Flamingo Watch at Sewri Mudflats

Let me confess at the outset of this blog that Iam no avid bird watcher nor a creature who can tell a difference between a parrot or parakeet.But whenever I used to see this lovely pictures of Pink Flamingos which my friends kept posting on FB I felt a pang of losing out on something and which ultimately prompted me to visit Sewri Mudflats. "Ab bechara Flamingo Siberia se Mumbai tak udkar aata hai, Toh kya mai mumbai me rahkar usko milne nahi ja sakta, Boss jana toh banta hai akhir me woh hamra mehman hai "

I called up my friend Pooja and asked her if she could join me, to my surprise she readily agreed (I think she hates to get up early), Both of us took an early train from Andheri to Sewri Station.

Walking from end of platform towards railway level crossing

In order to reach Sewri mudflats we have to get down at Sewri station on the east side and come out from the end of the platform and start walking towards the railway level crossing 

Railway crossing at the end of platform

Standing at this railway crossing you will notice the flyover passing above , you have to cross the road passing under this flyover and walk in straight direction leaving the level crossing gate behind you.( You can always inquire from locals regarding this sighting place)

From here just go across the road straight to reach Sewri Mudflats

A mere 5 minutes walk through this road with only few shops like tea shop or mutton shop open as it been too early in the day( I looked at my watch and the time was 6.15 am.) With very few people and only oil tankers line up all the way can give you eerie kind of feeling, 

Lonely roads and Eerie feelings

we kept walking till we reached the T junction and took a right from there (for landmark sake there is this Sterling weigh bridge at this corner and the Green colour Dargah gate, from there one can also visit Sewri Fort.) 

Right turn from this T junction

Another 5 minutes walk with more oil tankers along the road I was wondering whether I am going in a right direction because the way the things looked here I was left wondering "Flamingo toh chodo ek Kauva (crow) bhi nahi deknewala."But to our surprise the road ultimately ends with lots of anchored boats on the side and lovely sunrise greeting us.

Rising Sun welcoming us from behind the anchored boat 

The ambience of early morning was awesome

Early morning ambience

 and with boat wreckage, anchored boats and beautiful sun rising on the horizon and golden sheet of water made the whole scene all the more interesting. 

Anchored boat and rising sun

 I immediately took out my camera and started clicking away to glory , the wreckage interested me more which prompted Pooja to comment "kya tum bhagar wale ho joh bhangar ki photo le rahe ho."

The wreckage

I had come to Sewri Mudflats with lots of expectations to look at the Famingos, but first look at the mudflats,except for the above mentioned glories I was disappointed. Now you will be wondering why I said I was disappointed,

Flamingos appears as small specks in distant
(mind you even this photo is zoomed one)

Well it has so happened that I had seen such lovely pictures of flamingos on FB, but upon coming here they just looked like specks in distant. So very important Tip Please please do carry binoculars with you or don't go ! Yes without binoculars you will hardly be able to see Flamingos properly.

Flamingos Atlast !

Looking at this wonderful bird it's hard to believe that it covers a very long journey starting from Siberia to the tidal flats of Mumbai.However before touching the coast they go to Rann of Kutch,where their breeding cycle commences viz.mating,nesting,laying eggs and finally its hatching.

As regards to Sewri Mudflats there was this one report I read few months back that the Forest department has decided to declare the Sewri mudflats the contentious landing site for the proposed trans Harbour Link Road as protected Sanctuary. ( Believe me my first reaction was Thank God ), Development at the cost of destroying nature is not good hence was relieved to know this. Further the forest department has also decided to declare the 10 kms stretch of mangroves between Vashi and Airoli as protected region.

By Sanctuary status,it will mean that fishing will be banned in mudflats,there will be regular patrolling by forest guards which environmentalist feel will put an end to illegal activities including hunting of migratory birds.

Now that you have come for Flamingo watch let me get you few important  information

1. During the peak season of Jan /Feb the population of  flamingos reaches 15000 to 20000 only at sewri Mudflats.

2.Other than Sewri these pretty birds can also be seen at mangroes/swamps of Vikroli, Bhandup, Airoli, Thane and Vashi.

3. Apart from Flamingos Sewri mudflats  gets more than 150 bird species  viz. shanks,sandpiper,stint gulls,egrets and herons to name few.

4. Flamingos feed on brine shrimp and blue green algae.Their beaks are specially adapted to separate mud from silt from the food they eat .

5.Flamingos are social birds who live in colonies, whose numbers could be in thousands these colonies are believed to serve 3 purpose for Flamingos.

a) It helps in avoiding predators.

b) It helps in maximizing food intake.

c)It helps in using Scarce suitable resting sites more efficiently.

Birds flying away

The sun had come up,the May heat was was getting on me  and the birds were also flying away, indicating that I too have to take their leave.I stood at the railing of the anchored boat absorbing the ambience all around me, and wondering

 How in a congested city of Mumbai, Nature and Industrial growth can co-exist. With these thought I left the place with a promise to come again. Indeed it was a pleasurable morning with so many birds to watch. 

Pooja and Myself

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Special thanks to my dear friend Amol for allowing me to use his picture.

Tung Fort Aka Kathingad

The Imposing Tung Fort

Last week when we were going towards Korigad fort,I noticed this mountain top which looked quite imposing, upon inquiry I was given to understand that It's Tung Fort. "Bas ab kya tha, Dil ne soch liya ki bahut jaldi is kille ko bhi fathe karna hai !! (My heart was set to conquer this fort soon) but believe me even in my wildest dream I wouldn't have thought that the next Sunday I would be on the Tung Fort.

Our Journey:

It all started when my friend Avinash called and said "Aashish bhai, chalo yaar kuch program banao, I said yaar last sunday Tung fort dekha tha , kare kya ? and he immediately agreed and the best part was that Avinash offered his car for the trek,We set out early from Panvel the common meeting place,Driving down the expressway we proceeded toward Lonawala, It was a cool morning and sun was just peeping out of the fog making our journey all the more pleasant.

Morning sunrise on the way to Lonawala

Our drive from Panvel to Lonawala took  around 45mins, It was 8 am when we reached the Kumar Resort junction at Lonawala, Here we were to meet our friend Shashi who was coming on motorbike and from here we all proceeded towards the  Amby valley. In case if you are not having your own vehicle than in that case one can take Sahara bus or bus going to Bhamburde village  from Lonawala ST stand and get down at the Ghosalkhamb bus stop and from here there is a road going toward left side to Tungwadi the base of Tung Fort.Its a 8-9 kms long journey from here to base.

8-9 kms stretch of road leading toward the Tung Fort. 

The only problem is that there is no local transport available from this point, trekkers often trek this 8 kms route till the base or hitch a ride from passing by Tempo. Actually for this trek one should have own vehicle, the road as you can see is not in a very good shape but manageable. Driving down the road you can have the glimpse of Tung fort.

 Glimpse of Tung fort

The rough road ensured us the rattling drive passing through few villages and few Green houses. Soon we were seeing the Tung Fort ahead, the sight of the imposing fort right in front of us made us all excited. Here please note that one need not go till Tungwadi, You must take a little diversion to your left  before the Tungwadi which will take you to the Hanuman Temple.

Hanuman Temple at the base

and just opposite that there is this information board of Tung Fort which gives complete information of the fort.

Information board put up by Sahyadri Prathishan

We parked our car here and started walking towards the Tung. There is this tar road which takes you to the start point of this trek.One can see the fort on the right side from here.

Tar road leading towards the start of the trek

One look at the top of the fort and you may say "Arre baapre itna upar jane ka hai " In fact at first glance the fort true it's name looked Kathin ( The marathi word for difficult, hence aptly also named as Kathingad). 

Just 2 minutes of walk on the above tar road and we reached the stone stairs which is the start point of this trek.

Stone cut stairs at the start of the trek

Climbing on these stairs you realise that the ascent is quite steep but however the advantage of this is that you quickly gain height.

Steep climb 

The view was very beautiful as we climbed from here.Though the climate was hot but the breeze was cool. Most of the climb is on the edge of the mountain and route is quite narrow, hence we are always exposed toward the valley.

Exposed climb with lovely mountain range all around

within 25 minutes we were near the small cave and next to that there was this water tank. We rested for a while and enjoyed the breathtaking views of Pawna back waters.

Enjoying the beauty of Pawna Backwaters

Walking on this narrow path we kept enjoying the beauty of valley and Pawna Waters .

Narrow path

Pawna Back water behind us

Further on this route we saw Tung ki Toppe (Cannons of Tung Fort) in front of us, Now this was the term Avinash used when he saw this.

Tung ki Toppe or Banana trees

I hope to see smile on your face when you see these Tung ki Toppe,  Trekkers can have weird sense of humor. This walk from the water tank hardly lasted for 5mins and we come across Main Darwaza or entrance of the fort. A large stone entrance almost in ruins state.

Main entrance of Tung Fort

Main entrance of Tung Fort

entering through this door, on your left side there is a  fortification wall which allows you to view the mountain range and the road below and straight ahead there is a ridge which we wanted to explore but the overgrown bushes on this portion of the fort didn't allow us to do so.

View from fort wall with overgrown bushes and ridge across

on your right side from here there is this stone stairs leading towards the second gate of the fort.

Stone stairs leading to the second entrance 

a little climb on these stair takes you to an enclosure kind of a place.
.

Enclosure before the second gate

The moment you enter this enclosure you feel quite cool. Standing atop on the stairs which comes to this enclosure offers you lovely view of the main entrance gate ,Pawana waters behind and majestic mountains across.

View of main gate from the top of stairs
 with pawna backwater

On entering this enclosure area you will notice the carving of Hanuman on the wall. 

Carving of Hanuman on the enclosure wall

And right opposite to this carving is the second entrance gate of the fort with the small stairs behind it,leading to the top.

Second entrance with the stairs behind ,leading to top.

Stairs leading to the top plateau

Once you climb these stairs you come across open top, just turn around at the top of this stone stairs you can have a terrific view of Tung fort on top along with the inside view of second gate.

 Terrific view of Tung fort on top along with the
 inside view of second gate

Coming out of this route we moved towards the right side, As one can see the towering fort ahead so there is little scope of losing your way here. Little walk ahead and you come across a small Ganesh temple with a water tank just next to it.

Ganpati Temple with water tank next to it

The water in this tank is quite dirty not potable.

Yours truly checking out the water

Just opposite the Ganpati Temple you see a stone boundary. I was told that in olden days this was kind of assembly hall. There is this board called Sadar which I assume in marathi means assemble hall.

Sader or the Assemble area

We offered the prayers in the temple, rested a bit and started our journey further toward the Tung top. The route is quite straight forward a little walk and you come across the base of the fort top or ballekilla as they say,there is this sign board directing you.

Base of the hill with sign board

As the sign board suggest that on your right there is a water tank and on the left the route leads you to the BhalleKilla

Sign board showing the route to Bhalekilla

The climb from the left of this hill is again a narrow path along the edge but the view of Pawana Backwater is absolutely mind blowing. I was walking carefully because I was worried 
"Ki kahi nature ka maza lete lete stretcher per nahi pahunch jao"  

Narrow path with serene Pawana waters

Walking towards the top of Tung ,on your left ,on the far horizon one can see Lohagad Fort and Visapur Fort behind the Pawana waters. The view all through this ascent is simply amazing.

Pawna waters and on the right side of picture on far end
Lohgad and Visapur Fort

A little simple rock patch and we were on the top of the Tung Fort.

So finally on the top of Tung Fort

Upon reaching the top we noticed that the top is not very large, As you touch the top deck on your left side you notice a small temple of Tungi devi.

Tungi Devi Temple on Top

Standing next to this temple you get amazing view of the Pawna backwater and the Tikona fort.I was completely mesmerized by this out of the world view in front of me.

I can stand for hours to watch this lovely view of
 Tung Fort surrounded by sublime water.

Standing at the top we were able to have perfect view of the base where we had parked our car,the temple and even the diversion of road going to Tungwadi. I must say this top indeed provided a perfect Watch Tower. 

View from the Top , showing the temple and
our parked car outside it

Next on the top we noticed this small cave kind of thing, so naturally the explorer instinct of mine got activated and hence I went to check out the same.

The explorer instinct prompted me to jump
 into that cave formation

There is a cave on the left side once you enter this 

After spending some time on the top , enjoying the lovely breeze we made our way back. All in all it was a superb sweet and small trek. It harddly took us 45 minutes to reach the Top.

Thankfully I can say Kathingad was not at all kathin.(Difficult).

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