This year I discovered a new love in trekking. So, I made it a point to trek every weekend without fail. Soon, I realized it was hard remembering trek details unless you kept a note of it.So, I decided to write a blog about it.
Trek 1: 20th June- Torna : My monsoon trekking season started with Torna fort. The trek started from Velhe district near Pune. Velhe was around 30 km from our starting point in Pune. We had decided to go on our bikes. The route was uncomfortable due to bad roads but very scenic. After breakfast at the base, we proceeded to the fort. The initial leg wasn't very difficult but later we couldn't see a trail ahead. It was an incredibly windy and rainy day and it was a hurdle to cross the hill on a narrow path . Strong winds gushed through the passage between the hill, making it difficult to cross. There were no trees or plantation to take support, so we had to wait for almost 30 mins before we could safely make our way through. The second leg of the trek is clearly not for beginners. It includes flat rocks and very steep paths (but a waterfall makes up for it :) ). A landslide induced the previous day didn't make things any easier, it had rendered the support railings useless. A steep and narrow flight of steps lead you to the entrance of the fort. One has to be careful coming down as well, there is only space for one person at a time. While on our way back, we discovered a motor-able road also provided access to the trail in the middle. Overall, it was a beautiful trek, difficult though.
Trek 2: 28th June- Sinhagad: This time I decided to go to Sinhagad, which is a very frequented trek by Puneites due to its relative closeness to the city. We started the trek at around 8 am and it took us an hour to reach the top. This is an easy trek with a clear trail and lots of fellow trekkers. Though you can test your stamina by timing yourself as it is a little physically exhausting to trek without taking a pause. You can spend time at the fort, relish the food( lots of small tapris that give you refreshments and local food).
Trek 3: 7th July- Lohagad: I had suffered a leg injury and didn't want to strain it further. So, Lohagad was the place to go ! Probably one of the easiest treks, I had trekked it earlier as well. We took a local to Malvali station from where we walked up. There is a motor-able road that leads to the top, so there isn't much climbing involved. We did take a shortcut through the hills though. There are wide big steps that lead to Ganesh darwaza of the fort. This is a well constructed fort, with a scenic view from the top. A narrow trail also leads to a wind point on the fort. Coming down takes very little time. We also befriended a local there. We caught a local back to our city, well in time. Overall, the trek took just 1.5 hours.
Trek 4: 11th July- Duke's Nose: We were a group of 18 people. Our journey started from a train journey to Khandala via train. From there, we took off to our base which was near a Tata power plant. There are multiple ways to reach the top but we took the amateur's path. There was no visible trail and we very confused throughout the journey. We crossed a hill and came down to plains. From there a local led us to another hill from where we trekked to the top. Actual climbing is merely 15-20 mins from a signboard below. A Shiv mandir adorns the top from you can see the Expressway too ! Coming down is fairly easy ( Lonavala's side around 5km from the station) and we caught a tempo to the Lonavala station , took a local back.
Trek 5: 19th July- Rajgarh: This is a popular and good trek, marked off from my bucket list now ! 3 base villages can take you to the top, we chose to trek from Gunjavane ( 80 km from Pune via car). This trek is scenic, green and the lovely weather helped ! Inspite of not being an easy one, it took us 1hr 15 min to reach Chor darwaza(one of the entrances to the fort). The last leg of this trek is similar to that of Torna with rocks and narrow paths. Chor Darwaza stands near Sanjivani Machi(this fort runs all along the hill). We found groups who had decided to stay the night at the top. The route to Balle Killa is difficult but totally worth it. After lunch at the fort, we came down and reached Pune via NH4 highway.
Trek 6: 25th July- Sinhagad: Well, again ! But this time we cycled our way from our office to the base (around 22 km via Khadakwasla). Now cycling is an altogether different experience ! We had rented geared bikes for our tour. Many people were exhausted from the biking itself . However, we trekked our way to the top and in spite of good weather it was physically tiring. After lavishly satisfying ourselves with food , we trekked down and cycled back till halfway and dropped our bikes at a stop. This was one of the most exhaustive treks of the season.
Trek 7: 8th Aug -Visapur + Lohagad-: These are neighboring forts and can be managed in a single day. Again, reached the base via a local train. We took our route from Bhaje caves which is a very unfrequented one. It took us a lot of time to locate the trail to the top. But once we did, it was basically climbing up a waterfall. This is a tricky one, because the rocks are slippery and you need to watch your step. There isn't much at the top which is a disappointment but the route is beautiful, adorned with waterfalls and lush greenery. We took a different way, crossing the hill to reach the road leading to Lohagad. Here, we discovered a much shorter route from the fort to the base, which would have saved us time and a lot of effort spent walking through slimy and muddy tracks. However, once you join the road its only a 15 min walk to Lohagad. There are many routes to plan the detour from Visapur to its neighboring fort and hence can be selected carefully. This was exhaustive due to lack of planning but a fairly entertaining trek due to great company ! We shoved ourselves in a tempo ( quite literally i mean) and made our way to Lonavala station and took a train back home !
Trek 8 : August 16 -Tikona trek : A very scenic and beautiful place, Tikona Fort is located atop a hill in Gavandhe(Tikona Peth),50 kms from Pune . We traveled by car and made our journey to the top fairly easily. The comparatively tougher part are the steps to Balle Killa. The view from up there overlooks Pavna dam and many other forts( Lohagad, Visapaur and the much closer Tung). Maval region is ideal for a day out to enjoy splendid views and vast stretches of water. We ended up relaxing at a local picnic spot !
Trek 9 : August 22 -Andharban : This was my last trek in the leg of monsoon trekking ! We were a group of 15 people and covered our journey with the help of Wild Trek Adventure, Pune. It turned out to be the most promising and entertaining treks of all ! We took a bus to the base village which is around 90 kms from Pune.
Andharban is a forest in Tamhini ghat region (because of its dense cover, sunlight doesn't reach the ground and hence the name) . This is a long trek (approx. 5-6 hours) and around 8-9 kms. The route and waterfalls are breathtaking and shall cover up for sore legs. Guidance for this trek is important as the forest and plains are vast. Also, you might not find any fellow trekkers on the way.
The sheer enthusiasm of all the trekkers made it a pure delight , we sang and danced our way throughout our journey !
Happy Trekking :)
