Mardana hike...
This was pictured about a year or more back with Amty spelling Sagargad in all styles and rhymes. Amty cried again Sagargad and we went on this trek on Saturday with Amty and nike being the drop offs :P
The day started with me shedding some skin and blood to PMC's wonderful work off Ganeshkind road. The delayed start got us off Ady's house by about 6:30am having picked Anpy and Jay from their locations we were soon cruising (err.. going ... the sumo driver was a cautious slow coach :-) ) the expressway. Took our first halt at the food mall post Malawli where we relished on some sumptuous pohe and tea. Anpy always seemed to to get the bigger share of cake :P.
Soon we took the Khopoli exit and took the road towards Pen. The roads were good and they were tolled :(. Soon we rode past Pen got off the NH17 and took on the Alibaugh road. Post some inquiries took the straight road leaving the Alibaugh bifurcation behind (Alibaugh was some 4 kms from here). Few villages later we reached Khanadle and took the kuccha path to the start of the climb.
Siddeshwawadi is nothing more than a collection of a few hutments. This is where our hike took its start(~10:30 am). We already had spotted the Siddheshwar Math waterfall. The path was broad and straightforward. The place was green and the weather was humid. The reptiles and crabs kept dancing around as were moved ahead. A few clicks and some hike later we reached the steps that go up to Siddheswar Math and Sagargad.
These steps really were not a spoiler, it was the weather that seemed to take a toll on us. Up steady incline, a consistent pace and glasses of sweat later we came up to a point from where we got a wonderful view of the waterfall and the twin domes of the Math atop it. This was our first halt for the day. Anpy soon carried on. At this place there was little hump to the right from where we got a stupendous view of the surroundings, unfortunately the day was cloudy but thankfully this place being in the open was windy and kept the humidity at bay. Before we could leave we spotted the racing Anpy atop at a huge distance :) (~11am).
The path ahead was a little forgiving, in the sense there were not much steps and the inclination was not too steady and steep. Very soon we walked through 2 logs of wood (like a gate) and were at the bifurcation. The path ahead (right) led down to the Math and the left going up went to Sagargad. Anpy was missing, we assumed him to be at the Math so went down and called out for him a lot, in response we had two dogs barking back at us from the closed doors of the Math. Well we decided to move on assuming Anpy to be somewhere atop.
The rest of the path was not too inclined and soon we came up to a clearing and saw a few village houses, post some inquiry we got directions and carried forth and passed another few houses and saw Anpy in a distance next to a stream dancing and waving out at us. He had gotten the direction for the fort and so we carried on with his lead. The path went through many paths and then we started following stones with marked arrows and also some locals giving us directions. The path later went into clouds and visibility dropped to a few meters. Soon the path started going down along the edge of the hill.
We reached a place where there was an idol with sindoor tikas all over it, next to it was a dome like stuff out of rubble (we assumed it to be one of the 7 tombs of satichi maal) (~12 pm). The path then went from the right as we followed arrows and went up and reached a plateau with a hump in dense clouds. A little wandering later we went up the hump which seemed to be organized in 2 or 3 layers. A few bells and whizzles later we decided to carry on.
Here again we took a path that went up the right edge and reached the top at a clearing. This plateau was huge, I mean really huge. It was littered with Karwandache jhaad :). We wandered a little and came to this spot where we could hear weird noises "pwan pwanpwan... durr bruuk". And the noise was loud- animated. Thats when we spotted huge I mean huge toads along the little lakes. They were plain noisy man!
Being cloudy with the consistent drizzles we could not spot VanarLingi pinnacle ('arrey ek vanar disat nahi ahe .. tyache lingi kutthun disnaar' as Ady put it :-) ). This is where the major attraction of the trek, as Anpy put it "wassol zhalli ahe", started -Plucking and munching on sweet and sour karwande of the millions hanging off the thousands of trees. This session just never seemed to end, Jay was tossing in the black fruit like he were munching groundnuts! Lots of persuals later we go on to get inside the fortification section. The path was from the left side.
This is when the rain picked up. Inside it was a tick jungle, we had to bend and jump over shrubs and cobwebs a lot. Soon we walked past a couple of good clearings and explored the length and breath of this place. It was just ruins and shrubs all around. Here we picked a spot in the clearing and had our lunch - curd rice, shira parathe ladoo was the menu of the hour. We lazed a little and decided to move on. (~1:30pm).
We explored a little more, but really found nothing other than ruined walls and thickets. backtracking proved to be a tough job too, with the jungle and numerous path ways it was easy. Btw. Anpy had filled in a bag full of karwande by now. I even got to see the fruit the size of a plumb! Mushrooms in this area too were weird, like round balls on the ground looked like dried lemons.
The return hike got us off the hill, clouds and the dhaba dhab rains and we were down on the green plateau. Here we lost Anpy and lots of confusion later we were back together and tracking our way back to the village. Once at the village we spent some time at the stream and had a good time cracking jokes and dancing fools around. Now the clouds had given way and the skys were open. We could spot the Arabian sea in a distance. Oh what a wonderful sight it was! It felt really good and different, I mean you are on a hill fort and you can see the ocean ahead- thats something different. (~2:30pm)
We hiked on and got down to the Siddheshwar Math. The dogs were missing and so were any souls. The place was quit and cool- just the rubbish the idiotic picnic crowds litter around was visible down the slopes and next to the waterfall. The arabian sea again made a wonderful sight from here. Soon left the Math behind and we made a slow cautious descent down the slippery steps to the ground below. The humidity was on.
Singing songs and yapping all sorts of things and just about anything; we came down to the start of the steps and took the walk back to our parked sumo. Here we changed over to dry clothes and made a move. (~5pm).
Enroute we halted at Pen for some snacks and rode on, spotted many other hill forts on the way back as we hit the expressway via Khalapur. By now we were taking nap breaks as we slowly went by the crowded expressway that we eventually got off and dropped Jay at Chinchwad station and Anpy at his house.
Eventually Ady and me got back home and a hot cup of tea later I slowly and cautiously made my way back home astride the now bruised CBZ.
This was an eventful trek- the accident, the humid climb, the karwande trees , the clouds, the sight of the Arabian sea and so much more! The good news -I am not fractured and the better news -take a week's rest :).
The day started with me shedding some skin and blood to PMC's wonderful work off Ganeshkind road. The delayed start got us off Ady's house by about 6:30am having picked Anpy and Jay from their locations we were soon cruising (err.. going ... the sumo driver was a cautious slow coach :-) ) the expressway. Took our first halt at the food mall post Malawli where we relished on some sumptuous pohe and tea. Anpy always seemed to to get the bigger share of cake :P.
Soon we took the Khopoli exit and took the road towards Pen. The roads were good and they were tolled :(. Soon we rode past Pen got off the NH17 and took on the Alibaugh road. Post some inquiries took the straight road leaving the Alibaugh bifurcation behind (Alibaugh was some 4 kms from here). Few villages later we reached Khanadle and took the kuccha path to the start of the climb.
Siddeshwawadi is nothing more than a collection of a few hutments. This is where our hike took its start(~10:30 am). We already had spotted the Siddheshwar Math waterfall. The path was broad and straightforward. The place was green and the weather was humid. The reptiles and crabs kept dancing around as were moved ahead. A few clicks and some hike later we reached the steps that go up to Siddheswar Math and Sagargad.
These steps really were not a spoiler, it was the weather that seemed to take a toll on us. Up steady incline, a consistent pace and glasses of sweat later we came up to a point from where we got a wonderful view of the waterfall and the twin domes of the Math atop it. This was our first halt for the day. Anpy soon carried on. At this place there was little hump to the right from where we got a stupendous view of the surroundings, unfortunately the day was cloudy but thankfully this place being in the open was windy and kept the humidity at bay. Before we could leave we spotted the racing Anpy atop at a huge distance :) (~11am).The path ahead was a little forgiving, in the sense there were not much steps and the inclination was not too steady and steep. Very soon we walked through 2 logs of wood (like a gate) and were at the bifurcation. The path ahead (right) led down to the Math and the left going up went to Sagargad. Anpy was missing, we assumed him to be at the Math so went down and called out for him a lot, in response we had two dogs barking back at us from the closed doors of the Math. Well we decided to move on assuming Anpy to be somewhere atop.
The rest of the path was not too inclined and soon we came up to a clearing and saw a few village houses, post some inquiry we got directions and carried forth and passed another few houses and saw Anpy in a distance next to a stream dancing and waving out at us. He had gotten the direction for the fort and so we carried on with his lead. The path went through many paths and then we started following stones with marked arrows and also some locals giving us directions. The path later went into clouds and visibility dropped to a few meters. Soon the path started going down along the edge of the hill.
We reached a place where there was an idol with sindoor tikas all over it, next to it was a dome like stuff out of rubble (we assumed it to be one of the 7 tombs of satichi maal) (~12 pm). The path then went from the right as we followed arrows and went up and reached a plateau with a hump in dense clouds. A little wandering later we went up the hump which seemed to be organized in 2 or 3 layers. A few bells and whizzles later we decided to carry on.
Here again we took a path that went up the right edge and reached the top at a clearing. This plateau was huge, I mean really huge. It was littered with Karwandache jhaad :). We wandered a little and came to this spot where we could hear weird noises "pwan pwanpwan... durr bruuk". And the noise was loud- animated. Thats when we spotted huge I mean huge toads along the little lakes. They were plain noisy man!Being cloudy with the consistent drizzles we could not spot VanarLingi pinnacle ('arrey ek vanar disat nahi ahe .. tyache lingi kutthun disnaar' as Ady put it :-) ). This is where the major attraction of the trek, as Anpy put it "wassol zhalli ahe", started -Plucking and munching on sweet and sour karwande of the millions hanging off the thousands of trees. This session just never seemed to end, Jay was tossing in the black fruit like he were munching groundnuts! Lots of persuals later we go on to get inside the fortification section. The path was from the left side.
This is when the rain picked up. Inside it was a tick jungle, we had to bend and jump over shrubs and cobwebs a lot. Soon we walked past a couple of good clearings and explored the length and breath of this place. It was just ruins and shrubs all around. Here we picked a spot in the clearing and had our lunch - curd rice, shira parathe ladoo was the menu of the hour. We lazed a little and decided to move on. (~1:30pm).
We explored a little more, but really found nothing other than ruined walls and thickets. backtracking proved to be a tough job too, with the jungle and numerous path ways it was easy. Btw. Anpy had filled in a bag full of karwande by now. I even got to see the fruit the size of a plumb! Mushrooms in this area too were weird, like round balls on the ground looked like dried lemons.
The return hike got us off the hill, clouds and the dhaba dhab rains and we were down on the green plateau. Here we lost Anpy and lots of confusion later we were back together and tracking our way back to the village. Once at the village we spent some time at the stream and had a good time cracking jokes and dancing fools around. Now the clouds had given way and the skys were open. We could spot the Arabian sea in a distance. Oh what a wonderful sight it was! It felt really good and different, I mean you are on a hill fort and you can see the ocean ahead- thats something different. (~2:30pm)
We hiked on and got down to the Siddheshwar Math. The dogs were missing and so were any souls. The place was quit and cool- just the rubbish the idiotic picnic crowds litter around was visible down the slopes and next to the waterfall. The arabian sea again made a wonderful sight from here. Soon left the Math behind and we made a slow cautious descent down the slippery steps to the ground below. The humidity was on.Singing songs and yapping all sorts of things and just about anything; we came down to the start of the steps and took the walk back to our parked sumo. Here we changed over to dry clothes and made a move. (~5pm).
Enroute we halted at Pen for some snacks and rode on, spotted many other hill forts on the way back as we hit the expressway via Khalapur. By now we were taking nap breaks as we slowly went by the crowded expressway that we eventually got off and dropped Jay at Chinchwad station and Anpy at his house.
Eventually Ady and me got back home and a hot cup of tea later I slowly and cautiously made my way back home astride the now bruised CBZ.
This was an eventful trek- the accident, the humid climb, the karwande trees , the clouds, the sight of the Arabian sea and so much more! The good news -I am not fractured and the better news -take a week's rest :).
Labels: Trek
posted by vindy | 5:44 PM
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