Bhramgiri Trek-Part 1

The biggest happiness that one can derive is when an often failed plan materialises and becomes a reality, Some thing similar happened with me when most often my plan to Bhramgiri trek used to get cancelled. Four years I waited and finally it happened for me. Thanks to my friend Sanjay Khadeji who informed me that they are going for this trek and I readily jumped upon this opportunity.

Me and Sanjayji

We left at 11.pm from Kalyan and it was 3.30 am when we reached the base of Bhramgiri trek. We felt it would be too dark so thought it wiser to catch a small cat nap and start around 6.00 am.

What I like about treks and especially the one like Bhramgiri is the stories attached to them.Now whether the stories are true or not is not my concern, it excites me and in a way help me to feel more about the place that I am visiting.

Time For Some Story Time:
Bhramgiri as the name sounds means the hill of Brahma, According to the mythology Saint Gautam and his wife Ahalaya resided on this hill.It so happened that saint Gautam unintentionally killed a cow ( Hai ! Gau Hatya)  so to wash away his sins he worshipped Lord Shiva to bring Ganga on earth from the heaven. Lord Shiva was impressed by the devotion of Gautam and hence requested Mata Ganga to to flow down to earth in form of Godavari to wash away the sins and purify him. Perhaps due to this reason the river is also called Gautami river.

Then there is another story which considers Brahmagiri Hill as a huge form of lord Shiva and hence climbing this mountain was considered to be a sin.(Hai! Paap).

In the year 1908 seth Lalchand of Karachi (dont forget pakistan was once part of India) and sheth Ganeshdas built 500 stone steps at the cost of Rs 40000.

Now our Story:

We started our trek from these Rs 40000 worth stone stairs which are thankfully reconstructed. It was still dark so we had our head lamps on, As the initial route was from the stairs so there was no worries of falling from the cliff.This been a holy pilgrim place so its not uncommon to find devotees climbing like us in wee hours of the day.

Trek starts from the stone stair case (with Niraj and Sanjog)

Early morning climb accompanied by cool breeze was the perfect recipe for us, laughing cracking jokes and some of us trying to take pictures in low light was the order of the day till now.As we were climbing through proper stairs, so hike was not at all a tough preposition.

Narrow passage before the first Darwaza

After climbing for an hour or so these stone stairs bring you to spot where there is a narrow passage and the first Darwaza. Enclosed passage with high stone walls can give eerie feelings. 

Mountain and a lake...a perfect union

 However just before entering this narrow passage the scene looks absolutely amazing, red skyline atop the mountain range and a lake below was a perfect setting, the time stood still.

Time stood still

 As I stood admiring the beauty around me I was jolted to reality when something happened which I was wishing away, Someone shouted "Arre dekho Bandar aage" Yes it was the attack of monkeys. Actually I don't know who was more afraid they or us. There were monkeys all over the rocks ready to pull ambush on us. Thankfully Nikam sir had borrowed stout stick from the tea seller at the base and like a trained warrior I must say he started hitting the stick  on the rock and ensuring that we all keep moving safely. It was not a long battle but when it lasted it did lasted and before we could realise we were at the first Gate.

 Photography was done under the most stressful conditions and once we entered the gate we could breathe easy.These rock stairs keep going even after the Darwaza.

Ancient Stone Entrance

Little climb and we could see a plateau. Just out of the stress everyone took out their Cameras and we had our photo session Koi pattar per chad kar toh koi fence par. Sanjayji had to push everyone to move from there and finally we moved our bums and started further walk towards the right side after coming out from these stone stairs and one can see the hanuman idol.

Walking through this part was really a joyful experience especially when you see yellow, white, purple flowers smiling and waving at you in sheer happiness ( Ab yeh mat bolna ki fake mar raha hai....arre kabhi william wordsworth ki Daffodil padhi hai kya, bas woh wala ahsaas tha...Kya samjhe !!)   

phoolo ke dere hain, saaye ghanere hain ,
jhoom rahi hain havaayen,aise nazaaro mein,
 khilti bahaaro mein pyaar mile to ruk jaayen

Nazare ka luft lejiye hazoor...
Oye Niraj mudkar kya dekh raha hai

I must have hardly moved out walking from this blissful experience of flowers and country side view and taking this stone laden path,that another mesmerising moment was waiting to happen.

Stone laden path going towards the Temple

 Yes!! The moment that I always look forward to with a baited breath, the moment when the sun rise, cutting across the maze of clouds and spilling the golden gleam over the humanity.... ( kuch jyada toh nahi ho gaya na... arre bhawnao me bah gaya yaaro.)But just have a look at pictures and tell me ...Kon nahi hoga yamlaa pagala deewana.😄

Thank God for such amazing morning

Sunrise at mountain top 

After enjoying the Mountain top sunrise we reached the plateau which spreads like a big playground sloping downwards and standing atop from here on our left side is the Bhramagiri Temple and on the right side is Jatayu temple.

Amazing view from the Plateau

Bhramagiri Temple on the left from where we stood

Jata Mandir on the right side 

There are actually stairs leading towards the Bhramgiri Temple. one has to descend little and you reach Bhramgiri Temple. 

View of Bhramgiri Temple

The temple is almost perched on the edge and standing along the railing one can see the Harihar, Basgad Forts.

 I was told that in Shravan season one can see hordes of pilgrims coming to this place, luckily for us it was deserted today. Once you enter the temple you see a small kund and on the right side of the gate the sacred Shivling is there and as usual the nandi outside it.

Shivling of Bhramagiri Temple

Nandi 

And just opposite this Shivling  is the idol of  Devi Godamai and just below that there is Goumuk from which the river originates and pours into the Kund. 

Devi Godamai with water flowing from Goumukh

We paid our respect and moved on to another temple little ahead of this.Few steps forward  and on our left we see another kund , though neglected in today's time, I couldn't find any historical reference to it. Probably it may be a storage tank in the olden days.

Old neglected Pond

After checking out this enclosed water pond and taking the picture I moved out from here and I come across the Mulganga temple, purported to be the source of sacred River Godavari.Source situated at an altitude of 1298 mts.

Mulganga..Source of Godavari River

If you ask me I was very excited to come and watch the source of Godavari River  but Yeh kya such ill kept place , Arre I really felt bad for Mother Godavari. With so much Pilgrims coming and visiting I dont understand why can't they maintain it in a much better manner.Such holy place aur yeh haal...Uff 

Oh! Is this the source of Godavari River

One look around this temple we see different idols all around. Most prominently perched on a slab is the idols of Rishi Gautam and his wife Ahalya.
 

Rishi Gautam and Wife Ahalya

You must be wondering what significance does this Idol of Rishi Gautam and his wife holds at the spot of source of Godavari River, Well India is country of tales. Ab yahan bhi ek kahani hai (here is also there another story) Ab jaise film Kahani pasand aayi thi toh aap ko Kahani 2 ka intezaar tha , waise hi agar yeh blog pasand aaya ho to intezaar kare meri bhi Kahani 2 ka.

So Stay tuned and wait for the folklore of Rishi gautam , Shiv Jata Mandir and finally the Thrilling DurgBandar in my next blog.

Thank You

Bhaskargad Aka Basgad

Though it was friendship day this Sunday yet none of my regular friends had planned anything therefore when late in the night I got call from Swapnali, I immediately agreed to join her for the trek to Bhaskargad Trek.( Honestly I am a sucker for any offbeat kind of trek, so it was simply impossible for me not to go) 

Lure of Offbeat Destinations

However one thing amused me in her invitation, When I said I am in, she very curtly messaged that you have to catch 5.20 am Kasara Local and don't miss the train at any cost !! Saala aise sunker trekker ego hurt no gaya, and I also replied back in the same curt manner and cheekily said "You can leave me if I miss the train" 

because I have been trekking quite long now and know the importance of the timing. But then dosto me aise nok jok chalti rehti hai. Friends you would be wondering what's the big deal about 5.20 am Kasara local, well the fact of the matter is that that if you miss this train the next one is almost at 7.00 am and due to this the whole trek can go for a toss.


Anyways we caught this train, I been the first one to reach Dadar station, After all who can withstand the wrath of a women.Rest of the gang also joined in and we were six people altogether. It was 7.45 when we reached Kasara. As we had not made any booking of Pvt Jeep prior hand so we had to depend on the local public transport. Talking about local public transport let me tell you that there is no direct transport to Nirgudpada, One has to take a jeep till Khodala Village and then take another jeep from there to the base village Nirgudpada.We rushed out of the station and boarded the local jeep, the driver kept cramming the people to the  extent that the jeep may explode.
16 people in an 8 seater 

Bundled together in jam packed Jeep

 Imagine how crazy India can go. Bhushan who works in Mahindra, we kept joking  with him ki Mahindra walo ko bol kitna kum space diya hai Ghadi me, model ko rework karo.
16 people in a jeep !! and no idea kiska kya  kider hai ... obviously pun intended.But friends Trek ke yeah hi majje hai, all the discomfort of the world only encourages us to be more tough and courageous. All the jerks and bumps not withstanding the journey through the Kasara ghat is one of the most amazing journey full of lush greenery, flowing rivers, multiple waterfalls and overhang of the clouds all around only add to the aura of mystic and beauty.

Lush greenery coupled with flowing river

Everything surrounded in a mist

In 45 minutes we reached Khodala village and from here we had to now catch another Jeep, Luckily for us one local jeep was there , ready to go for Trimbakeshewar Temple.

Jeeps waiting at Khodala Village to go to Trimbakeshwar

So we boarded the jeep and continued our journey further, Nirgudpada comes 20 kms before Trimbakeshwar so one can take jeeps going to trimbakeshwar. Our journey took another 40 minutes and It was around 9.30 when we reached the base village.

Base village Nirgudpada

Suddenly the rain welcomed us on our touch down at the base village so we all quickly rearranged our bags, all mobile going in and all raincoats coming out and we were all ready for our trek.

All set for the trek

Let me tell you Nirgudpada is a base village to another very famous Fort, Harihar and the proof of its popularity is the number of jeeps and buses parked at the village. 

Buses and Jeeps crowding the base Village

Harihar fort is famous for its 70 degree rock cut steps, Now its a different matter that with so many trekkers thronging this fort, I dread to think about the plight of people stuck in a human traffic jam on those stairs.

Trekker Traffic jam at Harihar

Thankfully for us no such worries, because we were not with the crowds, we were on our way to Bhaskergad aka Basgad Fort. Neglected and lesser explored by the regular trekkers.

Once you reach the Nirgudpada, one has to walk little backward and you come across the fork road,

Fork Road

Left side road is the one which is coming from Kasara so we should take the road on our right from this Fork junction and as you are walking  you will see Harihar and Fani Dongar on your right too. 

Fani Dongar from the road

the walk on this tar road is of about 15-20 minutes and you can in fact see the bhaskergad fort right in front of you.

Who would not like to take such pleasant walk

Basgad or Bhasker Gad fort on Top left side

 We took our sweet time clicking pictures 
Actually the scenery on both the side was so eye pleasing ki photo ka break toh banta hi tha

amazing eye catching views

as we were not knowing the route so we kept inquiring with the locals whenever we happen to see some hut.

Checking with locals about the route

After walking on this tar road at one point the tar road gets over and the katcha road starts.

Katcha road after the tar section gets over

A little walk from here and we come across a bridge and just 100 metres ahead of  this you have to take left detour to start the trek.

Katcha road and the bridge

Just taking the detour to your left from the road there is a muddy  trail leading into the woods. This is the start point of the trek from where the actual climb starts.

Your trek starts from this muddy trail

View after a little climb

This muddy path is just a gentle climb initially with some rocky sections but can be trekked easily.

Rocky section

and a climb of another 15 minutes we come across open area. from where following  the trail we took left turn and started trekking further.

Moving to the left from the plateau

After a little distance we soon reached a point where there was this small waterfall. We refreshed ourselves here

Time to refresh

We also took some group pictures as this place offered amazing views.

Mesmerizing beauty of Fani and Harihar 

With this micro break we started moving forward, all this while Fani peak was on our left, but soon we realised that we were on the wrong trail as we neared dead end, we retraced few distance and saw one trail going towards the right so we took right turn and started further climb

Taking right turn we come across a large clearing 

 Looking upward we could see the end of mountain and the skyline so we decided to reach there first.Taking switch back route we started our climb. 

Switch back climb

One observation that I want to make here is that in order to reach the fort the best bet for this trek is to just remember that the point from where you started your climbing you have to reach the plateau
and keep walking towards the left and while you are doing so, most of the time Fani Dongar and Harihar will be on your left and keep your eye on the top and once you reach the top another plateau is there.

walking on the plateau toward the rock formation ahead of me

start walking towards your left and as you do so you will see this gigantic Rock Formation. 

Gigantic Rock Formation

Once you reach near the rock formation start traversing from the right side and you would notice cave cut out in this rock and on your right is deep valley.

Traversing from the right

While traversing this path we have to be very careful because at few portions there are stream water flowing and crossing them becomes an extremely risky,

Risky crossings

especially in rainy season due to the moss collected on the rocks the stone becomes extremely slippery. Its my humble advise to future trekkers, please carry rope as a precaution.It could be very helpful for crossing this kind of slippery portion.

It's a different matter that we were not carrying rope with us but we took help of each other and managed to cross. In summer crossing this kind of stone section may not be difficult.

Helping each other cross the slippery patches

After traversing for few minutes we came across the entrance steps. This steps are cut through the mountain stone, The steps are quite high almost 2 feet  each, these stones steps are currently in a very bad state and with moss on it it has become all the more slippery.

Slippery stone cut steps

View from the top of the steps

OMG !!! how I wish
I was little taller to conquer these steps

 we gradually climbed and entered a narrow stone wall passage ( I think keeping  this passage narrow must have helped to trap or control the enemy from entering the fort). 

climbing through narrow passage

In ruins, Neglected !!

This narrow passage section is in complete ruins today. after passing through this passage we come across the main entrance of the fort. The only peculiar thing about this fort entrance is that it is buried in the soil perhaps due to negligence  over passage of time. 

Main gate partly buried in the soil

In order to enter this gate we have to crawl and enter because as you can see there is very less height. Upon entering I saw one more steps though they were not many.

Small steps after entering

Main gate as seen from top of stairs

View after coming out from that stairs

 After coming out from that stairs We saw that there is a little more section of climb to be undertaken to reach the topmost portion. So making our way through the overgrown grass we climbed further and reached the top. All through this walking and climbing among the overgrown grass the worry of snake popping it's head was always on my mind, I treaded carefully and thanked my stars on reaching the top.

View from the top is always beautiful

As I always say that the view from the top is always beautiful and it was no different here because far on the horizon one can see Fani Dongar perched majestically on the top and the huge Harihar and beyond that Bharmagiri fort in its full glory everything was enveloped in clouds the breeze so lovely and lush greenery spread far and wide made the atmosphere magical.

Fani behind that Harihar and behind that Bhramgiri

Nature at its best

We started to explore the top, right at the entrance there was this water cistern.

Water Cistern

From this water cistern we started moving towards the right of the top,the next thing we see is the ruined structure 

Ruined structure

After walking along this structure we come across another natural water pond and beyond that there was an Hanuman Idol.

Natural water pond with
Hanuman idol behind it

I offered my prayers and thanked for the safe trek.

Hanuman Idol

After exploring the top Swapnali and me returned back only to notice rest our gang was getting restless because it was nearing lunch time and here both of us were busy clicking photos.

Our restless friends and
Swapnali watching them

Sitting on Top of the fort and having lunch with friends is the most fulfilling experience, Some discussion , some time management strategy for the descend and we were over with our lunch and bid adieu to the top but not before Selfie le le re (La Salman Style)

Le le le le Selfie lele

Soon we began our return journey. we were very quick on our way
back finishing the descend in almost 1:15 minutes and then relaxing in the stream which was flowing.

Return transport is a big issue from Nirgudpada, we were lucky to get transport from there to khondala village and jeep back to Kasara to catch 6.18 local to CST.

We were told that there is a bus at 5 pm from Nirgudpada for Kasara, But we didn't wait for that. If you have any information regarding bus please help me to update.

All in all a lovely Friendship day trek. Special thanks to Tushar Patil for ensuring that we find the way and don't get lost.