Christmas has always been a season of fun and masti, not because I grew a Christmas tree or met Santa Claus, they have always been a part of English rhymes for me, nevertheless it always brings in positive vibes. This season three of us, friends chose to go out for an 'unplanned' journey, rather an 'unplanned trek'. The only certainty was, that we would be trekking uphill everyday.
We commenced our journey from Kalyan on 25 Th evening with Miron Joseph, the only person who was trained trekker. We traveled to Murbad and stayed at a base village named Belpada, that night. The next morning we ascended to Harishchandragad. As sun rose from the tranquil peaks of Sahyadris we set on a trek to scale that mountain.
Harishchandragad boasts of having the second tallest peak of Sahyadris, 'Taramati'. We had to climb around 4000 feet of treacherous slope to scale the mountain. On our way up we were treated to a picturesque view of the wide sprawling ranges. I rued the fact of not carrying a high resolution digital camera. Indeed the panoramic view of Sahyadri ranges is a good enough reason to climb up the slope.
Real thrill begun at 'Maakad Nali' or 'Monkey Pass' a very narrow path carved by flowing water across the steep rocky surface. The surface here is quite shaky, the rock pieces seem too restless to trek upon, almost in a hurry to jump down the valley. Trekkers say this part suffers from consistent rock fall and hence the rocky patch underneath is always crumbling, the person climbing up has to ensure that he doesn't push down a rock piece or his pal at the bottom might have to say good bye, safe distance had to be maintained between adjacent trekkers. The way up is extremely steep, we had to do fair bit of rope climbing to move up. It was my first experience of rope climbing, believe me when you hang to the rope at such great height and realize there is no earth under your feet you say your prayers. It takes some strength and resourcefulness to reach up. Its a sincere advise not to attempt such task without a professional guide.
Real thrill begun at 'Maakad Nali' or 'Monkey Pass' a very narrow path carved by flowing water across the steep rocky surface. The surface here is quite shaky, the rock pieces seem too restless to trek upon, almost in a hurry to jump down the valley. Trekkers say this part suffers from consistent rock fall and hence the rocky patch underneath is always crumbling, the person climbing up has to ensure that he doesn't push down a rock piece or his pal at the bottom might have to say good bye, safe distance had to be maintained between adjacent trekkers. The way up is extremely steep, we had to do fair bit of rope climbing to move up. It was my first experience of rope climbing, believe me when you hang to the rope at such great height and realize there is no earth under your feet you say your prayers. It takes some strength and resourcefulness to reach up. Its a sincere advise not to attempt such task without a professional guide.
After 10 hours of persistent journey we reached to the base of Taramati peak from here we could see the enchanting Konkan Kada a bare rocky cliff facing Konkan.The cliff has a peculiar curvature bent inwards. It reminded me of a sturdy, muscular but defenseless wrestler challenging the hordes of armies. The cliff does not have a straw of grass on its surface. The entire view was crowded with multitudes of hill ranges appearing like an assembly of war chiefs, truly a captivating sight. Sahyadri as a whole appears like an old mythical sage engrossed in a hard penance for years, completely ignorant to the drastically changing civilizations.
Harishchandragad rooftop has 6-7 caves, one of them was our lodging-place for 26th night. There were number of tourists, as this being the holiday season, otherwise the place is not inhabited silent. The locals (they live at the foothill village), provide food and tents. But everything depends on your destiny, on a bad day rather night you may have none of them, so to be on a safer side carry some food and warm clothing, we were brave (ignorant) not to carry any of it. That night we were treated to pithale, rice and chapati sitting besides a bonfire under the silent radiance of moonlight, it was a delight.
As night grew darker the temperatures rocked southwards and soon it was too cool to comfort, we rushed to the cave. Then nursing our cramped, aching limbs fell asleep on a rock bed.
Next day morning we commenced the return journey downhill.This mountain has 3-4 paths to reach the summit, one from Belpada village through 'Maakad Nali', second from Panchani which is supposedly the shortest and the easiest, another one through 'Tolar Khind' down to Khireshwar village, we chose the last one.
On the way down we saw the rock-cut temple of Lord Shiva, its a magnificent creation with artistic carvings. Wonder what drove the sculptors to this intractable terrain, perhaps the devotion to God or His Majesty Himself chose to reside over here, where else could He find the peace and untouched sanctity of Himalayas!
The place has an ambiance of serenity and essence of divinity guarded by the Nature itself. There is a beautiful Shivalinga carved inside a pond of water. The water inside is freezing cold. The Ghumat sheltering Shivalinga is supported on four pillars three of them weathered. It was a marvelous sight. Truly amazing !
Now moving further down, the terrain gets steeper you have to take special care while coming down. Tolar Khind is a narrow pass spiraling down into the jungle of Khireshwar. It is like a curved rocky wall testing the endurance of the trekker, only thing one should do is concentrate on the ground under your feet and watch your step. It was indeed a breathtaking journey down the Tolar Khind, each step measured cautiously.
Going down we could see a steep cliff coated in hay gleaming in a bright sunshine at one end and a deep valley stretching its jaws like a devil trying to gulp its prey down the throat. It was a spell bounding experience, truly scintillating !
It takes three hours to slip down the hill. Then on its a 6 km road through Khireshwar village to the Kalyan-Junnar highway. There is a large water reservoir besides the road, the soothing sight as we walked under the burning Sun. From the highway one can get a vehicle to Mumbai or Pune, we chose the latter and the journey continued !
