Kothaligad (Peth fort) trek - Simple yet enchanting
" Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are cathedrals where I practise my religion.... I go to them as Humans go to worship. From their lofty summits I view my past, dream of my future and with unusual acuity, am allowed to experience the present moment.... my vision cleared...my strength renewed. In the mountains I celebrate creation. On each journey I am reborn !!!!!"
So very true .............
In this post I am going to take you to my journey at Kothaligad - Peth fort trek. Few words to describe the trek is Its "SIMPLE YET ENCHANTING".
Kothaligad - Peth fort :- A relatively smaller cousin of forts (1500 fts) as compared to others forts in Sahyadri range. Base village is called Peth village and hence the name Peth fort. Its not a fort but sort of watch tower built by Marathas to keep an eye on the Mawal regions and surrounding areas. There is small temple and large cave at the base of the funnel shaped fort. It has a water storage tank and spiral and steep steps inside the funnel shaped fort to reach the top. One cannot stop but appreciate the engineering marvel of the engineers who built the structure when there was no modern tools like we have now.
My Trek : It was yet another Sunday and it was yet another trek, another place for me to explore. Dr Pradhan from Wanderlust decided to capture Peth Fort and here I was joining them to be a part of the adventure. Meeting place was decided at Neral station at sharp 8.30am on the east side. For the first time I came to know how people could commute from far away places like Kasara, Karjat or Khopoli to main city..... Hell one way commute takes 2-3hrs !!!!!! I had to take 4.56am train from Borivali to reach the destination on time. As our group motto " Miss the train and you miss the trek" as no matter what our position is we start our return journey at 2pm in order for everyone in the trek to reach home safely on time. Our group Wanderlust gathered at Neral station by 8.30am. Dr Pradhan had already made arrangement for two large cousins of our Auto rickshaw (Tum-Tum's) which would carry us to the base village Ambivali from where we would start our trek to capture Kothaligad. Tum -Tum ride was far from smooth as each carrying 11 person each and with rains in the area having made the road travel a real bumpy ride. But the plus point of my journey was sitting close to the driver of Tumtum and experiencing the thrill of travelling first hand. The climate adding the spice with lite rain drizzles and the entire area in lush greenery. Urbanisation has not yet made in roads in this region so one still comes across small villages and rice paddy fields on the way. The rain waters flowing down from the mountains far away having created numerous rivulets on the way. It was fun filled bumpy ride of almost one hour before we reached our base village. AMBIVALI
After a quick round of introductions and do's and don'ts we all marched first to the base village of Peth. It a clearly marked muddy road to the village with slow ascend. Rains had truly transformed the area in green corridor, we had hardly walked for few minutes and we came across amazing waterfall with water gushing down in full force.
The noise of water flowing down in full force was enchanting and sight nothing less than spectacular. Excited we were. We had quite a few first time trekkers in the group and it was nice to see that there was lot of awareness among people to do trekking and exploring nature rather than exploiting it.The walk to Peth village is like driving through any ghats, all twist and turns.The walk through the muddy and rocky path does take the breath out of you. At each turn you would hope and wish for a flat path but end of turn shows you another uphill. The entire path is up...up and and above. Finally after a climb of more than one hr we could see flat land. We managed to reach the plateau from where we could see our destination clearly.
The funnel or nipple shaped fort. The first part of our journey was complete in little more than 60 minutes. The wind was now blowing in full force and the since being at a height. The sight of surrounding region was absolutely stunning, green paddy fields and mountains with waterfalls and our destination in clouds !!!!! It was wow place.... The villagers had created small huts on the way which was like a resting place for trekkers, with village kids selling corn, lime juice and pet water bottles. I just felt like just sitting and watching the mountains with waterfalls from it and clouds hovering over it. What a sight it was ...............
Having taken a few minutes of rest and tried our hands on photo shoots we all moved ahead. The village of Peth was now stone throw away. The interesting thing about this trek was its proximity to base village of Ambivali and Peth,due to which one could easily find lunch and some snacks in the local house come hotels. The rains had now started pouring heavily and we had to remove our windcheaters to protect from wind and rains. We moved past some small and unique huts, interesting to see that these villagers had utilised even a small patch of land to cultivate something for their own use.
It was now time for the real trek, climbing the muddy and rocky path to the top. We climbed up as water kept gushing down due to rains now pouring heavily. It was nice to see lot of trekkers coming down while equal number of them going up including our group of 21. Each trekker coming down trying to motivate the one going up that its a easy climb and also which patch is little risky and requires extra precautions. Reaching half way at the top we could see Ratangad fort with 4-5 waterfalls, Ratangad trek- again one of the must do treks in the region. We were now reaching for the clouds as we inched higher we could see our destination more clearly but covered in rain clouds. Just before the main steps which leads to the caves there is a slippery patch of rocks where one needs to be extra careful as one slip and one can easily see himself down by 20feet but we did have the support of water pipes laid on the way. It was a easy climb of around 2hrs 30minutes from the base and we were now at the caves.
The caves is huge and can easily accommodate around 30-40 people with one group already occupying it. They had made it a base for cooking food and sleeping as they had done overnight trek to the top of the fort. From the side of the pinnacle one could come to a small patch of flat land which gives a clear view of Mawal region and surrounding areas. It was a sight nothing less than creatively crafted dream sequence by nature.It was so windy that one had to actually hold one another for fear of being swept away. There lay a small cannon and water tank which stored rain water. it was amazing as within no time we were standing in rain clouds and it was difficult to even view 10meters away with heavy winds.
Our group decided to explore the top of the fort by climbing the steps made from within the funnel shaped fort while I decided to stay on the flat land and enjoy what I do best during treks, try my hands on photography.
Since it had started raining heavily now, we decided to make ourselves comfortable in the caves which was now getting overcrowded due to heavy rains and wind. It was nice to get a dry place where we all had our packed lunch. One can easily make this cave a night halt and do star grazing on a clear night if one can carry all the equipments to the top.
After resting for sometime, we all decided to move back as it was already past 2pm. Our climb down was not tough but one had to actually take calculative steps as rocks on the path were slippery and loose. We had one casualty with one of our trek member slipping on the rocks and getting hurt but luckily it was not serious.It was little tough for first timers but we managed to complete the trek in 5hrs. It was simple trek by any standard but again for me it was one more place captured in my heart and in my lens. It was a beautiful experience which was accompanied by beautiful weather.
On watching the small villages on the way, one could wonder why anyone could stay at such heights, so far away from actual civilization and you will have no answers. But I am sure this villagers do !!! walking through the mountainous forest is as close as one can get to the nature and enjoy the greenery. The highlight of the trek was standing in the clouds with heavy rains and strong winds and of course our very own Tum Tum ride which was nothing less than thrilling. I hope to continue exploring as many places as possible in Monsoons and then plan to come back to same places in winters to enjoy a completely different weather and the different look of the place...... Till then adios !!!!!!!!!!!!!
So very true .............
In this post I am going to take you to my journey at Kothaligad - Peth fort trek. Few words to describe the trek is Its "SIMPLE YET ENCHANTING".
Kothaligad - Peth fort :- A relatively smaller cousin of forts (1500 fts) as compared to others forts in Sahyadri range. Base village is called Peth village and hence the name Peth fort. Its not a fort but sort of watch tower built by Marathas to keep an eye on the Mawal regions and surrounding areas. There is small temple and large cave at the base of the funnel shaped fort. It has a water storage tank and spiral and steep steps inside the funnel shaped fort to reach the top. One cannot stop but appreciate the engineering marvel of the engineers who built the structure when there was no modern tools like we have now.
My Trek : It was yet another Sunday and it was yet another trek, another place for me to explore. Dr Pradhan from Wanderlust decided to capture Peth Fort and here I was joining them to be a part of the adventure. Meeting place was decided at Neral station at sharp 8.30am on the east side. For the first time I came to know how people could commute from far away places like Kasara, Karjat or Khopoli to main city..... Hell one way commute takes 2-3hrs !!!!!! I had to take 4.56am train from Borivali to reach the destination on time. As our group motto " Miss the train and you miss the trek" as no matter what our position is we start our return journey at 2pm in order for everyone in the trek to reach home safely on time. Our group Wanderlust gathered at Neral station by 8.30am. Dr Pradhan had already made arrangement for two large cousins of our Auto rickshaw (Tum-Tum's) which would carry us to the base village Ambivali from where we would start our trek to capture Kothaligad. Tum -Tum ride was far from smooth as each carrying 11 person each and with rains in the area having made the road travel a real bumpy ride. But the plus point of my journey was sitting close to the driver of Tumtum and experiencing the thrill of travelling first hand. The climate adding the spice with lite rain drizzles and the entire area in lush greenery. Urbanisation has not yet made in roads in this region so one still comes across small villages and rice paddy fields on the way. The rain waters flowing down from the mountains far away having created numerous rivulets on the way. It was fun filled bumpy ride of almost one hour before we reached our base village. AMBIVALI
After a quick round of introductions and do's and don'ts we all marched first to the base village of Peth. It a clearly marked muddy road to the village with slow ascend. Rains had truly transformed the area in green corridor, we had hardly walked for few minutes and we came across amazing waterfall with water gushing down in full force.
The noise of water flowing down in full force was enchanting and sight nothing less than spectacular. Excited we were. We had quite a few first time trekkers in the group and it was nice to see that there was lot of awareness among people to do trekking and exploring nature rather than exploiting it.The walk to Peth village is like driving through any ghats, all twist and turns.The walk through the muddy and rocky path does take the breath out of you. At each turn you would hope and wish for a flat path but end of turn shows you another uphill. The entire path is up...up and and above. Finally after a climb of more than one hr we could see flat land. We managed to reach the plateau from where we could see our destination clearly.
The funnel or nipple shaped fort. The first part of our journey was complete in little more than 60 minutes. The wind was now blowing in full force and the since being at a height. The sight of surrounding region was absolutely stunning, green paddy fields and mountains with waterfalls and our destination in clouds !!!!! It was wow place.... The villagers had created small huts on the way which was like a resting place for trekkers, with village kids selling corn, lime juice and pet water bottles. I just felt like just sitting and watching the mountains with waterfalls from it and clouds hovering over it. What a sight it was ...............
Having taken a few minutes of rest and tried our hands on photo shoots we all moved ahead. The village of Peth was now stone throw away. The interesting thing about this trek was its proximity to base village of Ambivali and Peth,due to which one could easily find lunch and some snacks in the local house come hotels. The rains had now started pouring heavily and we had to remove our windcheaters to protect from wind and rains. We moved past some small and unique huts, interesting to see that these villagers had utilised even a small patch of land to cultivate something for their own use.
It was now time for the real trek, climbing the muddy and rocky path to the top. We climbed up as water kept gushing down due to rains now pouring heavily. It was nice to see lot of trekkers coming down while equal number of them going up including our group of 21. Each trekker coming down trying to motivate the one going up that its a easy climb and also which patch is little risky and requires extra precautions. Reaching half way at the top we could see Ratangad fort with 4-5 waterfalls, Ratangad trek- again one of the must do treks in the region. We were now reaching for the clouds as we inched higher we could see our destination more clearly but covered in rain clouds. Just before the main steps which leads to the caves there is a slippery patch of rocks where one needs to be extra careful as one slip and one can easily see himself down by 20feet but we did have the support of water pipes laid on the way. It was a easy climb of around 2hrs 30minutes from the base and we were now at the caves.
The caves is huge and can easily accommodate around 30-40 people with one group already occupying it. They had made it a base for cooking food and sleeping as they had done overnight trek to the top of the fort. From the side of the pinnacle one could come to a small patch of flat land which gives a clear view of Mawal region and surrounding areas. It was a sight nothing less than creatively crafted dream sequence by nature.It was so windy that one had to actually hold one another for fear of being swept away. There lay a small cannon and water tank which stored rain water. it was amazing as within no time we were standing in rain clouds and it was difficult to even view 10meters away with heavy winds.
Our group decided to explore the top of the fort by climbing the steps made from within the funnel shaped fort while I decided to stay on the flat land and enjoy what I do best during treks, try my hands on photography.
Since it had started raining heavily now, we decided to make ourselves comfortable in the caves which was now getting overcrowded due to heavy rains and wind. It was nice to get a dry place where we all had our packed lunch. One can easily make this cave a night halt and do star grazing on a clear night if one can carry all the equipments to the top.
After resting for sometime, we all decided to move back as it was already past 2pm. Our climb down was not tough but one had to actually take calculative steps as rocks on the path were slippery and loose. We had one casualty with one of our trek member slipping on the rocks and getting hurt but luckily it was not serious.It was little tough for first timers but we managed to complete the trek in 5hrs. It was simple trek by any standard but again for me it was one more place captured in my heart and in my lens. It was a beautiful experience which was accompanied by beautiful weather.
On watching the small villages on the way, one could wonder why anyone could stay at such heights, so far away from actual civilization and you will have no answers. But I am sure this villagers do !!! walking through the mountainous forest is as close as one can get to the nature and enjoy the greenery. The highlight of the trek was standing in the clouds with heavy rains and strong winds and of course our very own Tum Tum ride which was nothing less than thrilling. I hope to continue exploring as many places as possible in Monsoons and then plan to come back to same places in winters to enjoy a completely different weather and the different look of the place...... Till then adios !!!!!!!!!!!!!
classic, Paresh bhai.. mazza aa gaya padh ke :D
ReplyDeleteThanks Ajay
ReplyDeleteJordar Pareshbhai !! I am going there on this 25th Aug..
ReplyDeleteThanks Vishal
ReplyDelete