Naneghat - Jivdhan -- A Hike in sweltering heat of April

Unrelenting sun baking the earth; humidity in Konkan region at its peak; still air with absolutely no rustling of the leaves; parched mother earth emanating intense heat and few insane trekkers taking on the challenge of hiking in such inhospitable conditions! Welcome to one of the craziest hikes - peak summer hike to Naneghat and Jivdhan!

Month of April! After few untimely rains and unexpected pleasant days, Summer was finally showing its true nature. Earth was baking and it was crazy to hike in such a weather. So far, I had avoided hiking in full heat by hiking in the evening, watching the sunset, staying on the fort, watching sunrise the next day and descending before afternoon. It was working wonderfully well and everyone in the group was happy with this kind of planning.

Considering the past pleasant experiences, I was mulling over hiking in Junnar region. As Junnar region is between Pune and Nasik, I called my cousin Sanjay Amrutkar (Nana).

I: Nana, planning trek on coming weekend  (18^th and 19^th Apr) in Junnar region. Would you like to join with your group?

Nana: Sure. I am free and would like to join.

I: Let us hike on Jivdhan and Naneghat from Junnar.

Nana: Good idea. But real pleasure of hiking at Naneghat is from its base from Konkan.

I: Wouldn’t it be too hectic in Summer?

Nana: Thrill of hiking in Summer is something else. In fact, I enjoy hiking in scorching summer more. It makes you sweat more and all pours in your body get cleared.

I: Ok then, I am ready.

After my conversation with Nana, I informed my trek mates and over the week, both the groups – from Pune as well as Nasik were formed. Our plan was to leave Pune and Nasik at the same time around 11.30am and reach at base of Naneghat at 3PM.  Plan was to hike on Naneghat till evening, dinner and stay at Naneghat cave, next day hike to Jivdhan and then descend to Naneghat base.

A day before trek, one of the members from Pune group got cancelled leaving us only 4. Everyone from Pune group assembled at my society at Sus Road, Pashan around 11.30 pm and we left Pune around 11.45pm. Journey to Malshej Ghat was uneventful and we reached to base around 3.15 PM. Nasik group was already there waiting for us and we started our hike around 3.45 PM after getting introduced to each other. I was happy to meet Dr. Atul Sathaye and his son, Prabhanjan studying in 9^th Std. Apart from Nana, remaining member from Nasik was Ganesh Patankar who had hiked with me before in Nasik region at Markandya and Kanhera.

It was more than 40 deg Celsius and unbearable humidity in Konkan region gave us the inkling about the toughness of the hike ahead. To add to our woos, air was absolutely still worsening the impact of the heat. After protecting ourselves with caps, goggles and scarves, we began our hike to Naneghat.


Naneghat is a mountain pass in the Western Ghats range near Junnar in Pune district of Maharashtra, India. During the reign of the Satavahana (200 BCE–190 CE), the pass was extensively used as a trade route between Kalyan and Junnar. Literally, the name nane means "coin" and ghat means "pass". The name is given because this path was used as a tollbooth to collect toll from traders crossing the hills. (Source: Wikipedia)

Naneghat plateau, Nanacha Angtha, Jivdhan fort (on the right) and Vanarlingi pinnacle (extreme right) in one frame:

Just after few minutes, we came across Karvand plant and after munching on the delicious and fully ripe Karvand, we resumed our hike. 

We followed the trail for certain distance and were stopped by a man telling us that we were hiking on the wrong trail. He showed us the correct trail and we were back on track.

You cross three water streams along the way. Needless to say, there was not a single drop of water in these streams.

First dry stream:

Second dry stream:

Third dry stream:

Heat was taking its toll on our bodies and we were sapped of our energies just after few minutes of hike. Cool water and perching in the shade whenever possible kept us hydrated for certain distance.

After an hour or so, Dr. Sathaye was feeling very dehydrated. I, too, was in bad shape. Heat was emanating from the body and it was utterly exhausting. It was not possible for us to maintain the pace and we took very large breaks in between. But having long cooling breaks made hiking even more difficult and it was nightmare afterwards. It was like hiking for 5 minutes and resting for 10 minutes. Rest of the trek mates were far ahead of us and only Nana made sure to be with us and encouraging us not to give up.

Nothing can beat the enthusiasm of Nana. He has experienced it all while wandering in Sahyadri mountains since more than 15 years.

Dr. Atul Sathaye perspiring under intense heat:

Once Sun started to set, intensity of the heat lessened; still it was a hard toil and after whooping 3 hrs, we reached to the water cistern just before the base of Naneghat caves. Our trek mates were waiting for us and after seeing our plight, helped us to rejuvenate by pouring water on our heads. After taking a half bath and gulping almost a liter of cold water from the cistern, we came back to normal state.

Water cistern which provided a lot of relief after exhaustive hike (Photo taken on the next day as it was dark when we reached here during our ascent.)

It was almost dark now and we did rest of the hike with headlights and torches on. Finally we were all in the cave and heaved a sigh of relief. A tough day of hike was almost over and we were jubilant to reach to our first target of the hike.

We met group from Chinchwad (Sujit Balwadkar, Abhishek Chogale, Nilesh Pisal, Prasad Sawant) in the cave who were just finishing their dinner. They directly had come on Naneghat plateau by car from Junnar side. We introduced each other and after getting introduced with Nana with whom many of them were already friends on Facebook, Chinchwad group showed the interest in hiking on Jivdhan next day with our group and we readily accepted.

After getting fresh and changing our clothes, we had had packed dinner and everyone wolfed on the food and replenished all the lost minerals in our bodies.

It was a night of new moon and it was absolutely dark outside. After dinner, we hiked for 2 minutes and reached to the plateau of Naneghat. Millions of stars twinkling in the sky provided feast to the eyes and we chatted for about an hour in the cool breeze watching the stars. We headed back to cave after a while and went to sleep. Unbearable snoring reaching to the top of the cave kept most of us awake at night. I was feeling a lot of weakness because of losing a lot of fluids and was not sure whether I would hike on Jivdhan fort next day. Still, some rest and sleep in between helped us to recharge our batteries for the grueling day ahead.

We woke up before the crack of dawn and after finishing early morning chores, we headed towards a small house. Sun had just begun to rise; the same sun who had baked us whole afternoon was looking very soothing to the eyes. Nice cloud formation and slanting rays was a sight to behold and couple of great clicks made me instantly positive and my weakness evaporated quickly and I mentally prepared myself for the hike to Jivdhan.

After having breakfast of Poha (which was laden with lot of sugar) and Tea, we proceeded towards Ghatghar village. As we wanted to explore every nook and corner of Jivdhan fort, our plan was to ascend from Junnar Darwaja and descend from Kalyan Darwaja. A villager told us to ascend from Kalyan Darwaja as it was nearer and would help us avoid climbing in heat. But most of trek mates were keen to start hike from Junnar Darwaja as rock patch from this route is difficult to descend. We took the short cut through the fields and started our march towards Ghatgar village.

After reaching to Ghatghar village in about 30 minutes, we rested in front of a house and hired a guide for 300 Rs. Dinesh Mukane was name of the guide and another guy joined us who had not hiked on Jivdhan before. So he was like a trainee guide.

Looking back, unusual and very unique formation of Varhadi Pinnacles was looking spectacular.

There are some confusing routes as you enter in the woods.

Some part of the stretch of the ascent is tricky. You need to climb slanted rocks with very little grip. Though in Summer, you can trust your judgement, it is definitely risky in monsoon.

Soon, we were at the base of Junnar Darwaja. A flight of broken steps along with tricky rock patch has made reaching to Junnar Darwaja a thrilling experience. If you are a novice, you are going to find it difficult. But with proper instructions and guides, you can negotiate the rock patch without any technical gear.



A member from Chinchwad group was finding it difficult and our guide had to go down to help him come up.

We reached to the first plateau after crossing Junnar Darwaja. We took a short break hydrating ourselves and began marching on the citadel. Along the way, we explored granary consisting of many rooms.

Some carvings on roof of the granary:

After reaching on top of the citadel, we were ecstatic to view the spectacular view of Nanacha Angatha.

We then walked on a ridge and reached to the South side.

Idol of Goddess Jivai: It has four hands with weapons, which include a dagger of Muslim type, and a circular weapon. By its one hand the goddess holds the tongue of the animal on which it is standing.(Source: Internet)

Broken structure on the southern side:

View of Dhakoba and other mountain range:

After clicking a group photo, we started descending to Kalyan Darwaja.

We stopped at the water cistern again pouring water on our heads. Again, temperature of our bodies was brought to normal. We had some snacks before we proceeded towards the point from where we could watch “Vanarlingi Pinnacle” from its top.

Vanarlingi Pinnacle:  This is about 415 feet high. Rock-climbers rate it as difficult to climb. It takes about 2 days to climb it. In the base there is a 15 feet deep cave where 4-5 people can stay. (Source: Internet)

This shot is taken by standing right at the edge of the cliff.

 

Soon, we reached to Kalyan Darwaja grandeur of which is still intact.

There was a small but tricky rock patch. Everyone descended one by one; new members needed to be guided. There is nothing to rest your foot on this rock patch and you need to balance your body by both the hands firmly placed on both the ramparts and also place your feet in whatever undulations are on the slanting rock.

After negotiating the rock patch, we descended steps which looked similar to the steps of Hadsar fort.

There was a patch of around 10 minutes through the woods. At one point, there were 2-3 intersections but due to guide, we remained on the correct path and soon came out of the woods and reached to the base.

There was absolutely no respite from the scorching sun and a very long walk towards the house where we were supposed to have lunch was tedious and tiresome.

Finally we reached to the house and lied down in the big hall of the house. House itself had become hotter but lying down helped to control the temperature of the body. Soon, lunch was served to us and we ate wholeheartedly.

We decided to rest in the caves before starting our descent to the base. Chinchwad group was immediately leaving towards Pune in their car and Ganesh Patankar joined them till Narayangaon as he had some unplanned guests at his home at Nasik.

There is a big stone cut "Pot" meant for collection of the toll from the traders.

After reaching to cave, three villagers were already in the cave waiting to serve lunch to a group of 22. We decided to rest till the arrival of bigger group. When the group arrived for the lunch, we thought of starting our descent but seeing the heat outside, we decided to delay the descent further. When group of 22 members finished their lunch, they started introduction to each other. On hearing their conversation we came to know the group was Pimpri-Chinchwad Climbers’ group. After finishing their introduction, they also asked us to introduce ourselves. Tushar first introduced Sanjay Amrutkar as he is a known personality in trekking field. Most of them recognized Nana and he was asked to provide his advice to the group. In few words, Nana offered his wisdom and asked all the people to maintain the sanctity of nature, conserve the history, note down all their experiences for references to future generations.

Naneghat cave where team is resting after hiking on Jivdhan. This was the cave where we spent the earlier night as well.

Inscriptions on the wall of the cave: The inscriptions in the caves indicate that they are the work of Satavahana rulers who came into prominence after the fall of the Mauryan empire.It is believed that a powerful woman ruler Naganika, the wife of Satakarni (180–170 BCE) of the Satavahana family commissioned the cave, the statues and the inscriptions. Bhrahami inscriptions in the cave mention her and her family members. Though the statues adorning the sides of the rectangular cave are now gone, the inscriptions still record some of the achievements of the dynasty. The Naneghat records have proved very important in establishing the history of the region. Vedic Gods like Yama (Hinduism) Indra, Chandra and Surya are mentioned here. The mention of Samkarsana and Vasudeva indicate the prevalence of Bhagavata form of Hinduism in the Satavahana dynasty.(Status: Internet)

After spending time with Pimpri Chinchwad climber’s group, we started descending Naneghat. It was comparatively easier to descend but still humidity made it equally exhausting and irritating. 

Along the way, unknowingly I kept zipper of my sack open and my Quechua pillow fell down which I realised later. So I again traced back my route for about 100 meters and was happy to recover it soon. But it made me lag behind all the members and after that I really needed to hurry to catch my group members which further sapped a lot of energy.

Looking back, Nanacha Anghatha was looking fantastic through the trees.

We gulped on the water stacked in our cars when we finally reached to the base. Dr. Atul Sathaye had a full bath with 2 bottles of water. If everyone follows doctor's tips in how to complete bath in 2 litres of water, we will never face any drought in our country.

We were running short of petrol and as we had to return and there was not any petrol pump in Malshej Ghat, we drove 10 kms further to fill our car with petrol. Finally, we reached to Pune around 11 PM with dinner break on the way.

Definitely, this proved to be the most exhausting trek so far. Humidity, heat and dehydration made this trek quite daunting. But on the positive side, experience of this gruelling trek made me wiser to take on the similar challenges in future with proper precautions. Overall, a hike that I would remember for a long time. I would definitely repeat the same trek during rains.


Trekkers:

Pune Group: Prashant Kothawade, Tushar Kothawade, Chinmay Kirtane, Pankaj Bhadane
Nasik Group: Sanjay Amrutkar, Dr. Atul Sathaye, Prabhanjan Sathaye, Ganesh Patankar
Chinchwad Group (with whom we met at Naneghat Caves and later hiked to Jivdhan): Sujit Balwadkar, Abhishek Chogale, Nilesh Pisal, Prasad Sawant

Tips for the trekkers:

• Best season to hike to Naneghat is monsoon. Second best season is winter.
• Best season to hike to Jivdhan is winter. Rock patches at Jivdhan may pose problems during monsoon.
• You can avoid climbing Naneghat and can only visit Jivdhan and Naneghat caves from Naneghat plateau where you can take your own vehicle.
• It is advisable to have a guide to visit Jivdhan.

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Happy hiking!

Appeal: No litter; no plastic; no wrappers; keep the mother nature clean!