This
is one of the lesser visited regions of Mula-Mutha rivers (not the ones
around Pune) along the crestline. It comes under Ahmednagar dist,
accessible either via Igatpuri – Rajur Or Alephata – Rajur. One has to
take the longer drives from either Mumbai/Pune on pathetic roads for the
last 50 odd kms. Having said that, it sees way less commercial
footprint that is obvious in most of the hiking spots around
Mumbai-Pune. It also means, sane crowd on trails (mountain lovers),
saner locals.
Started
off with a plan for a little larger group than usual say about 10 of
us. Vehicle was arranged accordingly. Like always, there were drop-outs.
03 of us remain & a big vehicle like Tempo Cruiser all by
ourselves. We were to start from Kumshet, visit Katrabai top, descend
towards Samrad, further to Chondhe by one of the lesser known trails.
Day
0 – 2350hrs. We were off on a Friday night for an overnight drive
towards Kumshet. Due to worked up week, sleep caught us all fast. Even
the off-road driving could not wake us up till we reached a junction
point little before Kumshet around 0530hrs (of day 01) in the morning.
Driver woke us up, Dada ata kuthe? Kunal, who has wandered in this area
for a good decade, knows it like lines on his palms, said, Ujwi kade
(take right). We halted for a brief. To take a look around.
Sky
was lit in a mysterious blue hue, clouds engulfing surrounding hills. A
fine early hour scene complimented by some rare chirping of birds at a
distance. They were off to their work, it seems. We drove ahead to
Kumshet. Parked our vehicle at a local acquaintance’s house. Plan was
such that we would have local support at the end of the day. Thus
carrying a comparatively lighter backpack than the usual tents, kitchen
hush-hush. By now, the clouds had thickened. It was suddenly dark for 7
in the morning. Heavy downpour followed. Even louder as the thick
droplets landed on the nearby tin shade. A steady drip of rainwater down
the shade formed a pretty curtain. Made me get lost in the wet
landscape we were about to be part of.
Downpour.
Mist. Raindrops. Moist walls. Dry clothes. A warm local breakfast. All
these were a perfect recipe to cause a dual inside us. To be or not to
be. Of course, it was former than later. Out we were, just 03 of us. Not
even a cattle or strays to accompany us on our walk towards Katrabai
Pass. All in the warmth of the dry shade.
Of
course, streams & rivulets were a plenty as this was towards the
end of monsoons. Having satiated the paddy fields, they were now on
their way to meet their elder sister, "river" enriching along cultures
as and how they come, nurturing lives, feeding all the needy. & then
she eventually takes them all along to their family head, "Ocean".
0830hrs
- We headed North from Kumshet village. It’s a slightly bigger village
for the inaccessibility of it. There are 03 different wadi (settlements)
spaced out in vicinity. It takes about 1.5 hours from Kumshet to reach
Pass. A gradual climb on a very well-defined trail from village takes us
to the Pass.
This
hike is part of the longer route (Ratangad – Harishchandragad) which is
favourite among backpackers. It also has a historic detail attached to
it. To the W of Kumshet, there is a milestone denoting distances,
believed to be belonging to Peshve era (18th Century).
1000hrs
– We reached Katra col. Katra top lies about 200meters above from here.
In about 30mins were up at the top. Clouds had brought down the
visibility to about 5 meters. We waited for a good 15-20 meters to see
if the view would open up but to our disbelief. Lovely carpet of flowers
made the uphill walk worth in its own way though!
Visibility improved quite a bit as we descended quickly back to pass.
Took
a quick refreshment break near the temple. Offered our prayers &
started descending pass towards Ratangad junction. It is about 2 hours
from here on a well-defined trail in thick forest we come across to a
water point. Filled up with fresh rainwater & filtered to the core,
its turquoise shade mesmerizing. This was about 1300hrs. Further ahead
we had to cover the distance up to Samrad which lie on the other side of
Ratangad. We were kind of half way through. Halt for lunch.
From
Ratangad junction, There are two ways to reach Samrad. 1. Take right
(head NE) and descend towards Ratanwadi village for about 1.5 hours.
From here reach Samrad by road (8kms). OR 2. Head straight NNE. Continue
on flats for about 45mins along a stone-marked pathway keeping Ratangad
& khutta pinnacle on your left. Once you loose Khutta pinnacle,
trail banks further NE, heading Samrad. We took second route. It took us
about 1.5hours to reach the edge from where we saw the road towards
Samrad. It was about 1400hrs we started from Ratangad junction post
lunch. Now was about 1600hrs.
2
hours of beautiful undaunted Sahyadri landscapes, walking among clouds,
gentle breeze and gushing winds coming at us, face on. We drifted a bit
farther. That led to us taking a little longer on the road than
thought. It was a torrid 3kms walk on the tar road cursing no one but
ourselves 😉
At
last we reached Yashwant’s house in Samrad who was a kind host to let
us stay with him for a night. His mother cooked a delicious chicken
gravy with Bhakri (rice bread) along with Rice from Yashwant’s own farm.
To add to that, there was also crab curry - a local specialty in
monsoons. It was a day well spent. Evening was spent chatting up with
Yashwant about adventure tourism exploits of this area & how the
activities need monitoring & check; keeping in the mind the
interests of the locals. Later in the evening we took a stroll outside
to take a look at the sky. Had a surprisingly brief spell of clear skies
& not much of light pollution. Good Shata-pawli (100 steps walk
post dinner).
Back
to Yashwant’s house. We requested him if he has some one who could drop
us a few kms ahead on tar road towards Umberdaar – a faint pass that is
lost in time. Having sorted that, we get in the warmth of our
pullovers. This has been such a luxurious outing so far. Ready food.
Ready bed. Very unusual & rare.
Day
02 – 0830hrs we are back on the road. The promised carrier dropped us
to a nearby view point. We started walking towards this newly developed
Umberdara view point (4kms). Good effort to draw tourists towards
naturally beautiful spots & provide a bit of basic touristic
amenities like sit outs, safety measures like railings on cliffs, sign
boards etc. However, As with most of Indian tourist spots, this too had
lost its sheen to a dump of garbage & trash by unruly revellers who
were more about “enjoying getting high on substances than getting high
on mountains/outdoors”, per se. ☹
Coming
across such numerous places across this precious mountain range, which
are at an idyllic, pristine location, say amidst dense forests, sacred
grooves, lake side or a hill top. Identified & developed for a
recreational purpose. However, due to overall lack of civic sense the
very purpose is lost along with precious public resources. This needs a
change in mindset along with awareness.
A bit drift off the trail I wandered..
So,
we continued our walk around crest-line. Got some magnificent views of
the dam in the foothills, a tall peak standing right on the crest &
some passing clouds playing hide & seek with greener landscape.
Didn’t felt like moving from there one bit.
Our
samadhi was disturbed by a local couple walking up the same trail that
we were to go down by. They were coming along their grand-kid. Usual
Ram-ram followed by curious enquiry on both ends.
1000hrs
- We bid adieu to the place & started our walk down the devi ghat
(chondhe ghat) towards the lower dam project site. It was a brief 02
hours descend & a pretty stream for us to freshen up & call for
local vehicle chap. As decided earlier, he was waiting for us at the
project gate. Took a quick snack n tea break on nearby stall.
Half
past 12 - off we were to Asangao station on Central line between Mumbai
– Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj terminus & Kasara, a far-off terminal
station for suburban line & start of Thal ghat towards Nashik. A
good 1.5 hours journey to train station & we were back to realms of
our everyday lives & the same ol chugging.
Brief route map of our weekend in the outdoors.
White dotted line - our walking path
Blue line - vehicle path
Yellow dotted line - Ratangad trail offshoot
सह्याद्री - युनेस्कोच्या जागतिक वारसास्थळांपैकी एक असून जैव-विविधतेतल्या दृष्टिकोनातून अत्यंत महत्व.
चालोनि जाणावे। जाणोनि चालावे।आपुले म्हणोनि राखावे। सकळ वन।।
