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.
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
