Trek to Harishchandragad - Part 2
After making our cave more hospitable, we had our lunch and everyone was tired enough to take some rest. BTW, there are some men at the top who serve you with breakfast to lunch at minimal rates and they can be your guide too if you are visiting this place for the first time.
Anyways, after the much needed rest we went so see Konkan kada, the naturally formed rock face which was one of the highlights of this trek. Sometimes a Broken Sectre phenomenon (a circular rainbow) can be seen from this point. Due to wind erosion, the cliff is concave shaped. The edge of Konkan kada is about 1 km in length. The time at the konkan kada was amazing & we spent close 2 hours over here clicking photos from various angles and locations. Everyone peeked down the cliff in the traditional pose (which is sleeping on the edge and taking a look at the valley)
After the sunset we headed back to our caves for the dinner preparation. First, we decided to make the soup. All the powder soup packets came handy and every one was served with a hot tomato soup. The hot soup and the cold climate wowww it was a fantastic combination. Dal Khichadi served the dinner purpose and we again headed to get some sleep. Fetching drinking water, cooking food, washing utensils, sleeping in the cave and sunset at konkan kada were all the activities we did apart from the trek the first day.
As the sun rose and all the morning duties (including breakfast) done, we went to see Kedareshwar. The shivling which is surrounded by freezing water is at the centre of the cave and cave has four pillars out of which 3 are completely broken and it is said that when this pillar will collapse the world will come to an end. The height from the base of this shivling is appx 5 feet.
We decided not to visit the Taramati peak as it was already late and we have to reach Pune early, so we decided to leave the place then and there. Again the frustrating climb of the 7 hills and we were back to the rock patch. The rock patch wasn’t a problem for us, we tackled it carefully and quite comfortably without any incidence. In the meantime we called the jeep guy who dropped us at Khireshwar and told him to pick us up again @ 1PM.
We managed to reach the base village in about 3.5 hours which was pretty good time. The jeep was waiting for us. We transferred ourselves to the jeep and the return journey to Ale phata commenced. The return journey was uneventful as everyone was tired and hungry. After reaching Ale phata, had our lunch and boarded a ST bus to Pune and reached Pune @ 7PM.
This trek gives you ample of memories each time you visit this place. Every person who calls himself as a trekker is incomplete without a trek to this place. The memories of this trek shall be resting in our minds for the rest of our lifetime and in the end NOTHING ELSE MATTERS!!!
Anyways, after the much needed rest we went so see Konkan kada, the naturally formed rock face which was one of the highlights of this trek. Sometimes a Broken Sectre phenomenon (a circular rainbow) can be seen from this point. Due to wind erosion, the cliff is concave shaped. The edge of Konkan kada is about 1 km in length. The time at the konkan kada was amazing & we spent close 2 hours over here clicking photos from various angles and locations. Everyone peeked down the cliff in the traditional pose (which is sleeping on the edge and taking a look at the valley)
After the sunset we headed back to our caves for the dinner preparation. First, we decided to make the soup. All the powder soup packets came handy and every one was served with a hot tomato soup. The hot soup and the cold climate wowww it was a fantastic combination. Dal Khichadi served the dinner purpose and we again headed to get some sleep. Fetching drinking water, cooking food, washing utensils, sleeping in the cave and sunset at konkan kada were all the activities we did apart from the trek the first day.
As the sun rose and all the morning duties (including breakfast) done, we went to see Kedareshwar. The shivling which is surrounded by freezing water is at the centre of the cave and cave has four pillars out of which 3 are completely broken and it is said that when this pillar will collapse the world will come to an end. The height from the base of this shivling is appx 5 feet.
We decided not to visit the Taramati peak as it was already late and we have to reach Pune early, so we decided to leave the place then and there. Again the frustrating climb of the 7 hills and we were back to the rock patch. The rock patch wasn’t a problem for us, we tackled it carefully and quite comfortably without any incidence. In the meantime we called the jeep guy who dropped us at Khireshwar and told him to pick us up again @ 1PM.
We managed to reach the base village in about 3.5 hours which was pretty good time. The jeep was waiting for us. We transferred ourselves to the jeep and the return journey to Ale phata commenced. The return journey was uneventful as everyone was tired and hungry. After reaching Ale phata, had our lunch and boarded a ST bus to Pune and reached Pune @ 7PM.
This trek gives you ample of memories each time you visit this place. Every person who calls himself as a trekker is incomplete without a trek to this place. The memories of this trek shall be resting in our minds for the rest of our lifetime and in the end NOTHING ELSE MATTERS!!!
How to reach:
There are 3 to 4 different ways to reach Harishchandragad. This is the most preferred route:
Name of the Fort: Harishchandragad
Mountain Ranges: Malshej ghat/ Ajoba range
How to reach: Pune-Narayangao-Ale phata-Khubi phata-Khireshwar
Distance from Pune: 140 km one side
Height: 4700ft appx.
Base Village: Khireshwar
Difficulty Level: Medium
Time to reach top: 4-5 hrs.
Well narrated post...
ReplyDeleteHow can you forget your chef there? :-D
Well, it was one of the awesome trek and visit to Kokankada... one of the pilgrimage for trekkers.