A Summer Trek to Shivtharghal through Supenaal and Gopya Ghat

Anxiety prevails at the thought of trekking across ghat routes of Sahyadri Mountains. With time, these ghat routes which had witnessed hustle and bustle of visitors in their prime have slowly receded into oblivion as their need became obsolete due to advancement in road infrastructure. Still they hold a lot of mysteries and historical significance and we trekkers attempt to revisit our glorious past by re-walking these ancient trails.

  

Summer had started showing its true colours. Day temperature soared. Definitely, it had become unfavorable weather for hiking. Unpleasant, sweaty and exhausting! To counter this, for summer treks we have devised an idea to trek in the late afternoon or early morning. This way, we don't exert ourselves too much and also enjoy beautiful sunsets and sunrises during the hikes.

After reading blog of Saiprakash Belsare, trek of "Sangvi Village-Supe Naal- Shivtharghal-Gopya Ghat-Sangvi Village" was decided. With some whatsapp messages, we formed a group of seven with below members:

Prashant Kothawade, Tushar Kothawade, Deva Ghanekar, Mukund Pate, Tushar Poman, Shalabh Pareek and Nilesh Wagh. 

Nilesh Wagh was the last addition to the group and a very important addition as he had done similar route just two months back.

  

We started towards Varandha Ghat from Sus Road, Pashan, Pune after lunch with the idea of commencing our hike around 3.30 PM. Varandha Ghat remains one of the most neglected Ghats in Maharashtra. Year after year, rather than seeing any improvements, it is getting worse and worse. Despite having the breathtaking scenery along the way, it remains a nightmare for all the commuters.

Thanks to Innova, despite the pothole ridden road, we soaked in the great vista while travelling on this treacherous road. Mohangad was stomping its presence over the other mountains and we became nostalgic about our earlier hike to Kavlya, Mohangad and Mangalgad. We took the right turn at the start of Varandha Ghat and proceeded towards Sangvi village. 

Fort Kavlya while going towards Sangvi village:

Approach road to Sangvi was also in bad condition at some stretches. A procession for marriage welcomed us as we entered the village. We safely parked our car in front of temple after consulting with villagers and proceeded towards Supenaal.

We crossed the poultry farm along the way and entered the trail on right entering the woods. Soon, we came out of the woods. 

After walking for few more minutes, we reached to the edge of the plateau and at the start of Supenaal. Looking at the sheer drop, Supenaal was looking menacing. Before starting the descent, we soaked in the wondrous views of the mountains and queried Nilesh about the route we were going to take.

Deva Ghanekar posing for the photo:

Shalabh Pareek is the only one who takes care of clicking my photo in my camera.

Entering the Supenaal was discomforting due to some scree with valley on the left side. After descending few feet, we took a traverse. Traverse led us to entry of the actual naal. 

Entering the Supenaal (Time: 4.30PM):

After descending few feet through the naal, we took the left trail which again took us the entry of another descent through boulders.

Team (Left to Right): Nilesh Wagh, Mukund Pate, Tushar Poman, Deva Ghanekar, Tushar Kothawade, Shalabh Pareek

We wanted to get down to the base before dark. There were few arrows on the way and we were pretty confident about reaching to the base following the same trail. Unfortunately we lost our way couple of times. At first, trail led us to start of Gopya Ghat and as horizontal trail joined the ascending one, we realised that we had lost our way. Fortunately few villagers ascending Gopya Ghat joined us from behind and led us to the correct trail.

Second time, at an intersection, we got confused whether to take the left turn or to continue on the same trail we were walking before. Collectively, we took the decision to follow the same trail. But to our misfortune, after ten minutes of walking, we realised that this horizontal trail again started ascending into the mountain. That moment we retraced our steps back to the earlier intersection and took the trail going downwards. This trail proved to be the correct one and we felt relieved.

It started getting dark as we were still descending. Few of the lights flickered at the distance signalling the signs of any human habitation. After few minutes, we reached to a house. House owner offered us water and we rested for few minutes. House owner further showed us the trail to Shivtharghal. Trail was distinct and though it was barely visible in the approaching darkness, we continued marching on it without lighting the torches. We turned on the torches only when it had become pitch dark.

Along the way we passed few more villages and joined the tar road. Now it was tedious walking on the road. Shivtharghal was still many kilometres away and we kept on pushing. A villager agreed to accompany us through a short cut avoiding the longer winding road. We walked through fields and finally reached to the base of Shivthargal (Time: 7.45PM).

We requested dinner for seven of us at the restaurant at the base of Shivthargal. Ordering the food, we visited Shivtharghal. It was quiet, devoid of any visitors except the caretakers. After enquiring about us, caretakers offered us keys for dormitory for night stay and we checked in to the dormitory. Last time during monsoon, this dormitory was swarmed with many visitors but this time we were the only occupants of this huge dormitory with attached washrooms and bathrooms. All of us had sweated a lot during the day and we enjoyed the quiet cold water bath rejuvenating us completely. 

Dinner was waiting for us as we reached to the restaurant. Famished, we feasted on "Pithala-Bhakari-Rice" along with multiple glasses of Kokam Juice and buttermilk to replenish the fluids lost during the day. Contented, we chatted with the owner of the restaurant - Salunke Uncle who amused us by telling many interesting facts about his family and ancestors. 

We retired to the dormitory after sumptuous dinner. We tried few tricks to get the fans in the dormitory working but with no luck. We opened few windows to get the ventilation going. After chatting for a while, we quietly drifted into the sleep. At midnight I woke up to the snoring of many of the trek mates before again drifting into the sleep.

We arose before the crack of dawn. We were invited for morning tea by the caretaker and we were more than happy to accept the invitation. There was not a single drop of water left in the famous waterfall of Shivthargal which saddened us. With bowing our heads to Saint Ramdas, we descended back to the restaurant, breakfasted on Pohe and Tea.

Team ready for return hike (Time: 7.15AM):

Our today's target was to reach Sangvi village after ascending Gopya Ghat. We knew it would take more than 4 hours to reach to our destination. Salunke Uncle told us shortcut to reach to Gopya Ghat. A saint in saffron clothes started accompanying us on the trail. At first he wanted to go to Mahad but on hearing our discussion, he decided to accompany us till top of Gopya Ghat as he also wanted to visit it for quite some time.

Sun was still hiding behind the mountains though illuminating top of the mountains. 

We deviated from the trail to visit Khadageshwar Temple - one of the ancient temples.

In the vicinity of Khadageshwar Temple:

On the way to Gopya Ghat

Ascending Gopya Ghat:

We came across many people ascending Gopya Ghat after attending the marriage on the previous day. We were quite amused to see so many people still dressed in the formal clothes and saris on this trail. Despite living in 21st century, facilities of the roads have not reached to these remote villages and access to those still lies through the mountains.

Finally we reached to top of Gopya Ghat. We stopped at a water cistern lying on right side of the trail. We gulped on the cold water, prepared mixed Jaljira and lemon juice with ample sugar and replenished all the lost fluids.

As we were enjoying our juices in the shade, unthinkable happened. Bride and groom arrived in their marriage attire after ascending Gopya Ghat. With heat and humidity, both were sweating profusely and we joked whether the groom would ever visit his in-laws again. If this was not enough, there came other men carrying various gift items on their shoulders. It was the most amusing marriage sight I had ever witnessed.

Sangvi village was still 2 hours away. We lost our way initially by taking the trail leading to Bope village. Realising our mistake, we retraced our steps and took the trail going in the right direction. Here again, we lost our way and chanced upon one more ancient temple. Saint accompanying us took the liking for this temple and decided to spend some time in the temple. After resting for few minutes in the temple, we again searched the right trail going towards Sangvi village. 

It had become exceedingly hot and despite walking for many miles, village was nowhere at sight. We had no option but to keep on pushing. Sometimes in the long trekking trail, it is beneficial to keep on pushing rather than taking the frequent breaks and walking slowly. It helps to finish your ordeal early.

Finally we reached to Sangvi village. (Time: 12.30PM) After getting refreshed and changing the soiled clothes, we started our journey back to Pune. We stopped at Vaibhavi Hotel on Pune-Satara highway after consulting with Onkar Oak on the phone. With a hearty afternoon meal, favourite songs playing in the car with full air conditioning on, we returned back to Pune culminating the two fantastic days of trekking.

Date: 18th and 19th March 2017
Trekkers: Prashant Kothawade, Tushar Kothawade, Deva Ghanekar, Mukund Pate, Tushar Poman, Shalabh Pareek and Nilesh Wagh

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