The start of 2010 has so far been great for me and continues to be so. It is by far the best year that I have had till now. I have been able to tick off quite a few items from my To- Do things list. So me is very happy happy about it. After the amazing start I had to the New Year with the Kashid trip, the fun just continued. Participated in the Dream Run- Mumbai marathon (well yeah I just walked and didn’t actually run... but I did participate!!!) The next thing which I ticked off from my To-Do list was to go trekking. Thanks to my fantastic BOTI’ians I could fulfill it as well. Thanks to Sachhu, Pra, Kalpi and Vinu. Of course we missed Sowmi, Kri and Mithu. I am really blessed to have such awesome friends and the best family. :)
This time we didn’t plan anything, as plans never worked for us. We just decided we would go on the weekend for a one day trek since few of us were first timers. Date decided – 24th of January ’10 (this date is quite lucky for us I guess, since we had gone on our first trip together to Kashid in 2009.) Venue was still undecided. After researching and rejecting various options which included bhimashankar etc. We keyed down on Lohagad, which wasn’t too far (near lonavla) and a relatively easier trek (now who said that!!!)
So we started our journey at 5.30 A.M. The Lohagad fort is located in a village called Malavli which is little ahead of lonavla. We reached the place by around 8.30 and were surprised to find the dip in temperature in just a matter of few hours. While in Mumbai we experienced the usual weather, it was unexpectedly cold at that place. Despite the chills we started walking. We walked through a narrow aisle which opened into a clearing. There were many army vehicles over there. We were surprised to find a big group of army guys with their families. Later on we realized even they were there for a day out. Well it was a great feeling since I had always been in awe of the armed forces and being amongst such a big number (around 100-200) of people from the armed forces was a thrilling experience.. However their platoon moved towards the caves in one of the hills nearby, we trudged ahead in search of our Lohagad fort.
We chose the tougher shortcuts instead of the simple straight pathway to the base of the fort. I have no measure of the distance but we walked for some 3 hours to reach the plateau from where ascend to the fort began. The military guys were really fast as they had already few vehicles up there and set up tents and refreshment camps for their people. We silently blessed them for having built the makeshift toilets. Saved our souls literally!!!
Then we began our climb to the fort. Every level that we reached left us agape. The view from every place was simply astounding. The view of the hills and the lake was spell bounding. The architecture of the fort was similar to the usual ones, where they have a winding approach to the door and the spaces to pour hot oil or shoot the approaching enemy, the water tanks and the hidden treasuries beneath it, the wells, mosques, temples etc. which are a common feature of the forts built in Shivaji’s era. Finally we reached the top after our usual photo sessions. The view from the top was breathtakingly beautiful. What added to the beauty of the moment was the cool wind blowing even at 12 in the noon. It was a totally serene experience.
I thought that was it but realized we had to trek ahead till the end. It was a plateau and we had to go till the end where the mountain narrowed down to form a shape of the scorpion’s tail called vinchu kata.
From the top I could see a narrow winding road around the edges of the mountain which reached to the end. I hoped it wasn’t the route which we had to take. We went straight ahead to meet a dead end. It was a sharp cliff for a few feet but definitely not worth the try. We were disappointed that the trek had to end there. But we saw people returning from the end point. That’s when we found out there was an alternative route which was a bit tricky but worth the risk. Though I and Vinu were bit apprehensive in the beginning but Kalpi and Pra’s high level of confidence gave us the courage to go ahead. Later we saw even kids on the way back so we thought it wouldn’t be so bad after all. Well the walk was a bit tricky. It was a narrow pathway along the edges of the mountain. I couldn’t even dare to move my sight off the track even for a second for two reasons. One for the fear of losing my footing and second it would have made me dizzy. Finally I got my breath back when we reached a proper landing and then it was an easy walk till the end. We had a 360 degree view of the entire place from there which made quiet a scenic view.
However the keeda in us wasn’t satiated. There were few steps which led to a bit lower ledge. We had to crawl through a very low entrance to that place. We had our lunch there. God bless Kalpi for the theplas and the kanda poha :).We could have fed atleast 10 people with the quantity of food that she had carried for us.
Then we set on our way back which was not as easy as we thought. We missed our way and reached the village instead of the place where the military guys had set the base camp. There were few caves near that place. We thought we would go the caves too even though we were ready to drop dead. But since we missed our way and we reached the village and it was quite a distance going back to the caves. So we decided to give it a miss and headed on the journey back home.
At the end it was a day well spent and hope to keep the wheel rolling. Thank you Boti for planning this trek. Thanks to Kalpi for being the official mummy and taking care of us. The jhakkas babe of our gang didn’t seem to be on her first trek by the way she was trotting her way up and down the hill. :)
Thank you Pra for giving us the confidence to make it till the end and taking us through the tougher routes adding adventure to our trek. :). Thank you Sachhu for making me believe that I could do it especially in the tricky parts. Thank you Vinu for being the much required. You guys just added one more page to my book of beautiful memories of this life. Love you all. :)
This time we didn’t plan anything, as plans never worked for us. We just decided we would go on the weekend for a one day trek since few of us were first timers. Date decided – 24th of January ’10 (this date is quite lucky for us I guess, since we had gone on our first trip together to Kashid in 2009.) Venue was still undecided. After researching and rejecting various options which included bhimashankar etc. We keyed down on Lohagad, which wasn’t too far (near lonavla) and a relatively easier trek (now who said that!!!)
So we started our journey at 5.30 A.M. The Lohagad fort is located in a village called Malavli which is little ahead of lonavla. We reached the place by around 8.30 and were surprised to find the dip in temperature in just a matter of few hours. While in Mumbai we experienced the usual weather, it was unexpectedly cold at that place. Despite the chills we started walking. We walked through a narrow aisle which opened into a clearing. There were many army vehicles over there. We were surprised to find a big group of army guys with their families. Later on we realized even they were there for a day out. Well it was a great feeling since I had always been in awe of the armed forces and being amongst such a big number (around 100-200) of people from the armed forces was a thrilling experience.. However their platoon moved towards the caves in one of the hills nearby, we trudged ahead in search of our Lohagad fort.
We chose the tougher shortcuts instead of the simple straight pathway to the base of the fort. I have no measure of the distance but we walked for some 3 hours to reach the plateau from where ascend to the fort began. The military guys were really fast as they had already few vehicles up there and set up tents and refreshment camps for their people. We silently blessed them for having built the makeshift toilets. Saved our souls literally!!!
Then we began our climb to the fort. Every level that we reached left us agape. The view from every place was simply astounding. The view of the hills and the lake was spell bounding. The architecture of the fort was similar to the usual ones, where they have a winding approach to the door and the spaces to pour hot oil or shoot the approaching enemy, the water tanks and the hidden treasuries beneath it, the wells, mosques, temples etc. which are a common feature of the forts built in Shivaji’s era. Finally we reached the top after our usual photo sessions. The view from the top was breathtakingly beautiful. What added to the beauty of the moment was the cool wind blowing even at 12 in the noon. It was a totally serene experience.
I thought that was it but realized we had to trek ahead till the end. It was a plateau and we had to go till the end where the mountain narrowed down to form a shape of the scorpion’s tail called vinchu kata.
From the top I could see a narrow winding road around the edges of the mountain which reached to the end. I hoped it wasn’t the route which we had to take. We went straight ahead to meet a dead end. It was a sharp cliff for a few feet but definitely not worth the try. We were disappointed that the trek had to end there. But we saw people returning from the end point. That’s when we found out there was an alternative route which was a bit tricky but worth the risk. Though I and Vinu were bit apprehensive in the beginning but Kalpi and Pra’s high level of confidence gave us the courage to go ahead. Later we saw even kids on the way back so we thought it wouldn’t be so bad after all. Well the walk was a bit tricky. It was a narrow pathway along the edges of the mountain. I couldn’t even dare to move my sight off the track even for a second for two reasons. One for the fear of losing my footing and second it would have made me dizzy. Finally I got my breath back when we reached a proper landing and then it was an easy walk till the end. We had a 360 degree view of the entire place from there which made quiet a scenic view.
However the keeda in us wasn’t satiated. There were few steps which led to a bit lower ledge. We had to crawl through a very low entrance to that place. We had our lunch there. God bless Kalpi for the theplas and the kanda poha :).We could have fed atleast 10 people with the quantity of food that she had carried for us.
Then we set on our way back which was not as easy as we thought. We missed our way and reached the village instead of the place where the military guys had set the base camp. There were few caves near that place. We thought we would go the caves too even though we were ready to drop dead. But since we missed our way and we reached the village and it was quite a distance going back to the caves. So we decided to give it a miss and headed on the journey back home.
At the end it was a day well spent and hope to keep the wheel rolling. Thank you Boti for planning this trek. Thanks to Kalpi for being the official mummy and taking care of us. The jhakkas babe of our gang didn’t seem to be on her first trek by the way she was trotting her way up and down the hill. :)
Thank you Pra for giving us the confidence to make it till the end and taking us through the tougher routes adding adventure to our trek. :). Thank you Sachhu for making me believe that I could do it especially in the tricky parts. Thank you Vinu for being the much required. You guys just added one more page to my book of beautiful memories of this life. Love you all. :)
