Recent Adventures

 

I'm not sure where to begin. With my Dahanu trip on August 8th I guess. My first trip to the area. A one day trip involving a train ride to Vangaon with a friend who owns property there, drinking coconut water, visits to his relatives, a scooter ride to Vangaon beach, travelling to Dahanu in 3 (or was it 4 rickshaws?), using the 6th seat for the first time, eating a sumptuous lunch, mixing naan and noddles, hitching a ride to Dahanu station in a tractor. So many firsts. I'm glad I had experienced company. He turned every instance into an adventure. A trip here is recommended in the rains when it's cool and breezy, though there's not much to do except travel around.

Followed this with a road trip to Vikramgad & Jawhar on the 22nd. The last time I went there was 2006 with PrV and the gang. A different gang this time. One I brought together. A good mix. A car with four people, a calming drive along the highway, green hills, open sky, climbing up, changing topography, greenery everywhere, low grass and black rock, a hill station minus the crowds. 

Taking funny pics with friends, deep stone quarries filled with rainwater, a friend takes a dip, jokes, hunger, a restaurant with tasty filling food and low prices, a palace to explore, a beautiful view from its backyard, 360 panoramic photography, hairy caterpillars, a lookout point, tiredness creeping in, driving back to the city at 120 km/hr on the highway, photographing clouds, going to Vijay Sales, looking for cameras, decide to meet on Sunday to buy some. 

And finally, a trip to Lohagad fort in Malavli on Saturday. I had to visit a fort this monsoon. The previous attempt at Rajmachi was rained out. With the adventures from the last two trips, I didn't think I'd be having any more. I was wrong.

And so we meet again on Saturday, five of us this time, and drive to Khandala first, to Kune mission, where we take photos. I have never been to a place with better views of the valley. We drive to Lonavala next, to get money, fudge and alcohol. Drive on to Malavli after that, asking for directions to Lohagad. Come to Pavana Dam, take more photos, realise we've taken a wrong turn and should have taken a left before turning onto the Pavana dam road.

Turn back, go left, drive slowly up the rocky road to Lohagad village, very slowly. Trek up the hundreds of stairs (with caves along the way) leading to the top of the fort, a well maintained fort, enjoying every bit of it. So many levels, so many interesting sections of the fort to see along the way, experimenting with photography.

The climb to the top takes us into raincloud and we're literally walking among the clouds. No description suffices. You have to be there to feel it. I've only seen this twice before - in Malshej Ghat (2004) and Karnala (2008) - and only felt the same magic feeling once. The Himalayas may be majestic but the Western Ghats in the monsoon are magical. It's worth waiting an entire year for. It's something to see before you die. There is absolutely nothing like a hill fort in the rains.

We descend, slowly down slippery steps, it begins to rain, we drive back to Khandala, stop for a late lunch at a place riddled with menu misspellings that takes even longer to prepare it, and head to Buffallo falls, the third time this monsoon. It's raining so the water's muddy. A friend dunks his head under one. This is his moment. This is what he came for. He's enjoying it.

We go back to Kune to dry off. Watch darkness descend. RV regales us with poetry and then almost looses his phone along with a box of empty beer bottles on the way out. That's why you shouldn't litter. It's a sign from above. The others think that's our last adventure of the day. In my mind I just know there's more.

Five minutes later I'm proved correct. We get onto the highway and realise we can't see anything. It's covered with fog. Our lights are not very helpful. We're scared. RV's working from memory. We connect with the main freeway and other vehicles and the situation improves. Traffic increases as we cross over from Navi Mumbai into Mumbai. I doze off till we reach Andheri. We bid farewell to RV and HS and drive home, our last adventure of the day being the stop for dinner at a dhabba at Kandivli for brain rice and chicken tikka.

Recent Adventures

Trek to the SGNP highest point

Went to the SGNP on Sunday for a trek to its highest point, organised by the BNHS. Met up with BD and PV at Borivli Stn. and walked to the park in time to meet the rest of the group at 7.30 A.M.

Took a few pics of these flowers near the entrance before boarding the BNHS bus to Kanheri.



With around 60 people attending, the bus had to make two trips, automatically splitting us up into two groups, ours being led by Sunjoy Monga, the other by Sanal Nair.

It normally takes two hours to walk to the caves from the park entrance; going there by bus only took us 15 mins. We were there by 8.00 A.M, long before the caves usually get crowded. At that early morning hour, we got to see the Kanheri caves as perhaps the Buddhists themselves saw them over a thousand years ago - silent and beautiful.



A quick brisk walk from the caves to a little hillock that comprised the halfway mark left us feeling quite refreshed. This is a great way to spend a Sunday morning.

The hill we were on consisted of black rock strewn with straw like vegetation, and was quite open, with a lot of breeze near its edges. We sat and rested here for a few minutes before looking around and taking pictures.



An interesting thing about the place we were on was that, from the end where we had climbed up, we could see the outline of the city bordering the park.





And from the other end, we could see both the Tulsi and Vihar lakes back to back.



There were a lot of Cacti formations on the hill.



This one had a spiders web on it.



We continued our way upwards, into what soon became a proper forest, with a canopy above us for the most part. Among the interesting things we saw here were many funnel spider webs.



A lone flowering plant that we couldn't identify.



And ant hills shaped like flowers.



We took a break in the forest before continuing onwards and upwards, at which point I managed to get a photo of almost the whole group.



Leaving the forest behind, and after a short walk through Karvi, we came to the highest point (486 metres), from where we could see 3 lakes (Tulsi, Vihar and Powai) in a row.


Rested here for a while before going back down. As it is with most large groups on a trek, descending invariably splits them up into smaller groups. BD, PV and I somehow deviated slightly from the original route on the way back down and ended up to the right of the caves. But we soon found our way back to the main path, despite the complicated maze like cave system.

There was some confusion getting transport to the main gate as our bus had parked in a clearing a little way ahead from where it had dropped us near the caves in the morning. Security wouldn't let them drive up to the caves in the afternoon, and most of the group, not knowing this, seemed to be waiting for the bus near the caves. We had already walked to the clearing and, tired of waiting for the rest of the group to figure out the situation and arrive, hopped into a BEST bus (they were running services that day because of a Buddhist meeting at the caves), which dropped us to the main gate, where we left the park, and went to a restaurant across the highway, whose power cut off the minute we took our seats. I had a chilled drink while my friends gorged on lunch Thalis; we then walked to the station and parted, promising to trek again soon.

Trek to the SGNP highest point

Elephanta Trip

Went to Elephanta island on Sunday.

Woke up at 5.15 A.M. Left home a little before 6.00. Bought a return ticket to Churchgate at Borivli station. Took the 6.18 slow. Got off a Dadar at 7.00. Met PV and BD at 7.15 and took a cab to the BNHS office together, which we reached at 7.30, and registered. Walked to the Gateway with the group.





Took a ferry to Elephanta. Enjoyed the one hour long ride to the island. Being November, it was hot but the breeze that accompanied the ferry ride was quite refreshing.


Passed an oil tanker on the way to the island, and private boats as well.



Reached Elephanta and walked along the long wharf to the mainland.


Also saw some fishing boats.


The island is mostly made up of hills and we had to walk up a long series of steps to get to the top, where all the real action is. Traders were selling touristy wares on both sides of this path.


The point towards the top where the stairway ends is a sort of junction, with a left turn going into secluded forest area and the path straight ahead leading into the famous Elephanta cave complex. We, however, turned left to begin our birdwatching trip.


The path we took soon led us to a lake, where we saw a number of birds.


The path went on past a village and ended at the coast.


Where one of our guides, Vinod Patil, managed to catch this beautiful creature.


PV and I did go see the caves later, marvelling at the large and beautiful structures cut into the hill, and the amount of time and effort it must have taken to do that. Couldn't take any pictures unfortunately since my camera batteries were too low.
Had lunch at an MTDC restaurant on the island (average food, poor service) and finally took a ferry back to Mumbai at 2.30.

Elephanta Trip

Karnala Trek

Had a nice time on Sunday. Went for a trek to the Karnala Bird Sanctuary. Left home at 4.45 A.M. Woke up a rickshaw driver to take me to Borivali Stn.

Bought an extension ticket. Caught the 5.02 slow to Dadar. Reached Dadar at around 5.45. Crossed over to Dadar Central and caught a train to Kurla 15 mins later. Bought a ticket at Kurla and caught a Harbour Line train to Panvel. Reached Panvel Stn at 7.15. Walked to the ST bus depo, found a driver who understood where I wanted to go, and caught a bus to Karnala at 7.45.

Reached the main gates of the sanctuary at 8.00. The rest of the group had only just arrived and were waiting for breakfast to arrive at an education office across the road from the Sanctuary. Saw some interesting tree formations here.

Started off on the trek at 9.30. Paid the entrance fees of Rs 20 at the main gate. The tourist area of the Karnala Bird Sanctuary is pleasant enough. There’s even a waterfall close to the entrance for enjoyment, but it’s crowded. We passed the tourist area, saw a few caged birds, and trekked up into the hills, following a dirt path, which proved extremely strenuous. Our goal was to get to the base of the Karnala pinnacle, which houses the ruins of a fort.

We were constantly breaking to catch our breath, all 25 plus of us. The route was steep, and required the use of both hands to reach out and grab whatever roots, branches and rocks we could get for support as we clambered up the rocky and at times muddy path. I can describe this route best as a shoe breaker; it was littered with the soles that had come off the shoes of people who trekked this way.

After a lot of clambering upwards, we came to a little clearing, a patch of land that served as an intersection of trails and we paused to take in the scenery. We realised that we were really high up, that we were entering the upper realm of the hill, about to cross the point above which a mountain is constantly covered in mist. We continued onwards at a slightly slower pace.

The trail did slope upwards but not as frequently. The trail then flattened out and as we left the forest behind, we could barely make out the pinnacle in front of us, and the short climb that would lead us to its base.

This part proved to be the most dangerous. The climb to the fort or pinnacle base was steep, required a lot of stretching to get from outcrop to outcrop, and was a challenge with what I felt sure were gale force winds intent on blowing us off the mountain. We did manage to crawl to the top at last and take a breather before exploring the ruins that sheltered us from the winds. It wasn’t possible to take a lot of pics though with all the mist and moisture being blown around. I was lucky my camera didn’t get spoiled taking the pics I did.

Our descent was a lot easier, mine at least. My Woodland’s prevented me from slipping and I got some good pics of a waterfall and a large white crab on my way down the hill.

The trek being over, I took an ST bus from the highway outside the Sanctuary to Panvel Stn, caught a train to C.S.T but got off at Kurla, took a bus to Santa Cruz Stn, a train to Borivli, and a bus home.

Karnala Trek