Kohoj Trek

Ah yes. I do know I'v been coming up with some crazy titles, but hell!

To start with this was supposed to be a perfect week. 2 back to back long weekends. And great trekking plans for each of them. Monday, 15th August 2011,  Independence Day, and we were up for a trek to Kohoj, near Palghar. And the week was supposed to end with a HARISHCHANDRAGAD trek. I was totally psyched about Harishchandra. To give some more background, it is one of the best, a dream trek in Maharashtra.  To top that up, one of my college mates had been there just a few weeks back. All the pictures and stories about the place meant I had gone all crazy, just couldn't wait for Saturday. I had even decided to give some important college duties a skip (worth the risk, I thought). More on this later.

Trek to Kohoj, 15th August, 2011 :

I got up at 4, left home by 4.30 since I had an half hour to walk to Andheri station from where we were to take the 1st fast train to Virar which departed 5.04am from Dadar. It was a small group for Sahyadri Rangers this time. Just the 4 of us Maulik, Me, Vaibhav & Vishwesh, in alphabetical order. :P

View from Vaghote (Base Village)

The train was a little late and reached Virar at 6.15, we knew the connecting shuttle was also at 6.15. So we got off the train and started running with the crowd to take the shuttle, we just ran, no idea where we were heading. We did get the 6.15 shuttle and reached Palghar in about 40 minutes. From there an ST Bus to Mastan Naka (Near Manor) and a 6-seater tum tum(packed with a dozen of people) from there to Vaghote. We had Bhaji-Pav enroute at Mastan naka(big mistake, avoid). Vaghote is the base village, on the Manor-Wada road, hardly noticeable except for a few heavy construction vehicles parked in the village. Kohoj would be to your right throught the ride from Manor to Vaghote. Although what was visible right in front us wasn't Kohoj. Kohoj was behind this hill which we had to go around.

Shelta Lake & the small dam

After some directions from locals we started moving at about 9.30am. Within 5 minutes we realized the trail was full of marshy soil and with every step our feet were going deeper into the soil. The trail initially passes through paddy fields. We then passed a small pond on our right. A little later we had to take a sharp right turn that would took us into thick bushes. There are ample arrows thought the route. There is a small hut on the opposite side of this turn which can be used as a landmark. After walking a while, still on plain land we reached a big heart shaped lake, called Shelta Lake by the locals. It is used for irrigation as well as fish culture we learnt from them.

A colourful spider

Once we passed the lake,there was a small dam we had to cross. The actual ascent begun here. We had to first go around this hill and the trail went on Kohoj. What looked like a simple straightforward climb up a small fort was turning out to be quite tasking. It was about now that the Bhaji Pav started taking its toll on Vishwesh. He was struggling with severe acidity, as we weren't even half way up. He still decided to go on with it. The route now was geting quite steep. Constant sound of waterfalls, birds, butterflies all around were soothing. Crabs were here a plenty, all kinds of them, brown, black, white. There are many waterfalls enroute where we refilled our bottles. The forest is considerably dense throught until the top is reached. 

By about 12 we reached a large plateau on the top. It has a small temple(1/3), few tanks with not so potable water and a small lake as well. The wind here felt amazing. The grass felt like a velvet bed sheet spread all over. Slight drizzle, gusty winds & dense clouds meant perfect weather. Was not helping photography though, nothing could be seen beyond the clouds. The only spoiler here was the marshy soil again. From this plateau it is a steep & slightly exposed yet simple climb up to the infamous pinnacle that looks like a king seated on a throne or as Vaibhav pointed out, a scare crow! Once the fort entrance is passed we reached another set of cave like tanks filled with water, again not potable. A little distance from this these tanks is another small temple(2/3), this time of Lord Hanuman.

Temples atop Kohoj

By about 12.35pm we reached the absolute top, a small ridge between the man-like pinnacle on the right and another one on the left. Took us close to 3hrs to reach here from base. The wind here was so gusty, at a point we had to kneel down so that we don't get thrown off the hill. Since it had stopped raining we sat down there to eat first, explore later. As I started to take my first bite of the sheera I had got that day, I realized most of it had got blown right off my spoon by the wind. Amazing! Totally worth all the pains taken to reach there I thought at that moment. Breathtaking views of the plains on one side and an opaque white screen of clouds on the other. Breathtaking! This is what we trek for. 

As we explored, towards the right behind the man-like pinnacle there is a way to reach the third and final temple on the fort. It was a Ganpati Temple there. By then the other side had cleared up and we could see the heart shaped lake as well as the Manor-Wada road from the top. We could also see the back side of the hill/rock visible from Vaghote.

Man-like pinnacle from 2 different angles

By 1.30pm we started the descent. It was now that the slippery loose rocks, lack of grips to hold and slippery mud  was making it difficult. Unlike other treks, a speedy descent was impossible here. It was turning out to be a little frustrating. By about 3.50pm we reached the heart shaped lake where we decided to rest in a small shade. By now Me and Maulik had registered a fall each, he got a little bruised & I was doing just fine with a few soiled clothes. A few villagers we met there gave valuable info about Kohoj. We gave them banana chips. :P

Tanks at Kohoj

As we continued we got lost in the fields which wasted some time but eventually we found our way. This walk  on plain marshy soil is the single most irritating part of the trek. We then took an ST from Vaghote to Manor, and another from Manor to Palghar, standing all the way. Reaching Palghar at about 7pm we had sandwiches while waiting for the 7.25pm shuttle. Again no seats, 40 more minutes of pain. 

We at the top :)

Moments of the day were the wind at the top and a crazy baby crying in the tum tum(that got us ROFLing). With fresh air in my breath and sweet pain in my feet, I was back home by 9.40pm. This trek was different, it was frustrating, yet so fulfilling. This is the thing about Sahyadris. They never run out of variety. Every experience is different.So until next time, Ciao! :)

My First Trek - Siddhagad

,I have always liked walking. Long walks within the city, just exploring. But trekking as I found out was a completely different experience. Its more about working together and making it to the top. It was something I wanted to try since a while now. So as soon as my cousin Vish asked whether I would like to join his troupe "The Sahyadri Rangers" for a  trek to Siddhagad in the Malshej Region of the Sahyadris I took no time to reply in the affirmative.

Siddhagad panorama.

The trek was scheduled on 20th March, 2011. The day the country celebrated Holi, of which I was not very fond of, blame the colours. We had to catch the first train to Kalyan from Dadar. This we failed to do as we missed the train that could get us to Dadar on time from Vile Parle, where me and Vish stayed that night at a fellow trekker Sus's place. So we caught up with 7 other guys, Mand, Maul, Ram, Vai, Ami, Mang, Tush at various stations while on the 2nd train. Sorry if I forgot any names here. :P

Midland Walkie Talkie

By about 7.30 we were at Murbad, waiting for the ST Bus to Narivali, the base village to Siddhagad. The ST bus ride from Kalyan to Murbad felt amazing with the cold breeze blowing across our faces, and a picturesque sunrise pleasing our eyes once in a while from behind the hills. And with a Schumacheresque driver we had nothing more to ask for. By 8.45 we reached the base village Narivali and found our way through the village. Now could easily spot the W formation of Siddhagad. To the left were Gorakhgad and Machindragad. Somebody had brought a walkie talkie which I suppose the Rangers were using for the first time. No one then knew that would turn out to be a life saver later.

About half an hour into the trek. We had separated into 2 groups. One of them were moving slowly taking pictures and exploring. We had been moving faster, led by a half-drunk Mand who seemed confident about the route we had taken. That was a concern since we had reached many junctions where two roads met. Hardly 40 minutes into the trek we reached a dried up river, and yes, we were lost. What more, we connected with the other group behind only to realize they had taken a different route. That meant trouble since all experienced guys were on the other group and most of us were first timers. I vowed never to trust a drunk man in my life again. All confused we just sat shouting "Ayo ayo ayo" for the other group to track us down.

It took another hour of going upstream on the river to meet the other group. The river had got narrower and the forest denser. Enough to be sure we were all lost now. Since there was no other option we kept moving, wading through bushes, grass, thorns, hoping to find a Payvat (trail) somewhere. This was the toughest part of the trek, it was very difficult making way through the dry soil, loose rocks and dense vegetation and I just couldn't stop slipping and falling every two minutes. After another hour or so we saw hut at a distance. Rejoice..!!

The hut enroute

An old shepherd there showed us the way that led to the top of Siddhagad. In all new spirit we started moving confident of making it to the top soon. Albeit, that wasn't the end of adventure for us. There were two trails meeting all over the place. There were so many wrong trails to take, the right one seemed invisible. After hours of ending up on dead ends, trying 'the other route' and 'lets try this ones' all but Vish and Maul sat disappointed. We all head back to the hut and tried to take an altogether different trail. In a few minutes of walking I realized it was only me and Vish. The others had taken some other trail, yet again..!!

Cave with fresh water

Alas, this time I was on the correct trail. That meant the rest of the guys had to track us through the walkie and "ayo ayo's" , making way through another patch of thick vegetation, thorny bushes and loose rocks. Half way through this trail, half of us were too tired and decided to return and rest at the hut. While six of us continued. Suddenly we had gained a lot of height in not much time. At a point we reached a small disguised cave that had a freshwater spring. Refreshing ourselves and filling our bottles we continued.

Ami, with 2 other guys rested there for a while, while me Vish and Mang continued on the same trail. Eventually to reach a the Pravesh Dwara (Main entrance) to the Siddhagad fort. After a brief rest & photo time we moved on, now to reach an Orange walled Temple. The Temple had a Verandah where few members of another group were resting. We asked the about the way up the fort only to realize that we were far from the top. It would take at least 2 more hours to reach the top. And that the terrain was tough with scree and steep slopes. It was already past 2.30pm and we had to return the same day, so that was it. We met the end of our trek halfway. A semi-successful trek. We were happy to eventually find the way to the top but disappointed that we couldn't make it all the way.

After a brief period of rest, snacks and snaps we started the descent, Rested at the hut for some time and made our way back to Narivali. En route we discovered Siddhagadwadi, the village we were supposed to go through while ascending, which we never found. And we also found the spot where we took one wrong turn, near a bridge on the river. By 10.30pm I was back home, with sweet pain in my feet and a fresh air in my breath.

Everyone staring at a Chameleon.

Moment of the day was when Vish leaped like a frog, trying to catch a Chameleon and epically failed. :P

Although not successful, the trek was a great experience for me. And I'd like to see more of Sahyadris in the future. गिर्यारोहण रोक्क्स..!! :-)