Vajragad Vasai (Hira Dongri)

Few days back I got a call from my friend Shashi to get ready to go for trek to Vajragad. I said ok and disconnected the mobile, but suddenly I remembered that nowadays the entry to Vajragad is restricted so I called him again and said "Boss Vajragad can't be be done as it's under the military administration" He replied "Aare Aashishji yeah pune ke pass wala nahi hai, Aapan Vasai wala Vajragad karne wale hai", Now this got me thinking and all excited. I quickly got busy searching on google for information. Just couldn't believe another fort lying in my backyard and I am unaware of it. Somehow the wait was intolerable for me and Sunday looked very far. Luckily for me I saw my friend Mervyn online on Facebook , I pinged him and soon we got to discussing our weekend plans and believe it or not he too had Vajragad Vasai on his mind! and Bingo we were on!.

Next morning at 7.00 am both of us met at Andheri Station and took Virar Local, being Saturday morning the train was not much crowded so we reached Vasai Station quite comfortably.Moving out of the station we proceeded  toward the western side. There is this ST stand right outside the station.
From Vasai ST stand we were take bus to Girij Village, We were informed by the ST personnel that we can take bus going to Bhuigoan also as Girij village is en-route.Our bus left from Platform no 1 and we were told that the bus frequency is there at every 20 minutes,

At Vasai ST Stand

Soon the bus arrived and we were on our way to Girij village, Please note one thing here that when you buy bus ticket ask for Datta Mandir Girij and not Vajragad because locals hardly know the place by Vajragad.The bus journey is short and sweet passing through city,village and some lovely winding roads. ( The distance from Vasai station to Girij is around 6 kms).

Lovely misty roads

As soon as Girij Bus stop arrived the bus conductor informed us accordingly and indicated us to get down. It is always a good practice to tell the bus conductor to inform you whenever your destination arrives. Once you get down from the bus you need to cross the road and walk few steps backward 

This road goes toward Arnala

and you come across this not so imposing gate which is the entry gate to the temple. Though there is a board but chances of you missing the same is very high , so always ask passing villager for direction.

The not so imposing gate of Vajragad/Datta Mandir

The moment you enter this gate you are transformed into a complete different world, the calmness around you is so pleasing , especially with the early sunlight playing hide and seek with the coconut trees around you

Early morning bliss

Little walk through this forested route you hear the birds singing and chirping and before you realise you see the well carved out steps leading you to the top.

steps leading to the top

Setting my foot on the top I suddenly realised that there is just a Temple on the top and nothing else

My first reaction was "Hey it was suppose to be a watch tower so where are the fortification " Anyways we thought let us make the best of the situation and enjoy the bounty of beauty all around us. The top also offer a fantastic view of the nearby Vasai fort and Arnala fort.

Beauty of Nature

The temple was freshly painted and we were given to understand that it is managed by a private party however it is open to general public.

Well Maintained Temple

 At the entrance on the temple above there is a statue of Gajanan Maharaj

Statue of Gajanan Maharaj perched on top

The temple is very neat and clean ,well maintained.

 We then decided to explore the top little bit more and realised that there is more to the top then only the temple, Just next to the temple is an idol of hanumanji

Hanumanji's Idol under the tree next to the temple

Long shot of Hunuman idol under the Tree

and little further  behind this you see stairs going down to an open ground. 

Staircase behind the temple

View of stairs from below

and next to the stairs there is squarish kind of water well seeing the various pumps attached to it , it seems to be the main source water supply to the temple.Temple authorities have put out strict warning to avoid swimming as this well is deep.

Squarish well behind the temple.

Another view of the well with the temple behind

source of water supply as can be seen from the water pipes submerged in the well

and next to the well there is a Peepal tree beneath which another small temple is made.

temple under the tree

Just when I was standing here I noticed the two bastions with a small wall. Actually this is what has remained of the original Vajragad.

Reconstructed left Bastion of the Fort 

Right side Bastion 

Wandering on the top I never once felt that this place was a fort or watch tower as the history books mentions. The only sign of history I could relate to was the presence of the wall and the bastion. Otherwise this place is epitome of peace and tranquility. 

 After completing our exploration of this temple we descended the stairs which are behind the temple and came across this beautiful open ground which again presented us with some lovely sights.

We moved on from here having a last look at the Datta Mandir and moved on to the Shankarcharya Temple nearby. In my next blog I will be covering that, till then happy reading guys and Thank you so much.

Tak Mak Fort Trek:

Let me clarify at the outset of this blog that one must not get confused this Tak Mak Fort with the other Tak Mak of Raigad.

Takmak Fort near Virar must be one of the least visited Fort,But for me anything connected to history has to be explore,So this weekend the agenda was clear that I will be paying visit to this Fort despite the onslaught of heat wave.

As usual I left my house early and reached Virar station by 6.45 am. But unfortunately the other members of my group were not as enthusiastic as me so by the time everyone gathered it was way past 8.30 am.

To start this trek Virar is the nearest rail head and the connectivity is also better, One can also reach the base village from Vasai Station but my suggestion would be that its better to start from Virar Station.Upon reaching Virar station one must move toward the east side of the Virar station. Just outside the station you see the Local Bus stand. One can either take the VVMT yellow green bus to Shirsad Naka or can take share an auto till Shirsad Naka. 

Shirsad Naka on Highway

Buses are easily available till Shirsad Naka as this is kind of junction on western express highway where the staright highway road goes towards Palghar, Wada, Ahmedabad. while the road on the right side of this highway takes you to Bhiwandi, Varjeshwari.This junction has few shops and Food joints so one can also have breakfast here or can buy biscuits or snacks for the trek. 

Pvt Vehicles are easily available
from Shirsad Naka to Sakwar Village.

 From this Place there are pvt vehicles which ply towards Palghar side so one can ride on them to go to Sakwar Village. These Pvt vehicle may drop you on the Highway or at Rama Krishna Ashram.You are charged on per seat basis.As we had booked full Pvt vehicle from Shirsada Naka so the vehicle took us till the base village Sakwar. Just before the Sakwar village there is a flyover, the vehicle has to avoid this flyover and take a u turn underneath it and drive towards mumbai side direction for 500 mtrs and you see a mud road on left which will take you the Sakwar Village.

Dusty road leaving the highway
and going towards the Sakwar Village

Sakvar Village is a small village. The primary occupation  of people living here is that of growing paddy. The houses are typical of village . We were lucky to get local village kids as our guide from here.

Our Trek starts from this village here

Our trek starts from here , moving little into the village we come across a small school village(school will be on your left side)

Village School

 and just ahead of the school there is a Water hand pump our trek starts exactly opposite of this hand pump,

Water Hand Pump

 as we enter through the wicket gate onto the paddy fields, The top of the TakMak fort can be seen from here, Keeping the fort on your front -left side one should start walking towards it.

wicket gate

Here I want to make is clear please do take some guide from the village because the initial route itself is confusing as it is through the fields, sometimes even cutting across the paddy field.

Entering the Paddy fields

This initial trek through the open fields where so many criss cross villagers trails go here and there , finding a proper trail from that can be a problem secondly the initial trek of half hour being through open fields one is exposed to full furry of hot sun.

Cutting across the fields the team kept moving

Word of warning for the prospective trekker Please avoid doing this trek in summers or even in Oct/Nov heat, Monsoon is the best time to this trek or by the way of night trek.

Villagers working in torrid heat

After walking for over 30 minutes through the fields we enter forest region.

Entering the forest region

The vegetation is thick at places, one has to make way and go as this been lesser frequented fort.

Dense Vegetation at places 

and at some places you can see tall trees and the view it offers is amazing.

Tall trees make the view all the more beautiful.

 the sunlight filtering through them gives very good visual effect.
Thankfully walking through this forested region provide some succor from the heat that we had to bear. 

The effect of light filtering through the tree is simply amazing

 The ascent is gradual initially as we enter the forest.For the keen observer of nature the flora and fauna to be found here is amazing,

Taking the advantage of shade we took our first break.The walk through the forest lasted around 40 minutes. The ascent at some places was steep. The trail through the forest is not very clear and we didn't find any marker arrows to guide us here.

Forest walk

So here again I am reminding my trekker friends please take a guide, Don't try to be a brave heart. Walking through the forest at one point we were able to see the day light. I gave out sigh of relief, atlast the plateau must have come and we are on the top.But what was  this the moment we came out of the forest we saw this rocky section

Welcome ..... On the Rocks !!!

 and further steep climb till the start of first ridge.The trek is again through the exposed heat again.Warning: Please carry 3-4 ltrs of water especially if you are doing this trek in summers.

Steep climb after the rocky section

Just climbing this section you will come across the vast long ridge. Walking in the heat was now becoming a big pain.the breaks were becoming more frequent. one of the group member gave away the trek. She was feeling very drained out and insisted that she will sit near the ridge. So keeping one female companion with her rest of us continued our journey.

The ridge and the imposing TakMak Gad behind me

The sight of towering peak of Tak Mak seems very imposing and can break your morale. But we knew we have to do it , so onward we all moved. crossing this ridge the trail dips downward for few metres and we find the trail over rocks, making walking little tedious especially if the terrain below your feet is not even.

Rocky Trail

 I walked carefully so as to avoid getting my foot twisted. This uneven patch first declines and then moves upward,once when it gets over you come across another ridge

One must walk carefully on this rocky uneven trail

Somehow this trek was giving an impression of never ending trail kind of thing. Throat was getting dry, Sun was hitting hard that I was feeling dizzy. I kept hydrating myself in such a manner so as not to consume all my water and simultaneously keeping my throat wet.

Another Ridge

By the time the walk upto the ridge gets over you realise that your woes for the day are not over because the real steep ascend toward the top starts now.The climb is quite steep and at different points you have to encounter rocky patch.

Torturous rocky patch

 These rocky portion were becoming torture due to heated rocks,Keeping our palms on them was giving us frights,this climb toward the top was quite arduous and tiring in this heat.One look behind and you realise how many ridges you have crossed to reach here.

Bird eye view of Ridges we crossed

This arduous first climb through rock patch and Scree bring us to the first sign of fortification.Yes you see a wall which can be easily missed as there are scrubs gronw all around it.

Fortification wall

For a moment I was overjoyed that the top has come. but my joy was short lived because I soon realised that this is not top but the pinnacle that which we were seeing from the ridge. It is also known as Lingi. This is kind of small flat spot with lingi on right side and further trail on left side.

Lingi or the Pinnacle that we see from the ridge

From here we have to climb another 10 minutes  through scree and rock patch.Enough dry grass can be seen here and it indeed looked beautiful perhaps that must be reason that I couldn't resist clicking my picture.

Ek Photo break toh banta hai bhai

 A little climb from here brings us to another flat portion with cactus-tree and Orange flag in that, I again thought that we have reached the top  but when I saw pravin waving at me from the top I realised that Delhi abi door hai There was this little further climb of 5 minutes on rocky path and finally when you see two big rocks and twin water cistern you realise that you have reached the top.

My first sight on reaching the top

  My first reaction on reaching the top was simply to drop dead but couldnt do that , simply becauseI was standing exposed under the hot sun. I was so happy to see few of  our team people sitting far ahead under shade of a tree. Despite my thirst I just walked past the two water tanks and crashed into the shaded portion.

Thank god for giving me the shade to lie down

It almost took 3 hours and 15 minutes for us to cover this trek . One by one swaying and dragging rest of the members came one look at them and you question was it wise to trek in this season. But we trekkers as everyone knows are incorrigible breed. For us more the pain means more the pleasure.

Pleasure in pain

Quickly we all had our lunch , rested a while. Filled our bottles from the first water tank which we were told is potable. October end the tank still had water in it. But don't take your chances guys come with enough water, you never know you may find dried cistern.As usual we did some photo session and moved from there to explore the top. Not much is to be seen other than these two water cistern, One will find 2 old cannons 

Two old canons

 Moving ahead from here you walking through thick vegetation we come across a series of cistern

Series of Cistern

 but the water in them is not potable.

Water is not potable

And few other water cistern contained algae covered water. 

Algae covered  cistern 

 Moving forward from here you come across a rocky section but flat in nature 

Flat rocky section on top

walking on it ahead from here one can have  closer look of twin top which is behind Tak Mak Gad.When I enquired from The local guide what is the name of that twin peak he said Navra -Navri. I simply smiled and asked him why not Suresh and Ramesh. I would like to summit and explore that twin peak some day.

Twin Peak behind the Tak Mak Gad

It was now time to move back. Getting down was again a task because of lots of scree and loose stones. I slipped number of times and during one of such slip landed on my palms and in the process damaged my shoulders. ADVICE: Do not try to hasten your descend . Move slowly and carefully when getting down.It was 4.30 pm when we touched the base village. Luckily the Pvt vehicle came quickly as we had taken the drivers mobile no and return journey was smooth.