Koregad A.K.A Korigad A.K.A Koraigad

This weekend since kuch log were too tired of "Sumo Chalana" we decided we headed somewhere nearby on bikes. We thought about Rajmachi, but then considering that we are bunch of old men we thought of something nice, which got us moving to Korigad.

This fort is past INS Shivaji near a village called Peth Shahapur enroute Ambavane where Sahara Amby Valley is located and belongs to Sahara India. Yes they own the fort believe it or not.

To get to this place from Pune essentially one needs to :
1] Travel on NH-4 to Lonavala / Expressway take Lonavala exit. Take the left to Bhushi Dam/INS Shivaji and continue to Amby Valley. Keep looking for Peth Shahapur.
2] Travel to Mulshi. Just before the dam wall, take a right to Ghusalkhamb [ 40Kms from here ]. The road is not so good, though if you need a taste of adventure scenery and greenery. This is the route. When you hit a T with a Chai shop at corner, take a left for Ambavane and look for Peth Shahapur.
3] Travel past Mulshi via Tamhini, past Dongarwadi, there is a bifurcation for Lonavala. This road is super scenic and Sumo worthy. This road would take you to Bhambarde, from here continue to Ambavane and then to Peth Shahapur.

The depressing thoughts of passing Lonavala traffic early morning and search for some adventure found us travelling towards Mulshi at 8.00 in the morning. We chose option 2 as I had not travelled on this route before. After a good amount of timepass, photography we reached the destination.

Since this is a Sahara property and due to the proximity to Lonavala, you always have some company for climb. Sahara chaps have now put a tarmac road right to the base. There are steps to get to the top as well. The fort is huge as such and has fortification in place to great extent. There is a lake, a temple, few canons and marshy land. One can spot the Amby valley right at the base of the fort.

We got down at about 4.00 discussed our options and decided to head back via NH-4. I had been here with B and PN long time ago, that time some stupid a**s sons of GW Bush had stolen the fuel from our bikes. This time I had some weird lady asking 60 bucks aggressively for no reasons to let us park our bikes. Not that 60 bucks was an issue, though the manner in which the bi**ch demanded it was quite shocking. We had run into a drunk man on the way in the morning, I did the honors of asking him for the directions. He was slurring about how the fort belongs to locals etc. etc. Overall the locals around don't quite have a very nice attitude towards visitors. As for these Amby valley morons, they are clearing up quite a piece of forest here for making roads to the very base of the fort. Soon they'll have red carpet laid up all the way up on the steps. Sahara has about 10K acres or more land in this beautiful valley, their golf courses by the huts of the locals and they are killing it for sure. Must visit before they kill this place completely.

Find the complete set of pictures here.

Kawlya A.K.A. Kavlya Pictures

Neera Devghar Dam

One of the many bridges in backwaters of Neera Devghar

Life on Roads - Monsoons

The endless number of waterfalls you see on this road

View of the valley enroute Kawlya

Main range of Sahyadris

Approaching Kawlya - The mist covered mountains

Primate shot by a primate

View of the valley and waterfalls from Kavlya/Kawlya

Kawlya A.K.A. Kavlya

Ill cut the long story short this time around. We had multiple options. It was likely that we would have had to bike this weekend. Though, thanks to the elaborate efforts of Lord C...shwar. We found ourselves traveling in two Sumos to Kavlya/Kawlya fort with Lord C's apostles.

Historically, this fort has been described as the stronghold of Chandrarao More of Jawali, who was Shivaji's archrival. We were always taught stories of the thick jungles of Jawali and how difficult it was to get round those. Its to not to a good, though to a fair extent still holds the same charm.

We got going at 7.30 AM in the morning, had breakfast at Natraj on Satara road. After stopping down for good amount of time for photography at Neera Devghar dam we headed towards the destination. This route is the second route after Tamhini that connects ghat to Konkan and probably very few know it and I guess its very nice to be kept that way. What this ensures is that there are little tourists. No plastic, no trash, no drunkards and all and nothing but you and greenest valley with beautiful waterfalls emptying relentlessly in it.

Ill intentionally skip the directions part here. Its worth making that effort and figuring out this treasure on your own. We got going amongst heavy mist, reached the destination. Though due to mist, clouds went round it and went far too ahead and wandered. After some searching and adventurous stunts we gave up and decided to retire to base where the vehicles were parked.

There are quite a few interesting things around this place. There are traces of old steps off the route which is normally taken for hiking. If you talk to the locals you would find hell lot of information about some of the things which are still not much known to the regular traveler. We indulged in some of the greatest waterfalls I have ever ran into on the way back got some of the neatest shots I could ever get. Check out the complete imagestation album here.

Mangad Pictures

No weekend breaks - A farmer slogging out early morning in Mulshi.

Where the road goes round Plus valley - The Bhira Hydroelectric pipes in Tamhini.

Main range of Sahyadris to the East of Mangad.

A lush Paddy field near Borwadi.

Waterfalls in Tamhini. These thundered the way back.

Water tanks and the farms below - Mangad.

The ruins of fortification

Parsha - [ Parshuram ] the guide at Entrance. Parsha is a good man.

The climb

The Dargah atop Mangad.

Mangad

It started raining heavily from Wednesday, which kind of made me a bit happier. Not that I wasnt going to venture out this weekend. But then a prospect of good outing is always pleasing. If not then there is a weird fun in pushing yourselves to limits. Either case, headcount wise there was addition in form of M and one new found fan on the Peth trek last weekend.

To start with the proposal was to go to infamous Mangad. Last year some ill informed locals around had completely denied that this place existed and we had to hike Kurdugad. It was agreed upon that we all meet at Chandni Chouk at 7.00 with our respective bikes, though on Saturday morning we set off in M's Sail towards Borwadi at 8.00 AM [ again ].

To reach Mangad one has to :
Travel to Tamhini via Paud from Chandni Chouk. Get down the Tamhini Ghats.
Take the left to Mangaon/Nizampur from Vile. From here Nizampur is 15Km.
Take a left in Nizampur towards Pachad - Raigad Ropeway and keep asking for Borwadi.
Borwadi is about 4kms from Nizampur. Park your vehicles in Borwadi, walk to Masadwadi-Mashidwadi. This is the starting point for the climb.

We parked the car at Borwadi, asked the locals about the best route to climb etc and moved towards Masadwadi-Mashidwadi. Yes you are right, the name is derived from Mashid in Marathi meaning Mosque. The fort was apparently constructed by Muslim rulers and there is a fair amount of population around here to prove that too. There is a ancient Shiva temple here which was turned into ruins by the Muslims. Watch out while climbing the rock cut steps. If you are weak"er" at heart this is not for you.

The Maharashtra State Gazetteer says that this is the smallest of the three in the region and is true. We got up on top non-stop within 20 odd minutes. There is a temple midway. There are traces of fortification. Some water tanks, an empty cave and a Dargah. From the top one can spot the main range of Sahyadris which stands much taller than the fort, Kumbha pass and the villages below. We got down at about 4.00 PM amongst heavy rains and decided to hit Tamhini.

The waterfall at the base of Tamhini had soured in size by the time we reached there. We decided to climb up for some raw fun/thrill. After spending an hour and realizing that it had worsened even more, even for making us difficult to get down to the car, we headed back. Enjoying our drive back amongst a series of beautiful waterfalls.

Find the complete imagestation album here.

Peth A.K.A Kothligad Pictures

Pinnacle of Peth and the hutments at base

Same place - same tree

Peculiarly shaped Padar Killa and Siddhagad at Distance

Locals working in the Paddy fields

Khandas-Bhimashankar range of Western ghats

The base of the fort. Taken from the base of the caves.

On the way up the pinnacle

Lush green mountain slopes with Padar Killa at distance

Pinnacle lost in clouds towards the evening.

Peth A.K.A. Kothligad

I got a call from Ajax on Wednesday. He said he had a bunch of guys with him from office which meant other than B and GD we had lot more heads and biking was ruled out. I was given the glorious job of deciding on the destination, so I took the liberty to dump the travel booking etc to Ajax. After lot of factors considering the two couples, prospects of rains, humidity blah blah. We headed towards Peth. Primarily because I had been there before and I did not want to scare the mere mortals on the bus with the idea of "Gee.. look this guy has no idea where he is taking us". So venturing into unknowns was turned down.

We got going about 8.00 from Pune, [ pretty early by the standards we set]. Had breakfast in Lonavala. On the way, some bright kid called up one of his drunk Sardar mate left behind in Baner to come join us in Lonavala, which surprisingly he did in record time. This Sardar could go on to become India's hope in MotoGP trust me.

For the sake of it and some people really do need these : Directions :
Get to Khopoli from Pune via NH4/Expressway. Take the Khopoli exit. Take the right turn to Karjat. Reach Karjat. Cross the bridge over Ulhas river and proceed to Murbad. At about 11 odd Kms from Karjat is Kashele. Take a right here towards Ambivali. This again is about 12 Kms. From Ambivali start your climb to Peth.

We reached after quite a leisurely journey. When we set off, it was raining in Pune, though oddly this part showed no traces and had been this way apparently for past 8-10 days. Peth is the most amazing place one can visit monsoons I guess. Particularly for the sight of numerous waterfalls that plunge the mountain slopes as you are on your way up.

Our leisurely journey continued till the small hamlet on the top. Here we had a brief pit stop and moved ahead. Ambivali has a lake at the base which is fed by one particularly beautiful waterfall which is a bit off the climbing route. It did get overcast at the end of the day. The fort has sole survivor canon and some fortification. There are steps dug out from inside the rock. Overall quite a tough base for a skirmish I guess. From the top one can spot the oddly shaped Padar Killa, triangular Siddhagad beyond and the Khandas Bhimashankar range of Western ghats.

The small set of hutments at base provide accomodation/chai/beedi etc etc. Watch out for a piece of a Canon in front of a shop called "Ganesh Kirana Stores". The owner guy claimed he got it in order to save it from others trying to steal it and take it away. The same guy has a necklace with what he claims as a "Royal Bengal Tiger tooth". Claims it was about 12 years ago that the villagers had found it dead in the valley. Claims there are leopards in the valley below, which is very true going by the fact that 30 odd leopards from Junnar were actually intentionally released in the Bhimashankar wildlife sanctuary.

I would have been happy if it rained. I met quite a few enthusiastic people on this trip. Met a father of two and three of them were going to camp here for night. Apparently this guy visits every year in monsoon and winters for past 12 years. I was in here with B, P and A in 2003. We had biked all the way from Pune. Now both B and P are gone, so much has changed. A is married and busy. I hope I carry on like this guy.

Check the entire imagestation album here.

Palasdari Pictures

Foggy NH-4 in Khandala

Enroute Palasdari - Khopoli-Karjat Road

Karajat Khopoli train route - Background Palasdari Fort

Lush Vegetation and Waterfalls enroute the Fort

At the base of the Fort

Looking at the Valley below from the base of the Fort

The only construction than the water tanks on the Fort.One of the two water tanks on the top of the Fort.

Palasdari

This week buddies and me decided to give Palasdari a shot. This place seems to be fairly popular with the Mumbai guys though not people from Pune. I had known about Palasdari for some time while traveling on the Khopoli Karjat road so getting there was no issue.

We caught up at Chevrolet showroom on NH-4 near Soos road, had some omlet and chai at Tapri and headed towards our destination Palasdari. Essentially to get here from Pune you got to :
- Travel till Khopoli from Pune by NH4. Take the right from Khopoli to Karjat. Palasdari is about 7Km from Khopoli. Take a right here and park your vehicles at the grocery shop or a hamlet. You got to take a walk from here.

We got across the guarded railway crossing for the locals, after which there is the Karjat-Khopoli train link. One needs to cross these and start a climb from the electricity tower to the left at the base of the hill. You can spot the fort which is the highest point around this area.

Our journey way up was full with insect bites and loosing our way. If you have to go here, prob. going there with someone who has been here before or hiring the services of a local expert is a good idea. Unfortunately for us, we couldn't recruit the expert on this day. Essentially you got to get up, go to the right end of the fort, go round it and climb from a narrow ridge between two pinnacles.

There's hardly anything there atop, two water tanks decorate the little area on the top. There is just a little sign of some fortification at the entrance. From the top one can spot Khopoli and Palasdari dam below. You can also spot Morbe dam near Chowk and a river which is prob. Ulhas river.

We lost our way on the way back twice when it was almost dark. Ultimately with just loosing altitude in the right direction [ Palasdari Lake ] as the prime focus we did magically manage to get down to the point from where we had started. Overall, I dont know who ever goes to the fort ? Most of the ppl who turn up are retards carrying loads of booze, go to the waterfall, act like pigs by the Palasdari Lake. Ironic !!

Find the complete imagestation album here.

Tikona Pictures

Climbing Up - Below, way round Tikona Peth.

Looking up at the Peak. Not yet there.

Taken from the caves at the base of the fortification.

Taken from the village while getting back - The fort.

Some bonding. Way back.

Mumbai - Pune Expressway- While approaching Somatane Phata

Tikona

All those fellas who still tune in here. Here's a big Hi. The old man doesn't have much fire in his belly by now. Though the old man is busy with some of his daily chores he did manage to pull off a weekend hike for the start of this monsoons i.e. on 30th of June 2007.

Primarily since it rained cats and dogs this time around Pune and again my folks or I dont know played with my poor point and shoot cam's image resolution settings I wouldn't have much nice pics, though the man I am who has always believed in consistency I still have some shots which dont really do much justice to this blog. Still nevertheless what the h/f**k.

Getting to the point and for the record, we converged on Tikona. I had been to this place long time ago with Paxonet guys and was quite an experience. Since I started with Tung last year and Tikona sounded more like the closest we decided we give it a shot.

Comrades included, Balls, Gemini, Kid, Subbu and Surd and yours truly. We set out at about 7.30ish from Chandni Chouk towards our target.
To get to this place you got to
1] Reach Paud via Chandni Chauk/Hinjewadi. Take a right from the Paud bus stand to a place called Javan and proceed further towards Tikona Peth.
2] Get to Somatane Phata via the Katraj Dehuroad bypass. Take a left for Pawana Dam and proceed towards Tikona peth past Pawana dam.

We made it there amongst heavy rains, parked our bikes at the temple at Tikona Peth once we felt we couldnt make it any further and proceeded for the climb. The tonic part which is the essential ingrediant of the treks was missing this time. Some R&D took us to the top, where rains did not leave us much options than to take shelter in the caves around.

There hardly are any structures around. There is a temple, couple of caves where one could stay overnight and old ramparts. You can spot Pawana dam and Tung bang across the waters of Pawana dam. If you would google, it tells you that why its called Tikona etc. etc.

After having bunch of Parle-Gs and assorted snacks the comrades decided to head back.
Return was uneventful. Rains worsened. We took a break at Pawananagar for Chaha and Khekada Bhaji. Dont have any imagestation album this time. Hope Ill do better next time.

Kurdugad A.K.A Vishramgad Pictures

The ever beautiful Mulshi lake ..

Tamhini Ghats while climbing Kurdugad ..

Fort Kurdugad from Kurdu Peth ..

Sahyadris south of Tamhini from Kurdu Peth ..

Narrow path round the pinnacle ...Getting down to Kurdu Peth.. Fort Entrance ...
Fort Kurdugad from Umbardi ..Bridge near Umbardi ..background Tamhini range...Sunset at Jite ...