Prabalgad - Rendezvous With A Massive Fort

Mysterious and intriguing places have a knack of ruling your subconscious mind. Prabalgad was such a place which was at the back of my mind for quite a few months. A first glimpse of it during my hike to Kalavantin Pinnacle had left indelible impression on my psyche and I was looking for an opportunity to visit it at the earliest.

Prabalgad situated in between Panvel and Matheran region is a vast fort, mostly covered with thick vegetation and you can visit only part of it and it is advisable to visit it with a guide or expert group since there are chances of getting lost on the fort.

I was mulling to join Wild Trek Adventure group for Prabalgad hike on 10th/11th May when my friend Amarbabu Kakamanu , who wanted to start hiking approached me and I immediately finalized the plan to join WTA group along with Amar. We were a group of around 20 trekkers led by Prasad Wagh, a friend and founder of Wild Trek Adventure Group. I was picked up at Wakdewadi, Shivajinagar and other members were picked up at other pickup points like Kirkee, Nasik Phata etc.

Few other members from Mumbai were supposed to join us at Panvel. So after picking up them from Panvel, we headed towards the village Thakurwadi, our starting point for the trek. 

As it was almost 10 pm, we decided to have dinner at a temple before the hike. As we were having a quick dinner of Potato Vegetable, Chapati and Son Barfi, few youths in the village came and advised us not to hike in the night; almost instilling fear and panic among us of the route and offered to provide us a guide. We politely refused the offer as we already knew the hiking trail.

Temple where we had dinner:

We started our hike around 11 pm under a very pleasant moonlight. We hardly needed torches or headlights during the hike. Breeze seemed to have deserted us at the start of the hike but started caressing our faces; invigorating us as we climbed higher and higher. Panvel and adjacent villages, roads were glowing with the lights and it was pleasing sight for the eyes.Though there were novices in our group, all did pretty well and we only took 1 to 2 breaks along the way and reached on the plateau within 70-80 minutes.

During my last hike to Kalavantin Pinnacle, our group had halted at Prabalmachi village. It was a nightmarish experience and we were deprived of the sleep as a result of the incessant cacophony of the barking dogs and irritating early morning crowing of the roosters. I was relived when our trek leader Prasad confirmed that camping wouldn't be in the village but it would be on the plateau, in the open, just before entering the village. I was thrilled with the idea of sleeping directly under the sky, watching millions of glistening stars.

To our dismay, a small group was already camping on the plateau and they had brought the electricity generator and were doing something strange under the floodlights illuminated by the generator. We initially thought why on earth these people had taken so much efforts to bring generators instead of enjoying the natural, soothing moonlight. We even thought that they were drunk and were partying only to realize later that they were shooting for some kind of a short film.

We chatted for a while and chose a flat ground to camp on. I immediately slipped inside the sleeping bag to have a much deserved rest. The cold mountain air washed away all the fatigue and gradually I went into the deep sleep while few members preferred to chat, do some night photography. 

Our camping site: (Photo Courtesy: Mahesh Kamble)

I slept for almost 6 hours at a stretch and when my eyes opened, it was just before the sun rise. I was contented to have a sound sleep. It was the first time that I slept so peacefully inside the sleeping bag.

We chose a small house at the end of the plateau where we were provided water to get refreshed. Sky suddenly became overcast for a while and I got a nice photograph of Kalavantin Pinnacle from the backyard of the house.



Soon, it was time to have a hearty breakfast. Maggi was just getting cooked and we freshened ourselves and gorged on the sumptuous Maggi. Though I am not a big Maggi fan, I am not too fussy about having it during the treks. Tea followed the Maggi and we were ready to start our hike.

We had the worst possible start for the hike when we lost our way right at the start. We missed our first turn for the hike and walked for about 10 minutes to realize that we had come far away from the starting point. Soon, we retraced our steps back and found the correct route to start our hike.

Just before reaching to the top, on the left side, there is a cave. You need to almost crawl to explore the cave. It was pitch dark inside and I decided to venture inside with few other trek mates with my headlight on. We almost went 10 to 12 ft inside and came back immediately as it was suffocating and humid inside. Many of the trek mates preferred to wait inside.

Ascent to the top:

As soon as reaching on the top, we had a nice group photo. Shende uncle, aged 57 years was the eldest member (age wise) though he could have given run for money to any youngster with his energy and enthusiasm. Youngest member was Rohan Patil who just had finished his 12th exams. Though he was the youngest, he was well ahead of many of the trek mates with the number of treks he had done before. Reshma Raut (soon to be a certified mountaineer), Sneha and Smriti were the female members.

One of the main purposes of this hike was to witness the breathtaking view of Kalavantin Pinnacle from top of Prabalgad. As it was still early in the morning, there was some possibility of watching it in the morning light. So I urged Prasad to visit it first and he readily obliged. The whole plateau of Prabalgad is rich in woods. To reach to the Kalavantin View point on the North side, you need to walk for about 3 kms through the thicket. You can follow a dirt path; at certain stretches path is covered with a carpet of leaves; but we did not find much difficulty to reach to our destination.

It was absolutely stunning to watch Pinnacle of Kalavantin piercing the sky. The whole pinnacle was visible from top to bottom with all the zig-zag steps clearly visible.

A whole Matheran range of the forts (Haji-Malang, Tawali, Nawra-Nawri pinnacles, Mhaismal, Nakhind, Peb Fort, Matheran plateau ) is visible and it is one of the most astonishing sights in Sahydari.

Photo Courtesy: Prasad Wagh

After spending few minutes with a bit of photography, we decided to explore the other part of the fort. Again it was a walk in the woods. We hardly experienced any sunshine because of the thick vegetation which was such a relief considering the oppressive heat outside.

On the way, you come across a small Ganesh idol. We took a small break here.

Soon, we reached to the dead end of the Southern side. Here, one can witness Irshalgad, Matheran plateau and Kal Buruj.

Kal Buruj:

My photo with Irshalgad in the background:

We replenished our water supply from a small water cistern. Here, the water was so refreshing and cool. Don't go at the looks of it.

After walking for many miles in the sweltering heat, we were sapped of our energies. Still, some people rushed to the base for having the lunch. I chose to stroll slowly and at one point, perched on the rocks under a tree to hear chirping of the birds. A cooling shade and chirping of birds quickly rejuvenated the mind before I was joined by few other trek mates. Not much of water was left; whatever was left had become warm and we were thirsty and slightly peckish as well. And to our ecstasy, we spotted many trees of Jungli Karvand. We gorged on these karvands till we got satiated.

Having trekked for the first time, heat and fatigue took severe toll on Smriti and she suffered from bad cramps. With a lot of coaxing and help, she was brought back to Prabalmachi village.

Finally, we reached to a place (same house where we refreshed ourselves in the morning) where lunch was being served. I saw contented faces of our other trek mates who had come much earlier and just finished the hearty meal.Our host served us great food and we happily gorged on the much needed food. 

It was becoming exceedingly hot and humid. As I already had done Kalavantin just few months ago, I chose not to repeat it in the growing heat and decided to rest in a small hut. I joined couple of other guys who also chose rest over climbing Kalavantin.

Quintessential rural music – loud and catchy was in the air which disturbed the silence of the village. Everyone attending the marriage was gaudily dressed; dark green seemed to the favorite color of sarees and dresses. I was appalled to know that the bride was 15 yrs old and groom was 16 yrs old. It is really an unfortunate fact that child marriages still exist in Maharashtra. Probably, the inaccessibility of the village might be the reason that people are still ignorant about the ills of the child marriages.

Photo Courtesy: Mahesh Kamble

After resting for a while, some of us started descending without waiting for others who had gone on Kalavantin Pinnacle. There are idols of Lord Ganesha and Lord Hanuman on the outskirts of the Prabalmachi Village.

As we were descending, I came across a couple with a small kid who seemed to be on their way to Prabalmachi. I struck up a conversation with the family to learn that the kid was sick and they had come whole way down to take him to the doctor. I was speechless and flabbergasted to know the plights of the villagers who even don't have the basic medical facility at their village. Really sad state of affairs!

Soon, few of us were back to our parking spot. Looking back, both the forts - Kalavantin and Prabalgad were looking resplendent in the slanting golden rays of the evening.

Till the other members joined, we enjoyed chatting and witnessing the beautiful sunset. Though the sunset was witnessed from the flat region, it was still beautiful.

We almost waited for more than an hour till each and every member reached to the base. As our bus was going to drop Mumbai trekkers to Panvel which was on the opposite direction from Pune, most of the Pune members got down to enjoy some snacks and Tea till bus came back. We finally reached Pune safely around 9 p.m. savoring the amazing experience of the hike.

A pleasant hike during the night, luxuriating in the splendid views of Kalavantin Pinnacle, walking in the woods under the dark shades in the hottest month of May, marveling at the great sights of Irshalgad and Matheran plateau made the hike truly remarkable.

Prabalgad, situated in the picturesque surroundings of the Panvel region leaves you spellbound with its thick forest, great panoramic views and rich history.

Tips for the hikers

• More about the history can be found here.
• No food facility on the fort.
• Water is available in the cistern on the South Side (Near Kalburuj/Irshalgad) point
• It is advisable to take a guide or a person who already has trekked before
• Avoid monsoon season
• This hike can be combined with hike to Kalavantin Pinnacle. Read my earlier article on Kalavantin Pinnacle here.

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!

Sudhagad - An Unforgettable Overnight Hike in Summer

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.

We started our hike just at the right time when the hot weather had turned into a pleasant one. You need to cross few small houses from a little hamlet during the start of your hike. You can’t stop wondering the peacefulness of the village against the chaos of the urban life, simplicity of the village life against the complexity of the city life. But as saying goes, grass is always greener on the other side.

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.

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.

As soon as we reached to the temple, we threw away our backpacks at once and rested for a while. Soon, we gathered small dried sticks and lit a small fire and Shashikant started preparing the vegetable soup. I was amazed to see the stamina and enthusiasm of Shashikant. The guy already had hiked Sinhagad in the morning, drove the car all the way and even after reaching on top of Sudhagad, he was full of energy. Soup was delicious and after a while, we had our packed dinner of Thepla, Gulpoli and Curd.

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:

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 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!

Torna - Scaling Highest Fort in Pune district

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~ Mark Twain

Explorer inside me was anxiously waiting in the wings for the difficult period to pass. My fractured wrist bone forcefully kept me away from the full-fledged hiking for more than 2 months. Though I did simple hikes during this period, I was itching to resume strenuous hikes soon.

  

If breaking wrist was painful, healing period was even more painful. I was very happy when my plaster was taken off and was hoping for the fully functional left hand soon. But alas, I was wrong! Putting the plaster on the hand for 6 weeks had made muscles stiff and even a slight movement of the fingers, rotating the wrist was causing a lot of pain. I was advised physiotherapy for the coming 2 months to gradually gain back the strength.Climbing the difficult terrain was out of question and wait to begin full-fledged hiking was agonizing.

Gradually pain in the hand subsided and I decided to resume my hiking with Sinhagad. I hiked with the wrist band to protect the injured hand from further injury. Hike to Sinhagad went uneventful which boosted my confidence to join TrekDi group for the night hike to Torna, the highest fort in Pune district. Though I hardly had any strength to climb using my left hand (even lifting a water bottle was painful), I took the calculated risk to go for this hike.

Amol More, the certified mountaineering expert was the assigned trek leader to lead a group of total 8 trekkers. We all assembled in front of Fergusson College around 11 p.m. and started our journey towards Torna in a comfortable mini bus around 11.30 p.m. Umesh Sharma was the trekker sitting next to me and Amol and we struck up a conversation to get to know each other and our trekking and mountaineering experiences. Ice was broken and we instantly formed a nice rapport. We didn't realize when Velhe, the base village of Torna arrived.

It was pitch dark when we landed in Velhe, There was absolutely no sign of moon. I was under the impression that we would be trekking under the moonlight but it turned out to be the night of no-moon. We were submerged in the utter darkness after switching off the lights of our bus, . We even could not see the silhouettes of Torna fort . Fortunately, all of us were carrying torches. There were two routes going from the place where we had parked our vehicle and we were slightly confused which route to take. Depending on the consensus, we chose the route falling on the right side and started our march towards the fort.

As few of the trek-mates were hiking for the first time or after a considerable gap, we took frequent breaks to make sure that nobody was left behind. After a hike of 1 hour or so, we reached to a ridge with the steep slope on both the sides. A cool breeze was blowing caressing our faces and we decided to rest for some time and experience the tranquility by switching off our torches.Sight of millions of star in the sky and experiencing  utter peacefulness rejuvenated our mind, soul and body and after a while, we started our final march towards the fort. There were few rock patches in between where both the hands were needed to haul yourself up. As I was just recovering from the broken wrist, I was finding it difficult to negotiate few patches. I somehow managed to negotiate these patches with one hand. Finally, we reached to the first entrance of the fort where we again waited for few other members to join us.

Finally after hiking for more than two hours, we reached to our halting point - temple of goddess Mengai around 4 am. We were drenched in the sweat and were unsure whether to sleep inside or outside the temple. There was already a group sleeping inside the temple and we decided to spend the remaining few hours before the dawn outside the temple. We were quite hungry and wolfed on the snacks we had with us. Soon I tucked myself inside the sleeping bag at the backside of the temple. Some of the trek mates were reluctant to sleep and lit a small campfire and started chatting around it. Many of the trek mates shared some weird and interesting experiences – inclining towards the horror stories and it was a good fun. Though my eyes were closed, I heard each and every amusing story that was being shared.

I didn't want to miss the sunrise and came out of my sleeping bag just before the sunrise. As there was still some time for the sunrise, I went around the temple to click few pictures. This temple of Goddess Mengai is very spacious and beautiful and a good halting place for the trekkers.

Exploring fort with our group was planned after breakfast. During the free time, we decided to catch the sunrise and explore some parts of the fort on our own. Watching the sun rise from the far away mountain was an exhilarating experience and we just marveled at its sight. These are the moments when you feel so connected to the almighty and you feel blessed with the beautiful life God has given to you.

After the sunrise, I and Umesh decided to visit Zunjar Machi. You need to go down by the ladder installed and take a traverse along the narrow dirt route to reach to a point from where you need to negotiate a rock patch to reach to Zunjar Machi.



As I was unsure of negotiating the tricky rock patch with one hand, I decided to wait till Umesh’s return. Watching the marvelous architecture of Zunjar machi was a stunning experience and one can’t help wondering how on earth these kind of structures were built without the modern tools and technology.

After a while we returned to the plateau from the Zunjar Machi. Trekking route from the Velhe village was clearly visible from the top of plateau and we luxuriated in the panoramic views of the river and mountains around.

As we were returning back, I looked back and clicked a zoomed photo of Rajgad with monkeys in the forefront.

 

There is a water cistern named "Mengai Tank" near the temple. This water can be used for drinking purpose.

After a while, we returned back to the temple. The guy who was going to prepare breakfast had not arrived yet. This guy was supposed to come from the base village but there was no sign of him. We were becoming hungry and decided to have a breakfast of Tea-biscuits rather than waiting for the guy. 

As tea was getting prepared, I struck a conversation with a group of elders; all looking above 60. They were brimming with a lot of energy and I was so eager to know more about them.

Me: Uncle, from where?

Uncle: Pune

Me: What’s your age?

Uncle: Guess?

Me: 65 yrs

Uncle: No, 55 yrs. ….After a smile, it’s 71 actually

Me: Wow, uncle! What a fitness! What’s the secret?

Uncle: Climbing Sinhagad on Thursday and Sunday for last 14 yrs.

Well, fitness doesn't come easily. It requires discipline over the years but the fruits are worth of it! I couldn't have witnessed a better example than this coterie of senior citizens – so fit, so energetic, so radiant and so happy! It was a choice that they made many years ago and they were reaping the benefits of that choice years later on. From the look of uncle’s fitness, I wouldn't be surprised if he scales the mountains for another 10 years.

Soon, tea was ready and we gorged on biscuits with the tea. Once we had stuffed ourselves, we all went to see Budhala Machi. 

Konkan Darwaja with Budhala Machi in the background:

As we didn't have much time and it was becoming hotter, we just had the glimpse of Budhala Machi from the distance. 

I couldn't resist the temptation of getting myself clicked on the backdrop of the stunning Budhala Machi.

After spending few minutes and having a group photo and bit of photography, we decided to return to the base.Along the way, we came across a small snacks joint and there was a guy finally arrived. He apologized for coming late and offered to prepare the breakfast for us. But as it was almost 10.30 a.m. and sun had started to beat down, instead of waiting for the breakfast, we decided to gulp down few glasses of Lemon Juice and started descending.

Kothi Darwaja: This is the second entrance while climbing.

Bini Darwaja: This is the first entrance of the fort while climbing.

As we were descending, we came across a lady who was distraught and seemed to be in a lot of pain. She seemed to be amateur in the trekking field and was utterly exhausted after climbing Rajgad earlier night, walking to Torna for more than 6 hours on the ridge and now descending not so easy Torna. She already had slipped 3-4 times bruising herself and was almost in tears. “I quit, I quit. I can't take it anymore”  and she was sitting helplessly right in the middle of the rock patch obstructing the path for other trekkers. We tried to motivate and encourage her but she was in no mood to listen. Gradually, her group leaders who had gone ahead again trudged back to assist her.Well, trekking is definitely not a picnic and you need to know your limits before venturing into the inhospitable terrain.

While descending down:

A group of trekkers came from behind and overtook us  They were literally running under relentless sun. Probably they were preparing themselves for some kind of endurance competition.

At last, after trudging for almost two hours, we reached to the base.

We soon reached to the place where we had parked our vehicle. We gulped on the water before proceeding for the lunch in Torna Vihar restaurant which is known for its great food as well as great hospitality. Hotel owner personally attended to us and served us sumptuous food till we got fully satiated. During the lunch, I met Snehal Dongre, an adventure freak and the core member of "Man Vs Miles" group and we chatted for a while on different adventure related topics.

Torna Vihar Restaurant:

Soon, it was time to bid adieu to Velhe. Umesh Sharma requested to return back from the shortcut via Pabe ghat as he intended to visit it as part of his cycling expedition later on and we all unanimously agreed. It was indeed very scenic and we saved a lot of distance and reached Pune earlier than expected.

All in all, a memorable night hike in the pitch darkness, witnessing the spectacular sunrise, wondering at the marvelous architecture of the Zunjar and Budhla machis made this hike a treasured one. I would love to visit Torna in the monsoon season to experience the lush greenery and soak under the waterfalls.

Torna, pride of Maharashtra is an important part of the history and every proud Maharashtrian should visit it at least once in lifetime.

Tips for the hikers

• Grade of hike (Medium for seasoned trekkers; tough for beginners)
• Time of hike: 2 to 3 hrs from the base depending on your stamina
• Stay can be made in the temple of goddess Mengai
• Long hikers can combine Rajgad-Torna which can truly test your stamina
• More information on the fort can be found here.

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!