Dhak Baheri Trek by Aashish Chawla

 
Friends very often it happens that we are waiting for a release of a big film and we are very excited about the same..brimming with  high level of expectations but generally after we see the film most of the time the expectations exceeds the actual things and we are left feeling high and dry full of disappointment. However in case of Dhak Baheri Trek I want to confess that this trek superseded all my lofty expectations. I got more than what I could have dreamt of.

To cut the long story short Dhak Baheri Trek was perhaps the best Trek that I did till now.


It was the most Frightening,Daring,Adventurous, Dangerous and Endurance testing trek done by me !!!! 


27th Nov,2011. Morning 3.00am

My medicines !!!!

The alarm clock was screaming at the top of my brain and my body was aching due to the viral flu that I was suffering from.I had to make a choice either I stay in bed, take my medicine and enjoy Sunday afternoon nap  

OR 

Call of Wilderness

 on the other hand listen to the call of wilderness which was pulling me towards itself.....that eternal thirst of nature which simply doesn't seems to get quenched and leave me standing on the brink of indecision. But as usual the heart wins and I end up slinging my bag over my shoulder, popped a pill of crocin and multivitamin and off was I on my way to Dadar Station to catch Indrayani Express to Lonavala....

Dhak Baheri Trek here I come ...!!! 

Nikhil..My buddy

Standing at Dadar station waiting for Indrayani Express I was getting worried that my friend Nikhil who was suppose to join me hasn't yet turned up. Nikhil to me is someone like Dr Watson was to Sherlock Holmes.Always a good friend to have with you.I called up Nikhil to enquire as to where have he reached he replied "buddy I am on my way,train me hoon bandra cross kar raha hoon" I checked the time it was 5.35am. few minutes passed I again checked time it was 

5.42a.m "Nikhil Kider !!!" Nikhil replied "Chill Matunga cross kar raha hoon will be soon in dadar" 


5.45am : Called Nikhil again "where" Nikhil replied "tension maat le I have reached Dadar ,stairs chad raha  hoon...


5.52am The train arrives  I shouted in the phone "Nikhil Gadi aa gayi hai..." he replied "arre central side aa gaya hoon 


5.53 I was in the train and the trains moved I panicked !! I knew my dear friend has missed the train...and as they say in invitation ...missed the trek too.!!!!  


5.55 am. Dejectedly I called nikhil "abbe saale late ho gaya na... kya tere liye chain pulling karu train rokne ke liye' nikhil replied "dude I made it ..train to pakad li...lekin reserved compartment me hoon...thane me change karke ke tere paas aata hoon." 


So the script was written in a thrilling way for this thrilling trek!!!!

Lonawala Station

Lonawala Station
Our train Indrayani express reached Lonawala at 8.00am and from here we were to catch local train to Kamshet. We hopped from one platform to another to catch the local.

Tea and Batata wada in pune local

Pune local was quite empty still Nikhil and I preferred the foot board we had good steaming hot tea with equally hot batata wadas.

View of Kamshet Station

 Kamshet station
Kamshet station is hardly 2 stops away from Lonawala.It is a small station with a beautiful river flowing along the station on western side. We all started walking on the eastern side of the station to catch the ST bus. The ST bus stop was hardly 5 minutes walkable distance from the station. We all boarded 9.00am ST bus to Jambivali .

Village ST bus...note the smashed wind shield

ST bus Journey from Khamset to Jambivali Village
Our ST bus  just like most village ST bus was old rickety and creaky with a icing on the cake by the way of broken wind shield . The journey was full of bumpy ride but made enjoyable by beautiful mountain ranges on the both side of the road , goan ka phan ghat , an occasional glimpses of a dam and a river the name of which I could not gather. We reached Jambivali  in 1 hour time.

Beautiful view along the route to Jambivali Village

goan ka phan ghat

enchanting views on the way to Jambivali

 Jambivali Village:
We reached Jambivali Village at 10 am. We had introduction and instruction round. I must add here that I was very happy to be among the company of very experienced trekker. V Rangers were the organiser Ananda, Sudhir , Sandeep had done this trek several times earlier so mentally I was assured that I am in safe hands.

Gang is all set for the Trek

The Treks Starts:

Trek is on !!!

mesmerizing views on the way

mesmerizing views on the way

mesmerizing views on the way

 10.15 am our trek started . Initially it was a gradual walk for about an hour through the fields and shrubs then slowly we were in incline gear walking on the rocky patches the scenery along the trek route was something straight out of story book such mesmerising peaks, lovely breeze, enchanting valley below.

Add caption

 
.some superb rocky peaks you name it and it was there. At times Ananda has to literally pull us away because we were all busy capturing nature on our lenses.I pleaded to Ananda "Kya kare dost yeh nazare itne zabardaast hai ki yeh dil mange more..."

Rocky portion

We kept walking for more than 1.45 minutes through the canopy of trees that even during the day time you get the feeling that it is evening,jungle patch,descent,ascent,rocky boulders cow shit and many other unexplored shit we came across all possible things enroute.


We moved ahead till we came to a point where we saw two mountains kind of over lapping each other making a  crevice. We stopped there was a moment to catch our breath. 

V shaped way between two mountains and most of us were getting down in a sitting position

Ananda then instructed us that we will now have to walk through this crevice to the bottom on the other side. we all slowly moved forward from this point the wind that was blowing was very wild as if it wanted to blow us away but somehow sitting down and moving cautious we made our descent here as standing option was not possible due to this windy situation. 

making our way cautiously

This whole section was nothing but a kind of V and through this V we could see the sky and the valley on the other side. We made our descent for about 30 to 40 feets   total rocky patch  and when I reached the bottom of the patch  what I saw almost made me make the statement oh! what the F... 

the deep valley below

Below the last section there was hardly any ground underneath and you get to view something  like the above picture  and on the right hand side there was this mammoth rocky mountain  and in the distance I could see  small figures of trekkers making a literally 90 degree climb...my heart came into my mouth "boss meri toh puri tarah fhat gayi !!! Kon Kambakt bolta hai ki darr ke aage jeet hai...abhi to aisa lag raha tha ki dar ke aage bada darr hai !!! Ek time toh socha yaar ghar walo ne trek karne ke liye beja hai na ki suicide karne ke liye !!!  My God kya karoo !!! Aaj toh bara ke bav gaya Aashish tu....

narrow passage on the right side

But Yeh  Saala Dil  bahut shaitan hai...Fhasa deta hai, Marva deta hai... Bola abbe Fattu aaghe baad ...Tujhe maloom tha tu kahaan per trek karne ja raha hai.(This heart is incorrigible as it always gets you in a troubled spot...makes you inch forward saying you knew what you were getting into)

Once the mind was made up then nothing could stop me now ....even though I was feeling feverish i said move buddy and like a seasonal trekker I jumped into the fray. how could I deny myself the lifetime experience of walking on the edge of the

Slip from here and you are a past tense

mountain...with a perquisite of a slip here and you are nowhere.

Slip from here and you are a past tense

Slowly we all started moving along the edge of the cliff it was just 2 feet wide path which moving forward ends at the extreme rocky patch the highlight of this trek a horizontal move of of around 80feets with a space to hardly keep your foot in the grove on rock.one could keep one feet at a time and trekkers have to move in single file. one has to be very careful because a slip can prove to be a very costly slip. one can lose his life too !!!! I could see people with feet trembling as they were moving along the cracks of rock. however my mind was made .."Ab chahe sar foote ya matta tum toh bindass rahege....Dil par hhaat rakha aur zoor se bhola All izz well!!!"

Kon bola darr ke aage jeet hai

after covering a horizontal stretch next comes vertical climb of nearly 90degree someone behind me shouted aloud "saala ek musibat jaati nahi ki doosri sar par khadi hai" I wanted to tell him very much "Beta is ke aage aur badi musibat khadi hai tyar hoja" because just you complete this vertical climb then you see a long rope hanging in front of you and one must be ready for circus like activity, 

Circus rope trick

"ek hath rassi se pakado,paer baju me tree ka branch hai usme rakho aur left hand se same branch ka help lekar upar aa ja ooo.... Paas khade bunder bi hum par huns rahe the ki yeh log hamari harkate kyo kar rahe hai....( hold rope with right hand,put your feet on the tree branch,hold the upper branch with left hand and pull yourself up...seeing this the  monkeys too were laughing  on wondering why we are aping the ape...) 

Bander bi hamare maje le raha tha!!!

 I very much wanted to do this rock patch without the rope but sudhir scolded me from the top. Must be thinking over-smart ban raha hai but the problem was that I don't get the chance to do this dare devil act everyday( upar se me local train me travel bi nahi karta...toh koi chance hi nahi ) aur us ke upar se 127 hours  movie dekh kar aaya tha...fulltoo inspired tha......


Anyway after completing all this acrobatics We reached the top. It was a cave dived into two major section. First part had 2 water tank.How I wish my dear trekker understand that we all drink from this tank so they must try to keep it clean. I was very disappointed to see cooking utensils lying at the bottom.There was also a small make shift temple.  second part of the caves had small sub section . View from here is breathtaking...

Breath taking View from the top

 We all had lunch in the caves few of our friends decided to catch up with a nap at the top,with a break of over I/2 hour we were all ready for the descent. Same rocky patch same 90 degree all over again Sab ki aachi fati....photo me pose dene ko bi dar lag raha tha...so bola bhai camera rakho jaisa bi latka honga photo nikal lena...aage bhagwan malik... one look down in the valley aur apke hosh gul man !!!! somehow we crossed the whole section again  for me it was was double bonanza daring act plus style mar mar ke photo lene ki opportunity..(andar se kya halat thi woh mere ko hi maloom tha...)

andar se Darr lag raha ha phir bi pose mar raha hoon

The daring and the thrilling part behind us we moved forward for the final descent towards wadhap village. From here onward it was the turn of endurance part...Chal chal ke waat lag gayi descending to wadhap village was no easy task. You will ask why ? well the reason is that there was no proper defined route lots of thickets all around, diverse footfall trails in other words plenty of options by which you can lose your way and get stranded ek point per apne sath bi aisa hi hua...rahul aage gana sunte sunte jungle me ghus gaya and we were subsequently told that we are on lost path.Worst thing was that the sun was setting on the horizon and if if dont get out fast then we will also have to negotiate darkness Dil toh chila chila kar bol raha tha Bhaag bhaag DK bose agar time par pahuncha hai to.... 

returning to base is always a task

Chal chal ke waat lag gayi!!!!

Somehow we all bravely negotiated the steep slopes, wayward route and over looming darkness to come to Wadhap village as a victorious lot.

looming darkness

I want to thank Ananda, Sudhir and Sandeep from Vranger for managing this trek so well. 

Thanks to all my co trekker ..Aashish Chawla

Kalvantin Durg Trek..By Aashish R. Chawla

After doing the Mahuli Trek I realised that trekking during the month of October heat could be a tough preposition hence I decided that I will wait till December to do the next trek. However after sitting out for one sunday I realised my folly because that wanderer animal within me begin to get restless and I started my search for new destination to go for trekking.


I narrowed down to Kalvantin Durg. I always wanted to do this trek but being new to treks  every time when I looked at imposing Pinnacle

IMPOSING PINNACLE OF KALAVANTIN DURG

and those winding stairs my heart used to come in my mouth....

winding stairs

and a big question Will I be able to do it?

but here my wanderer heart replied "DOST  करना तो है ..... क्यों की ...जैसे हर एक FRIEND ज़रूरी होता है वैसे हर एक TREK भी ज़रूरी होता है .

5th November, 2011


Most of the treks I do generally starts in the morning , However this time the trek to Kalavantin Durg was slotted to be a night trek.The reason this trek was slotted to be a night trek was because the stones of the pinnacles becomes very hot and even the stairs too get heated up due to the harsh sun rays.


On the day of the trek I and Nikhil decided to meet at Andheri Station so as to catch 8.14 pm Panvel Local but it was our bad luck that we missed this train and the next one was suppose to come an hour later. for a minute I panicked because we were all to meet at 10.00pm at Panvel and secondly I hate to be late. Somehow both of us hopped into CST train and from wadala took another train to Panvel and...loo we reached at 10.00 at Panvel...

"Arre lekin yeh kya...baki log kider hai....Apni toh wat lag gayi...wadala se khade khade travel kar ke aur station per koi nahi...."


anyway baki public slowly trickled in and we waited along for few late comer to come.

WAITING FOR THE LATE COMERS

it was almost beyond 11.00pm when we came out of Panvel station...Being late it was difficult to get  Tum Tum or ST bus so Swapnil our organiser came up with a brilliant idea...he hired a Tempo instead..."What an  idea sirjee..."  So we were all packed into the tempo and dispatched to Thakurwadi, our base village for this trek.

Everyone packed into the truck

Arre so mat abhi trek Chalo hone wala hai!!!

Beta ab le maje tempo trekking ke...

Travelling in a tempo that too open from the top has its own beauty. Tell me how many of you would have travelled this way in your life had you not come on treks..."Har trek kuch naya zaroor shikhata hai...atleast to me toh definately..."
it took us around 40 minutes to reach the Base village Thakurwadi.


Thakurwadi;
Raat andheri hai bhuj gaye diye....yes it was pitch dark when we reached here "aur ek Khutta bi nahi bhook raha tha...sirf hum logo ki wait me bhata tah...my co-trekker I hope samaj gaye honge...what I meant !!!"

inteezar karta hua khutta...Khutta jo kabhi Guide bana

Like Jew prisoners from nazi camp we got down from the Tempo the only difference here was that we were a  happier lot...beaming with energy and bounce jo har naya trek aap me le aata hai...kyo right kaha na mere dosto!!!


Once everyone was grouped together obviously...total andhere me..there was this Reveal your identity round oh I mean introduction and instruction round...!!


Journey begins...
So the trek was on ..... slowly and surely the group started to  walk leaving the tar road we took a right and into the trail . Weaving our way through complete darkness armed with torch lights we were climbing...the climb is quiet gentle in the first hour of the trek.We kept taking small halts at regular interval so that the whole group of 31 members remains together.The climate was pleasant with occasional soft breeze hugging us and the demure moon following us through out the trek.


we had completed almost one and a half hour trek when we all reached a plateau.This plateau is called prabal machi. at this point one has a option to go to Kalavantin or Prabal gad Fort.
As we were on the outskirts of the machi nothing could be seen .The time was 2.30 at night.It was decided that we will all halt here to rest and then start our ascent in the morning at the sunrise.

Night fun at Prabal machi

Night fun at Prabal machi

Dead bodies !!! LOLZ

Watching the Fun at Prabal machi

I simply cannot describe to you the experience of spending a night lying down in the grass with wilderness all around you,surrounded by the mountains with unlimited glittering stars overhead, smooth breeze caressing you and above all this a group of unknown co-trekkers who would bond with you like they were your friends since ages!!!! 
Friends this what I call is the magic of trekking which I feel everyone must experience if not regularly then atleast once. Trust me you will be addicted to it for life.


We spent the night at the plateau sleeping with no care of the world, few friends indulged in scary horror story session , someone lit up a small camp fire.
We had hardly closed our eyes for resting that it was 5.30 am Prankster in the group were having wail of time pulling legs of the people sleeping, putting the torch light straight into the sleepy eyes of trekker and scaring them, Calling out sleeping people dead  body...it was craziness written all over but Friends !! these mischiefs go a long way in bonding of people.


Raat ki Camp fire se it seems some people were not satisfied toh subah subah ek aur campfire round and with that ek aur photo session,some titbits, and suddenly all sleepy trekker were alive ....I mean ready for the day man !!!


The sun was just rising from behind the mountains just as we often used to draw in our drawing book when we were school going kids. we washed our faces with the flowing water of the stream passing nearby and had our Village style  breakfast of Poha and Tea With milk almost missing.

Chai me dhood dhonte raha jaaoge !!!

Poha breakfast with lecture !!!!

After the country side breakfast we all resumed our ascent .The climb from here onwards was much steeper then what we were doing last night. 

New day new climb....

we kept walking for about 40minutes when we reached a small base of he famous step whose picture I showed you earlier in the blog.As the climb from here onward was steep we all kept our bags here at the base of the steps and started to climb free hand on this spiraling staircase.this was definately one of the thrilling moment which I was waiting for .."Jiska mujhe tha itezaar..woh ghadi aa gayi aa.jeena hai ya toh ab mar jana hai"


seeing the height of the steps which was nothing less than 2 feet I was wondering how tall the soldiers were of that time.

2 feet tall steps

 after climbing these giant steps for some time we again reached a flat top and from here we can see the top portion of the Kalavantin Peak just ahead and on the right hand side the mighty Prabal gad fort is staring at you all the time.


To reach the Pinnacle we  have to climb the rocky patch.
and Yahoo!!

 At-last I am at the top !!!!

 suddenly all the exhaustion , all the sleepless night of  the climb disappeared the moment I reached the top. The whiff of the wild wind,the mesmerizing view of the neighboring mountains and picturesque lakes beneath take you to another world "aur Dil kahate hai ki mai to bas yehi rahoonga...mai to ghar nahi jaoonga...".

Spiderman,Superman !!! take your pick

At the top everyone went crazy clicking photos, with all kind of Superman,Spider man,and many more man poses until Swapnil has to literally drag us out from there.Everyone had a great time at the Top with short bout of song session, PJ riddles ,Jokes and what not...I simply cannot remember the entire craziness!!! as our bags were not with us so no food for us at top, yet "Khane ki kisko padi hai...Maajja karo yaar was the attitude there."


Very reluctantly all of us left the Top and started to make descent.Getting down was becoming a task, Most of us were skidding at one time or the other. At some portion one had to be very careful because if you lose your footing you can be lying at the bottom of the valley.


Kalavantin Trek could be very challenging during the monsoon because of he slippery stairs and I would love to do this trek in monsoon.


We reached the base village thakurwadi by 2.00 pm.and were informed that we have missed our ST bus and the next one will come after 2 hrs. so another wait...few of us rested in the temple and few sat at the village shop. two hours of waiting was spent by snoozing,eating junk icecream costing Rs 2 each!!! Aap Mumbai city me aise ice cream zindagi hath nahi lagaoge lekin boredom mai you can eat any rubbish!!!

Thankfully the rickety ST bus came at around $.15 pm we all boarded the bus and finally reached Panvel ST stand.


Another  memorable Trek with lots of sweet memories and lots of sweet friends!!!


PS.Thanks to 21 trekkers  the organiser  for doing a wonderful job.


To see the complete Photos of Kalavantin Trek please click the link given below

https://picasaweb.google.com/112989754557849314605/TrekToKalavantinDurg?authkey=Gv1sRgCLfZ8tqvu_yy8wE

Factual Information of the Trek

Kalavantin Durg is a pinnacle which lies adjacent to the famous Prabal fort, off the Mumbai-Goa highway. The V-shaped notch between the triangular Kalavantin durg and the adjacent massive Prabal plateau, along with the saddle shaped top of Irshalgad are easily identifiable from the highway. It was used as a watch tower to keep a vigil on the adjoining forts and the surrounding area 


Height: 2300 feet

Range: Matheran/Karjat Range

District: Raigad

Grade: Medium

How to Reach: Reach Panvel by local train/ST bus. From Panvel ST stand, you can get ST buses to the base village of Thakurwadi. or alternatively you can get 10-seater autos (Tam-tam) from near the ST stand. You will have to use all you negotiation skills to strike a proper deal.


Time Watch: It takes around half an hour by bus to reach the base village i.e. Thakurwadi .

From Thakurwadi to Machi Prabal the climb is for 1.5 hrs.

Forts visible from the top: Badlapur hill, Haji Malang, Navra-Navri, Mhasmal, Chanderi, Nakhind, Peb

Kelve-Teen, Prabal and Karnala

The Gadeshwar lake and the dam located at the base of Chander-Mhasmal-Peb-Nakhind can also be seen. The plateau of Matheran and the col between Peb and Matheran can also be located.

Food and Water: Carry your own foodstuff. Water not available on the top. The well at Machi prabal village is the source of drinking water. The villagers can also cook food for the trekkers if requested.