Me: Shashikant, any hike planned this weekend?
Shashikant: Yes, we have planned for Sudhagad. We will leave on Saturday around 2 p.m. and come back on Sunday.
Me: Can I join you guys?
Shashikant: Sure. In fact we are four and as we are going by car, we can easily accommodate you..
Me: Great
Shashikant: As you are recovering from hand injury, I didn't invite you for this and earlier treks.
Me: No problem. As I did Torna 2 weeks back, I suppose I am perfectly fit to hike on Sudhagad. :)
Shashikant: Great, see you then. I will pick you up from your home. Send me your address.
It is really amazing how a common hobby can connect people. I have many friends in my social network whom I haven’t met and still a bond of friendship is developed just by chatting, talking about the hiking experiences. Shashikant Patil, a regular hiker for more than 4 years was such a friend in my social network whom I hadn't met and we were planning to do a hike together since a long time. A canceled trek to Rajmachi with other group provided me opportunity to connect to a new set of trek mates.We started around 3 pm from Pune in Honda City, halted in Pali for refreshments and tea before reaching to Daryagaon village around 5.30pm. I never felt outsider even though I was meeting these guys for the first time. We immediately hit off and quickly I was gelled with the group.
Shashikant: Yes, we have planned for Sudhagad. We will leave on Saturday around 2 p.m. and come back on Sunday.
Me: Can I join you guys?
Shashikant: Sure. In fact we are four and as we are going by car, we can easily accommodate you..
Me: Great
Shashikant: As you are recovering from hand injury, I didn't invite you for this and earlier treks.
Me: No problem. As I did Torna 2 weeks back, I suppose I am perfectly fit to hike on Sudhagad. :)
Shashikant: Great, see you then. I will pick you up from your home. Send me your address.
It is really amazing how a common hobby can connect people. I have many friends in my social network whom I haven’t met and still a bond of friendship is developed just by chatting, talking about the hiking experiences. Shashikant Patil, a regular hiker for more than 4 years was such a friend in my social network whom I hadn't met and we were planning to do a hike together since a long time. A canceled trek to Rajmachi with other group provided me opportunity to connect to a new set of trek mates.We started around 3 pm from Pune in Honda City, halted in Pali for refreshments and tea before reaching to Daryagaon village around 5.30pm. I never felt outsider even though I was meeting these guys for the first time. We immediately hit off and quickly I was gelled with the group.
Sudhagad was basking in the golden, slanting evening rays as
if reminiscing and savoring memories of its golden days.
With the golden landscapes all around with fresh mountain air, hiking seemed no more strenuous or laboring. We soon reached to the ladder installed on the difficult rock patch. Because of the presence of this ladder, this route is called as the “Ladder Route”. Intention of putting up the ladder is to make the life easy for the villages who visit Sudhagad during annual yatra.
With the golden landscapes all around with fresh mountain air, hiking seemed no more strenuous or laboring. We soon reached to the ladder installed on the difficult rock patch. Because of the presence of this ladder, this route is called as the “Ladder Route”. Intention of putting up the ladder is to make the life easy for the villages who visit Sudhagad during annual yatra.
Initially we had planned to witness sunset from top
of the fort. But I was moving at a snail’s pace as I was capturing many
beautiful landscapes along the way. I was getting to photograph in the golden
light and I was making full use of it. My other trek mates except Shripad were
far ahead of me and they reached on top just before the sunset. I and
Shripad were still trudging slowly; I because of the photography and Shripad because
he was hiking after a long time and was carrying the extra backpack containing
common utility items required in the trek. I also carried the extra burden for
some time but because I was just recovering from the wrist bone fracture, I was
finding it difficult and sensing it Shripad took it on him to carry it till the
end. As we could not reach to the top before sunset, we enjoyed the sunset
just before reaching the top. It was definitely one of the most sublime, the most
beautiful sunset I had ever witnessed.
It had become darker and we lit our torches and
headlamps for our final march towards the fort. We slightly lost our way as we took
the left turn instead of the right one at one intersection and we were almost in the woods without
any visible trail. My earlier knowledge of the route came handy to find the correct
route.In the first place, I agreed to try the left path as it was looking so distinct but as soon as we sensed that the path was leading us in the woods, good senses prevailed and we retraced our steps back to the place from where we had taken the left turn and took the right turn and soon reached to the plateau of the fort.
We already had exhausted more than half of water we were carrying and it was important to replenish our water stock. So we proceeded towards the water tanks which are difficult to find if you are new to the fort. We filled our bottles and proceeded towards Bhoraidevi Temple, our halting place for the night.
After dinner, we went into the open area. Millions of stars were twinkling in the sky and it was a perfect setting for star gazing. Shripad Deshpande
had Skymap Astronomy Software installed on his android phone to identify different stars and planets
and we all joined him. Star gazing was the great
end for the day and we proceeded inside the temple as we started getting chilled by the cold breeze outside. We chatted for a long period, Shripad and Vikas being ardent fans of the great Marathi
writer, Late P. L. Deshpande entertained us with his humorous quotes.Gradually fatigue set in and everybody went
into a trance only to disturb right in the middle of the night by a group of hikers who were
halting at Pant-Sachiv palace and came inside the temple in search of water.
Apart from the disturbance at midnight, we had a comfortable
sleep of few hours and got up early before the dawn broke. We spotted a
vantage point near the temple and eagerly waited for the sun to rise from
behind the fort, Ghangad and adjoining mountain range. Just before the sunrise, the whole
horizon got adorned with beautiful colors and it was the most exhilarating sight.
This was really one of the most spectacular sunrises I had ever witnessed which
left me speechless, stunned and ecstatic.
After the sunrise, we returned back to the temple. Shashikant, Vikas and Vinod left to fetch
some water from the water cisterns. Shripad was still sleeping peacefully
inside the temple oblivious to any worries in the world.
As I had nothing better to do, I decided to explore few parts of the fort on my own.
Twin-walls of Telbaila fort:
Some ruins on the fort:
Mahadev Temple:
As I had nothing better to do, I decided to explore few parts of the fort on my own.
Twin-walls of Telbaila fort:
Some ruins on the fort:
Mahadev Temple:
There was not a soul around when I visited Mahadev temple which
still had the lush greenery around even during the summer. I just enjoyed few
moments of solitude before visiting Pant Sachiv Palace.
Soon, I returned back to the temple. Shripad gradually came out of his slumber and realized that he already had missed the sun rise but he seemed content after having a long and peaceful sleep.
Soon, I returned back to the temple. Shripad gradually came out of his slumber and realized that he already had missed the sun rise but he seemed content after having a long and peaceful sleep.
Soon, I saw happy faces of my other trek mates returning
from the mission of bringing the much needed water. Soon, it was time to
prepare the tea.
After tea, we started exploring the fort. As it was soon
going to be very hot, we decided to visit areas first devoid of any trees and proceeded towards the Takmak Tok. During my last visit in monsoon, I rarely was able to see
anything except the clouds but this time, everything was clearly visible. Gigantic, grey mountains spread across the horizon were looking mystic and I got a feeling of getting dwarfed in the presence of these mighty mountains. These kind of places have a profound impact on your psyche and you come back as a better human being - more humble, more grounded and more equipped to face challenges of the world. These are the places which teach you more philosophy of life than any human or any book can do.
Soon, we proceeded towards the Gomukh Take. It is rarely
visited by the trekkers since it is not easily accessible. You need to descend
on the Southern side to reach to it. As nobody of us had visited it earlier, Vinod
and Shashikant went ahead to check it out and we followed in suit. After some searching,
finally we heard their happy shouts and finally we all reached to Gomukh Take only to find it dry because of the summer.
As we had descended for quite a distance, we were reluctant
to climb the same distance again to go to fort’s plateau. So, we decided to
continue further through the thicket assuming it would join somewhere to the well-defined
trail on the fort. We had to make our way through the thicket and after about
15 minutes, we found ourselves on the path going towards Maha Darwaja on the
Dhondase route.
Maha Darwaja/Dindi Darwaja: The construction and arrangement of this door is of the type called “Gomukhi” (in shape of cow’s mouth). This door is well protected since it is hidden in between two huge bastions.
After visiting Maha Darwaja, we proceeded towards Chor Darwaja
(the secret door). There is a very small opening to pass through this secret
door and you have to pass through it almost squatting. There were many big
spiders on the floor and we had to rush through the opening quickly to avoid
spiders clinging onto bodies. We had to repeat the same ordeal while coming
back from the same passage.
Few trekker from other group found a novel way to
avoid the passage and they used roots and branches of a tree to climb.
After exploring almost each and every nook of the fort, we had a breakfast of Dry
Bhel. We rested for a while in front of the temple. As we were resting, Vinod Dhamanna, an
avid bird enthusiastic, spotted a falcon or vulture nearby and rushed with his
camera. He was photographing the bird for a long time and we patiently waited
for him to finish. Once he was satisfied and contented with his clicks, we decided to descend. Before descending, we again replenished our water stalk from the cistern. This water cistern is really a boon for the trekkers and without it, it wouldn't have been possible to stay on a fort for a long time. Though the color of the water was greenish, it was clean and cool and tasted like a fresh mineral water. The fact that nobody suffered from any infection afterwards prove that the water is really potable.
We took few
breaks to finally reach to our parking spot after trudging for an hour. We
stopped at a restaurant near Adlabs Imagica to gorge on the well-deserved lunch
before proceeding towards Pune.
In hindsight, this was a hike where everything fell in place superbly. Ascending in the golden hour of the day, witnessing a stunning sunset, few anxious moments after losing our way in the falling light, star gazing at night, witnessing a spectacular sunrise and exploring the fort at our own leisurely pace provided immense satisfaction to the mind and made this hike one of the most treasured ones.
Not to mention, I got new trek mates and friends after the hike. Who doesn't want to have friends who are inspirational and exhibit plenty of talents? If I ever decide to participate in Marathon, I have a coach in the form of Vivek Deshpande who is a regular marathon runner. If I ever decide to try the bird photography, I could anytime accompany Vinod Dhamanna. If I ever have the urge to climb on Sinhagad, Shashikant who climbs Sinhagad twice a week is just a call away. And if I get bored and want to get entertained with funny quotes of P.L.Deshpande, Shripad would be more than happy to oblige.
Sudhagad, which lost to Raigad in the race of capital of King Shivaji's Maratha empire, is an astonishing place to savor the history, to get lost in the moments of absolute solitude and to witness the stunning panoramic views.
Tips for the hikers
- More about the fort can be found here.
- To get the feeling how fort looks in monsoon, visit my earlier blog on Sudhagad.
- No food facility available on the fort without prior notice.
- Water is available in the water cisterns on the Western side of the fort.
- For long hikers, you can combine Sarasgad with Sudhagad.
Thank you for reading the blog!
Do visit my home page to easily navigate to my other blogs.
Happy hiking!
Appeal: No litter; no plastic; no wrappers; keep the mother nature clean!
Do visit my home page to easily navigate to my other blogs.
Happy hiking!
Appeal: No litter; no plastic; no wrappers; keep the mother nature clean!