Kashmir Great Lakes Trek :Day One

Pic courtesy Balkrishna Damle 

"OMG! Not again ? "

now that was the reaction of my wife when I said that I am planning to do another trek to Himalayas. "Arre abhi toh Roopkund Trek kiya, aur kitne himalaya ke chakker lagane hai..aisa hi chalta raha toh ek din jogi ban jaoge...  Aur kitne baar jana hai Himalaya me " I smiled and said innocently "Jaan Kya baat karti ho abhi toh Everest baki hai " she had this bewildered expression on her face suggesting "Are you mad ? " and surprisingly she burst out laughing.

Thank God !! I hope she is getting used to my wandering ways.

It all started here .......Roopkund Trek 

My trek to Roopkund was an amazing experience but yet at the end of the trek I told my friend Amit "Boss ab no more himalayan treks for me, I m done" but he only smiled ( the kind which says chod na ...never say never again) and said "Kashmir Great Lakes kaisa rahega," I said " Amit sochna bhi nahi mai nahi aane wala aur please mere ko invite bhi nahi karna , you know how difficult it is for me to refuse ". Everything was forgotten and then one fine day I get this mail from Amit  full of lovely Kashmir Great lakes Pictures with a message. 

"Gotta think again buddy !! "

Just look at this Picture , Do you really need to think again !!

My instant reply was" Abbe isme sochna kya hai chal chalte hai, lekin dost ek hi problem hai Yaar is trek me snow nahi milegi , ab himalayan trek bhi kiya aur snow bhi nahi...kuch majja nahi aaya, lets do Rupin pass. " But in the end Amit sold this trek well to me saying look at the beauty, snow you can find in another trek also. Bas phir kya tha we were all set to go for Kashmir Great Lakes Trek.

Friends let me put the disclaimer at the beginning itself that this blog of mine will not make you any wiser in respect of the route or terrain gradient etc as it will only be touching upon the emotions that I underwent  during my journey on this trek if you are looking out for serious route map kind of thing Toh mere bhai Google kar lo you will get very detailed information, Mene toh yeh trek sirf enjoy kiya woh bhi pure dilse ,socha aap ko bhi wo hasin nazaaro ki kuch Jhalak dikha deta hu. Toh lets go"

Aap ko bhi wo hasin nazaaro ki kuch Jhalak dikha deta hu

Day One :

Srinagar Airport:

I was in Srinagar two days earlier then our scheduled arrival date hence was waiting for Amit,Santosh to join me on the scheduled date. Srinagar Airport is very nice but no less than a fortress, you see this military guys all around. There are nearly 5 checks before you board a flight. Here I would like to give a small travel tip. If you intend to catch a flight from Srinagar airport then better be there before that 2 hrs reporting thing because the checking and all takes a lots of time and there are lots of long queues.

Long Queue at Srinagar Airport for checking in

Please note that if you are coming by car, bus etc the drop will be till the airport however if you take auto then you will have to get down at the check point 1 km before the airport. Autos are not allowed till the airport. At this 1km check post your baggage is passed thru scanning machine , so if you are in say car you get down, get you and your baggage checked and again board your car to airport.People coming by autos may have to walk 1km from this check point,or shell out 50 bucks to the passing tourist car to drop at the airport or can always ply on a free bus service provided by the airport from this check point to airport. I personally found this bus service very unreliable so don't depend on it.

Free bus service till the outside gate

Anyways enough of Gyan, Lets move on to our main story. Overcoming all my hassles I dropped my wife and daughter at the Srinagar airport thereby switching my role from Tourist to Trekker. Waiting for over 2 hrs at the airport for Amit and Santosh was very tiring but I took this as an opportunity to talk to few travelers, Military guy ab time to pass karna tha na and also got myself clicked

Inteeha ho gayi , Intezaar ki..waiting for Amit and Santosh at Srinagar Airport

 Finally Amit arrived and I was happy ki chalo ab time pass ho jayega and before we knew anything hum logo ne milke pure Kashmir or India ki Geo-political problem discuss kar dali"  In the meanwhile the flights started to arrive and like a paging boys Amit and me stood at the arrival point and started speculating

Yeah ho sakta hai KGL india hikes ke liye ,

Nahi yeh hoga, Dekh he is carry trekking Pole, 

Ek do ko toh puch dala lekin mostly missed call.

          Is chakker me Santosh ko almost miss kar dala.

Before all this drama both of us had managed to find the Tempo Traveller guy and dumped our bags there, (later we came to know it was the wrong vehicle that is another story bolunga to blog nahi novel likhna padega, waise hi badnaam hu ki bolta bahut hu " So all said and done we herded all the sheeps..ooops! I mean co-trekkers together and did some self intro and as usual I tried to grab the window seat bachpan se pachpan tak yeh aadat jane wali nahi hai lagta, but before that Amit and me ensured that sab ke bags fata fut load kare  so that we can leave early and have good lunch on the way.

Sab ke bags fata fut load kar yaar bahut bhuk laagi hai

Guys generally I am never short of photos" lekin bukh itni lagi thi ki lunch ka photo lena bhool gaya per khana bahut mast tha Abb tension yeh tha  ki bahaar hamara driver hamare intezaar me pagaal ho raha tha " Actually we were not late it was his Roze ka side effect...Hunger. So we said sorry to him and nudged him to move on but he kept grumbling that it will be dark when reach, blah blah. "Ab maine aksar dekha hai ki aap jab rote ho toh tension badta hai..." As Murphy's Law defines that if anything will go wrong it will, Bas hogaya panga ! for the grumbling driver, Saamne se policewale ne haat diye and next scene all of you know kya ho sakta hai...akhir me Indian traffic police ki habit toh all over India common hai na, Bhale hum Kashmir me hai toh kya.Corrupt Kanoon ke hath lambe hote hai bhai. Somehow the driver managed the policewala and with anger written on his face all over sat on the driver seat.

Yeh sab dekh kar mere Dil me ek thought aaya...

Pareshaan driver and Phadi Rasta are not good combination" 

But thankfully rest of the journey was peaceful, I wanted to pee very badly but just imagining the internal valcano temperature of the driver I some how managed to keep the throttle shut, though this action of mine did curb my natural exuberance and I excitedly but in a mute mode kept watching out of the window as new scenery one after the other kept unfolding before me.

Our Bus crossing the river  on the way to sonmarg

Lush green fields,Pine trees,and Mountains in backdrop makes it complete wallpaper stuff

How I wish I was staying in one of those houses

Aaha what lovely houses, Arre bus wale zara rok na please

Road ahead reminding beta abhi rasta baaki hai

It's India...hard to believe

Lovely Sind river flowing along the way

Seeing this picture of Sind River I remembered that here I took come courage and requested the driver " Dost bahut zoor se su su aayi hai please 2 minute bus rok do", He said "Ok par jaldi karna"  I seriously wanted to ask him "Ab yeh bhi koi time pass karne ke liye karta hai kya" 

"Actually susu toh ek bahana tha,
 Mujko toh sirf sind nadi per photo khicana tha") 

Then what, I leapt out of the bus did the jig quickly and before anything could be done ran across the road took few photos and called out Santosh and told him to take my picture on the rock, meanwhile rest of the gang also jumped out and we all enjoyed the photo session.
Zindagi ki yeah choti choti khushiya yaad karo toh kitne aachi lagti hai. 
Isi liye kehta hu in chote chote pal ko jodkar ek kubsurat zindagi kyo na banale

The picture below will give the perfect idea of the bliss that a person can feel after good pee, Photo on the rock !!

 susu toh ek bahana tha, Mujko toh sirf sind nadi per photo khicana tha 

After this extempore short break we all returned back in the bus, surprisingly the Pareshaan Driver was cool about the whole thing, I later realised this, when we reached near the base village quickly in 15 minutes. Aacha , baacha hum ko poopat banaya...raat ho jayegi and all . Anyways the moment I got down from the bus at the base which is 3-4 kms before Sonmarg the first word that came out of my mouth was wow and believe me the mouth was open so big ki Tirupati mandir ka Jumbo laddu bhi aaram se fit ho jata.

Wow!!! I screamed

  

I am Zapped

Yes I was zapped by the beauty and hummed Aagaz yeah hai toh anjaam ho ga haaseen.I was hardly able to grasp this beauty that Amit nudged me "Aashish  jo samaan upar chadhya hai utaarega nahi kya" For a second I wanted to scream at him "saala sub mera dream sequence tod diya, Yeh haseen wadiya yeh khula aasmaan, Kuch der pehle feel kar raha tha Kamaal,Kamaal ab bana diya na Hamaal, Hamaa "

Kamaal kamaal se Hamaal Hamaal

After unloading the entire baggage we were ready for the onward climb of approx 700 mtrs to the Base Camp. How I wished that the bus guy would have come little higher, "yeh parade bach jati,per socha chalo let us treat this as warm up. It was heartening to see Vishwasji and Pradipji come to welcome us. I as usual did lose the opportunity to get us clicked

Ek photo sir,
per landscape lena, peeche ka mountain aana chaiye

So much for my fetish for photos, but in this fun and game we reached the Base camp. We dumped our bag and the backpack and looked around in awe at the beauty of the nature. In the meanwhile We got introduced to our new Tormentor oops sorry, Trek Leader Suman.

Me and my Our Trek Leader Suman

As usual we made a circle formation, Suman was ready with his life's longest lecture I presume, He started out to explain the do and donts, then in depth explanation of AMS, " Boss ki explanation ne itna dara diya ki mere ko 8000 feet per bhi AMS ka ahsaas shuru ho gaya , Kya karu thoda emotional jyada hu na scene me fit ho jata hu" I can very well understand this anxiety to make everyone aware of AMS (High Altitude sickness) because of the tragedy on the Roopkund Trek where a young guy lost his life. 

After this we had introduction round, By this time the light was fading very fast and it was getting cold too.we took a small break and reassemble for Introductions. It was very dark where we could hardly make out who is who, waise bhi 32 members ko ek din me yaad rakna mushkil hai. Ritual hai karna toh padega .

Darkness se ek thought aaya tha mere dil me woh time, Agar is andhere me mai bolu mai Amithab Bachan bol raha hoon toh I would have got away with it despite my small height and if there would have been a Wi fi connectivity at the base camp who knows next moment a FB update would have been posted Yipees hey Amitji is trekking with us in Himalayas ab aur kya chaiye FB hungry guys ko and you will start getting oooh.aawee, awesome,great comments and in no time more than 500 likes. Bechare Amitji apne Pratiksha Bungale me baith kar soch rahe honge Yaar yeh mai Himalaya kaise pahunch gaya"   

( I hope now you know How I keep myself busy, crazy mind, crazy thoughts)

Honestly that night reflecting over this talk on AMS and forewarning of never ending long walks ahead for days to come,I was like Chalo yaar scenery toh yahan bhi aachi nai, I'll spend few days in Sonmarg, Nadi kinare thodi fishing kar loonga, snow bhi dikh rahi hai, choda yaar nahi marna AMS se, Please move on Mai yahan hi aacha"

But as they say na Raat gayi Baat gayi...Tomorrow is another day

Looking Forward toward the next day

To be continued ( depending if I have the energy )

Link to next partKashmir Great Lakes : Day 2

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