Sagargad Trek

'ALIBAG" - The moment you utter this word to a mumbaikar, his mind will explode with excitement conjuring images of Sea, beaches, seafood,boats,horse-cart,water-sport etc and you can almost hear him humming Lets party all night !!!
However there is another interesting facet to Alibag. This laid back town of Alibag boasts of some of the finest Sea forts like Korlai Fort, Kulaba Fort, twin Fort of Undheri and Khanderi,Revdanda fort Little ahead of Alibag at Murud is the famous Jhangira Fort and last but not the least Sagargad fort which incidentally we are going to trek this Sunday.

Sagargad Fort and the Vanartok Pinnacle

HISTORY:
This fort is believed to be in existence since ancient times i.e. during the Satvahan dynasty. However if we try to find any reference in history about this fort,then one can find  it's mention in Treaty of Purander (1655 AD)under which Shivaji handed over 33 forts to Moghuls. It is also believed to have been handed over to Angre, naval chief of maratha at latter stage of history so that he don't part with his support to Shahu Chhatrapati of Satara and remain  loyal to them.Later this fort was lost to British in the Mid 19th century, during that period some British Officers built retreat homes on the fort.

Dil toh pagal hai

Dil toh Pagal hai :
It's been more than a month since I had trekked, reason being my aching heels.However when I got this invitation from my friends to do trek to Sagargad " toh mai khud ko rok na paya'.....Dil toh pagal hai , dil deewana hai.. ( I wanted to say this to the doctor who had suggested bed rest to me).The weekend wanderer spirit of mine was now in forefront "aur majal hai kisi ki ,agar koi usse rok paye" so off I was on my way to Sagargad.

Our trek was supposed to be a Bike cum Night trek whereby we will travel on motorcycle till the base village and from there we will start the trekking during the night.It was decided that everyone will assemble at Panvel ST stand and from there all will drive together to the base village Khandale.

There is many a slip between a cup and a lip:
I was all set to leave my house when my mobile rang and I was informed that my partner with whom I was supposed to ride pillion on the bike has backed out.For a second I was stunned !  I could see my trek plans jumping out of the window, Tick Tick ..... the mind clock was hammering hard. 'Ab kya karu " I was desperate to go, but the question was How ? , "Triple seat bike par jana bhi possible nahi" , as it is a long drive.I was adamant that I am not going to cancel my program what may come, so I informed my friends that I will meet them at the base village bike or no bike.

Journey from Panvel  to Base Village Khandale:
I took 6.16 pm Panvel Local train from Andheri station and reached Panvel station at 8.00pm. I soon dashed from the station to the Panvel ST stand which is hardly 5 minutes away from the station to catch bus going to Khandale Village (Base Village for Sagargad Trek).Though I was told that the frequency of buses going to Alibag is good, yet here I was waiting for more than 30 minutes at the ST stand for the bus to come aur jab bus aayi toh dil bola oouch!! because the bus which had just arrived was fully packed already as it was coming from Borivali.I was in two minds that should I wait for the bus starting from Panvel or just get into it. Lekin bus aur ladki ka kya bhrosa, kab phir doosri aaye, ab jo mil rahi hai usi ke sath ho lo mere bhai :P

and when the bus stopped I realised that half the mumbai wants to get into that bus " Arre bhai Sachin Tendulkar nahi ja raha use bus me " Somehow I managed to get into the bus. This bus journey was really a big pain for me "Ek toh mai akela upar se murge ki tarah ek tang per Khada ", yes with hardly a toe to keep on the floor of the bus I was dangling, I mean literally dangling with the rod, hardly able to breathe (Kyo ki saans liya nahi puri mumbai ke paseene ki khushboo mujhe behosh kar deti )
imagine  to travel like this for 2.5 hrs and upon that my still paining heels.Sach me Dil toh pagal hai.

Khandale Village signboard, take left from the board

Khandale Village to Siddheshwer temple:
It was 11.00 at night when I reached Khandale Village. Most buses going to Alibag stop here but you will have to inform the conducter.One cannot miss the bus stop because there is a signboard.If you are coming from Panvel or Pen via Vadkhal naka then take left turn from this signboard to start your trek.This is a motor-able road which goes through the Khandale village and it could be somewhere around 3-4 kms till the end of the village.So if you are coming by ST bus then you may have to walk this road or can take an autoriksha if available.(because raat me jab mai utara tha toh goan ke kutto ko chodkar aur koi nahi tha). Another option to reach Khandale Village is that one can come to gateway of India take a early morning 6.30 launch to Mandwa Jetty and from there the launch service have a connecting bus service which will drop you to Alibag. One can hire a auto till the end of Khandale village and can also negotiate with them for the return journey.I was lucky that my biker friends were there at the Khandale bus stop and with them triple seated I reached the end of the village where we parked our bikes at a village house.

Bullock cart / Dirt road begins

Just ahead of the motor-able road the bullock cart / Dirt road begins, You should start walking on it, this path will take you through the fields,open clearing, and forest.

Open Clearing

This 20 minutes of walk will lead you to the stone stairs. During monsoon season a stream is flowing just before this, however as we were doing this trek in winter the stream had dried up.Basically the true climb on this trek starts from this point.

The stone stairs from where the actually climb starts

Climbing only few steps you will notice that there is a small diversion on right side just after the cemented steps. This diversion takes you to Dhondana Waterfall. 

Just ahead of this cemented steps diversion on right side for waterfall

This is a wonderful waterfall of over 100 feets drop. During monsoon one can see the waterfall from this point itself. one needs to descend for over 20 minutes to reach the base of this waterfall. 
The water from behind the Siddheshwar temple is kind of feeder to this waterfall.

Sagargad waterfall (Dhondana Waterfall)

 As we were going to Sagargad so we ignored this and kept climbing straight.Its a 45 mins-1 hr climb on  this stone stairs to the Siddheshwar temple /Asham. these stone steps are regular kind some where and at some places its just a kind of natural elevation.

Uneven Stone stairs

The rough mental count that I took of these step were roughly around 350.As we were doing this trek during the night and the temperature was very cool we didn't feel the tiredness much, but if you are climbing this steps during the day time in winter/summer it could be tiring for the beginners.

Siddheshwar Temple

This 1 hour climb brings you to the mid point of the trek and that is Siddheshwar Temple and Ashram.The trek till siddheshwar temple is pretty straight forward with no chance of losing your way,as the steps are well mark.Just before the Siddheshwar temple there is a foot trail moving towards the left which is the way to Sagargad. 

Left from here takes you to Sagargad and straight towards Siddheshwar Temple

But as we wanted to visit the Temple first so we left this detour and moved little forward straight and on our right side descending few steps is Siddheshwar Temple.It is a Shiva God's Temple, where the people of nearby village come to offer prayers. Trekkers often rest here before proceeding to Sagargad machi. As the temple offers shade and can accommodate more than 25 people.One can also refill there water bottles. 

Side view of Siddeshwar Temple

Behind the Siddheshwar Temple there is a ashram and a well. Moving little behind the Siddheshwar temple one come across a small waterfall,as we were trekking in winter so there was just a pool of water to show for waterfall.In monsoon people enjoy the smaller water fall here. Matter of fact this flowing water ultimately flows toward the bigger waterfall , thus acting as a feeder to Dhondana waterfall.

Stream behind the Ashram

 After offering our prayers we retraced our steps back till that diversion which we had earlier bypassed and started our climb further to Sagargad machi. the climb from here is hardly for 5 minutes and then the trek reduces to plain walking for the around 10 minutes  and you will find yourself at the Sagargad Machi /village.

Plain walk

The landmark to this village is that just before you reach this village on your left side you will notice a big well.The villagers collect water from this well till the beginning of summer because later this well gets dried and for the rest of the period villagers collect water from the well at ashram.

Well before the Sagargad machi

It was a full moon night so trekking was more enjoyable, We were able to see Sagargad village in horizon and we started moving towards it. as we were trekking at night the time being around 1.30 when we entered the village. seeing 12 people with bags on their back all the dogs of the village started barking on us but we kept walking straight from the the direction we entered the village and reached the end of the village where one can see a small Village anganwadi/school. 

Anganwadi/school

 just to the right of this school but little adjacent there is a dirt track which goes ahead so keep following this route and walking straight

Dirt road at the end of the village

 Little walk from here will bring you to a large a large clearing, keep walking straight further, there is full possibility that you may get confused here because from the clearing you may not find any route further but straight walking will bring you to the point where you will see large vegetation growth but enter into it ( this entry point is kind of almost hidden due to bushy growth).

Trail hidden by bushy growth

 Keep trekking through this forested portion and follow the trail and you will reach a point whereby you can see Sagargad Fort Wall and Vanertok perched on your right side.Please remember this section of trek requires you to traverse  talking left turn . The gradient it is very easy her. once you cross the village there is literally no climbing at all. So for a beginner it is a paradise.

While traversing you can see Sagargad Fort on right side

Once the traverse is complete, walking little further (all this time Sagargad Fort will be there at your right side)you will suddenly come across fort wall. 

Fort Wall

Walk along this fort wall on your left side till you find opening of stone steps leading into the fort and from there to the Sagargad top.

View of the entry  gate of the Sagargad Fort 

As you pass through this entrance take right turn and keep walking, initial walk will be through overgrown vegetation and you may get a feel of walking through the forest. 

Walking through the forest

Keeping your basic trekking instinct in mind keep walking towards the Vanatok. Just a  5 minutes walk through this thick forested region will bring you to the Shiva temple on the top of the Sagargad fort.

Shiva Temple on Sagargad Top

This Shiva temple has few relics, Nandi idol,Shiv Ling, Ganpati Idol. The Temple is not very well maintained.If any one wants to stay can do so. but the ground is not well kept. This temple can house 3-4 people.

Nandi Idol

 If you are facing the temple then moving towards to your left and getting down few steps you will see a watertank. The water in this tank is potable. 

Water Tank

The noticeable thing about this water-tank is that there is a water coming into it from a tube which is of the shape of cow's mouth. This water-tank is therefore also called as Gaumukh. I was informed by a villager that water is available in this tank till most part of summer.(But my advise would be better refill your bottles at Ashram or at Sagargad Machi. Standing at this watertank with your back toward the Shiva Temple you may not be able to see Vanartok but don't worry its the contours of the mountain that's hiding it.Keep walking towards the direction of Vanartok, little left first and then right till you come across ruins of british quarters . One can see gigantic plateau which offers a fantastic sight.

British quarters ruins

It was 3 am when we reached the Sagargad Top. The breeze was blowing at a very good speed and the view on the top under the full moon looked simply mind blowing. We all  squatted on the ground and took out our bed sheets and prepared to spend the night on the plateau in open. Man what a feeling it was. Lying on the ground ,chill setting in and watching the stars above will the ever bright light full moon above. ( Life ho toh aise ) 

Sleeping under the sky ( Life ho toh aise ) 

Next morning we got up at 6.00 am with sun coming out from the horizon the skyline bathed in orange. 

Orange sky line

Its time to explore the top Plateau of Sagargad now.

What to see on the Sagargad Top.
1. Vanartok: Its on the southern side of the fort.This Pinnacle is independent of the sagargad plateau.Professional climbers climb it.The only problem of climbing this pinnacle is that it is not bolted therefore the lead climber has to risk his life to climb and anchor. In-fact our group members scaled this pinnacle today.

Vanartok

2. Goumukh: The Watertank as explained above.

3.Water Pond : On the sagargad Top one finds a big pond.The water is very muddy. Don't try to take a dip in the pond  because we were informed by local villager that there are snakes in it.

Muddy Water Pond on Sagargad Top

4. Fortification :
                        a) Not much fortification is left most of it has been destroyed except the walls on the northern side. However one can notice overgrowth of vegetation along the walls of the fort.

Walls of the fort.

                       b) Ruins of the British Quarters

Ruins

5.Standing on the top one can have beauitful views of  manikgad ,Karnala,Mirgad on the  Eastern side.Arabian sea, Revdanda Fort on the Western side.One can see glimpses of Kundalika river on far horizon.

After completion of fort exploration and Pinnacle climb we made our way back to the base. 

Pinnacle Climb

I have to again struggle to get the bus back to Panvel,but managed to get a seat this time , so shut my eyes and had a good nap till Panvel . Another fantastic trek comes to end and lets get ready for the next weekend wandering.


BASE VILLAGE : Khandale , Tal.Alibag, Dist. Raigad

TYPE: Hill Fort

ALTITUDE :   415 Mtrs

ROUTE : 

Mumbai -Panvel-Pen-Vadkkhal Naka- Khandale Village.

Pune-Khopoli-Pen-Vadkkhal Naka-KhandaleVillage.

Kolhapur-Karad-Chiplun-Mahad-Vadkhal Naka-Khandale Village

Goa-Rajapur-Chiplun-Mahad-Vadkhal Naka- Khandale Village

RAIL HEAD:         Panvel or Pen

ROAD HEAD:       Panvel, Pen

TREK ITINERARY : One day trek  

BEST SEASON :    Monsoon ( because one can enjoy Dhodhane water fall ) and winter

ALTERNATE TREK ROUTES:
                                 1)  Sagargad Trek can also be done from  Bamangoan Route.
                                 2) Second route is from Waghote Village but both these routes less frequented.

Thank You

Nakind Tok via Kothaligad

Sunday was around the corner yet I had no intentions for going
to the trek and I  thought I would be resting at home.It was a chance chat on Facebook with Jignesh Lakhani that my trek to Nakind Tok via Kothaligad materialized.I smiled to myself  "Beta aashish ek baar fir tu fisal gaya trek ke naam

 per" and with this a small poem played in my mind.         "Ab yeah kisne likhi hai, I don't know but mere dil ka hal bayan karti hai, jab bhi mai mountains ko dekhta hoon...  kuch aise

Koi Deewana Kehte Hai , Koi Pagal samajhte hai,

Magar Dharti Ki Bechani Bas Badal Samajhte hai,

Mein Tujhse door kaise Hoon, Tu Mujshe door kaise hai,

Ye Tera Dil Samajhta Hai , Ya Mera Dil Samajhta Hai.

and I was off to new trek.

Car Drive To Base Village 

It was 10 pm when I met Jignesh on the Highway at Jogeshwari, Rest of the team members were to join us at Kalyan It was pretty long drive but shortened because of the long chat that we had, whereby we were sharing notes on treks that we did.It was pitch dark when we reached Kalyan Phata where we were to pick the rest of our team Milind,Puja and Praful.

we missed the guys and drove away

Due to darkness on the road and our deep concentration in chatting about treks, we missed these guys !!! and drove away. But luckily for us they had seen our car so they called us on our mobile and we made a detour and picked them up. "Bach gaye jaldi pakad liye warna aur ek ghante ki band baj jati " Once when all of us were in the car then it was full dhamaal.

Besure Raag

 I can never forget that series of Aashique 2 songs being played on the deck and all of us singing in chorus in the middle of nowhere, 

"Andheri Raat me Besure sath me ", 

 but to be honest Is besure Raag me bhi aapna maja hai.Itna maja ki safar kab kat gaya pata hi nahi chala.

It was 1.00 am when we reached the 

base village Ambiwili. There is this small hotel at the start of the village where we parked our car nearby and took out our mats and slept on the floor outside the hotel.Luckily for us the night was not so cold.so we were able to catch some sleep.

It was about 6.00 am when I felt something wet on my hands and startled  I woke up only to see that it was the stray dog who was licking my hand. Horrified and amused for a second I muttered something which can be explained only by a  Censor beep.

 Anyways these are the occasional trek hazard that a trekker should be ready for. 

 "Yeah toh mera good luck ki yeah Kutta nikala samp nahi. "

We got ready in the morning, Had steaming hot Poha and Upma at the hotel where we slept last night. Jignesh had made all the arrangement so perfect with the hotel guy that nothing was left to chance.He had also arranged for the guide for us. So from here we started our trek at 7 am.

On the way from Ambewadi to Peth Village on kucha road.

Ambiwali to Peth Village:

The trek from Ambiwali to Peth Village is quite simple.You hardly walk 200 metres from the road that you see a little diversion on your left side. One has to take this route and ignore the road going ahead. this road is kind of kacha road. stone laden one can say.The ascent from here is quite gradual that a first time trekker can also do it very easily. Walking for about an hour one reaches the plateau.The view from the plateau is amazing and one can see lovely Kothaligad perched high up.

Kothaligad Perched High atop.

 I am giving below pictures of the view from the Plateau 

View From 1st Plateau

View From 1st Plateau

 This plateau is a good resting point because one can feel the lovely breeze and beautiful valley view below , numerous waterfalls all around especially if you go in monsoon. From here, one must be careful because generally people go straight along the plateau because they see Kothaligad fort in front of them. Let me caution you because that route may take you to the jungle. The error is quite possible in summer especially when trail is not easily visible due to dry grass growth. One must take left turn along the road from which you were coming. A little further walk of 10 minutes and you can see the Peth Village and the Kothaligad fort behind it.

 The path opens up to the  Peth village
 and Kothaligad Fort behind it

Peth Village to Nakind Tok:

Those of you who wish to go to Kothaligad should take the route to the village and passing through the village can go upto kothaligad. You can refer to my  Kothaligad or peth Fort Trek. As our destination was Nakind Tok so we bypassed the village and took a left turn from the just ahead of the house shown in the picture above.

Bypassing the village we moved further, Keep an eye on the Wind mills on the top right of the picture. That's our Destination

Some landmarks for reference ,
In summer the hay is stacked on this log stand.

As we were walking the Kothaligad fort towered on our right side, in a way we traverse the base of the hill and move behind it to go towards the Nakind Tok. 

Kothaligad fort towered on our right side

Crossing this village one has to cross few paddy fields. This could be tricky without a guide. Therefore my suggestion would be its better to hire a guide.Due to lack of any marked trail one can only keep an eye on the Windmills ahead and move on.

 Walking towards the fields we passed this tree 

Keep an eye on the Windmills ahead and move on.

Once crossing few paddy fields ( let me be clear ki yahan agar guide sath nahi hota toh I would have never understood ke kiske khet me khusna hai aur kiske khet me guskar bahar nikalna hai ) we enter into a forest.From the Peth Village till the time we entered forest there is no climb just plain walk among the fields as shown above. Its a 15 minutes walk till the start of forest and walking for another 10 minutes into the forest we reached a water stream.

Crossing the stream 

on reaching the stream we cooled ourselves because the climate was quite humid and the sun was hitting us. The only saving grace was the forest cover which saved us the sunburns.Splashing the water on our head we felt rejuvenated to start the trek further. Just from behind this waterfall we move further till the place where we come across a small rocky slippery portion which we cross over to other side

Small rocky slippery portion which we cross over to other side 

From this point onward the actual climb starts.and a good climb of 1-1.5 hrs till the time you reach second plateau.We kept taking little breaks because humid conditions were not allowing us to zip through.while climbing at 2 -3 places we felt we will be hitting the top but nothing such happened and we were always confronted by further uphill climb. But atlast the 2nd plateau arrived and this was the the first sight which we saw.

First sight on reaching the Plateau 

  This Plateau is quite big and vast. As one enters this Plateau on your left side the Kothilgad fort can be seen and on the right side on top the giant wind mills are quite prominent.

Kothaligad Fort as seen from the Plateau

Valley View from the Plateau

Glimpse of  the Plateau Top 

Glimpse of  the Plateau Top 

Being rainy season we were lucky to come across a small water stream flowing on the top we filled our bottles and had some photography session clicking lovely sahyadri flowers

Yellow flowers on Plateau

Spending some quality time at the plateau we started moving further little ahead because our destination was to reach the Top. Our guide said that this is the top but as we could see the windmills above us

Windmills above us.

We kept pushing him to take us there. Hardly a further climb of 15 minutes and we came across a small water tank, 

walking around it and moving towards the right we climbed and we were near the Needhe or our Nakind Tok.

At Nakhind Tok/ Nedhe

Once we reached the Nakhind Tok we all rested in the shade, had our lunch, some bantering was going on between Milind, Praful and Puja.Jignesh sir all the time was wondering why cant we go further up from here.He kept asking the guide " Warti Jayla rasta asel na kaka" ( There must be a way to go up ) and believe me Kaka had this expression " Mere ko maff karo na baba "

 I must however say that it was on the insistence of Jignesh that we had reached this Point. Warna Kaka ka top toh plateau per hi khatam ho gaya tha.

 Time was 2.30 pm and It was now time to get back to the base village. But by the time we reached the 2nd Plateau the climate was getting overcast.the clouds seems to gather more thickly.The Kothaligad Fort which we were earlier able to see was getting hidden among the clouds.

Gathering Clouds

We were getting little worried that it could start to rain. So we quickly started to descend.But the rains caught up with us.What was more worrying factor for us was that it was getting quite darker in the day time and there is a portion that we have to cover from forest.Upar se hum logo ne Top per Guide ki chutti kar di thi ,Aur ab Hamari chutti hone ki puri possiblity lag rahi thi....It s quite easy to lose your way in dark.  

Sky was getting Darker

We kept our trekking speed constant without wasting time and it was almost dark when we made it to the Peth Village.I let out a sigh of relief that atleast from here onwards things will not be tricky.As the route from peth village to ambiwali is more of a stone laden way. Lekin Mai Galat Tha !!!

Its beyond description for me to explain the mood of the climate, suddendly the wind was blowing at breakneck speed, Heavens have opened up like anything and it started to rain very very heavily that to keep our eyes open itself was a task and if this was not enough the skyline exploded with threatening Lightning with thunders....

Bolo aur kuch chaiye kisi ko trek me. 

Somehow our team completed rest of the trek gradually with water flowing constantly under our feet throughout the distance till ambewadi.

Wet to almost the deepest clothing we finished the trek in pitch darkness when actually the time was just 6 pm !!!.

I want to Thank Jignesh Bhai, Milind, Praful and the brave girl Puja for been such a wonderful company in such a wonderful trek.

Thank you