Ramblings around Bhandardara

 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।।

Sahyadri is a UNESCO bio-diversity hotspot. Its ours to care!

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