Trek to Rajmachi

Trek To Rajmachi

Location: Pune

Time: 3 -4 hrs approx

Level: Easy to Moderate

Height : 2710 feet

Special Equipment : Not required

Shelter : Caves at the top

Potable water : Yes

What to see:  i) Shrivardhan and ii) Manoranjan, Ancient Lord Shiva temple (in Rajmachi village), Ancient temple in the gorge between Manoranjan and Shrivardhan, Caves, Lake ,  Kondana caves

Duration: 1 Day or 2 days(if you decide to halt at Rajmachi)

How to reach: 

Thane to Karjat to Kondivade Village via Kondana caves to Rajmachi

PS: If you are trekking during rainy season via Kondana Caves, increase your speed and try to descend as early as possible. Hire a guide if you want. 

Somewhere in the mid July we decided to trek Rajmachi. A one day trek which unfortunately became a 2 days trek.

So this time we were 11 trekkers...trekking Rajmachi for the 1st time. It was my college group and it was the 1st trekking experience for 7 people!! 

We started our journey from Thane Station we boarded a  Karjat train around 5 am from Thane. As soon as we reached Karjat we had our breakfast and started searching for rickshaws, since we had decided for an one day trek we didn't want to waste time so we walked till the rickshaw stand and took an Rickshaw till kondivade village. It was raining heavily.
Kondana Caves to Rajmachi trek is counted as one of the most exciting and endurance testing treks. This route in monsoon season is truly exciting. You get to see streams, waterfalls, lush green paddy field on the way. Hundreds of crabs cross your path on the way. We first visited the Kondana caves which are decently maintained.There was one group who were rappelling. This was the only group which we met in our journey, since we were trekking on a weekday.
We reached the Rajmachi village in 3-4 hours. We explored the fort till 5 pm and didn't realize that we were running out of time. The entire fort was covered with fog and the visibility was less. 

The decision to descend at 5 pm was a wrong one..but  we didn't had any other option!! As we had college on the next day! :D 
Our speed was slow, we were not carrying enough food, we were on this route for the first time, there was fog, the visibility was less and it was raining heavily. And within an hour there was complete darkness, we lost our way!! Searching for the right path for 2 hours we ended up taking a wrong path which led us to a dead end!
We decided to take a halt and decided to begin our journey early morning, we didn't had any shelter just our raincoats! We found a small rock patch somewhere in the jungle and all the 11 people sat on that rock patch till 5 am in the morning. We began searching the right path and again wasted 2 hours. Finally we after a long tiring search we found the right path..no energy to walk..somehow we managed to reach the base...hired a rickshaw and reached Karjat station. 

Trek to Mahuligad

Trek To Mahuligad

Location: Asangaon, Thane District

Time: 2.5 hrs from Mahuli, Base Village

Level: Moderate

Height : 2815 ft (Highest point of Thane District)

Special Equipment : Not required

Shelter : Caves at the top. However it is better to complete the trek within one whole day.

Potable water : Yes, but its better to have water from the base itself.

What to see: Caves, Water Cisterns, Mahadarwaja, view  of Sahyadri Ranges and neighboring forts.

Duration: 1 Day

Group Members: Abhijeet Jadhav, Asriel Jhirad, Mayur Dabholkar, Mangesh Dabholkar

So this was my third visit to Mahuli Gad. Again an unplanned visit in summers. Summers is not a good time to visit Mahuli, that's why we decided to do a night trek. We boarded the last train from Thane towards Kasara at 1.09 am from Thane railway station by 2.17 am we were at Asangaon railway station. Asangaon is on Mumbai-Nasik rail route.

We took a mini break of 10-15 mins at station followed by a photo session. We started walking towards the fort...from Asangaon station by walking for approximately 4 kms one can reach the base village by heading towards Manas Mandir and then Mahuli village. It took us around 90 minutes to reach the base village from Asangaon Station.

If you are going for the first time I would suggest you to go in the morning and get a private vehicle to reach the base village. You can also take bus in morning to reach till Mahuli Village from Shahpur around 6.00 am. One can also drive till Mahuli Village from Nasik Highway landmark is Manas Mandir when you reach a junction do not take right for Manas Mandir keep driving straight till Mahuli Village.
 
Carry water as during summers there is water scarcity. From Asangaon Station it took us approximately 5 hrs 30 mins to reach the top, since it was night time and we our speed was slow. By 8.30 am we were at the top chilling out in the caves. The breathtaking views of the Sahyadri Ranges will give you all the pleasure.

After exploring the fort, having lunch, taking rest we decided to start our descend at around 3.00 pm, we reached the base village by 5 pm. Whatever plastic waste we could see on our way we picked it up and by the end of our journey we had 2 gunny sacks full of plastic waste. We were tired, wet and thrilled on completing this trek we hired a tum tum from Mahuli Village for Rs 200 till Asangaon Station there is also a State Transport Bus from Mahuli Village till Shahpur which leaves at 6.30 pm. You can get down at highway and walk till station or go up to Shahpur.  

Please feel free to comment.

Regards,

Abhijeet Jadhav

From left to right...Mangesh, Abhijeet, Kaushik, Mayur, Asriel