Sahyankan 2015 - Part 3 (Kurdupeth-Dhamanvhal-Tamhini)

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“Be ready; we are starting our hike on Kurdugad by 7AM. Whoever does not get ready by this time misses this hike". Wake up call with this stern warning from Camp Leaders made us rise at once. As per the original plan, hike to Kurdugad was planned last evening but as we reached very late in the evening, it got postponed to today.Not wanting to miss Kurdugad, everyone hurried, had tea and got ready before 7AM.

Few of the members chose to skip Kurdugad for various reasons; some because of exhaustion of earlier two days; some due to blisters; some to remain fresh for the long trail to Tamhini.

All the used clothes were hung on tents' ropes last night to reduce the pungent smell of sweat. Most of us forgot the dew factor and kept them in the open the whole night only to realise our mistake in the morning. Though the pungent smell was replaced by the fragrance of the fresh morning due, all the clothes had become heavy due to moisture burdening already heavy backpacks.

As we had to return to the camp after the hike, with only a water bottle, we started our hike. Early morning and pleasant weather made early hiking quite blissful. Kurdugad (a/k/a Vishramgad), said to be resting place for Baji Pasalkar - great Sardar of Shivaji Maharaj was looking imposing in the shimmering rays of the early morning sun. With chill in the wind, we marched to visit this historical fort.

Hanuman Idol on the way: This idol is almost 1 meter in height. Sadly, it is neglected as it lies in the open without any shade.

There is a big groove as you go to East of the fort. Stones were scattered inside this big cave as excavation work had been recently done by Archaeology team to find some hidden artifacts .

A man standing between broken walls of the rampart depicting the glorious past and observing early morning hues spread across the vast landscape stirred photographer inside me and I captured this mystic frame!

Two pinnacles wore the golden look. Because of limited time, we just marvelled at their beauty from the base.

Our camp-site from top of the fort:

Sky slicing view of Kurdugad while descending:

Sun had now risen above the east illuminating parts of mountain ranges. Shadows and lights had created some interesting patterns.

We quickly finished our breakfast after coming down and posed for the group photo before staring the day's hike.

Camp Leaders at Tamhini Camp who bestowed great hospitality on us. Thank you Parag Oak Sir and Team!

With another switchback trail on the hand, buoyantly we started our hike towards Tamhini.We started moving towards North from the fort on the route named "Nisni's Route". Part of our initial walk was through the woods.

Prasad Vaidya (fondly named as Bandu) a nice, jovial fellow and regular in Sahyankan events posing for the photo:

Vikram Balajiwale was painstakingly slow as he was suffering from blisters. Still by the sheer will, he completed the whole trek.

There was a risky traverse during the trail. There was a deep valley on one side and hardly a foot wide trail. Members of Chakram Hikers were present to guide everyone to cross this difficult patch. We had to take grip on the protruding rock to cross this patch which also had some scree on it. I dared to photograph it only when I crossed it successfully.

Landscape along with thumb shaped Kurdugad as seen during the steep ascent of Nisni's route:

A watch tower greeted us when we reached to a plateau after steep ascent of Nisni's route.

Milind Kulkarni (fondly known as Dadu) posing for the photograph once everyone had vacated the point. Dadu is difficult to catch up on the trail as he is extremely agile and always walks in front. Whenever I trek with him, mostly I catch up with him during the start and at the end where he waits others to join. Being the marathon runner, he does treks to build his stamina and hardly slows down on the trail




Alok Kakatkar - patient, silent, cheerful and a great trek mate to have! He came out to India from US to be part of Sahyankan and was great in supporting Aniket as a co-leader. Incidentally, he turned out to be close relative of my engineering friend Makrand Khare!

. Group photo before proceeding towards Dhamanvhal village:

Paresh Amrutkar was suffering because of his shoes making him slow. I advised him to wear floaters instead. Floaters were not allowed as a rule but seeing Paresh's plight, his request for wearing floaters was fulfilled and Paresh got back his natural rhythm.

We had water and snacks break near a well full of water. Water was clean, potable and cold providing us a lot of relief from heat. Sprinkling water on head and faces made us refreshed. These small refreshing breaks are really necessary during long hikes.

On the way to Dhamanvhal village:

As soon as we reached Dhamanvhal, we got the news that four of our fellow trek mates were quitting the trek. Pradeep Kulkarni Uncle who had a bad fall on knee on the earlier day was finding it difficult to continue the arduous hike with hurt knee. His other three companions also decided to quit to help him reach to his home safely. Some forms were signed as per the rules and leaving these four trekkers at Dhamanvhal village, we proceeded further.

An old woman really got flustered when she heard our group going towards Tamhini on foot. "What is the need to walk in such a heat? Are these people mad?" Her anger boiled even further when we asked for a guide in the house as we were not sure about the route. Finally elderly villager agreed to join us for few kilometres and we left the village.

A house in Dhamanvhal village:

Big stream as you come out of the village:

Water pond along the way:

Another water pond:

Plain walk before ascending the hill:

I was walking with the front group when I realized that they were too fast and not observing nature. So knowing that there were still few members back, I slowed down my pace. Elated to see a nice water stream, I perched on the rock near the stream enjoying some moments of solitude. Last batch of Vikram Balajiwale, Sayali accompanied with Sanju Nana and Alok too joined me and we all had a great time in getting rejuvenated in the stream.

Tamhini batch leaders had already come to fetch us. We decided to have lunch in the woods itself.

After lunch and brief rest, we resume our march towards Tamhini. We were indicated that we would be entering the thick jungle of Karvi and we had to crawl at places to find our way through Karvi jungle.

Excited before entering jungle of Karvi:

Truly at some stretches, we had to bend, crawl. Inflated sacks at the back posed few challenges while finding way through this jungle. But it was exciting and we had a lot of fun.

Finally Tamhini mountain range was in sight.

Just before reaching Tamhini, we were greeted by few more members from Tamhini camp. They had taken a lot of pain in bringing Kokam Juice up the hill. We perched on the grass relishing sips of fresh juice. Refreshed, we started our final march towards Tamhini camp.

Entering Tamhini made me nostalgic as I was transported to year 1999 when I had visited it for the first time in the rainy season. I had never seen so much breathtaking sights of a ghat before and those memories came flooding back.

Tamhini's camp-site was spacious and later we came to know that it belonged to Girikuj Group who conduct many adventure camps at this location.

After stretching sessions, we were served with hot tea which provided instant energy. Idea of playing cricket was floated around and many still had the energy left to participate in a cricket match filled with lot of fun.

We were fortunate to meet two stalwarts of the "Girikuj Group" - Mr. Joshi and Mr. Sonavane. Sonavane Uncle shared his hiking story on Sumargad where his group had to spend many hours without water due to lack of knowledge of the terrain and how they were rescued. Also, how a well known trekker died due to lack of water in Boryatyachi Naal. He stressed a lot of importance of having water, food available all the time and having support of local guide in unfamiliar terrains. Joshi Uncle even showed us a leaf of some plant which could keep us hydrated in the absence of water for few hours. These two stalwarts mesmerised us with their real experiences and words of wisdom.

Once the evening lingered on to night, we retired to our rooms and started antakshari. Aniket Rahalkar and Milind Kulkarni (Dadu) stole the show mesmerising us with their sonorous voices. DK (Dinesh) played repercussion instrument with a great aplomb. We were so engrossed in the musical evening that we hardly paid any attention of local camp leaders' plea to come for dinner. After two to three reminders, we finally relented and ended our musical evening.

Gradually, we were enveloped by a chilling cold as the night approached. We hadn't bathed in last 4 days but chill in the night at each camp helped us to forget this fact.

We feasted our famished appetites on sumptuous Pav Bhaji and Pulao. By this time, it had become very cold outside and having hot dinner seemed very blissful. Soon after dinner, we retired to our respective rooms. 


Few of us had developed blisters. Vikram Balajiwale was the worst affected. Seeing Vikram's condition, trek leaders pierced needle inside his blisters to flatten them out. I, too had developed blisters but so far, they were in manageable condition. 

Comfort wise, this was the best camp-site so far with spacious rooms offering good protection from the chilling cold outside. Finally the hectic yet pleasant day of the hike was coming to an end and with contented mind, we tucked inside our sleeping bags to have a peaceful sleep to gear up for next day's challenge.

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