770 kms in 3 days on my bike, 5 forts and 3 beaches....awesome trip...watchout for my travelogue soon. Check out the pics at the bottom of the page..
Thursday 29 January 2009
Back from Central Konkan
770 kms in 3 days on my bike, 5 forts and 3 beaches....awesome trip...watchout for my travelogue soon. Check out the pics at the bottom of the page..
Monday 19 January 2009
Itinerary for Central Konkan Bike Trip (24-26 Jan)
As some of you may be aware...I am doing three bike trips to comprehensively cover Konkan and Goa this winter. I did a solo trip to north Konkan last week and now it's time for the central Konkan trip.Inviting a couple of bikers to join me. We are two of us presently. The trip will commence on 24th of Jan morning and end on 26th Jan afternoon/evening. The outline is:
(24th) 1. Leave from Bombay/Pune towards Pen on 24th morning. Meet at Pen at 7:30 am. Proceed after quick breakfast towards Khed. Reach Khed by max 11:30 am. Pen to Khed is 180 kms.
2. Proceed towards Harnai beach from Khed (39 kms). Reach by 1 pm. Have lunch and explore the area. Visit Suvaranadurg fort and a couple of damanged forts at Harnai (Kanakdurg and Goa Killa). Move out of Harnai by 5:30 pm and reach Khed by 6:30 pm. Over night at Khed.(25th)
3. Leave Khed for Roha at 6:00 am. Reach Roha by 9:00 am including a breakfast halt (117 kms). Reach Murud by 11 am. Take ferry to fort and return by 2 pm. Have lunch and proceed to Alibaug. Be at Alibaug by 5 pm. Take rest...incase we reach earlier and the tide time helps us...visit Ailbaug fort today itself (Kulaba fort). If not, stay overnight.(26th)
4. Depending on the tide timings, either cover Kulaba fort in the morning and then proceed to see Korlai and Revdanda, or first go to Korlai and Revdanda and checkout Kulaba fort on way back. This will be decided ad hoc, as per exact tide timings.5. In either case, wind up by max 4pm and proceed towards Bombay/Pune.
This is a leisure trip cum exploratory trip, so the costs involved will be as per actuals. I estimate it to be around 2k.There are somethings you need to keep in mind:
1. You must be a solo rider. No pillions. Unless you are an expert on a thunderbird!
2. Timings are vital to the success of this trip. The earlier we do things scheduled for the day, the better it would be.
3. It's a strenous trip and we will be almost covering 600 kms. You should ideally be on a 150 cc+ bike. We will not be riding at night.
4. Make sure your bike is well serviced, good brakes and tyres. Check the tyre pressure. Make sure your headlight is effective and indicators/horn work well. Change your helmet visor and replace it with a new one. No one will ride without a helmet.
5. Wear protective gear like jackets and gloves. Ideally wear knee and elbow caps. Carry sunglasses and a sunscreen.
6. Bombay-Goa highway is not as grand as the Bombay-Pune one...and has a lot of heavy vehicular traffic plying on its single lanes. So, remember it's not a race...and safety is of prime importance
7. Strictly no drinking and minimal smoking in private...
I'll send another checklist to those who are joining in...pls confirm participation at the earliest. There will be no more 5 bikes in all. The plan may change according to the need of the hour...which is at my discretion
(24th) 1. Leave from Bombay/Pune towards Pen on 24th morning. Meet at Pen at 7:30 am. Proceed after quick breakfast towards Khed. Reach Khed by max 11:30 am. Pen to Khed is 180 kms.
2. Proceed towards Harnai beach from Khed (39 kms). Reach by 1 pm. Have lunch and explore the area. Visit Suvaranadurg fort and a couple of damanged forts at Harnai (Kanakdurg and Goa Killa). Move out of Harnai by 5:30 pm and reach Khed by 6:30 pm. Over night at Khed.(25th)
3. Leave Khed for Roha at 6:00 am. Reach Roha by 9:00 am including a breakfast halt (117 kms). Reach Murud by 11 am. Take ferry to fort and return by 2 pm. Have lunch and proceed to Alibaug. Be at Alibaug by 5 pm. Take rest...incase we reach earlier and the tide time helps us...visit Ailbaug fort today itself (Kulaba fort). If not, stay overnight.(26th)
4. Depending on the tide timings, either cover Kulaba fort in the morning and then proceed to see Korlai and Revdanda, or first go to Korlai and Revdanda and checkout Kulaba fort on way back. This will be decided ad hoc, as per exact tide timings.5. In either case, wind up by max 4pm and proceed towards Bombay/Pune.
This is a leisure trip cum exploratory trip, so the costs involved will be as per actuals. I estimate it to be around 2k.There are somethings you need to keep in mind:
1. You must be a solo rider. No pillions. Unless you are an expert on a thunderbird!
2. Timings are vital to the success of this trip. The earlier we do things scheduled for the day, the better it would be.
3. It's a strenous trip and we will be almost covering 600 kms. You should ideally be on a 150 cc+ bike. We will not be riding at night.
4. Make sure your bike is well serviced, good brakes and tyres. Check the tyre pressure. Make sure your headlight is effective and indicators/horn work well. Change your helmet visor and replace it with a new one. No one will ride without a helmet.
5. Wear protective gear like jackets and gloves. Ideally wear knee and elbow caps. Carry sunglasses and a sunscreen.
6. Bombay-Goa highway is not as grand as the Bombay-Pune one...and has a lot of heavy vehicular traffic plying on its single lanes. So, remember it's not a race...and safety is of prime importance
7. Strictly no drinking and minimal smoking in private...
I'll send another checklist to those who are joining in...pls confirm participation at the earliest. There will be no more 5 bikes in all. The plan may change according to the need of the hour...which is at my discretion
Wednesday 14 January 2009
Alang Madan (Dec 24-27)
Alang Madan is arguably the toughest trek in Maharashtra Sahyadris, and undoubtedly one of the best any where. It involves a healthy mix of trekking, rock climbing and rappelling. Alang Madan is located in the Igatpuri region. It is a part of the highest plateau of Maharashtra and is neighboured by Kalsubai,and the grand Kulang fort. Both Alang and Madan are around 4800 ft high, making them one of the highest forts around. One needs to reach a place called Ambevadi to start the trek. You can reach Ambevadi from Igatpuri. The route is Igatpuri-Ghoti-Vasoli Phata-Indore-Ambevadi. There is a 5am ST bus that leaves from Igatpuri and reaches Vasoli Phata in an hour or so. Vasoli Phata is around 30 kms from Igatpuri and 6kms from Ambewadi. I had been planning to attempt this trek for the last two years, but couldn’t manage due to my busy schedule and the high costs involved. This time around, I wasn’t going to miss it. I had long confirmed my presence for the trek with the Trek’di team, who had organized the trek. Originally I was the only participant from Bombay, so I had to make my own arrangements of reaching Ambewadi on the 25th morning and returning to Bombay on the 27th evening. A couple of days before the trek, another participant named Sameer from Shahpur (near Asangaon…an hour before Kasara) called me up to investigate how I plan to get there. We discussed possibilities and it was decided that he will be going to Ambewadi on the bike and that we shall ride together from Igatpuri. I had already reserved my tickets for Igatpuri and was to reach there at 03:15 hrs on the 25th morning. Sameer was against the idea of riding very early morning, when it is dark, to Igatpuri. So it was decided that he will reach Igatpuri on the evening of the 24th and stay there for the night.
The day before my departure, another two guys joined the trek from Bombay. Sridharji, from Trek’di promptly referred them to me for planning out how they are to reach Ambewadi by 7am on the 25th. I suggested that they book waitlisted tickets on my train and travel with me, since I had a reserved ticket. At the most, they would have to spend an uncomfortable 3 hours or so. On the evening of the 24th, I left early from office and picked up my stuff from home. I reached Dadar an hour before the train was to reach. I thought I’ll use the toilet, but looking at the urine flood situation there, I changed my mind. I went to the waiting room and thought of using its toilet. I was just thinking to myself that this one was a shade better, as two mice popped up from behind the flush! Anway, the two other guz viz. Kunal and Rohan reached and we start discussing many things. Kunal was in software testing where as Rohan was a business analyst. We boarded the train, and after accommodating Kunal and Rohan near the door, I occupied my berth and tried to sleep. There was too much noise, and people yelling at each other in Gujarati was the icing on the cake. To my frustration, just when I was about to fall asleep, some one would poke their fingers on my legs to ask me my berth number. The third time this happened I got angry at the perpetrator and told him not to disturb me again. We reached Iagpuri and 3:10 am. I called Sameer, who was staying in a nearby guesthouse. Once he was here, we went to the S.T. stand to drop Kunal and Rohan. They were to take an ST bus to Vasoli phata at 5 am. I had informed Sridharji accordilingly, to wait for them at the phata, as they would be crossing it around that time too.
Sameer and I returned to Satkar lodge. After a lot of door banging, the caretaker opened the gate and we went to Sameer’s cubicle shall we say? It was like being in solitary confinement. I rested for an hour and we left for Ambewadi at around 5:40. The weather was very cold, and due to our haversacks, it was very uncomfortable for me to sit on the pillion seat. Sameer was busy negotiating the poor roads coupled with the bright headlights shining in our faces from oncoming traffic. We missed the road turnings a couple of times, but reached Vasoli phata at last. The road for the last 4 kms is very bad. My butt was in a bad state, and I was moaning at every possible bump. Sameer was busy laughing at my moans though! We reached Ambewadi at 7 am and made our way through the village to the place the others were. I met Sridharji on the way. Every one else was geared up and some were still eating. We ate a couple of slices of bread and were about to leave for the base. Vikas ‘Bhau’ Satarkar and his team were also there. They are the ones who are the outdoor experts, the ones who fix the ropes for us. I had met him before, at Dhak Bhairi. We all hitch hiked a ride on a passing tractor, which dropped us closer to our ‘actual’ start point.
The trek began as usual. The weather was quite pleasant and in a matter of minutes, people split up into groups depending upon their trekking speed. I trek quite slowly, so was towards the rear end of the group. I was trekking along with Sridharji and Manali. I also stopped at a few places to have conversations with a few other people. We reached the valley between Alang and Madan in about 3 hours from the base. Most people were waiting there while a few had already moved towards the first rock patch, which was ten minutes from here. I decided to eat my ‘theplas’ in the meanwhile. I quickly unfolded my mat (chattai, for which I am quite famous!) and lied down on it, in a slightly shady area. Jayaram also shared the mat with me for a while. In a while we headed to the first rock patch. Before reaching the rock patch, one most negotiate some tricky stairs. They are tricky especially for people like me with huge haversacks. On reaching the patch, I was a little unsure of whether I’ll be able to manage the climb with my sack. The option of leaving the sack behind was there, but in that way, one would have to wait for the sack to arrive up (probably after everyone has finished climbing). Tarini managed to climb with her largish sack, so I was ready, bare feet (I keep the socks on) for the climb. It was an interesting climb, and quite tiring. The friction due to the rope was quite bad, and left my hands sore after the climb. There was another traverse which leads us to the final section. There were damaged stairs that one needed to negotiate at the end, and they were very steep. They were really narrow at a few places, and one wrong move can prove very costly. I safely negotiated the final section and reached the top of Madan for some really grand views of the Igatpuri and Nashik region. There were a couple of water cisterns there, and I freshened up before proceeding to the caves which were a little higher. After scouting for a good leveled spot inside the caves, I kept my stuff there and headed to the highest point on Madan, where many others were already clicking pictures of the sunset. After taking some pictures, I almost took a bath and changed to fresh clothes in a remote area of the fort. The feeling of being clean was ecstatic. The remaining time passed, and I had aloo sabzi with roti for dinner with Sameer. Every one was quite tired, so we headed into the caves to rest. I had carried everything I needed, so was cozy inside my sleeping bag.
The next morning, we woke up at around 5:30. We were fresh and ready by 7. We had Pohe for breakfast along with some tea. We started descending towards the col (where I had my theplas), from where one has to traverse for around 30 mins to reach the next two rock patches on Alang. We reached the first patch, but since there was a queue of people waiting to ascend one by one, I decided to take a small break and eat my lunch (puran polis). We played some Dum charades with the gang (Dolly, Hardik, Kunal, Rohan and me). The first of these two patches was quite easy and we made our way to the last and the most difficult patch. It was around 30 ft of vertical climb. Jayaram and I were busy sending up the haversacks via a second rope, as the others struggled their way to the top. It was quite tough to look at. Some people were being virtually pulled up by the poor guys handling the protracting ropes. When my turn came, I wore my gloves (that I was luckily carrying) to minimize friction. I slowly, but painfully made my way up with the help of the occasional pulls being made the by the team. Towards the end, my fingers were barely able to grip the rope and I just managed to climb the rock face directly. It was a wonderful but tiring climb. I took some photos of others climbing and proceeded towards the top of Alang. The top of Alang is very large…the mountain is in a huge ‘C’ shape. I headed to the caves which were a little higher and dumped my stuff there. There was a good 45 mins worth of climb above the caves to reach the highest point of the mountain. With the sun setting fast, I went up around half way and took some pictures of the setting sun; I decided to finish the remaining part tomorrow morning. After dusk, the villagers ignited the dry grass to kill the snakes. The fire spread very quickly, and in an hour or so, everything around us was covered with ash. We also found a couple of dead snakes. We had food and headed to our respective ‘rooms’ within the caves. Some one asked me where I was sleeping and I responded by saying ‘Presidential Suite 3 C’. There was a lot of laughter that followed. We sang some songs before finally falling asleep.
The next morning I decided to freshen up at one of the several water cisterns above the caves. I though I’d save time and reach the top by the time others finish their breakfast. I did so and almost ran to the highest point. The views from the top were amazing. I could see Dhodap, Saptushringi, Rawlya Jawlya, Kalsubai, Ratangad, Siddhagad, Kulang and Madan. There were a few more but I cannot recollect their names. Sameer was also at the same cistern where I was and we headed back together. Most of the others had already started descending by the time we reached the caves. We has some cold upma that tasted quite awful. I could see the queue of people at the first decent, waiting for their turn, from the caves itself. Since Sameer and I had to leave separately by bike, we knew we would be given priority. After some wait, we descended the stairs and reached the rock face which we had to rappel this time around. After rappelling the big rock patch, and the smaller one, we had too wait for some more people to reach, before Sridharji would allow us to proceed further. We left in a while, through a new descent route. The first part of the route was slippery and challenging. It was exactly the kind of terrain on which my Woodland boots are very effective. I comfortable descended and Sameer wasn’t to far behind. On the way to the village, we did some excellent butterfly photography. All of us reached the village by 3 pm. I had some Parle-G’s to eat and also charged my phone for half an hour or so at a villagers residence. We left by 3:30 or so, while other were just about to start their lunch. Sameer and I decided to have lunch somewhere near Igatpuri. The journey was quite uncomfortable for me, with my heavy haversack and my long legs barely fitting on his Apache 160 RTR. We halted somewhere on the highway to have our meal. We ate till we dropped. The food was spicy, oily and tasty! After the meal, I could see beds all around me!! We left, with our next destination being Kasara. After missing a few turns, we reached Kasara just as it was getting dark. On inquiring, I found that the next local was after 1 hr and 30 mins! Sameer suggested that we go to Asangaon. This time, I convinced him to ride pillion as I took control. It was dark, and very difficult to ride on the highly unpredictable Bombay Nashik highway. We somehow reached Asangaon station and the Sameer left for his house at Shahpur. I got a train in about half an hour, which luckily was a fast train. I slept through most of the journey and alighted at Ghatkopar. From there I took a rickshaw home. The trip was enjoyable and challenging and I will certainly rate in as one of the ‘Must Dos’ in Sahyradris.
The day before my departure, another two guys joined the trek from Bombay. Sridharji, from Trek’di promptly referred them to me for planning out how they are to reach Ambewadi by 7am on the 25th. I suggested that they book waitlisted tickets on my train and travel with me, since I had a reserved ticket. At the most, they would have to spend an uncomfortable 3 hours or so. On the evening of the 24th, I left early from office and picked up my stuff from home. I reached Dadar an hour before the train was to reach. I thought I’ll use the toilet, but looking at the urine flood situation there, I changed my mind. I went to the waiting room and thought of using its toilet. I was just thinking to myself that this one was a shade better, as two mice popped up from behind the flush! Anway, the two other guz viz. Kunal and Rohan reached and we start discussing many things. Kunal was in software testing where as Rohan was a business analyst. We boarded the train, and after accommodating Kunal and Rohan near the door, I occupied my berth and tried to sleep. There was too much noise, and people yelling at each other in Gujarati was the icing on the cake. To my frustration, just when I was about to fall asleep, some one would poke their fingers on my legs to ask me my berth number. The third time this happened I got angry at the perpetrator and told him not to disturb me again. We reached Iagpuri and 3:10 am. I called Sameer, who was staying in a nearby guesthouse. Once he was here, we went to the S.T. stand to drop Kunal and Rohan. They were to take an ST bus to Vasoli phata at 5 am. I had informed Sridharji accordilingly, to wait for them at the phata, as they would be crossing it around that time too.
Sameer and I returned to Satkar lodge. After a lot of door banging, the caretaker opened the gate and we went to Sameer’s cubicle shall we say? It was like being in solitary confinement. I rested for an hour and we left for Ambewadi at around 5:40. The weather was very cold, and due to our haversacks, it was very uncomfortable for me to sit on the pillion seat. Sameer was busy negotiating the poor roads coupled with the bright headlights shining in our faces from oncoming traffic. We missed the road turnings a couple of times, but reached Vasoli phata at last. The road for the last 4 kms is very bad. My butt was in a bad state, and I was moaning at every possible bump. Sameer was busy laughing at my moans though! We reached Ambewadi at 7 am and made our way through the village to the place the others were. I met Sridharji on the way. Every one else was geared up and some were still eating. We ate a couple of slices of bread and were about to leave for the base. Vikas ‘Bhau’ Satarkar and his team were also there. They are the ones who are the outdoor experts, the ones who fix the ropes for us. I had met him before, at Dhak Bhairi. We all hitch hiked a ride on a passing tractor, which dropped us closer to our ‘actual’ start point.
The trek began as usual. The weather was quite pleasant and in a matter of minutes, people split up into groups depending upon their trekking speed. I trek quite slowly, so was towards the rear end of the group. I was trekking along with Sridharji and Manali. I also stopped at a few places to have conversations with a few other people. We reached the valley between Alang and Madan in about 3 hours from the base. Most people were waiting there while a few had already moved towards the first rock patch, which was ten minutes from here. I decided to eat my ‘theplas’ in the meanwhile. I quickly unfolded my mat (chattai, for which I am quite famous!) and lied down on it, in a slightly shady area. Jayaram also shared the mat with me for a while. In a while we headed to the first rock patch. Before reaching the rock patch, one most negotiate some tricky stairs. They are tricky especially for people like me with huge haversacks. On reaching the patch, I was a little unsure of whether I’ll be able to manage the climb with my sack. The option of leaving the sack behind was there, but in that way, one would have to wait for the sack to arrive up (probably after everyone has finished climbing). Tarini managed to climb with her largish sack, so I was ready, bare feet (I keep the socks on) for the climb. It was an interesting climb, and quite tiring. The friction due to the rope was quite bad, and left my hands sore after the climb. There was another traverse which leads us to the final section. There were damaged stairs that one needed to negotiate at the end, and they were very steep. They were really narrow at a few places, and one wrong move can prove very costly. I safely negotiated the final section and reached the top of Madan for some really grand views of the Igatpuri and Nashik region. There were a couple of water cisterns there, and I freshened up before proceeding to the caves which were a little higher. After scouting for a good leveled spot inside the caves, I kept my stuff there and headed to the highest point on Madan, where many others were already clicking pictures of the sunset. After taking some pictures, I almost took a bath and changed to fresh clothes in a remote area of the fort. The feeling of being clean was ecstatic. The remaining time passed, and I had aloo sabzi with roti for dinner with Sameer. Every one was quite tired, so we headed into the caves to rest. I had carried everything I needed, so was cozy inside my sleeping bag.
The next morning, we woke up at around 5:30. We were fresh and ready by 7. We had Pohe for breakfast along with some tea. We started descending towards the col (where I had my theplas), from where one has to traverse for around 30 mins to reach the next two rock patches on Alang. We reached the first patch, but since there was a queue of people waiting to ascend one by one, I decided to take a small break and eat my lunch (puran polis). We played some Dum charades with the gang (Dolly, Hardik, Kunal, Rohan and me). The first of these two patches was quite easy and we made our way to the last and the most difficult patch. It was around 30 ft of vertical climb. Jayaram and I were busy sending up the haversacks via a second rope, as the others struggled their way to the top. It was quite tough to look at. Some people were being virtually pulled up by the poor guys handling the protracting ropes. When my turn came, I wore my gloves (that I was luckily carrying) to minimize friction. I slowly, but painfully made my way up with the help of the occasional pulls being made the by the team. Towards the end, my fingers were barely able to grip the rope and I just managed to climb the rock face directly. It was a wonderful but tiring climb. I took some photos of others climbing and proceeded towards the top of Alang. The top of Alang is very large…the mountain is in a huge ‘C’ shape. I headed to the caves which were a little higher and dumped my stuff there. There was a good 45 mins worth of climb above the caves to reach the highest point of the mountain. With the sun setting fast, I went up around half way and took some pictures of the setting sun; I decided to finish the remaining part tomorrow morning. After dusk, the villagers ignited the dry grass to kill the snakes. The fire spread very quickly, and in an hour or so, everything around us was covered with ash. We also found a couple of dead snakes. We had food and headed to our respective ‘rooms’ within the caves. Some one asked me where I was sleeping and I responded by saying ‘Presidential Suite 3 C’. There was a lot of laughter that followed. We sang some songs before finally falling asleep.
The next morning I decided to freshen up at one of the several water cisterns above the caves. I though I’d save time and reach the top by the time others finish their breakfast. I did so and almost ran to the highest point. The views from the top were amazing. I could see Dhodap, Saptushringi, Rawlya Jawlya, Kalsubai, Ratangad, Siddhagad, Kulang and Madan. There were a few more but I cannot recollect their names. Sameer was also at the same cistern where I was and we headed back together. Most of the others had already started descending by the time we reached the caves. We has some cold upma that tasted quite awful. I could see the queue of people at the first decent, waiting for their turn, from the caves itself. Since Sameer and I had to leave separately by bike, we knew we would be given priority. After some wait, we descended the stairs and reached the rock face which we had to rappel this time around. After rappelling the big rock patch, and the smaller one, we had too wait for some more people to reach, before Sridharji would allow us to proceed further. We left in a while, through a new descent route. The first part of the route was slippery and challenging. It was exactly the kind of terrain on which my Woodland boots are very effective. I comfortable descended and Sameer wasn’t to far behind. On the way to the village, we did some excellent butterfly photography. All of us reached the village by 3 pm. I had some Parle-G’s to eat and also charged my phone for half an hour or so at a villagers residence. We left by 3:30 or so, while other were just about to start their lunch. Sameer and I decided to have lunch somewhere near Igatpuri. The journey was quite uncomfortable for me, with my heavy haversack and my long legs barely fitting on his Apache 160 RTR. We halted somewhere on the highway to have our meal. We ate till we dropped. The food was spicy, oily and tasty! After the meal, I could see beds all around me!! We left, with our next destination being Kasara. After missing a few turns, we reached Kasara just as it was getting dark. On inquiring, I found that the next local was after 1 hr and 30 mins! Sameer suggested that we go to Asangaon. This time, I convinced him to ride pillion as I took control. It was dark, and very difficult to ride on the highly unpredictable Bombay Nashik highway. We somehow reached Asangaon station and the Sameer left for his house at Shahpur. I got a train in about half an hour, which luckily was a fast train. I slept through most of the journey and alighted at Ghatkopar. From there I took a rickshaw home. The trip was enjoyable and challenging and I will certainly rate in as one of the ‘Must Dos’ in Sahyradris.
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