Trek to Fort Peth (कोथळीगड) on Bikes.
Last few days in Pune for Santosh, a trek on the bikes was the ultimate suggestion from him. Surprisingly Kanchan (बारीक) and Manisha joined the trek by seeing the link of Kothaligad/Peth. From within the regular members me (Pankaj), Huzi, Sourabh and Shrikant were as usual geared up for the trek on bikes. But Santosh went down with the Cold and Fever in the final deciding stage. Only 4 regular members remained and few guest members (Kanchan, Manisa, Vikram and Rajesh) as well contributing the load for 4 bikes.
Useful Info:
How to reach: Pune- Lonavala-Khopoli-Karjat-Kashele-Ambivali-Peth
Time to travel- 3 hrs max from Pune
Distance from Pune- 140km (approx).
Base village- Ambivali/Peth
Considering the last experience of leaving Pune city early, this time picking up everyone didn't take much time as everyone had clear information about where and at what time to wait on the pickup points. The journey was welcomed by the rain drizzles from Ravet (on Mumabi-Bangalore Bypass) itself. Around Talegaon and Kamshet region it was at its peak. The mud water sprinkles on on the helmet visors, when large size trucks were passing by were making us difficult to drive bikes on the roads. The first halt was at our regular breakfast joint मनशक्ति केन्द्र at Lonavala and once again a round of मिसल पाव, थालीपीठ and some South Indian snacks with the steaming hot tea took place. Next halt was at Ramachi point. It has been almost a dozen of times we have been passing by this point, but not a single time we could resist ourselves to take a halt here for a snaps. All is because of the misty envronment there. When you pass throgh the Khandala town after a colony of Sanatoriums the climate changes drastically, and you have to switch on your bike blinkers and headlamps for safety reason in the fog.
A right turn after Khopoli and a 14km drive on a picturesque road took us to Karjat where we parcelled few वडापाव for our apetites. After Karjat the road started to loose its quality but still driveable. Enquiring about the exact route to Ambivali village we finally reached there. Parked our machines at one house and placed order for our return meal there itself in very low budget (Rs. 586/- to be precise and that too includes 1kg chicken plus 3 veg meals) Hey....stop drooling!!!
In the first 10 minutes of the climb Kanchan started asking how much more and got tired. I was affraid that she will give up the trek, but fortunately she didn't. We keep boosting her confidence. But when we reached at the plateau, by seeing the scenic view, she too felt that its worth climbimg to the top. The heavenly view of the Sahyadri from the plateau, semicircular mountain range below the fort, numerous waterfalls and the water leaping in the valley made everyone of us delighted and posed for a solo model snap, as well as few landscapes. we started our second part of our trek towards the fort top with the fresh air filled in our lungs and the silver water from the streams cooling our thirsty souls.
A short tea-break at Peth village refreshed us to take up the next level of climb which was stiff ascent and slightly slippery. Meanwhile Shrikant was boring us with his गावरान english and silly dialogs like छोटा खड्डा (his own definition of valley) and दोरी देऊ का (for any simple ascent).
We were particularly worried about the girls with us, as they were new to our group and the slight risk involved in the rock patch. But they managed well and were not far behind us (in fact me and Sourabh were constantly watching there moves and helping out them to hike to the next level). Really hats off to Manisha and Kanchan, despite of being beginners you were stole the show. The rock patch was little slippery at some points due to the algae covers. But when we had a first glance of the fort door and the caves our senses went mad and to our surprise Kanchan was the first to reach there.
The 4 cascaded caves (carved one inside the other) there were the masterpiece of the Hindu sculpture with some very detailed designs on the pillars and a temple with a water reservoir. The largest cave was well maintained and clean, and could hold upto 30 people at a time if anyone wishes to halt. When we reached there, there was another group from the Trekdi cooking their food. After few clicks inside thew cave which was full of bats we decided to reach the narrow peak by the well cut narrow rock conical steps. Being a very narrow and slippery steps only one person can go at a time from those. There we saw our trek बकरा and I named him as खायच्या कामाचा ठोंब्या, as inspite of having very good physique he was worst in the climbing and bit over cautious while getting down from the steps. This generally happens when some proffessional organizations arrange the treks and few people come just because their friends force them to. The peak of the fort was decorated by lush green crown of grass and few banana trees. There was also a water reservoir on the top of the door and and the view down the valley was amazing. The other side of the valley was unleashing the beauty of the Sahyadri and hipnotizing us with its beauty. After this magic is over our tummies made us to realize about the वडापाव parcel and no one was left behind to grab the share. Meanwhile Shrikant whispered something (probably suggesting to give leftover वडापाव's to doggies in the cave) in an alien's language, prabably a dog's language with his mouth filled with वडापाव bite. But this wasn't enough for us and we were (at least I was) dreaming about the tantalizing chicken being cooked at the Ambivali village for us (and veg food for the घासफूस public).
On the return path too, Shrikant kept boring us with his छोटा खड्डा and दोरी and one more word "shortcut" added to that. The other group from Trekdi was also with us while getting down with their "खायच्या कामाचा ठोंब्या" and a couple (rather बायकोला ओढणारा नवरा as she had apparaently had forcefully came for the trek with him). But whenever we went by the shortcuts suggested by Shrikant or Rajesh we used to touch the main path after those Trekdi's worst trekkers letting our efforts to reach early at the base in veinand worthless. But as Kanchan was the most tired she kept on followin Shrikant's shortcut and we had to follow her to help her out of the tricky situations. (श्रीकांत, बाद में मिलना, सब बदला लूँगा...)।
It was almost 6:30pm in the evening when we reached at the Ambivali village and restlessly all of us attacked on the lunch-cum-dinner (लंच कम और डिनर ज्यादा .... hehehehee....). The vegies had to suffer with the sub-standard meal, as Kanchan didn't spare a single thing except the papad to curse for the bad taste. Only thing upto her expectation was the papad and the coffee.
The return journey too, was not less thrilling with the all opposite side vehicles coming our way with the high beams ON and making us absolutely blind to see the road and tossing our lives for the uncertainy. Manisha kept on taing small naps on the rear seat of Huzi's bike while I kept Kanchan busy in अन्ताक्षरी and later on used her as a radio, (but not for my sake, only to make sure that she don't sleep on the bike).
The climbing up the Khandala ghat was a nightmare for us, as we could barely see anything beyond certain feet. Also the fog added more trouble in the dirve. This resulted in a minor mishap when Sourabh's bike skidded from the road in the mud, but left with the minor injuries on his wrist. Vikram had to pay the cost of not following the "Rule zero (Rule of thumb): Helmets Compulsory" of our every trek with minor scratched to his right eyebrow. This gave us a lesson to learn. You have to be safe and drive safe while expediting with the bikes. This time drive was safe but pillion rider wasn't. Anyways Vikram won't mind such minor injuries and will be back with भटकी टोळी for the future treks. Bravo Vikram...!!!
The final lap of the ride after Lonavala was very cautious with 50-55kmph and we reached Pune by 11:30pm in the night. As soon as i reached my SMS to all trek members was:
"4 machines, 8 ppl, almost 18 hours, around 300 kms and unlimited confidence has made it happen. Bravo guys. U made it. Complete tranquil experience."
The tranquil trek images are available at:
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/manisha.akolkar/KothaligadPethTrek
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/sourabhv/KothaligadPeth
And the next day the "question évidente" was "बोला, पुढची भटकंती कुठे?" Let the brain storm begin.
Useful Info:
How to reach: Pune- Lonavala-Khopoli-Karjat-Kashele-Ambivali-Peth
Time to travel- 3 hrs max from Pune
Distance from Pune- 140km (approx).
Base village- Ambivali/Peth
Considering the last experience of leaving Pune city early, this time picking up everyone didn't take much time as everyone had clear information about where and at what time to wait on the pickup points. The journey was welcomed by the rain drizzles from Ravet (on Mumabi-Bangalore Bypass) itself. Around Talegaon and Kamshet region it was at its peak. The mud water sprinkles on on the helmet visors, when large size trucks were passing by were making us difficult to drive bikes on the roads. The first halt was at our regular breakfast joint मनशक्ति केन्द्र at Lonavala and once again a round of मिसल पाव, थालीपीठ and some South Indian snacks with the steaming hot tea took place. Next halt was at Ramachi point. It has been almost a dozen of times we have been passing by this point, but not a single time we could resist ourselves to take a halt here for a snaps. All is because of the misty envronment there. When you pass throgh the Khandala town after a colony of Sanatoriums the climate changes drastically, and you have to switch on your bike blinkers and headlamps for safety reason in the fog.
A right turn after Khopoli and a 14km drive on a picturesque road took us to Karjat where we parcelled few वडापाव for our apetites. After Karjat the road started to loose its quality but still driveable. Enquiring about the exact route to Ambivali village we finally reached there. Parked our machines at one house and placed order for our return meal there itself in very low budget (Rs. 586/- to be precise and that too includes 1kg chicken plus 3 veg meals) Hey....stop drooling!!!
In the first 10 minutes of the climb Kanchan started asking how much more and got tired. I was affraid that she will give up the trek, but fortunately she didn't. We keep boosting her confidence. But when we reached at the plateau, by seeing the scenic view, she too felt that its worth climbimg to the top. The heavenly view of the Sahyadri from the plateau, semicircular mountain range below the fort, numerous waterfalls and the water leaping in the valley made everyone of us delighted and posed for a solo model snap, as well as few landscapes. we started our second part of our trek towards the fort top with the fresh air filled in our lungs and the silver water from the streams cooling our thirsty souls.
A short tea-break at Peth village refreshed us to take up the next level of climb which was stiff ascent and slightly slippery. Meanwhile Shrikant was boring us with his गावरान english and silly dialogs like छोटा खड्डा (his own definition of valley) and दोरी देऊ का (for any simple ascent).
We were particularly worried about the girls with us, as they were new to our group and the slight risk involved in the rock patch. But they managed well and were not far behind us (in fact me and Sourabh were constantly watching there moves and helping out them to hike to the next level). Really hats off to Manisha and Kanchan, despite of being beginners you were stole the show. The rock patch was little slippery at some points due to the algae covers. But when we had a first glance of the fort door and the caves our senses went mad and to our surprise Kanchan was the first to reach there.
The 4 cascaded caves (carved one inside the other) there were the masterpiece of the Hindu sculpture with some very detailed designs on the pillars and a temple with a water reservoir. The largest cave was well maintained and clean, and could hold upto 30 people at a time if anyone wishes to halt. When we reached there, there was another group from the Trekdi cooking their food. After few clicks inside thew cave which was full of bats we decided to reach the narrow peak by the well cut narrow rock conical steps. Being a very narrow and slippery steps only one person can go at a time from those. There we saw our trek बकरा and I named him as खायच्या कामाचा ठोंब्या, as inspite of having very good physique he was worst in the climbing and bit over cautious while getting down from the steps. This generally happens when some proffessional organizations arrange the treks and few people come just because their friends force them to. The peak of the fort was decorated by lush green crown of grass and few banana trees. There was also a water reservoir on the top of the door and and the view down the valley was amazing. The other side of the valley was unleashing the beauty of the Sahyadri and hipnotizing us with its beauty. After this magic is over our tummies made us to realize about the वडापाव parcel and no one was left behind to grab the share. Meanwhile Shrikant whispered something (probably suggesting to give leftover वडापाव's to doggies in the cave) in an alien's language, prabably a dog's language with his mouth filled with वडापाव bite. But this wasn't enough for us and we were (at least I was) dreaming about the tantalizing chicken being cooked at the Ambivali village for us (and veg food for the घासफूस public).
On the return path too, Shrikant kept boring us with his छोटा खड्डा and दोरी and one more word "shortcut" added to that. The other group from Trekdi was also with us while getting down with their "खायच्या कामाचा ठोंब्या" and a couple (rather बायकोला ओढणारा नवरा as she had apparaently had forcefully came for the trek with him). But whenever we went by the shortcuts suggested by Shrikant or Rajesh we used to touch the main path after those Trekdi's worst trekkers letting our efforts to reach early at the base in veinand worthless. But as Kanchan was the most tired she kept on followin Shrikant's shortcut and we had to follow her to help her out of the tricky situations. (श्रीकांत, बाद में मिलना, सब बदला लूँगा...)।
It was almost 6:30pm in the evening when we reached at the Ambivali village and restlessly all of us attacked on the lunch-cum-dinner (लंच कम और डिनर ज्यादा .... hehehehee....). The vegies had to suffer with the sub-standard meal, as Kanchan didn't spare a single thing except the papad to curse for the bad taste. Only thing upto her expectation was the papad and the coffee.
The return journey too, was not less thrilling with the all opposite side vehicles coming our way with the high beams ON and making us absolutely blind to see the road and tossing our lives for the uncertainy. Manisha kept on taing small naps on the rear seat of Huzi's bike while I kept Kanchan busy in अन्ताक्षरी and later on used her as a radio, (but not for my sake, only to make sure that she don't sleep on the bike).
The climbing up the Khandala ghat was a nightmare for us, as we could barely see anything beyond certain feet. Also the fog added more trouble in the dirve. This resulted in a minor mishap when Sourabh's bike skidded from the road in the mud, but left with the minor injuries on his wrist. Vikram had to pay the cost of not following the "Rule zero (Rule of thumb): Helmets Compulsory" of our every trek with minor scratched to his right eyebrow. This gave us a lesson to learn. You have to be safe and drive safe while expediting with the bikes. This time drive was safe but pillion rider wasn't. Anyways Vikram won't mind such minor injuries and will be back with भटकी टोळी for the future treks. Bravo Vikram...!!!
The final lap of the ride after Lonavala was very cautious with 50-55kmph and we reached Pune by 11:30pm in the night. As soon as i reached my SMS to all trek members was:
"4 machines, 8 ppl, almost 18 hours, around 300 kms and unlimited confidence has made it happen. Bravo guys. U made it. Complete tranquil experience."
The tranquil trek images are available at:
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/manisha.akolkar/KothaligadPethTrek
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/sourabhv/KothaligadPeth
And the next day the "question évidente" was "बोला, पुढची भटकंती कुठे?" Let the brain storm begin.
Xcellent work
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