Tikona

        We could see the fort from below through the trees but we had lost our way in the jungle! It seemed as if we had chosen a wrong path. We were waiting for Sarang, one of the leaders of our group, to give a green signal when he shouted, ‘Hey guys! It’s a wrong way. We have to go back’.

         We came on a plain area then, where we were directly facing a side of the fort. We had actually decided to climb through a pass which was on an edge of the pyramidal fort. But at one point, we were really puzzled as we weren’t able to find the exact path. We could see the pass but we were finding it difficult to go there. ‘There’s a land slide’ said Ojas, a member of the leaders of our group.

Tikona seen from Kashig village

          When Sarang went to find another route to make it out, we were waiting for him eating Karvanda from the plants nearby. Imagine 70 of us waiting on a small plain on a sunny day. We were expecting the rain to fall but we couldn’t see a single sign of it. While we were bored, sitting on the plains, Satish Marathe, the group leader, was looking at us through the pass, confused, about where we went wrong.

Waiting for further instructions

          He waved at us in desperation. Now we knew the route but where was Sarang? It was just the moment when Satish asked my younger brother and me to run and ask the participants to wait in the pass when he went searching for Sarang. We ran very fast as we had no idea about how many people have gone ahead as it could have led to losing the path again. We were quite exhausted when we reached the pass.

          In about next 5-10 minutes, Satish, Ojas and Sarang came with the last few participants and without wasting time, we started climbing the pyramidal fort, Tikona.

On the way

Oh still so much to climb..

While climbing up the fort

           Tikona which is also known as Vitandgad is a fort in the region of Maval in the Western India. It is about 60 kms away from Pune located near the village of Kamshet. The fort got its name because of its triangular or rather pyramidal shape as mentioned which is about 3500 feet high. The fort is famous for its big gates, water tanks, temple of Trimbakeshwar Mahadev and Satvahana Caves.

History of Tikona:

            Very little is known about this fort and its origin. Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah I of the Nizam Shahi dynasty conquered the fort in 1585 and annexed it to Nizam territory. In 1657, Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj brought thwe whole of Kokan which had been under Nizam territory, under his control. He conquered Tikona at the same time along with other forts like Karnala, Lohagad, Visapur, etc. The fort was a centre of control of entire Pawana Maval region. Later, the fort was surrendered to a Moghal warrior, Kubadkhan, who attacked the region with Halal Khan and others according to the treaty of Purandar signed on 12 June 1665. 

                The fort was comparatively small, so we could have been on the top of the fort in just one and a half hour from Kashig village. It was sunny, we all were tired climbing up. It took more than one and a half hour to go up. 

Temple with the well in front

Chunyacha ghana

         On the way, we came across a gate named as Vetal Darwaja, a cave through which we have to pass, followed by a temple with a well in front of it. Here we filled up our water bottle as the water was potable. Next was an idol of Lord Hanuman carved on a rock which is coloured with vermillion and a Chunyacha Ghana (limestone grinder). After that is a well-built staircase of small width which made it difficult to climb. But it was a great fun climbing up the stairs.

Stairs

Stairs of the bastion

           On the top was a huge bastion just in front of the gate. There were some stairs going up on the top of the bastion which seemed to be destroyed. There was a temple and some caves beneath it. Then, Satish Marathe as well as Sarang gave us some information about the surrounding area of the fort. As the sky was very much clear, we could easily see nearby forts and places like Lohagad, Visapur, Tung, Pawana dam, Duke’s Nose peak, Torna and Sinhagad except Korigad which was behind the misty clouds. After enjoying the scenic beauty of nature, clicking some photographs of it, we sat and had our lunch. Everybody had brought their own tiffin and we all were busy enjoying and sharing our packed lunch. There was variety in the food including various kinds of parathas, puris, bread items, rice items in it. It was more than welcome as we were very hungry by then.
  

Group photo on the top

         After spending some time on the top, some of us went near the caves with water tanks in it to fill up the bottles. Yes, it was too hot and the sun was beating our skin. We all were feeling thirsty again and again. We were expecting rain which for some reason did not show its face on that day. The top of the fort have very few trees. Isn’t it the responsibility of the people staying there or the visitors to plant some trees which are dense enough to give the shadow? We did our part by planting some Jamun and Mango seeds this time too. I know that not all but some of them will definitely grow up into big trees some day.

           We started climbing down after having the lunch, this time by a new route, towards Tikona-peth and to our surprise; we climbed down the fort in just 45 minutes or maybe one hour. It was exact 2:30 p.m. when we were in the parking spot of the village.

           When everybody came down, we sat into the bus who were waiting there since morning. The place where we had our tea seemed to be an ideal place for one day picnic spot. The hotel had an approach to the Hadshi lake which was almost dried up with some water. We had our snacks and tea and started with our return journey.

       We made our return journey memorable by singing and dancing merrily on the music played on the music system. We reached Pune at about 5:30 p.m. and actually were surprised to arrive so early in the city.

         We enjoyed the trek and I am eager to visit the fort again.


Photo credits:

Satish Marathe 
Shantanu Kanade

Visit to Jeevdhan- Naneghat

       We have visited Jeevdhan and Naneghat several times with our group but this time, we could experience something new.

About Jeevdhan fort:

         Jeevdhan is a well-known fort which is about 1 km away from the modern day town Ghatghar in Junnar Taluka of Pune district in the state of Maharashtra. The distance from Pune to Jeevdhan Fort is about 122 kms and the time taken to reach the fort is 2 hours and 25 minutes, depending on the traffic. The route for the same is Pune-Pimpri Chinchwad-Narayangaon and then from left of Junnar towards Ghatghar Village. From Junnar, S.T buses are also available for Ghatghar. Similarly, from Mumbai, the time taken to reach the fort is 3 hours and 18 mintues, again depending on the traffic. The distance from Mumbai and Jivdhan fort is 165 kms.

         The elevation of the fort is of 1,145 m above the sea level in Sahyadri range and it is one of the famous five trekking destinations among trekking enthusiasts including Chavand, Hadsar, Naneghat and Shivneri. The fort was looted and destroyed in 1815-1818 by the British upon the siege. The difficulty level of this trek is medium as it includes misleading jungle tracks and rock patches. The steps are beautifully carved which lead to the Kalyan gate and hooks are attached on to the walls near it to make it easy for a regular climber.

        This time, there were in all 32 members and we started from Pune at 11: 15 p.m on Saturday. Late in the night listening to the songs, talking, slowly we entered into the area near the fort. Besides the road were all grasslands and trees, waterways, and fields. While on the way, we saw something surprising. As we were passing through, I saw some yellowish white lights moving besides the road in the grasslands when one of us shouted, ‘Stop the bus, these are fireflies!’. We all came out of the bus and what we saw was completely astonishing. There were many fireflies flying here and there with their tiny sparkles. The number of the fireflies was so much that many trees were just lighting up and blowing off as if someone was switching on and switching off the light. As we were on the outskirts of Pune and as it was about 2:30a.m., we could experience the brightness of their light.

         After enjoying them, we again sat in the bus and within no time we reached the base village of the Fort Jeevdhan, Ghatghar. It was about 3 o’ clock in the morning and there was still time to start with the trek. So we decided to take some rest till about 6:30 in the morning. We spent that night resting in a temple of that village.

          The next morning, we all woke up because of the calls of the cock nearby, at 5:45 a.m. We got ready and were waiting for the breakfast which unfortunately was late because of some genuine reasons. We were all really very hungry and bored because of the breakfast getting late. We were actually going to leave the village at 7:30 a.m. but it was now 8 o’ clock. Some of us went to sleep waiting for the breakfast. We had ordered for breakfast before leaving Pune and we expected it on time. After sometime, a person from the nearby village arrived with our breakfast in his car. We were so happy to see him. We had our breakfast and then started with our trek at 8:30, one hour late. There was a plain area in between the fort and the village where we saw many crabs of various sizes and even a small snake. He went so swiftly beneath the rock that we couldn’t recognize it. 

Start of the climb to Jeevdhan

            After the plains was a dense jungle. Slowly and steadily, we reached the middle of the trek. Now, it was the time for the rock patch. When we reached the base of the rock patch, we were surprised to see that there was a ladder fitted on the rock patch. It ruined all the fun and excitement of climbing the rock patch which we had done just last year. 

Ladder which spoiled the fun

           The ladders were not in a good condition actually because they were bent in some places and they were all rusted. But still, we could feel the steepness of the rock patch and we could see a beautiful scene with all mountains of different shapes around us, the Ghatghar village and there were many clouds flowing.

            We reached the top of the fort where there was a small stream of water flowing. The water was cool and hence many of us including me after climbing the rock patch were standing beneath the stream of water. It was so cooling as well as refreshing. There were caves besides this stream. The caves were beautiful but the water was really dirty, full of green weeds and algae.

Caves

Bastion on the top

          There was a bastion (buruj) nearby where we saw another snake. The name of the snake was Gunther’s racer. Its scientific name is Platyceps gracilis. This snake is found mostly in the western part of India from Maharashtra to Rajasthan. Its average length is 70 cm while its maximum length is 93 cm. People often get confused between this snake and Russell’s Kukri due to its similar head markings. It is a non-poisonous snake.

Gunther's Racer doing a peek-a-boo

   

        When the snake became aware of our existence, it went into a crack in the rock nearby of the bastion and hid, keeping an eye on us. We took a five-minute rest over there until everybody came up on the bastion and then went near the storehouse on the top. The storehouse is worth seeing with various beautiful carvings and architecture.

Store hose on the top

       There are many unexplored store houses on the top which can be explored by taking certain precautions. The main gate and the Kalyan gate are in good conditions. After exploring the beauty of that storehouse, we decided to climb higher on the fort from where we could actually see Naneghat and other forts in the vicinity. 

Naneghat seen from the fort

       Unfortunately, as the sky was unclear, we could hardly see the forts clearly. Despite this, we saw Fort Ajoba from there on our right and the Peak of Dhakoba on the left. We could see the village where we were next going to have our meal in the afternoon near Naneghat. It was somewhat 12:30 p.m. by now. So immediately we left the place and went towards the water tanks a little away. The water tank near the store house atop is not at all potable but the water near the Kalyan gate from the rock cistern is very much clear and potable as compared to that one. Still, one must take at most care while using the water for cooking purpose or even drinking.

 

Water tanks

 When we reached near the water tank, most of us were filling up their bottles from the tank. The water was really very cool. After sometime, while filling up the bottles, one moment came when everybody started playing with that water. It was so soothing and refreshing, just what we needed. Even the weather was changing continuously but was very pleasing indeed. After a while, we all were in a great trouble after playing with the water as cool breeze started blowing. This made us all shiver. We had some snacks there and then decided to visit Vanarlingi. 

          Vanarlingi is the name of a pinnacle near the fort. It is about 385 feet high. It seems to be small when seen from a distance or from the fort but when we go near it, one can actually see the height of the pinnacle. This pinnacle got its name because of the Langoors which are called as ‘Vaanar’ in Marathi. When seen from below, it looks like a Parsi man standing. Hence, it is also called as ‘Khada Parsi’. (‘Khada’- standing and ‘Parsi’- Parsi man). One can climb up on Vanarlingi in a day with the special climbing equipments. The re-bolting of this Pinnacle was done in 2010.

Vanarlingi

         There are four bolts on the fort edge which is in front of the pinnacle. Many people attempt rock climbing and rappelling of Vanarlingi and Valley crossing between the pinnacle and the fort as an adventure. We were all mesmerized to see the beauty of the pinnacle and the scene around.

           We started to descend as everybody were hungry. It was too hot and we all were feeling uneasy because of this. We were going to climb down through Kalyan gate. 

         This is a beautifully carved gate on which there is a crescent moon, a kalash and a sun carved on it. The gate is chamber like from where when we pass through, we come across a V- shaped gorge leading downwards. The Naneghat comes exactly in front of the person standing in that pass. After the rocky area, there are some steps which are somewhat destroyed. There were big boulders on the entire path which made moving down difficult. Two of us were sitting on the rock, helping and guiding the participants to get down. It was a great fun climbing down the rocky path. 

         It was about 2:45 p.m then. Unfortunately, due to the lack of time, we were not able to go near Vanarlingi, or even below it according to the earlier plan. We climbed down the rock steps until we reached the middle of the mountain where the forest started.

        My brother and I had brought some mango seeds. As we entered the forest we were busy throwing the seeds far into the forest. One or two of the group showed special interest in the activity and helped us in completing this task. We actually planted the last few remaining seeds on the way. It was Environment day the next day. So I think we celebrated the day in advance indirectly by contributing something special like this which made us all happy.

         In another hour, we were down on the plains near the fort. Now we had to reach the house where we were going to have our meal as fast as possible as the hunger was now really unbearable. We started walking, finding the way towards the house when I looked back up and this totally caught my attention. The heads of the fort and the pinnacle were totally covered by dark rainy clouds. We were expecting the rain to fall as it was too hot and we all were quite exhausted. But we kept on walking. We could see the top of Naneghat straight in front of us but I think, we had lost our way. I think we all were trying to find the way towards the village. Gap was formed in between the group. Half of us were far away, beyond our eye sight. We were in the last batch and I think we took a long route finding the village.

         And then, it happened for which we were waiting from such a long time - the rain started. Oh what a pleasure! But the force of the rain increased after some time. There was thunder and lightning. Finally we saw the first batch people of our group some distance away. It seemed as if the rain was not going to stop. The force of the rain was so much that it became uneasy even to keep our eyes open.

        Somehow, we managed to reach the house in the village. We all were wet, from top to bottom. After reaching the village, we all changed our clothes and were waiting for the lunch when the rain came to halt. There was greenery all around, the trees seemed to be refreshed and the weather became cool and pleasant. We had proper meal that day, bhakri, batatyachi bhaji, harbaryachi usal, dal-rice and amrakhanda. It was really filling. As the house was small, we had our lunch in two batches. After the meal, we visited Naneghat which was close to that village.

Naneghat

Ranjhan near Naneghat

Inscriptions in the cave

   

           Naneghat is a mountain pass in the Western Ghats near the Junnar in Pune district of Maharashtra. ‘Nane’ in Marathi means coins and ‘Ghat’ in Marathi means pass. Hence the name ‘Naneghat’. This pass was used as a trade route by traders during the reign of Satvahana between Kalyan and Junnar. The name was given as the pass was used as a toll-booth to collect the money from the traders crossing the hills. There are some caves having inscriptions which indicate that they are the work of the consorts of the Satvahana ruler Satkarni dated between 60 and 70 BC. On the entrance of the pass, there is a huge ‘Ranjhan’, a pot in which the money was collected from the traders. There is a water tank containing potable water in it.

  

           We all were tired. The caves are a little away from the parking area and even the rocks in the pass had become slippery because of the rain. So only few of us visited the caves in the pass. It was 6:30p.m. when we left the place. On the way, we saw the birth place of Chhatrapati Shivaji, the well-known fort of Shivneri from it’s base. We reached Pune at about 9:30- 9:45 p.m.

          We enjoyed the trek very much. My brother and I have visited this fort three times now and every time, we could experience something new. This time, it was really something special, the fireflies, the rain, the mango plantation, etc.

        I hope to experience something new again when we visit the place in future and I hope the ladder is removed.

Visit to Harishchandragad

In the year 2017, my brother and I first went for trekking to Harischandragad along with our group. The trek was amazing. We enjoyed it a lot. Although being our first trek this year, it was not that hectic as it was imagined by me at the base village Pachnai.

  Harischandragad is a fort in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra. It has the elevation of 1,422m. The natural beauty, the steep ascend of the fort and deep valley on one side of the fort (Kokankada) makes it more superior.

View from Khireshwar

Needle hole at the top

More about Harishchandragad:

  According to the history, the fort is quite ancient. The various Puranas (ancient scriptures) like Matsyapurna, Agnipurana etc include many references regarding Harischandragad. This fort is of 6^th century built during the rule of dynasty of Kalachuri. There are many caves which are probably built in 11^th century. In these caves are the idols of Lord Vishnu. The peak of the fort is called Taramati. Harishchandreshwar temple and the caves of Kedareshwar indicates that the fort is of medieval period. The fort was first under the control of Moghuls which was then captured by Marathas in 1670.

There were fifteen of us and started from Pune at about 11:15 p.m on Friday. The journey was of five- six hours overnight, hence it was not possible for us to enjoy it. Everyone were sleeping in the bus until we stopped in a Dhaba for tea. We reached Pachnai at about 5 a.m. next day, where we were welcomed by fire flies flying here and there. Some of us were catching them just for fun. Since one complete hour was there for the trek to start we decided to rest for sometime.

We got ready, had our breakfast and then started with our trek at 7:30 a.m. 

Enroute to Harishchandragad via Pachnai

The route was simple but a little steep. We were accompanied by charming scenery. Slowly and steadily, as time passed, we reached the top of the mountain. While climbing up, we saw a green vine snake (harantol) which is a non-poisonous species. It started to hide himself when we were looking at it. In about an hour we reached at the top. There were clouds up on the top, flowing very fluently. There were many things worth seeing like Saptatirtha Pushkarni (lake), Harishchandreshwar temple, Kedareshwar cave, Kokan kada ( Kokan cliff), Taramati peak and caves on the top. There was a small hut in which we rested for sometime. It was 10:30a.m. by now. We had our tea and decided to climb the Taramati peak after that.

Taramati peak:

Taramati, also known as Taramanchi, is the highest point on the fort (1,429) m. From here, we can see the whole fort as well as the whole range of Naneghat and forts near Murbad. Leopards are found in the jungles beyond the peak. Many different forts like Ajoba, Kulang, Ratangad, and Kalsubai Peak, can be seen from here.

Climbing on the peak was quite a great fun. The lower part of the peak is full of dense jungle. The upper part of the peak is of rocks and is actually very easy to climb. There, by mistake, we climbed by a wrong way which turned to be adventurous. But the view we could see from above was such which made us keep on looking at it. On the top of the peak was a small Shiv linga (symbol of Lord Shiva). The wind was continuously flowing. After sometime, one of us realized that its 12:30p.m. by now and we must go down for lunch. We started climbing down. 
 

Photo in 2017

Photo in 2008

My parents had visited this fort in the year 2008 with the same group. I liked this fort so much that after returning home I asked my parents to show me the photos of the fort of that time. And this thing really surprised me. There is a big rock on the way. Beneath the rock is a palm tree. This palm tree is standing over there for 9 years and it was just as we had seen. Isn’t it surprising to see the same tree in the same place in the same condition in the photo which was taken 9 years ago? We came down within no time and was quite exhausting. We had our lunch. We had some rest when I saw a water tank like structure near the hut in which we were resting.

Shivlinga on top of Taramati peak

Taramati Peak

View from Taramati Peak

Saptatirtha Pushkarni:

Towards the east of the Harishchandreshwar temple is a well built lake named as Saptatirtha Pushkarni. There is a temple like construction on the banks of the lake in which was the idols of Lord Vishnu. Now, they are shifted in the caves nearby. The water was potable seven years back but now because of the garbage left over by visitors, the water is not suitable for swimming in it. The construction is worth seeing.

Saptatirtha Pushkarni

After having some rest we decided to pay visit to the Kedareshwar caves nearby.

Kedareshwar Caves:

This is a huge cave in which there is a big Shiva linga. It is surrounded by water from all four sides. The Shiva Linga is 5 feet tall and the water surrounding it is about waist-deep. But the water in the cave is ice-cold in all seasons. In monsoon, a huge stream flows across the cave which does not allow us to go in there. There are four pillars around the Shiva Linga which supports the cave, two of which were broken.

Kedareshwar cave

Sculpture inside Kedareshwar temple

We were amazed to see the cave. Within no time, everyone except a few started playing in the water of the cave. Yes, the water as I said was quite chilled. The cave has four door ways. If the outer part of the cave is kept clean, the place is beautiful otherwise. We spent a lot of time playing in the water. After sometime, we went back to the hut where we had kept our bags. The tea was waiting for us. Seriously, it was the first time when I drank a lot of tea. It was somewhat about 3:30.p.m. Now what to do? We all were very much excited about Kokan kada. Actually we had decided to start for Kokan Kada at 4:30 for the sunset but our excitement didn’t let us to. We quickly packed our bags and started walking. Kokan Kada is half hour away from the main fort area.

Kedareshwar Cave

Kokan Kada:

Kokan kada (kokan cliff) faces towards the west looking down upon the Kokan area. This cliff has a huge overhang. But despite of the overhang, many people till now have climbed it. Nalichi vaat is famous route to experience the challenge of Kokan Kada. Because of the overhang, the force of the wind coming upwards is such that a small light weighed object like caps, small sticks, bottles, handkerchief, etc when thrown into the force of the wind, flies up and falls back on the grounds of the Kokan kada. Sometimes, a circular rainbow can be seen if there’s a mist and if the sun is behind the person seeing it.

Valley view from Kokan kada

The path way towards Kokan kada really increases the suspense. First, we started with a dense forest. We were walking and walking and walking till we reached a plain area. We could feel the plains are getting over after sometime. It was really a different feeling. We could feel the depth of the valley, we could feel the cold winds blowing upwards. We saw many people standing on the edges of Kokan Kada. Our pathway ended after sometime and in front of us was a stunning view. We were just startled to see the depth. The curve of the rocky cliff surrounded by the mountains all over, the flow of the wind in front of us, the clouds flowing on the top and the sun waiting for himself to set, certainly hard to explain this scene in few words. It was really mesmerizing. I forgot everything and just kept on looking at the creativity of the nature. 

Panoramic View of Kokankada

We found a new game as mentioned above. The force of the wind was so much that every light- weighed object used to fly up and fall down. We were throwing small pieces of bark, small sticks, bottles, grass. It was great fun. We were playing, recording. But we found it to be dangerous too. The place is really good for relaxing. We were waiting for the sunset but there were too many clouds. Meanwhile many people had gathered around for the moment and everyone over there were completely moved by the view. We were going to spend the night in tents on the Kokan kada. But I was little astonished as I came to know that everyone present over there were going to live there for that night. 

 

The time passed on and finally we could see the sun setting but for a very few minutes because of the clouds. We were now strolling here and there doing a lot of timepass. We had our tents on. There were many tents of many groups on the plains of Kokan kada. We prepared bhel. I really enjoyed staying there. After 7, it was cold and there was a lot of mist all over. The mist after sometime became so dense that we were not able to see things before us. We started gathering some wood for fire camping. There were many people, many tents. Every group was from different place like Thane, Nashik, etc. 

We had our dinner. The hut in which we had our dinner was a little away from the tent site. We had to walk a little. But after dinner, where were the tents? Of course, we had lost our tent place because of the mist. Somehow, we managed to find them. We enjoyed the camp fire. The day was very exciting and full of fun.

 We had four tents. So we were then divided into four according to the convenience. The flow of the wind increased so much that at mid-night, all the tents started shaking horribly. Some of them got dismantled because of the force of the wind. That night was a memorable one.

Misty Morning

 The next day, when I woke up at six, I was astonished to find that the density of the mist had increased. But according to the plan, it was not possible for us to experience the beauty of Kokan kada in the morning. Well, we got ready, had our breakfast and started with our return journey. I was really feeling very sad to leave the place. Every trekker must visit this place. Before leaving, we visited the Harishchandreshwar temple.

Harishchandreshwar Temple:

 This temple is a beautiful example of fine artwork and sculptures. It is 16 m High from the base. There are many caves and water tanks around the temple. This temple resembles the temples found in the North. The temple is built with well- finished stones arranged one on top of the other. There are three main caves besides the temple. There are entrances from all the four sides of the temple.’

Harishchandreshwar Temple

Harishchandreshwar temple outside

The temple was really very nice. We filled some water from the water tank and then left the place. We were going to climb down in the village of Khireshwar this time. The mist decreased as the sun started becoming bright. This route was a little adventurous. There were rock patches, jungle to pass through and more to walk. We drank some lime juice in between. After the rock patch, we came in the Tolar khind (mountain pass). There we were resting, when a giant squirrel came across. Even there were many langoors sitting on the trees. To our surprise, we were accompanied by three dogs who were really very excited and were trying to chase the langoors. The langoors were climbing higher and higher up the tree. One of them went too close to the giant squirrel who was quietly eating something. As the langoors saw us passing through their area, they started screaming, making noise and shouting. 

Giant Squirrel seen in Tolar Khind

We reached the village after about two hours from Tolar Khind. There were many trees of Karvanda, mangoes, etc. We enjoyed eating them a lot. After a ten minutes walk, we reached the hotel. We all were really very hungry. We ate food as if we were eating food for the first time, completely enjoying it. I was looking at the fort again and again wishing to climb up again. After lunch, we then went to the back waters of Pimpal Joga dam. There we all played in the water. At the same time, we all were sad that the two day trek finally came to an end. But every moment has to come to an end to experience a new one. Playing some or the other mischief, singing, dancing, happily we came back to Pune till 7.

Refreshments

The trek came to an end. I liked this trek because of its beauty, popularity and ease of climbing it. But one thing which I didn’t like and which really made me feel angry on is that a lot of thermocol and plastic items were used on the top of the fort and was not disposed in a proper manner. There was too much litter there on the Kokan kada which was somehow poking its nose in the scenic beauty of the nature. Is it really necessary to use things which are really harmful to nature? Why can’t the trekkers visiting the fort bring their own bowls and dishes? Is it so hard and heavy to carry these things with us? Why don’t the local people take any action on this issue? How can one be so rude or careless or how can one even feel to make such a magnificent place dirty? We use things which are really very secure and convenient for us but at the same time we are destroying the nature which is a ‘blessing’ for us.

Okay, sometimes, it’s not possible to carry such things at some places. I think, if this is the case, the villagers must find out a way to dispose these materials. They must try their best to keep their place clean and safe. Not only them, but everyone of us obviously. I think, if each and every trekker decides to keep each and every fort clean then definitely the litter rate can lower down. Just think, if a foreigner visits such places on some information and witnesses such a scene, what will he think? Will he come at that place again? I think, we all must think about it and think upon some preventive measures on it.

My visit to the fort was truly memorable and if given an opportunity, I will look forward to visit it again.

Photo credits:

Chetan wagh

Pratik purandare

Anish pathak

Sushant Agashe