Harihar One Day Trek

Harihar One Day Trek  - 28th August 2016

So finally we decided to go for the trek since it's an year we have not did outing. I personally feel trek is the option that we should try instead of any waterfall trip where you find 1000z of people yelling at each other around you. So Nikhil & I simply thrown Harihar fort trek on Sumedh & Suhas, surprisingly they said yes. So day was confirmed (Sunday)  & Nikhil & I was smiling since plan was rolling on.

All of us were boarding from Mumbai since Suhas had come down to my place from Pune for the plan. We had boarded in Kasara local from Kurla around 5:15 Am which had dropped us at Kasara around 7:30 Am  so you got the idea at what time we have woken up in morning :p
 
Train was empty we were enjoying the company & talking regular crap & pulling each others legs. Finally we arrived to Kasara station.  From there we took one Van costing 2000 rs, too & fro (500 rs each). Van took 1hr 30min to reach the base village Nirgudpada . Van driver said you guys do trek I am waiting here & we were looking at each others faces because we were clueless about the route & also that thick fog in-front of us made the life bit difficult.  Then one guy came in & our driver asked you guys need guide for it & without taking any pause four of yes screamed YES!!

The whole trek is something around 2 hours journey which is not the cup of tea for all of us. The route was easy,  patchy, muddy,  slippery in short the route was ideal.

After so many breaks by Suhas we have reached the monster staircase of HARIHAR. At 1st view all of us were " let's not do it" but after 2-3 mins we self motivated ourselves & just simply took the 1st step & after that we also don't know when we were at the top of the fort. 

The view from top was all foggy & mystic as expected. We took walk at all the corners of Fort & had snacks around. Suddenly drizzle started & we decided to start descending. 

Those monster stairs still there & this time it was bit more scary since it was raining & the struggle that we need to do because we cannot see the next step of it. Somehow after half an hour we manged to get rid of staircase & feeling relived. Then rest of descending was easy, Sumedh got leg sprained & Suhas got back pain but overall trek was great & fun.

SnapShots
-Catch Kasara local cost Rs.60
-Catch Private vehicle Rs2000
-Guide cost Rs.300
-Ideal Time - Monsoon & Winters
-Difficulty level - Medium 

Five summer One-Day Getaways From Mumbai

Five summer One-Day Getaways From Mumbai

We all Mumbaikar love Mumbai but in Summers we try to escape from the city to some cool places to beat the heat. Here are few places where I have been in Summer to have fun.

Nagaon Beach the Night out:

This place is nearest one to Mumbaikar’s, You can leave for Nagaon on Saturday evening which will make you reach around 11 o’clock to beach. While taking the ride you can pack the food & booz road side & to have them on beach for the party ;)

Beach is clear in night it becomes beautiful with full moon around. You can put your camp at beach side area, put the camp fire, play around it, take a night walk on beach with your girlfriend (Life sorted) been there so many times but never seen cops coming in night so NO fear to lose the place  

Best part is you can take this car to the beach, Wide parking space available

You can reach to this place by car & taking ferry, Ferry takes you to Mandwa from there you can have public transport.

Kalsubai peak:

If you are looking for some adventure in this summer you can go Kalsubai – highest peak of Sahydri Mountain range.

Take a night trek to the place, need to reach the base village Bari & then trek starts, within 2-3 hours you will reach to top. Being at one of the top place in Maharashtra at 3 o’clock in morning is special. Carry your jackets its freezing chill out there. After seeing Sunrise you can start descending, reach base by 8-9 o’clock morning & back to Mumbai.    

 

Pawana lake camping - Lonvala

Being an Navi Mumbai Lonavla always been special. Since last 6 months people have started camping at Pawana lake. This place is awesome you need to book your place with one of the travel group & you just need to go there they will arrange camp, food, camp fire & sports (need to carry your own booz )

This place is awesome for night out, you can seat around lake till morning chatting & flirting around

 

Vangani Star camp

There is one group called Khagol Mandal who arrange Star watching camps near Vangani (Place around Badlapur area). This camps works around 9 Pm to3 Am till morning. You will get snacks in the camp but need to get your own food for night. This star gazing exercise is knowledgeable & fun with friends

 

Ride to Pune

Pune is bit cold place compare to Mumbai you can take night ride to Pune. Pune gets closed by 10 O’clock few of the areas nearby corporate offices still be open till 12 o’clock. After having dinner at this places you can roam around in your car in this city. City has magical blend of old & new Puneri culture. After a big Burger breakfast at Burger Ban Koregaon Park.

For more more details you can follow me & clarify the questions

RatanGad Jewel of Forts

3rd July 2015,

Ninad , Abhishek & me were searching for medium level  trek, one of my friend suggested for Ratangad because this fort looks stunning in rains. So we done with spot but we were struggling with route & place. I know one trekking group which go for trekking very regularly so suggested to join them so we can  get good guidance & good company as well. So we joined shikharvedh which is very known group in Mumbai for treks. So plan was to get on Ratangad from Trambak Darwaj which is a difficult route compare to regular way.  Shikhar vedh got mini bus which had picked up from Teen hath Naka, Thane at 12 o’clock night  & we were on our way to Ratangad.

People who are planning for Ratangad can opt for this routes to reach the base village from Pune you can take: Pune – Narayangaon – Bhandardara – Ratanwadi from Nashik you can take: Nashik – Ghoti – Bhandardara – Ratanwadi & from Mumbai you can take : Thane – Kalyan - Igatpuri – Ghoti – Bhandardara – Ratanwadi. If you guys planning from Tramabak Darwaja then base village will be Samrad. Samarad is also base village to get in Sandhan Valley.

We reached our Base village Samrad by 5 O’clock morning which is 185 Km from Mumbai.  After having Snacks whci were arranged by Shikhar vedh we started our trek at 6 o’clock. The aim was to reach fort by 12 o’clock & then descend by regular way in 2 hours.

The way to trek started from Bushy area & then it turned up in dense forest & then plateau. From edgy route to water blocked area, from slippery ways to black rocky ways. We were chasing our ways continuously without any halt. Ratangad has ladders at some places where they supposed to have because without ladders we cannot trek the fort.

After crossing 2 ladders we reached to Tramabk Darwaja best part of this point is the stairs are still in good condition & gets bit slippery in rains but that ads fun for the point

After crossing Trambak Darwaja we were moving to get to another area of fort that is Ganesh Darwaja, after crossing one more dangerouse stair case we reached to the place & awesome place to seat & chill.

 After crossing mountain & bushy ways we reached to the highlight of trek that is “Nedha”after

Very few forts have a geological feature called as "Nedha" or "needle hole" which means a natural hole in the mountain where you can actually sit in and enjoy the high speed wind. Ratangad has one Nedha in his point, the air pressure was so high the rains were actually feeling like needles we coverd purselves in our jackets tried to stand there as much as possible to enjoy the nature’s gift. You can have look at below video which will give pretty much idea about the point 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8WUnsGYbZ8  

then moving from moving Nedha we crossed one slippery way which was hilarious ride since we have to cross the way by seating you can stand there because 

 there is no place to stand & force of wind will not make you stand :P

After this we moved to cave which also one of the famous point of the trek. Lots of people stay here in night. We had our snacks (so called lunch) & moved to descend the fort. Descending was quite easy since we were getting to base village Ratnwadi . We had some professional trekkers with us & they were descending like great, the way they were jumping it was quite proving that they are doing trekking since last 5-6 years.

After crossing the forest we reached to the base village. There is very known temple of lord Shiva which is really amazing take look at below photograph of it.

 

Summery 

.         Time : 3-4 hours Ascend & 2 Hours descend 

·         Level is medium

·         Endurance level  is medium

.         Best time Monsoon preferably September ( I am going again in September J )

Korigad - the place of Backward Waterfall

25^th June 2015 : Korigad

Monsoon was at his best since last three days, we Navi Mumbaikar’s have experience continuous three days rains. So we Subodh, Abhi, Rohan & I decided to go on bike for one day trip nearby to enjoy the rains. 

Immediately we started searching for places nearby but it was very obvious that we have to go to Lonavla (very nearby monsoon location for us). So decided to meet at 7 o’clock on Sunday & to go anywhere in Lonavla.

We packed our bags, bikes were ready zippers were zipped we were on our way to Lonavala.  It was raining on that day & because we were on bike that rain drops almost felt like needles. We took long route from Khopoli (very known bike route). Korigad is exact 100Km from our place (Navi Mumbai) it took 3 hours to reach to the place. 

Korigad, at a height of 929m above sea level, is situated about 20km away from Lonavala on the way to Aamby valley. Drive from Lonavala to Korigad was quite heavenly with road engulfed in the clouds and wild flowers spread across the vast expanse. We just reveled at the majestic sights and awesome weather. Locals from Korigad village have built up good small eating places & parking lots for the travelers, he took 50rs for one bike as parking fees & you can also give them food order before going for trek.

 It was bit raining & we started the trek by enjoying it. After walking for 20-25 minutes we joined in the middle of well laid steps of Korigad. We were disappointed seeing man made staircase for the fort but later on we understood there Is temple of Korai Goddes at fort so villagers built up the stairs for the convenience.  After having good photo session ate stairs we reached Maha Darwaja within 20 Min so the total ascending time is 45 min.  That Big huge Door welcomed us with warmth.  

Best part of the Korigad is you can walk on the perimeter of most of the fort and it is certainly one of the most pleasurable walks you will ever have.

Fort has two cannons on forts one is named as "Lakshmi Toaf". You can also enjoy View of Amby wally  from the fort.

Now we have discovered the best thing about Korigad is backward waterfall, Drizzling has changed into heavy rains now & waterfalls are running like mad now. At one point of fort because of air pressure water was thrown in upward direction & the view of backword waterfall was completely mesmerizing & that’s different part the waterfall almost felt like someone throwing needles on us. Here are the few captured photographs of it 

Descending was also full of fun since it was raining heavily & staircase was running with rain water.

Suggestion

-Carry some snacks no need to carry lunch you can have that at base village or in Lonvala city

-Try to finish trek before 12 or 1 o’clock because Korigad share same route with Tiger hill 8 Bhushi dam which is full of traffic weekends

-Do this fort if you have your own vehicle since its far from the city

Korigad is one of the best trek that I recommend for rains. go particularly in heavy & enjoy the Backward Waterfall.  

5 Monsoon gateways from Mumbai

5 Monsoon gateways from Mumbai

We all Mumbaikar share Mutual feelings about Summer, till May month we all are boiled with superhot summer & craving for Monsoon badly,

Here are 5 one day gateways from Mumbai to relax & enjoy the summer

Tiger point : Lonavala

 Tiger point is one of the nearest spot for all Mumbaikars to enjoy the Monsoon at its best.  you can reach there in 3-4 hours you can take the Mumbai-Pune Expressway or one inside route connect with Panvel  Khopoli, Karjat, Talegaon Dabhade. while driving in route you will find small water falls which definitely make you halt for  minutes. the view while travling also make you feel happy since its green all together. you also enjoy fog while driving at Khandala & Lonaval ghat. if you are not driving car then you can have train ride Catc any express which goes to Lonavala station form station you can take private vehicale which will drop you to tiger point but personally I believe if you are going to tiger point take your own vehicle.  

Lohagad : Lonavala, Pune

Lohagad is very simple fort to trek with friends & family. in monsoon it becomes windy & fogy which you even can’t imagine. you can reach Lohagad with your personal vehicale you can directly reach to base of the fort in 4-5 hours. Take Mumbai – Pune expressway after getting in in Lonavla ask anyone for the way to Lohgad it takes half an hour to reach at base. if you are not driving car take train ride you can catch Deccan Express from Dadar or Thane & get down at Lonavala. from Lonvala 2 options are available you can take private vehicle to Lohagad from Lonavala station or you can take train to Malwali station &  from Malvali you can have flat walking trek to Lohagad base village which will take one & half hour to reach.   Lohagad has all facilities at the base village from room rent to food you will get everything.

The original fort was built in the 12th Century by Raja Bhoj. Later on it was brought into swaraj by Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The steps to the fort were rebuilt during his time. fort is still in good condition you can see the good architecture while exploring it. from one end of fort you can see visually beautiful view of Pawana Dam. if you reach to another side of fort you can see long machi extended towards expressway. this is famous machi call Vinchu Katta or Scorpion sting  (The must point on Lohagad) for return you can take vehicle at base village which will drop you to Lonavala station or you can do descending trek to Malwali station.  

Pandav Kada : Khargahr, Navi Mumbai

Pandav Kada is one of the famous & scary waterfall in Navi Mumbai, people come from lots place to see the beauty of this waterfall in Monsoon. The history on how the waterfall got its name as the local folks believe is that the Pandavas, on their exile had roamed through the forest and chanced upon this falls in its full glory. They are believed to have had their bath in the pool. This is another sacred pool as far as the local inhabitants are concerned. Few say this water fall got created because of mining of Kharghar mountain in monsoon you can see this waterfall, now there is no mining happen but locals made it commercial, they have open food stalls around, now local government body has also made washroom & changing room near to the waterfall. Easy reach Pandavkada if you are traveling by train then get down at Kharghar station take rickshaw & you can come golf course or ask for Pandav kada. The Waterfall is declared as ‘dangerous spots’ by CIDCO due to drowning of many school students. According to officials of the Kharghar Police Station, the waterfall claims 12 lives in the last seven years. All the victims slipped on the rocks and drowned in the waterfall.  

Bhivpuri Water fall : Karjat 

Bhivpuri is one of the best place to spend one day in monsoon. take Karjat train & get down at Bhivpuri station just one station before Karjat or you can reach Karjat & take rickshaw to Bhivpuri. you need pass the auto rickshaw check point & start asking local guys “ how to reach Bhivpuri Waterfall” ;)  you can find people around who are heading towards to waterfall join them its easy way to reach. In route you will wander around rocks, bushes, small houses & suddenly you will see a huge waterfall falling gracefully on rock. one of the best waterfall ever I have been you can take seat in man pond around fall & chill. you also can grab beer & vodka (very common picture at fall ;) )

Tikona fort : Lonavala 

TO reach Tikon afort I will suggest to go with personal vehicle, because this for is not mainstream & not connected with bus or private vehicles. you can catch Mumbai-Pune express way then take Lonavala bypass road & take left from Pawna nagar police chowki. Tikoan is very simple fort to trek but offer extremely beautiful view. from one side you can view Pawn Dam & from other end Tung fort. Tikona is in Sahydri range so overall look from above fort looks like garland of greenery.    

 

 Do visit this places this monsoon & do share you r experience by commenting on  my blog

Happy Traveling !!!