Dhaak Chaa Bahiri : Thrill Redefined

Oh? Are you  going to Dhaak Chaa Bahiri? It surely is an amazing trek. But beware it is one of the riskiest in Sahyadri. Bhide Kaka warned me on the previous morning on our routine cycle ride.  I cannot afford to ignore Bhide Kaka (Age 78) who has conquered Sahydris and Himalayas, innumerable times.  His high energy level  blends very well with his cool nature.

On hearing from him I go back and  check on the you tube videos.  With much excitement I show it to one of my colleagues in office and tell her jokingly that if I do not come to office on Monday you may assume I reached the ultimate destination. She is scared to the core and glances at me for several seconds and asks coldly if it is absolutely necessary to visit this deadly place? I now realize what I have done and tell her, it must be a fake video and I must go and unearth the reality. After assuring her that I will be safe, I escape from the seen.

10 of us assemble at  6.00 am and get into the mini bus. It is a very short journey of around 40 kms. We eat our usual breakfast of Pohe and head to Kundeshwar.

Jungle Trail

As we reach the village, we debate if the vehicle can travel on the rudimentary road leading to the foot of Dhaak. After much deliberation and after being reminded by Anirudh, our group admin, that we are trekkers and not tourists to escape walking, we get down to our feet.  In about 15 minutes,  we reach the Kundeshwar temple. I like this place a lot. It is one of the most naturally beautiful locations near Pune.  After a brief meeting with Lord Shanker we head to start our climb. We cross a small stream and enter the thick forest. This forest will lead us to Dhaak. After walking and climbing for about 1 hour we take a break for a sip of water. I am very happy with the way it is going. I assure myself that everything that I heard is untrue and I am going to make it to the top easily. We are now faced with a huge rock . Sachin has completed this trek several times and Mr. Bramhe and Anirudh  are doing it for the second time.  Sachin tells us that we are now in the last segment and will need to line up and proceed.

The Traverse

Chandan stops talking. Ram also holds back his expert comments. Ninad is quite as usual. And Nitin our new member has not spoken a word since beginning.

As Sachin leads our way we enter an aisle protected by rocks on both the sides. I try to look ahead and suddenly realize what I saw on You Tube was only a small portion. There is much more excitement ahead of me.  I need to climb gigantic rocks and cross a very big rock before I see Dhaak Chaa Bahiri. The men do it with much easy. Sharvari is a brave girl and climbs with ease. Benedicte is behind me.  Sachin guides me through and I cross this difficult patch. I am happy I am alive. As we proceed we find a small rock to stand and take pictures. The camera rolls and we smile not for the picture but for this beautiful gift of life.

As I see ahead of me lays a huge hill.  I can see that we now need to traverse a rock patch of about 70 degrees  with the support of a cable fixed on the side. The rock stands high on one side and if you happen to look down you can witness a deep valley.  One step missed can directly throw you into the valley.  All of us hold on to the cable and take tiny steps to go over the rock patch.  This patch seems unending. We are now at the foot of small hill where Bahiri resides. There is a small temple inside the caves and a water pond too. As we look up some villagers shout from the top. They warn us that ladies are prohibited to climb up on the top. We pretend not to listen. Sachin asks them if the god will face any problem if we climb up. The villager seems to like the humar and says no it is not god but the ladies will be in trouble.  Sachin and Mr. Bramhe tell him that our ladies do not mind and will not enter the temple. We are determined to climb up to the top.  We did not come all the way to leave this trek unfinished. As we look up, we can see small carved steps inside the rock.  Sachin instructs us to hold on to the cable and find our way through steps. As I climb up I see Mr. Bramhe waiting patiently to guide us through the last climb. I feel relived and start taking pictures and videos of other climbers. We still have to finish our last climb. We remove our shoes now and look up to another challenging climb.  There is a trunckof a dried tree  hanging from the top. The branches are chopped off to be used for resting the feet.  We climb this make shift ladder bare foot and are finally on the top of Dhaak Chaa Bahiri.

Benedicte and Sharvari.Brave Girls, Sachin standing strong

We find a cool shade to rest. There is a water cistern filled with the water seeping  from rock. We splash water on our tired faces and open our bags to fill stomachs.

It is 10.30 am now. Sun is bathing the valley. A few minutes ago this valley which looked lifeless and scary to us has now turned into a green carpet full of life.  As we sit and relax we look at Bahiri and see pleasure in his eyes. The God does not discriminate life.  Life does.   

  We are now gearing up to begin our descend. Sachinwarns us to be careful. He is an expert climber and we cannot think of doing such treks without his guidance.  I volunteer to begin my journey before others. Sachin explains to me with a fast track demo on how to climb down the trunk. I nod my head and know deep  inside that I have not followed a word. Somehow I make my way down. After wearing shoes again I take a deep breath to climb down the stairs carved inside the rock.  I am more confident now.  As I reach down I see some small children who compete with each other fearlessly. I realize fear enters us only in the company of knowledge. Ignorance is a bliss at times.

Top of the world looking down into the valley

We head down the hill and complete our descend effortlessly. We are back where we started. As we climb into the bus and settle down, each one of us is dumb struck. We are speechless and are recounting our experience.  As a ritual, we start sharing our experience about the climb. All of us agree that if we had known it is so scary we would not have come at all. But we are happy we did it. All of us agree to come back next year again. 

L to R Anirudh, Chandan, Ram, Ashwini, Mr. Bramhe, Nitin, Ninand, Benedicte and Sharvari  (Sachin is behind the lenses)

Dhaak Chaa Bahiri challenges your mental ability more than the  physical ability.  You certainly come out as an accomplished person. I wow to myself to come again next year. To experience the thrill, to get excited and to reassure to myself that I am alive.

Journey from Pune to Kundeshwar  in a vehicle	1  Hours	Best Season	September to February
Kundeshwar  to the top	1.5 Hrs.	Water  Available on the Top	Yes
Overnight stay in the cave	15-20  people

Destination Kokan Diva

En-route Garjaiwadi

It is mid-April when Anirudh starts planning about the next trek. We weigh the options and decide to explore Kokan Diva this time. As soon as the message pops up on our whatsap group, confirmations pour in. we are amazed at the enthusiasm of members. The number starts ticking and reaches towering twenty. Good lord! Looks like we are going to have a fun filled weekend. We decide to book a 25 seater bus. Hemant and me have collected lot of information from Hemant's friend, Kisan about the route. He enthusiastically draws the entire route map for us which makes us feel confident. 

Route Map to reach Ghol 

We reach Nal Stop at 4.15 am. The bus arrives with 6 other people from Sahakar Nagar. 13 of us join them at Nal Stop. We head  to Sinhagad Road now to pick up Ajit on the way. Ajit jumps into the bus near Dhayari Phata and we head to Panshet. As we reach SinhagadPayatha, the bus driver declares that he needs to fill the petrol.  We are clueless.  It appears, there is some communication gap between the driver and the tour operator. He thinks there are petrol pumps all over and he can fuel the bus any time he feels like. But he is totally unaware of our trekking routes. Finally we wait for about one hour at SinhagadPayatha for the petrol pump to open so that we can fuel our journey. We finally fill the fuel at 6.15 and make our way to the destination.The messages start pouring in on the previous day. We have decided to start our journey at 4.00 am on 19^th April 2015. All of us are too excited about the trek since there are not many people who have been there.

The bus travels through the back waters and passes via hilly area. Finally we take around 2.5 hours to reach GholVillage. We are told there is a road to go the Garjaiwadi which is at the foot of Kokan Diva. The bus takes a U turn and halts at the beginning of a kaccha road. We examine the road condition and decide that we will walk our way instead of taking the bus. The bus might reach us to Garjaiwadi somehow or the other. But if it breaks down due to the rudimentary road we will be stuck here for the night.

All of us gather our back packs and start walking. There are hills along the route. Not much of shade however we don’t feel the heat yet. We take almost 30 minutes to reach Garjaiwadi. As usual we finish giving away solar lamps and enquire about the route. There is a small forest ahead of us. We need to pass through this forest and then start climbing. Sachin as usual leads us through the route.  The Devrai is a small forest surrounding the village. As the name signifies this forest is protected by gods hence no one cuts trees from this forest.

Malabar Hornbill

We suddenly see a gigantic bird flying over our heads. It has long beak and is brown in color. We debate on its name and finally agree that it is Malabar horn bill or some other type of horn bill.  We stare at it and it stares back at us. I takes a marvelous flight in front of us and our day is made.

We are now walking though the jungles.  Kaustubh and Sachin are making way for us. We follow them while picking berries and filling our stomachs. Chandan Radio station never rests it entertains us and makes sure that we are following him too. Ajit is engrossed in berry picking. We today have three children with us. ShardulDrumil and Sharvari. The three sum is enjoying the trek more than us. Kalyani is Nishabda as always. Rather she is more nishabda than ever since she is accompanied by her sister and three friends. 

Red Whiskered Bulbul

As we enter the grove of trees the climb can be felt. We suddenly see four trekkers climbing down. We ask them several questions desperately since none of us have been on Kokan Diva earlier. They answer all our queries patiently.  I have read in some other blog that there is a very steep patch which we need to climb at 70 degree.  The group tells us that it is around 80 degree. I wonder if they had carried any measuring equipment.

The Special 20 Kaustubh is behind the click 

We start climbing the hill now. It is steap and sun is bestowing his love on us. It is heating up. We sip the water after every climbing and keep looking up.  3-4 people head towards the top. I am following them. I become breathless by the time I climb the most difficult patch. The soil has become loose and hence it makes it more difficult to climb. As we are nearer the destination we start guessing the angle of the climb. I cannot resist exhibiting my poor knowledge of geometry and say it must be 100 degrees. All burst out laughing and we make it to the top.

Some of the group members are still behind us. We take the shelter of a cave which can accommodate about 25 people. Ajit goes around and sees a water cistern. However the water is not potable. The cave is considerably cool and comfortable. It is already 12 noon. We take rest till everyone arrives. They settle down for some time and we decide to climb up on the peak to get the view. It is a climb of 5 minutes and you reach the peak of mountain. A marvelous view of Konkan region is in front of us. It is an amazing experience to go on the top of the mountain and get the glimpse of more gigantic mountains in front of you.

On The Top Of The Mountain ( Zende with Zenda)

Sun is blazing over our heads. But cool breeze comes to our rescue. There is hardly any place at the top as usual. All twenty of us have just enough place to stand. We finish our photography session.  Omkar is all set to shoot the budding adventurous models with his SLR.

After we have had enough company of the Sun and wind, we decide to return to the cave. We open our lunch boxes and finish our lunch. Chandan,  Sachin and Kaustubh do all the talking for the entire group. Mr. Bramhe joins them with his expert comments. Chandan hilariously tells others that they are talking too much. He has a competition.  The chattering stops only when the mouths are busy munching.

After much chaos  and huge effort we are able to set the camera on auto click for a group photo. We gather our bags and head back to begin the return journey.  It is mid noon. The sun has begun his return journey too, leaving behind scorching heat.

The descend is much more difficult due to the loose soil. The legs are trembling and I am not sure of my steps. Sachin takes the charge and passes us through the difficult patches. There are dangerous slops. SharvariBramhe is behind me. This girl has tremendous stamina indeed.  Drumil and Sharvari also slide down effortlessly. Shardul is with his parents and climbs down with no difficulty.

As we finish half way through we realize that the water is getting exhausted. Each one of us had carried three liters of water.  We still have to walk down for another 30 minutes and we do not have enough water. The weather is really hot and humid. We take steps very carefully and try to conserve energy. Some of us go ahead. Sachin, Kaustubh and Rege family are left behind. Drumil finds a water bottle in his bag when we are 80% through. This is a great solace indeed. All of us take a sip and head to Garjaiwadi. We now enter the thick forest. The shade is a great relief. We walk through the jungle for some more time and are able to see the houses far from us. With faster pace we approach one house and ask the lady where we will be able to find some water. The lady gives us some water and points at a hand pump. We hurriedly walk back to the hand pump. With the cooperation of each other we wash our feet and faces and drink water as if we are returning from the desert. I now realize the importance of water. जीवन  (life ) as it is called in Marathi.

We are waiting for rest of the people to arrive. We wait for some more time and Sachin and Kaustubh emerge from the Jungle. We understand that SangeetaRege has dehydrated and is unable to walk. Somebody has to carry a water bottle and some energizer. Hemant and Ajit volunteer to carry the water for her. They find their way back into the jungle without a word. An hour ago we were wet with perspiration. We are now volunteering to get wet with water.

As the time passes, Ajit and Hemant come back jubilantly with  Rege family. All is well. They take some rest while the early birds gather their belongings to walk the final leg. After filling the water bottles and splashing water on our faces we proceed to Ghol village where our bus is waiting.

The road seems never ending and our feet seem heavy. It is 5 pm already. We walk for another 45 minutes and we see a tractor coming from behind. Some of us turn and wait. The tractor stops and takes us in. The road is horrible. The tractor swings in to the pot holes making us jump. We enjoy this bumpy ride to the fullest. The tractor makes the last few minutes of journey very exciting.

We reach Ghol and see our bus. We feel the same way like a child seeing his mother after returning home after a long day.  We toss our bags inside the bus and see another hand pump. The water is irresistible. We again splash the water on our faces. The villagers are returning home now. Hemant is Tea totter. He convinces a villager to make tea for us. We go to the village and sit in the courtyard. As we sit there sipping our tea, rest of the people also join us.  After we finish the tea we settle down in the bus and begin our return journey.

Our feet is heavy but our hearts are light. All of us are speechless now. This experience is enchanting. It elevates our morale and makes us realize there is nothing such as winning or losing. There is only a single most important thing in life and that is finishing. All of us are now on the same page.

This large group was a major challenge for our admin. As usual his meticulous planning and cool temperament sailed us through. We were a team a big team with lot of understanding and excellent coordination. Many of us met each other for the first time. But we are great friends now.  And our greatest friends are those gigantic mountains.  The mountains, they will never move, they are their all the time to welcome us with open arms. We just need large heart and mighty will to embrace them. 

Journey from Pune to Ghol in a vehicle 2.5 Hrs. Best Season November to January Ghol to Garjai Wadi on foot 45 Minutes Water  Available on the Top No Garjaiwadi to the Cave on Kokan Diva 1.5 Hrs. Overnight stay in the cave 10 people Cave to the Top of Kokan Diva 5 Minutes

RAIGAD PARIKRAMA

Everybody knows about Raigad the capital of Shivaji Maharaj. However very few know about Raigad Parikrama.  I had no clue about this trek until recently.   I was told by our cyclist cum trekker friend Hemant about this trek and we instantly decided to explore it.

On 25^th January 2015, a group of 8 trekkers got  in to 2 cars at 5.30 am. We reached Raigad Payatha after  our normal breakfast of Pohe. Apart from 6 adults (Hemant, Anirudh, Chandan, myself, Omkar and Mr. Bramhe) there were two youngsters; Drumil age 12 and Sharvari age 13.

From L to R: Mr. Bramhe, Hemant, Sharvari, Ashwini, Drumil, Chandan, Anirudh and Omkar 

Hemant guided us to the left side of stairs. We could see Raigad Parikrama painted in yellow on a rock.  Raigad parikrama is a unique trail of around 12 kms. The parikrama path takes you around the entire fort.

As we enter the parikrama path, we leave the gigantic fort on our right side. The path is quite unknown and difficult to explore. You need guidance from an experienced trekker. Since we were led by Hemant  who had been on this trek twice, finding our way turned out to be easy. We slowly entered into a dense forest.  We were still able to see the glimpses of the fort on our left side. We continued to walk for another hour. This stretch was easy and there were no extraordinary climbs. Omkar had brought his DSLR camera with gigantic lenses. I was truly impressed and withdrew from taking snaps on my tiny mobile.  We could see enormous Lingana on our right side. 

Lingana 

We were walking on the dried grass under the trees. The shade made it pleasure sum to walk too. On the way there was a pile of firewood from which each one of us picked up sticks. They are very useful while descending.

After an hour of walk we decided to take a break for a sip of water.  The next stretch again took us though the jungle. There were varieties of trees.  We kept walking on the golden grass for another hour and took a break as decided. After a round of refreshing fruits we started waking again. The rout was more or less plain with some easy climbs.

On the way there were a few huts. We interacted with the residents and found out that they had no electricity.  When we in the urban areas electrify every corner of our cities there still are good number of people living in the darkness. 

As we proceeded ahead,  there was a carpet of purple flowers laid in front of us.  We crossed this beautiful piece of our journey and realized that we have started climbing. It was a climb of almost half an hour after which we found a shade and some patch of leveled ground to sit down and rest. We opened our Tiffin and finished our lunch. It was already one pm by this time. There was a small group of trekkers who also followed us.

After a long break of almost 30-45 minutes, we started our journey again. The route now took us through an enormous descend. The sticks were a great help now. The soil beneath was loose hence we had to watch our steps carefully. Hemant , Drumil and Omkar went ahead. However I was holding up the people behind me since I was scared of the loose soil. I suggested that others may like to overtake me as I was obstructing them. However no one did so since they said anyway the trek will be complete only when the last person completes it. How true! We reached the bottom of the hill after a very long and difficult descend. There were huge trees protecting us from mid day sun.

We took some rest and started our journey again. To my dismay, it was a huge climb again. Nature gives you life lessons all the time. If you do not like descends there are climbs. By the time you settle for something you hate you will soon have something else to hate more.  Take change to your stride and start enjoying every step.

As we climbed up again we realized we were in the final leg of our trek. The fort looked closer. After a climb of another half an hour we could see the first glimpse of cables of Raigad Rope Way. We now left the forest behind us and entered the open unpaved road. At about 2.45 pm, we could now see the cable cars in front of us. It was amazing to watch them rolling up and down carrying passengers.

Our last halt was at Deshmukh hotel to drink Lemon Sherbet to celebrate our completion. This was indeed a lovely trek in the company of lovely nature and of course lovely people. 

Monsoon In Summer : Hide out at Harishchandragad

It is Mid February  and the message on Whats App Group pops up.

Trek to Harishchandragad : 28^th February and 1^st March. 

And then it continues, things to carry, eatables ( Only for self and not for all). This time we also discuss about protecting from heat since the summer is in offing. We debate on starting early in the morning or climbing the fort in the evening after 4 pm. After a long debate we settle for starting in the morning of 28^th February.

This time there are five members. Sachin will lead the group this time since he has been on Harishchandragad several times. I along with Chandan am accompanied by Aniruddh, Hemant and Sachin.

While I am organizing my back pack, I receive a message from my friend Reshma in London. She tells me that Harishchandragad was listed as the most exotic camping location in India by Report in UK. I am all the more excited after reading this.

The back pack for me and Chandan is ready. We roll our large foam sheet and fix it on the backpack. We have to wake up early next day to start by 5.00 am.

One can climb Harishchandragad by two routes. The first one is via Pachnai Village. This is an easy route which takes around 1.5 hours .  Second route is via Khireshwar Village which takes around 4-5 hours. The next and toughest rout is via Nalichi Vaat. It again takes around 5 hours. However you need expert help to climb via Nalichi Vaat. We have been to Harishchandragad last year via Pachnai. It was a one day trek and we had already decided to come again to this amazing mountain to stay overnight. 

We decide  to choose Khireshwar route which is moderate.

Me,  Chandan and Hemant are picked up at 5.10 am from law college road. We head strait to Khireshwar in Sachin’s Car. As we enter Narayngao, we cannot resist having a cup of tea. The steaming hot tea refreshes us and we jump back into the car. The road now takes us via Ale Phata. After an hour’s drive we take a diversion towards a road besides a dam.  It is a temporary road with no tar surface. We enjoy the bumpy ride of around 15 minutes and reach Khireshwar. This is where we part with the car and get down on our feet.

Our  routine breakfast of Pohe is served to us at a rudimentary snack bar. We now have to park our car safely so we climb in and as usual due to some confusion I suddenly open the door to recline from the car. Meanwhile Sachin has already started moving. I fall flat on the road. All are shocked to see me thrown out of the car. However without any major injury I am back on my feet. And the trek begins.

Sachin knows the route thoroughly and we religiously follow him to climb this gigantic fort.  The Sun seems to be off duty today. The black clouds are accumulating in the sky. We thank god for sending these guests who will protect us from Sun. Our decision to climb up In the morning seems to be correct. It is going to be a pleasant climb.

As we make our way through the forest , we see arrows at one junction. Sachin decides to take the route where there is a cross. Cross sign ideally negates the route. I am slightly skeptical and think he better be right. After a climb of about 15 minutes we reach a large and scary rock patch. Sachin tells us that we will be climbing this rock patch. Chandan iconfidently  fallows Sachin and reaches the other end. I make my way carefully through the rock patch. But as I look down, I am stuck. And I also block the way of Hemant and Anirudh behind me. Sachin comes back and helps me regain my confidence. But for him,  I am sure I would have ended my trek at that moment. As we go ahead, we again enter the thick forest. We are climbing now. As we become breathless, we reach a small temple after almost 30 minutes. Here we are. We are at Tolar Khind now. The v shaped mountain that we saw from the bottom. We are actually sitting in the bottom most peak of this V.

First Rock Patch

The Sky is not blue. It is Black

We enjoy a drink of water and dry-fruit. It certainly was a strenuous yet enjoyable journey. After taking rest for about 10 minutes, we head to the next stage of our trek. We start climbing again and we suddenly are out in the open. We realize that Sun God has disappeared behind the clouds. We thank the god once again for sending black clouds on our trek. As we look ahead, there is a gigantic rock patch welcoming us. I am not sure if I will climb it. This time Hemant and Chandan make their way through it first. I hold a rope hanging to a bar and am able to climb the first step. Chandan has hurt his knee meanwhile. He sits down in pain. All of us also halt at the same place and Hemant suddenly points out at the bunch of trees below us. We are astounded to see Shekru ( Giant Squirrel) a rare animal jumping from one tree to another.

Second Rock Patch after Tolar Khind

We catch our breath and start climbing next part of the rock patch. As we climb up we pass a sigh of relief since we see a plain surface after a long time.  There is a small tea stall with a big shade. Hemant does the honors of naming it Mc Donalds of Harishchandragad. We relax here and drink Lemon Juice. We are fully charged now. Chandan starts his radio station with a continuous commentary which is an indication that his knee feels better. When you have a brain injury in the knee ( ha ha) it is natural to mute yourself.

We get into the bushes again. Sachin says he knows another short cut. We are now confident about his skills hence follow him without any apprehension.  As we walk for another 20 minutes we realize that we are very close to the destination. We pass by a small hut. The man is selling buttermilk and tea without milk. Some of us choose to drink buttermilk as if his prosperity is totally our responsibility.

After a walk of another 15-20 minutes we reach our destination. We had started our journey at 9.00 am and we have reached the top at 12.30 pm. Just 3.5 hours. Bravo!

Ancient Shiva Temple on Harishchandragad

The fort looks very different this time. Many shades have come up next to the temple.  We enter one shade called Sahyadri. The shade is covered with dried leaves. We keep our bags and enter the Shiva Temple. We examine the temple. Sachin informs us that the stone structure behind the temple where Swami Changdev meditated is a good place for night halt. It is empty at the moment.  

We come back to Hotel Sahyadri and open our lunch box. Our Parathas blend well with the steaming hot Dal and rice. With the stomachs full we decide to lie down  for some time. The weather being pleasant I am able to catch a quick nap. After a few minutes, I am up and startled due to the raindrops on my face. I am almost shivering now. The clouds that  protected us from Sun are showing their affection with these droplets. We gather our bags together and without much deliberation run towards the temple. This place behind the temple  becomes our shelter for the day. It is clean. Some trekkers have already reserved some part of this place. We settle down in the remaining part.

The rain god is bestowing his  love on us. It is only 3.00 pm and we have no clue  what to do. We had a plan of visiting Kokan Kada which is called off due to rain. Last time we had visited Kokan Kada however we had to return without enjoying the view of the valley due to the fog. This time we were sure of being able to see Kokan Kada. However  the Almighty seems to have a different plan for us.

We now realize we do not have Playing cards or anything else. Aniruddh is entrusted the responsibility of bringing Playing Cards and Snake and ladder for the next trek. The people who had reserved their place come back. We have a company of techies now. We chat for some time and get acquainted with each other.  It is tea time now. We don’t want to get wet but want to drink tea.  Lust for tea wins over the fear of getting wet. We head to Sahyadri.  He promises us to serve the tea and bhaji in 10 minutes. As we wait there, we get lot of information. Harishchandragad was never as vibrant as today. There are local entrepreneurs who have started providing tents on rent. The local economy is fluishing. We are happy that they are finding better avenues of livelihood. At the same time, we are scared this place will soon turn out to be another hill station.

After a wait for almost 30 minutes we realize that we are not going to get the tea so soon. Hence we decide to go back to our hide out. The rain god is pouring his valuable wealth on mother earth. But it is untimely. The mother earth is not ready yet to collect this wealth.

We go back and discuss about future treks. Only trekkers and children can do this. Children can start thinking of what to eat for dinner even before they finish their lunch. Similarly a seasoned trekker also possesses a child’s mind. He can start planning for the next trek even before finishing the current trek.

We get our steaming hot tea and Kanda Bhaji. It was worth a wait.  After enjoying the tea we try to anticipate if rain will stop. It does not stop and we keep sitting and chatting. Meanwhile some more people arrive. Some of them are drenched. They have come back from kokan kada and have not been able to see anything. We are happy. Someone else’s dismay may be cause of joy at times. The  Sunset at one place may be a sunrise at another.

We now decide to play Antakshari.  The techies verses our team. I am the dumbest member in the group. Chandan is a great performer. He recites the songs with the music and sometimes mimics it too.  It goes on for almost 2 hours after which Sahydri fellow brings us the dinner. We enjoy the steaming hot food in the chilling weather. And unpack our sleeping bags. The rain is subsiding now. I go out and try to look at the sky. Clouds are overshadowing the tiny stars. I come in and get into my sleeping bag.

Next day all of us wake up to the down pour of rain. We are sure now that we have to miss our appointment with Kokan Kada.  We roll up our sleeping bags and gather our back packs. We do not want to delay our stay further since the rain will not stop. We come out and go to Sahyadri for a glass of tea. As we bid a farewell to this gigantic fort, we are sure that we want to come back again after a few months.

We unwind our way down the hill. The techie group also joins us now.  Nine of us head to Tolar Khind. As we cross the difficult rock patch we watch our steps carefully. It is wet but not slippery yet. We take a brief halt at Mc Donalds of Harishchandragad and head to Tolar Khind.  The rock patch after Tolar Khind seems more difficult. But Sanchin is there to guide us. He remains stay put,  mid way till the last person crosses the dangerous patch. I am able to cross it without much of difficulty. Thanks to Sachin without whom it was just not possible.

We make our way though the drenched jungles now. We are equally drenched indeed. We take another half an hour and reach the foot of the fort.

L to R : Ashwini, Hemant, Aniruddha, Sachin and Chandan

A risky Descend 

The eating joint which served us Pohe thankfully has a changing room. All of us get into dry set of clothes safely kept in our backpacks. We are happy that we spent a rainy night on this  gorgeous fort.  We cannot wait to get back home to tell everyone how much we enjoyed.

All of us decide that we will come once more in the coming months. We have an appointment with Kokan Kada, Starry Nights, Naughty Wind and of course the exotic fort.