Harishchandragad [12 - 14 Dec 2008]

After our Ratangad trek, this time it was Vikram's wish to trek Harishchandragad, since he had heard a lot about it; especially Kokan Kada. We decided upon the nearest possible weekend but for 3 days, as last time when I had been to Harishchandragad, I could hardly see anything apart from Kokan Kada. So this time we decided to give ample amount of time to roam around.

My manager [Rohit] is always interested in trekking so we asked him whether he can join us; which he readily agreed and even said he will bring his brother too for the trek. But he could not join us. Few more folks shown their interest in joining us but they too, could not.

It was four of us again, Vikram, Sajith, Mrigank and Me. And this time, we purchased carry mats for all of us from Ramesh Dying for 125 Rs. each.

[12 Dec, 0900 hrs: Breakfast at Aalephata]

Here Mrigank was completely bowled over by the variety of biscuits and cakes [see behind]. He was doing rounds of that shelf from one end to other. Before that we had to visit a gas chamber at Aalephata ST stand to empty our bladders. And believe me, it WAS like a gas chamber! :P

So, after packing our tummies we headed towards Khireshwar and let me tell you that the road was piece of cake :) There is no single pot hole [don't take this literally] on this stretch between Aalephata and Khubi phata [where we take right towards Khireshwar]. That was pleasant driving experience. But due to that I drove past Khubi Phata for few hundred meters.

[Just after we took left after taking a U turn, I had to stop the vehicle by public demand and Vikram got down for shooting]

[After he finished, we resumed but again had to stop for shooting birds. The dam has quite a variety of birds]

The road was very bad. In fact it was not the road, but the wall of a small dam. [I remember it was getting built when I had come here last time (5/6 years ago). We had to walk over this 4/5 Km long wall and later dump the idea of trekking Naneghat due to the bad condition of our body :D]

After reaching Khireshwar, we located one house where we can rest our vehicle for two days. I had to play a little bit of Kusti to park it under the shade.

[12 Dec, 1030 hrs: Finally we covered the car and started normalizing the weights of our sacks. Let me tell you there was no fight over this :D We understand each other so much :P]

[(from left) Me, Sajith, Mrigank and Vikram]

[Here we go! The green belt which climbs up in the center is called as "Tolaar Khind". We climb it and take on the mountain to the left]

[The width of these mattresses was more than our sacks. And because of that, its sides were all the time kissing all the trees, rocks; rupturing themselves]

[Vikram took this good photo of Nedhe (Needle Hole)]

[This well was very "well" built]

[Koopmanduk: These frogs were huge, around 15cm in length]

My friends immediately expressed some naughty thoughts by seeing this. Very understanding indeed.

Soon after we started the walk, we lost Mrigank and Vikram behind. Both of them were with one local guy who accompanied us till destination. Myself and Sajith started walking steadily; making sure not to stop and take breaks. We just took a very small pause to click above two snaps and the walk resumed.

[12 Dec, 1115 hrs: Top of Tolaar Khind: 1.5 hrs from starting point. At this point, we leave the main route aside and take the left to climb the rock patches]

We waited for other guys for 10 mins and decided to resume when they did not arrive.

[Vaghoba (Tiger)]

[Take left up from Vaghoba]

[Rock patch]

[Sajith and me did enough time pass on the rock patch for V and M to arrive]

[Finished the rock patch]

There were 4/5 climbing patches after this. After we reached the real top, I had to take some sugar and water to feel a bit energetic.

[Balekilla of Harishchandragad]

There were two routes originating from this spot. The local guy suggested to take the left as it has fewer up and downs than the other one. So we followed that. There was enough wind and shade to make us feel less tired. After the walk of hour, we reached the destination! As soon you reach, you are welcomed by the Pushkarini [see below] and Shiv Mandir behind it. To your left is the huge Taramati peak [After Kalasubai, Taramati is second highest peak in Maharashtra].

[12 Dec, 1330 hrs: We were greeted by Pushkarini. The rocky patch which you see behind is Ganesh Guha (Ganesh Caves). We stayed here]

We immediately headed towards "Ganesh Guha" to find a cave for us. And we found a very good one! The cave was pretty private. Big enough just to accommodate 4/5 people so there was no question for others to drop in. And it was kind of secluded too.

After occupying the cave the first thing we did is to take out our carry mats and spread them and then spread ourselves onto it! Let me tell you that was THE relaxing experience!

Everybody was so hungry. We had decided to open our tiffins for dinner but we could not hold that much :)

In the evening, we set out to see majestic Kokan Kada. Its a walk of 20 minutes from cave.

Now let me try to describe how Kokan Kada. It is a combination of three HUGE cliffs at around right angles to each other and an open space in the front [from where you can see Malshej Ghat. Yes it is that famous Malshej Ghat!]. Each cliff is minimum 1500 feet high. The middle cliff is actually an over hang. [see photos below] and also refer "Konkan Kada (Konkan cliff)" section of Harishchandragad for more details.

[Right Cliff]

[Left cliff]

[12 Dec, 1730 hrs: Over hang: from where first two photos and below four, are clicked]

[Our cell phones got some network at this point. So everybody started calling their homes. Me too reported to my home minister. Mrigank somehow is not pleased]

[I was taking a video of the valley]

[Vikram looks like a proffesional]

[12 Dec, 0900 hrs: In a way, while returning from Kokan Kada]

[Zombies at rest: We took rest after our return. Sajith looks like a mummy, Mrigank a dead body and not sure what Vikram was doing]

[Our room!]

[13 Dec, 0900 hrs: Do you see a small entrance just behind the dog? From there you enter into our room]

[Washing utensils was a task you had to do before or after you cook again and fill the bottles too!]

[It is a leisure to have bread and butter during tea]

We set out to see Balekilla but nobody knew the way. But Vikram had some idea of the way the local guy had told him about. So we started walking. After reaching the base of Balekilla, Vikram declared that he is not sure about the way :D So he took the responsibility to find the way and set out into the jungle while we waited for him at the base.

[12 Dec, 1030 hrs: Waiting for Vikram]

After some time he returned with bruises on his hands and no luck. There was no option to return to our base and to go to Taramati.

[13 Dec, 1130 hrs: Shiv Mandir and Pushkarini from the top of Taramati]

[There is mobile range on Taramati, so I immediately called up my wife and obtained recipe of Khichadi which I had forgot to get. There is sharp drop of approx 1500 feet at the side I am facing, then a jungle and again a drop of approx 1000 feet minimum]

It was almost 1:30 by now, empty stomachs and time to return to base. This time we had Maggie for lunch and had good rest and assorted discussions.

[12 Dec, 1700 hrs: In the evening we spotted herd of boys and girls of around 11/12th class]

There was not much left to be seen on the fort now since we had already covered Kokan Kada on first day and Taramati today. So we wandered around the temple doing shooting. Some photos:

[Entrance to the temple can be seen to the right]

[Dish-washing]

[13 Dec, 2000 hrs: Khichadi preparation for dinner]

After having a very good dinner, we set out for a walk in the full moon.

[13 Dec, 2200 hrs: Vikram shot this one]

The sky was amazing with full moon, rare thin clouds and frequent airplanes! For every two minutes one plane was passing in the sky. It was a good treat to watch. Especially when the planes were flying above the clouds and we were able to see the shade falling on the cloud below.

After some time, Vikram SCREAMED LIKE HELL. Initially I thought a wild animal paid visit but he said something is falling from sky by looking skywards behind me! He saw a very bright light getting brighter behind clouds. But later it was found that it is one more plane and it was its headlight and due to clouds the light was spread making it look like a meteor!

While we were talking; a group of boys was creating so much of noise by shouting songs outside the cave. They were staying just beside us. This is fast becoming the regular site at forts now a days. The other thing which bothered me deeply was amount of waste [bottles, plastic bags etc] spread around the fort, especially near temple and caves. There is so much of it :(

We immediately prepared for sleep after returning. Those boys were still shouting the songs. We fall asleep after their show finished. Don't no how much time was passed, Vikram again shouted "KON AAHE" [who is there?] 2/3 times. All of us woke up and verified there no one in the cave except us and discovered that Vikram has just delivered a sleep talk :D

On the morning of last day, we had just planned to take breakfast, click snaps of remaining temple and leave the fort. So we packed the bags and left for the temple. This temple is again like the one at Ratanwadi. Very well built, great carvings.

Next attraction was Kedareshwar Cave. This cave is big enough like a hall, filled with chilled water and BIG Shivling in between. See below

[14 Dec, 1000 hrs: The height of Shivling is almost 5.5" from visible base]

People do "Pradakshina" around the Shivling and this time me too did it! :) The water was cold like anything. I got a shock of 440volts when first time I entered the water and but later it was ok. That was great experience after all!

Started return journey after that and reached Khireshwar 2.5 hours later.

[A break]

Paid 50/- as parking charges to the owner and left for Pune. That ends our one more fascinating trek with the hope to continue... :)

More and bigger photos can be seen here

Ratangad [26 - 27 July, 2008]

It was quite a while after we had been to Rajgad. So we started searching for a fort which we can visit in rainy season. In the list, Ratangad topped the list. So we decided to trek Ratangad.

I had a faint idea where it is situated but details were needed. Also we were in dilemma about the mode of commute [ST or Car or Bike]. So company friends and my trekking sir came to the rescue and we decided to go by car and route chosen was: Pune -> Sangamner -> Bhandardara -> Ratanwadi.

Date: 26 and 27th July 2008.

List of items to be taken with us was prepared and shared with the members [Vikram, Sajith and Mrigank].

We decided to leave by 5 AM and we left on time :) I had already topped up the fuel tank.

[We had this first break for loo just around Chakan.]

I was searching for air filling shop till Rajgurunagar and found one at last. The guy was in deep sleep with the doors of his shop open. When I tried to wake him up, he gave me the looks like "what is your problem?" Taking long time to boot, he came out of the shop and ordered me to take the car nearer his air filling pipe.
Journey resumed after that fun.

We crossed Chandanapuri ghat and located a dhaba where we had breakfast.

[Vikram looks drunk]

In Sangamner we were stuck in traffic for nearly 30 minutes. After passing the traffic jam, two policemen guided us to the correct path.

It was not raining till Rajur but the atmosphere was rainy. And once we started approaching Ratanwadi, it started getting merrier. Sajith and Mrigank deeply wanted to stop the car and enjoy the surroundings.

[Approaching Bhandardara]

Finally we reached Bhandardara and welcomed by a manned check post. We need to pay entry fees here [20 Rs/head, 50 Rs/car]. The man asked in low voice - "pawati banwaychi ka?" [Should I prepare the receipt?]. So got the receipt from him, he opened the gate and here we go! Off to Ratanwadi.

[A waterfall]

Reached Ratanwadi by 1130 AM. We were very happy to see much talked Amruteshwar temple and Pushkarini.

[Amruteshwar Mandir]

[Pushkarini]

These structures are Hemadpanthi. By doing a close observation of Pushkarini, I found that the cap like structures are nothing but the three pieces of carved stones assembled together [just put on top of each other]. It is awesome! Even the main temple looked like it is assembled.

So we set off to Ratangad after spending some time around the temple. It was not raining but atmosphere was cloudy.

[Off to Ratangad]

Folks in Ratanwadi started asking us whether do we need a guide. We were supposed to cross the river. So we took the left bank of river and started searching a fair place to cross. At one point Vikram found such place but water had quite a force. He entered first, then Sajith, Mrigank and myself. Don't know why Sajith took out his shoes and entered bare feet into the current. He had his shoes in his hand and at the same time he was holding hands with Vikram and Mrigank. I asked him to give shoes to me so that he can be comfortable. But few moments after it was difficult for me to hold on the shoes so I threw both of them on the opposite side of the river. Sajith was stunned. So we crossed the river somehow and later we learnt from Mr. Sajith that he removed shoes because he did not want shoes to get wet. We almost beat him :D

After walking for few minutes we realised that we may get lost into the woods. Just after we crossed the river, one farmer had offered to show us the way. So we backtracked and found him on opposite bank. He waved at us and told us to walk along the river till we meet him. So the deal was [after bargain], we pay him 100Rs and he will drop us till some obvious path and we can continue from there.

[Suryabhan was his name]

[Standing in chilled water was tough]

After a walk of 10 minutes we came across a beautiful waterfall [which was far away but looking nice].

Again, after a walk of 30 minutes we reached a metal ladder and astonished to see the way these ladders were installed. They were mounted on thin iron rods and these iron rods [which were bent at their base] were bolted into the rock. There were two ladders in all. The side railings of first one were virtually useless. They were completely loose, so one has to hold on the steps and climb. And the best part was, the last part of the ladder did not have side railings at all! See below.



Once I crossed first ladder I saw 2/3 guys along with two girls sitting in the space next to second ladder. One of the girls seemed to be completely horrified and the other one was trying to solace her. Both of them did not seem to intend to go further.

So we started to climb the second one now. This was scarier than the first one. I think the situation was something like what happens in computer game, the first level very easy to get you some practice. And it gets harder level by level. :)

So, the side railings of second ladder were not only loose but they were a bit tilted towards the valley and obstructing the climber. Not to mention the wobbling of both the ladders.


There was a entrance 15 feet above and a vertical rocky patch in between second ladder and the door. Now we reach the best part of the climb, transitioning from second ladder to rocky patch. The end of the ladder and start of rocky patch were not exactly matching / connecting and there was a torn metal sheet trying to join them. And it was all slippery including the surface of the sheet. You can look through the torn sheet and below is direct fall of minimum 20 feet to the base of second ladder. So you have to step on the bent frame of the sheet to jerk to the base of rocky patch while keeping your left foot on the side of slippery steps on your left and the end of ladder. You can get slight idea of all this by having a look at pictures below [taken from the entrance].


We crossed the entrance and took a pause after this episode and proceeded to a cave [Ratnawati cave] by climbing less scarier steps. The cave was just enough for four of us [10x10]. After sliding into warm cloths, we immediately pounced on the lunch boxes. And stopped only after tanks were full. Nobody was in position to waste time on taking snaps ;)

While we were busy having lunch, one of the primates snicked into our cave and was trying to take away one plastic bag [which was empty and lying near our empty sacks]. We had to shoo them away and be vigilant.

[Filled tummies are smiling]

After relaxing a bit, Vikram started getting disparate to have tea. We had his stove with us. So after playing with it for a while he was able to light it and we prepared tea. Bread and butter tasted awesome with it!

[Tea preparation]

[Time for some cleaning]

It was amazing that the mobile network connection was here too! Only Sajith had connection though. So we tried our hands on it!

There was not much to do because of raining and less visibility around. So we preferred to stay in the cave only. Eating, relaxing then again eating, relaxing cycle continued... :P

[Khichadi preparation]

We prepared "Khichadi". This was my first attempt to make it. Recipe was borne from my wife. So it was good.


Meanwhile Vikram was busy in trying to lit diya [Panati] and he succeeded.

[One of my many attempts to capture good image]

We also lit one more diya to make sure the cave is lightened enough for the night. This is to be able to see clearly if any monkey tries to do his job. But thankfully that did not happen except one mouse supposedly had a party with our left over food and bags. But in the morning we found that he only liked Sajith's shoe very much. All the night we were able to feel his movements around our bags.

Early morning started with much cold atmosphere.

[Mrigank was trying to do some stretching exercise.
According to him ;) ]

[T! T!]

We started to prepare to leave [9 AM] after having tea, since it was not much around to see due to bad weather.

[Our descent]

[Power of 12X zoom]

Reached Ratanwadi at around 11 AM.

[Small dam like structure at Ratanwadi]

[This lizard was trying to hide from me. Somehow shot him]

It was time to start return journey now [12 PM].

[Last look at Amruteshwar Mandir]

[Me, Mrigank and Vikram. Just before we started towards Pune]

[Me, Sajith and Vikram]

We reached Pune by 7 PM and lived happily thereafter...

All in all it was very good experience driving 480KM in two days [my best], climbing the fort. Out of all, "shidichi waat" entertained us the most. We will definitely try this again in one of the winters ahead...

For more/bigger photos, please click here.