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.