Almost after 5-6 months I decided to
do trek in Sahyadris, And it was Night trek to Kalsubai with Trekkers United
own by my friend Tirth Sangoi (Whom I met during Kedarkantha trek) and his
friends. Very excited about my trek, I packed my bag and reached Thane station.
I took the over- crowded kasara local train with three other travelers, my
friends Nagarjuna, SriHari and his younger brother. Almost getting pushed down
at Thane by passengers I managed to get back in the train. The journey started
off with 30+ crazy travelers and our lead Tirth and we left for Bari village. There
were lot of things uncommon in this group, age, physique, trekking experience;
some were first timers while some had experience of trekking in Himalayas. But
one thing was common, aim to reach top of Mt. Kalsubai.
|
A group pic at the Summit. |
Kalsubai is a mountain in the Western Ghats, located in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Its summit situated at an elevation of 1646 meters (5400 feet)
is the highest point in Maharashtra which earns it the much glorified title of the 'Everest of Maharashtra'. The mountain
range lies within the Kalsubai Harishchandragad Wildlife Sanctuary. It is
visited throughout the year by avid trekkers, Kalsubai temple devotees and
wildlife enthusiasts alike. The name Kalsubai has given to the mountain on the
woman who used to live in this mountain according to the villagers living at
the base of Kalsubai Mountain. It is said that a woman name Kalsubai was
punished by the villagers and forced to leave the village, that woman climbed this
mountain and started living on it and died there. That's how the name of this
mountain Kalsubai came.
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Bhandardhara Dam View!! |
Trek to Kalsubai peak was a surreal experience. We reached Kasara by 12:45 AM
where Tirth had arranged for a taxi to reach Bari village. It is advisable to
pre book a taxi if travelling from Kasara. It took 1+ hour to reach Bari
village. Being January we were experienced chilly, but it was quite pleasant. As
an alternative spending the night at Bari village, one can reach Bari village
early in the morning and start trek as early as possible.
|
Kalsubai Peak as seen from Bari Village. |
We started our journey towards the summit
at 3:00 AM after introducing each to others. You will be able to see
breathtaking views of Bari village and surrounding area as scale towards the
top. Monsoons, however – are the forerunner to splendid greenery all around
here. The onset of the monsoon season is in June, when the Sahyadri’ s blooms
with all of its vivaciousness and vehemence. Between the months of June and
August, Sahyadri hills face some heavy rainfall that leaves the weather of Sahyadri
humid, wet and cool. The average annual rainfall in the Sahyadri hills ranges
between 3,500 and 8,000 millimeters. The beauty of the seasonal waterfalls of Sahyadri
hills is best experienced during the months between July and September. Monsoon
is also the season for the adventurous people as this is the season in which adventure
activities is in full swing. The natural beauty is there in abundance for you
to enjoy all year long. If you are planning a trip in the summertime, then you
should dress in light cotton clothing. If you plan to schedule your visit
closer to the winter months in Sahyadri's, come along with your woolen apparel.
|
Mt. Kalsubai |
The weather conditions was perfect
for hiking, there was light cool breeze blowing, I never had to exudate while
mounting up. I reached my first ladder steps at 4.30 am, so it took me 90
minutes to figure out the way from Bari to the ladder along with the various
breaks I took. The first ladder is series of steps with railing on one side,
these ladders are usefully placed so as to make the trek more accessible to
common people, they are placed where there are rocks and one can overcome this
rocks by crossing on the stepladders. There are four ladders on the way with
the last two being very steep.
|
Second Ladder!! |
From here on the route is
straightforward, just follow those series of ladder till you reach a table top,
from there just follow in the direction of the peak which becomes visible and
reach the final ladder which will take you to the top of the mountain. Though
the trek looks easy but you must have good endurance level, prepare to walk at
least for three to four hours from the Bari village. One has to be careful
while climbing the ladders, as some of them are placed on vertical sections.
The other danger is there are loose soil and gravel all along the trek which
could make one slip if not careful. So be cautious, don’t be in hurry, or
challenge yourself for something foolish. The good thing about this route is
that there are railing provided for the steps and ladder sections.
|
A view from table top. |
The view becomes more and more
beautiful as to go up. You will be able to actually walk amongst the clouds as
you scale further up during monsoon. One needs to climb 4500 feet from Bari
village base through bushes, slippery patches and iron stairs to reach the top.
Overall, Kalsubai is not a difficult trek but it does test your endurance and
resolve. And that's a trekker wanted to prove, beyond the greed of getting some
good pictures. We were the first group started towards the summit. Mt. Kalsubai
offers a fantastic view of Sahyadri mountain ranges from the top. It took us four
hours to reach the top with breaks in between. But it has been flooded with
tourists which makes place lose its charm, Otherwise it would have been a
fantastic summit.
|
Kalsubai range of Hills. |
|
Dawn at Peak. |
The view from the top is
breathtaking, could see mountains all around you, also one can see the
backwaters of Bhandardara dam, the various forts like Ratangad, Harischandragad, Alang,
Madangad, Kulang and more. We were carrying food and water for our breakfast,
had breakfast at the top. We were at the top for more than hour and decided
to descend by 8:45. Now
descending can be little tricky. Moving down the ladders will certainly test
your fear of height.
|
Rest time. |
|
Getting down from third ladder-steps. |
There are many numbers of monkeys
here, they are a very common sight, leaping from boulder to boulder or climbing
the trees. They are a restless race with bulky bodies and black
faces, though some have a red or a whitish tinge in the color of their faces.
It is a very funny spectacle to see their females clutching their little ones
close under their bellies and jumping or their kids engaged in a hot quarrel. They
never molest the passersby though in some of them familiarity with mankind, However,
while hiking on Kalsubai trail, just be careful and don't carry any type of bag
in hands they may attack you assuming it as a food.
We decided to descend without wasting
time grabbing rocks and jumping.In between we took break to
finish rest of the drinks and snacks then continued with rappelling kind of descend. Descending was easy
compared to ascending, at certain points; the steep descends risky due slippery
surface. It took us around three hours to descend safely and come to the Bari
village. The time was around 12’o clock and it was time proceed to Bhandardhara
for Sandhan valley expedition with great memories in mind of Everest of
Maharashtra’s climb. The best example of how much you can stretch your mind in a
given situation. Each and every aspect of great nature met while ascending and descending
down the summit, taught us the way of living together in adverse conditions (Quite
common in every trek).
|
Me at last ladder just below the summit. |
In the subsequent blog post I
will contemporary the detailed account of my adventures in Sahyadri’s own Grand
Canyon one and only Sandhan Valley.