Everyone had brought some really good food-sandwiches, theplas, bread jam, snacks, carrots, cucumbers, and so much more. We were full and decided to take a small nap. 

Final climb down:

At 2.30 we woke up and again started moving down. Now we were heading fast. And by 3.30 we had completed our trek. But after lunch our water was finished. So at a shop we took chilled water and cold drinks to re hydrate ourselves. Then we enquired about the return bus towards Panvel station. 

Bus back to Panvel station:

We were informed that we had just missed the 3.30 bus and next would leave at 4.30. so we had an hour to relax again. Sitting, listening to songs, teasing each other, etc we passed our time.We were also looking forward to asking for lift or moving towards the main road because we were bored waiting. And just then our bus turned up. Few of our friends had gone to refill their water bottles at a nearby temple and we noticed they had already taken seats in the bus while we were boarding it.

Back to Mumbai:

Again in the bus mostly everyone had a nap. At Panvel station we filled bottles at the railway water counter. We said Goodbye to our friends who were catching the CST train. We caught the thane train and made a plan to eat appetite momos. With our stomachs full we took some really beautiful memories of the trek with us back home. 

Experience:

I had so many nightmares about this fort. But I was determined to trek it. I was a bit scared because of the huge group that we had this time as we didn't know the capability of everyone. But actually everyone quite easily completed the trek. We got to make some new friends and soon enough planned our next trek too. It feels like now finally I have a perfect group of friends for my trekking adventures.

The trek didn't seem to me that difficult as explained on net. Yet it is not to be underestimated either. Being careful of your foot steps you can trek this mighty fort. The experience of this trek was really overwhelming.

Our Plan

*KALAVANTIN DURG TREK*

_Worlds most dangerous fort_

*Info about place-*
In the Western Ghats near Mumbai, at a hefty altitude of 701 metres (2,300 feet) above sea level lies the world’s most dangerous fortress: Kalavantin Durg, which (according to legend) was constructed in honour of a Queen Kalavantin. Offering gorgeous views and abundant beauty – via rugged terrain with narrow rock-cut steps, steep slopes and no support whatsoever – the trek to and from the fortress is dangerous yet thrilling. Kalavantin Fort is famed as the ‘Climb to Heaven’, owing to its dangerous nature and the bird’s eye view of the immense beauty that awaits atop.

*Date-*

29-1-2018

*Trek charges-*

INR 250

*Train-*

5.12 am Panvel from Thane.

*Bus-*

6.55 am from panvel station to thakurwadi village

*What to carry-*
1.COMPULSORY 2 L OF WATER(PREFERABLY  1L NORMAL WATER AND 1L ORS WATER) 2.LOTS OF EATABLES(BISCUITS CHOCOLATES SNACKS) 3.SEMI HEAVY LUNCH(THEPLAS SANDWICHES) 4.SWEAT TOWEL OR NAPKIN 5.DSLRS IF YOU WANT TO AND CAN 6.ENERGY DRINK IF POSSIBLE 7.CAP 8.MOSQUITO REPELLENT AND BAND-AIDS AND RELLI SPRAY(JUST AS FIRST AID) 9. COMPULSORY SMALL PACKETS OF TANG OR GLUCON D 10. CARRY BAGS AND NEWSPAPER 11. POWER BANK AND CHARGERS
*What to wear-*
1.COMFORTABLE TRACK PANTS 2.T-SHIRTS 3.CAP 4.GOGGLES 5.GOOD (GRIP)TREKKING OR SPORTS SHOES

*Event risk*

Please take care of your own safety and other fellow trekkers. Everyone joining for the trek abides by that he his responsible for his own safety and any mishappening during trek.

Parsik Fort - A Solo Adventure

“As you travel solo, being totally responsible for yourself, it’s inevitable that you will discover just how capable you are!”

Traveling solo? It is a scary, exciting thing to do. It can be the most challenging adventure of your life. But once you succeed in it, there is no way back. The hardest part of solo travel is the beginning.

Another week had come to an end and it had rained in mid-October. The October heat was suddenly gone. Grabbing the opportunity I woke up and planned a Solo Trek to the Parsik Hills in Kalwa. The Mountains were calling me.

 

Getting down at Kalwa East follow the direction in which all people were walking. After crossing the underground tunnel walk parallel to the Railway Tracks. On Reaching the "Bada Durga Temple" take the road to the right-hand side. Walk on the squeezed road amidst Slums and then walk on the stairs leading to still a few more houses for a while. Now the trek Begins. You have to walk on a proper route up the Parsik Hill. After a short while, you will come across one partition from where you can climb up to the Tower Top or keep walking straight on the path to reach the Parsik Hill. 

The vegetation is dense during Monsoon with tall grass up to the waist level. At a couple of diversions make sure you are on the right track. Once you reach the plateau you will get a panoramic view of the City. After exploring the top you'll find a Hanuman Temple and a Forest Department Room. However, no one is there most of the time. As it was not possible to go ahead, I turned back and spent some time in the fresh air admiring the beautiful view. Then I started descending. For a moment, I was completely lost and trying to figure out a way from the dense grass. It was quite scary as I was alone this time, but had a really good experience of navigating among diversions. So finally after proceeding on the right track, I started moving in the downward direction. While Descending you will get a view of a small lake nestled in between the woods. However, it's difficult to make your way up there because of the tall grass. Also, there are many broken pieces of bottles due to which you might injure yourself if you are not equipped with proper trekking shoes. You must be very careful. 

After reaching back to the diversion point you can choose to climb the hill leading to the Hill Top of the red tower else you can descend downwards to the starting point of the trek. If you are trekking the other hill you will have to be very careful since the rocks can be slippery in monsoons. Upon reaching the top there is a danger of wild pigs. So it's best advised that you don't make noise if you are on a solo trek like me else go in groups for trekking. Upon proceeding further from the tower you will come across a Temple and ahead of it is a cabin where a police guard stays. 

I had finally found someone at the end of my solo trek. The police officer was kind and did his duty by enquiring about me, scolding me for coming Solo and asked for water. Then warned me about the place and asked me to always have some company and not to wander solo. It was heart touching as how much we don't care for ourselves and risk our lives just for the sake of adventure even stranger's care.  There was another uncle at his cabin who was shortly going downhill for some work, so he asked me to join him as there were wild pigs as I mentioned before. 

The Trek downhill was entertaining with his talks about his life and how his life was wasted in childhood because he ignored studies and now had to do the work of serving the police officer by taking a can of water and daily supplies uphill for wages of Rs. 8000 Monthly. He was also inviting me to his house downhill to have water, but I refused to wait. The entire journey turned memorable because of it being my first Solo Trek. 

Remember if you never go, you will never know! Traveling solo means getting to know the real you! You will never be alone if you like the person you are with! Lastly, I would like to say, "Traveling alone will be the scariest, most liberating, life-changing experience of your life. Try it at least once!"

Watch The Complete Video to Plan your budget Trek Here.

Kothaligad Trek

Kothaligad trek

5th August 2018

Planning:

Scrolling the feeds on Instagram I came across many friendship day treks. So decided to plan one by myself. Asked for confirmations from some regular friends. Just a couple of friends gave confirmations. We were just a group of 5 friends.

Reaching the base village:

We caught an early morning train to Karjat Railway Station. On the East side of the Station, we asked some locals the route to ST depot. It's a straight 5-10 min walk from the station. You have to catch the ST going to Jamrukh. Take a ticket to Ambivali i.e the base village of the fort. The ticket will cost you Rs. 45. And the journey will take around 1 hour. So it's always better to reach early and grab a seat. Another option is to catch an 8-10 seater rickshaw which will charge you 500-800 rs but you have to use your Bargaining skills. The ST leaves at the KOTHALIGAD HOTEL. You can have proper breakfast and lunch here if you have left your home with an empty stomach.

Starting the Trek-

Taking the road to the right of this Hotel you have to walk on a straight road and then at next diversion take a left. Now again walk straight up to a checkpoint. Here you have to take an entry ticket that’ll cost you rs. 50 including the trek charges. There is one guide for a group of 10 people. The entry ticket and guide is made mandatory now to provide employment to the locals. So being a group of 5 we were accompanied by another group.

Note: Being a small group is a bit disadvantageous in this situation. If two groups are provided with a single guide then you have to adjust to the pace of another group as the amount of time both groups take a break is different. So the guide has a tough time to keep both groups together.

The trail-

The first half part trek is very easy. You have to simply walk on a trail up to the plateau. This is the first break for most people. The views from here are amazing. You can see the green hills, base village, reverse waterfalls and an amazing view of the Kothaligad peak. After a long break here and clicking some amazing snaps, you can proceed with your trek again. A simple walk up to another village on top and then starts a rocky patch. There are food stalls and locals at regular intervals to provide you with refreshments.

The Last patch-

 The entire trek is easy except a small patch on top above the caves. The caves have two rooms with one filled with bats. There's a small Hanuman shrine. Besides this starts the funnel route. This is the most interesting part of the trek with steps caved from inside the mountain. These steps are uneven and steep. This route opens up directly on the peak. The entire trek is small and good for beginners.

On the Top-

There no big flag post on the top unlike other forts but two small flags. You can see a mesmerizing view of windmills on top of the opposite mountain. The interplay of fog and the blades makes the view more stunning. There is a water tank from the past. We had our lunch with some amazing songs in the background and cool winds. Then while clicking pics we were fortunate to meet the owner of Travco Company. Had a great time interacting with him. Please check out them on Instagram and you'll fall in love with their posts. Being a Sunday there were many trek groups. Few even had brought drones to capture the fort at a better angle.

Starting to descend-

The staircase is one way. So you have to wait until the people climbing up, have finished. Just the stairs are where you have to take care while getting down. Taking a few breaks we got down within 2 hours.

Waiting for the bus-

We had trekked down by 5.00 pm and now it was up to us to decide our transport back to Karjat Railway Station. We checked the fare with the Van Driver. He was going to charge us Rs. 400 for a group of 5. So decided to go by Bus which would arrive at 5.30 pm. Meanwhile, there were multiple attempts made by different groups to join them in a van so that the contribution would come down. But soon enough we saw our ST bus. It reached around 6.00 pm. We caught the 7.45 pm Train towards CSTM.

Trek Experience-

It is a perfect one day trek for beginners and people of all age group. The compulsion of Guide makes it even easier as you don't have to explore the path (which has its own fun). The amazing views including the reverse waterfalls, the Bhimashankar range, captivating view of windmills on top of the mountain and the marvelous engineering make your trek more fulfilling. The only little hectic part is the travel to and from Karjat Railway Station to Peth village which takes an Hour. But the overall experience is worth all the efforts.

Our Plan -

⛰⛰ *Kothaligad (Peth Fort) Trek* ⛰⛰

🌦 Friendship Day  Special🌦
( _Organised by *The Passionate Souls*_)

🌳 *About Kothaligad:*
Kothaligad is a small funnel fort near Karjat (Maharashtra). The fort is also called "Peth Fort" because of its vicinity to Peth village. Unlike other funnel hill forts, the pinnacle or the funnel is carved from the inside, forming a circular staircase that reaches the top. The superlative view from the top of the pinnacle combined with this unique and awe-inspiring engineering feat definitely deserves a visit. The interplay of clouds and waterfalls along the plateau walls is the best in this season. During the monsoons, the pinnacle is usually draped in clouds and you might have to wait for gaps in the cloud cover, to be able to peek at the countryside. An early start gives a better chance of viewing and photographing the surrounding countryside.

🌳 *Date :05 August 2018*

🌳 *Train:* CSTM-Karjat
5.38am- Dadar

5.58am- Vikhroli
6.10am- Mulund

6.15am- Thane
6.37am- Dombivli
6.48am- Kalyan
7.39am- Karjat

*Note-*  See this train timing from your place accordingly to reach Karjat. If you miss the train you’ll miss the trek.

🌳 *Difficulty level:* Easy to Moderate

🌳 *What to carry-*
1.COMPULSORY 2 L OF WATER(PREFERABLY  1L NORMAL WATER AND 1L ORS WATER)
2.LOTS OF EATABLES(BISCUITS CHOCOLATES SNACKS)
3.SEMI HEAVY LUNCH(THEPLAS, SANDWICHES, etc)
4.SWEAT TOWEL OR NAPKIN
5. WINDCHEATERS AND UMBRELLA
6.ENERGY DRINK IF POSSIBLE
7.CAP
8.MOSQUITO REPELLENT AND BAND-AIDS AND RELLI SPRAY(JUST AS FIRST AID)
9. COMPULSORY SMALL PACKETS OF TANG OR GLUCON D
10. CARRY BAGS AND NEWSPAPER
11. POWER BANK AND CHARGERS

🌳 *What to wear-*
1.COMFORTABLE TRACK PANTS/SHORTS
2.T-SHIRTS
3.CAP
4.GOGGLES
5.GOOD (GRIP)TREKKING OR SPORTS SHOES

🌳 *Event risk-*
Please take care of your own safety and other fellow trekkers. Everyone joining for the trek abides by that he his responsible for his own safety and any mishappening during trek.

🌳 *Trek cost:* 300 Rs.

🌳 *Contact :*
Rushank - 7710920070
Ajinkya - 7506160981