Chavand: Monsoon trek after ages!!

I remember my college days when my Haversack was always packed with the basic necessary stuff for a trek. The moment we got a chance, we used to go out, explore a new fort, and come back with memories and replenished energy, which would take us through the tough times of the next semester!!  But as it happens usually with many people, I started working, the group spread out in all directions, and I lost touch with this passion of mine.

Yesterday, I tried to rekindle the candle...

July 16^th 2017, I set out on a small trek to Fort Chavand with 3 Point Adventures, a Pune based Trekking group. I was trekking after almost 4-5 years and wanted an easy one to start with. This was the perfect.

We started off from Pune, like it usually happens the bus was a bit late and so I could reach in time!! We were a group of 50 people. All from different backgrounds ranging from 5 years to 72 years… 

Picking up people from various pick up points, we reached our first halt for breakfast.  We halted at Purohit Veg Restaurant on the Pune-Nashik Highway (https://goo.gl/maps/1eqgvshLYFx) it is a nice restaurant with good facilities, clean toilets. I won’t be able to comment on their food quality as we were served delicious Upma which the organizing team had carried along with them. One good thing I observed was that the food was always served in ecofriendly, bio degradable plates (though these are a costly affair). This really shows that the organisers care a lot about the environment. After a short break we left for Chavand Wadi.

We passed Manchar, Narayangaon, Junnar. The sight of the GMRT, various rock cut caves around the hills of Junnar and Shivneri was gradually taking us into the trekking mode. Its always a pleasure to watch the forts in Maharshtra from a distance, their sheer magnificence takes you to a different world of imagination…How were these forts build? Who were the artisans…who designed them..these people are unknown..unsung heroes of the history of this area. Imagine Shivaji Maharaj fighting the might of the Mughals without the backing of these forts…seems impossible right?

Now we were there, at Chavand wadi, at the base of the fort. We all geared up. I left the unnecessary things in the bus. These included the extra pair of clothes and the raincoat! Well, I was there to enjoy the monsoon! Besides all my delicate equipment was taken care by plastic bags..

Fort Location: https://goo.gl/maps/xXbkkYxbCzS2

The sight of the fort was welcoming..straight cliffs on all sides…fort walls only where needed..Typical of this area. This view also faced us with the next question…how were we supposed to climb the cliffs..but lets think about that later.

Chavand Fort

The team leader briefed us with the instructions and we started off the trek. The road to the trek start point was a muddy one, but motorable (small vehicles and 2 wheelers only). We reached the base and to our surprise there were no muddy cattle trails that we had to climb up..The authorities have built a nice wide staircase on this fort. This made the trek much less difficult, but took away all the fun and “skills put to use” part.

Newly built Staircase

We started the climb, and like I had expected, I was the last one in the lot. After such a long gap, I was completely out of touch with the trekker in me. Hopefully I will be able to catch up soon.

Waterfalls defying gravity!!

The surroundings of this fort are mesmerizing, huge mountains on all sides, the backwaters of Manikdoh, lush greenery and grey clouds…just so beautiful. All this with wind gushing along the cliffs ready to take anything with it..high up in the clouds. Almost all the small and big waterfalls which were coming down from the top of the fort were going against gravity…the water never reached the base…wind swept it up the cliffs.

Cameras were clicking, we were enjoying each step..with such an enthusiastic group, there was no feeling of fatigue. And suddenly the steps ended..and the answer to how we were going to climb the cliffs was before us…There were steps..steps carved in the rock itself. These were not straight..each step was almost of a different size, different height, different depth and at a different angle than the previous one. The only motive in doing this was to slow down the enemy and tire him off…and they were playing their part perfectly. Climbing these steps, though it would have been the toughest challenge for the enemies of Swarajya, is now an easy job. Strong railings have been built here for safety on the valley side and an equally strong wire rope is fitted on the rock.

A friend of mine shared a 13-14 year old photograph of the same rock patch..it was terrifying…

Imagine a moment where you are hanging by a vertical cliff, rains pouring down and lashing you, Slippery rock beneath your feet and nothing but the same slippery rock to rest your hands on!! Thrilling..isnt it?

Finally we crossed the steps and standing in front of us was the main entrance door of the fort. This door is constructed in the typical “Gomukh” style. This is done so that if at all the enemy decides to shell the door by canons, he won’t be able to aim at the door, as it is safely hidden behind the ramparts and walls. Also, if at all his army succeeds in reaching the door, they don’t have enough space to hit the door with force. The passage also becomes narrow here so that only 2-3 people can walk side by side, thus making it easier for the guards to kill the enemy.

Main entrance

The entrance is guarded now only by a Ganapati sculpture…One placed on the wall facing the stairs and one just above the main door. The construction of the main door is strong. Its strength can be seen even today. The rock and stone has seen the weather of atleast 400 years and can still hold a mighty army, if time comes.

Once you enter the fort, there is not much to see. As explained by our trek leader, the fort was built in the Satvahana period to guard the trade route from Kalyan to Junnar. As per this description, the fort must have been built around 200BC and was in use till the British bombarded the stairs leading to the fort. The fort has been a witness to so many kingdoms and dynasties, Satvahanas,Nizams,Mughals, Marathas, Peshwa’s, British. Now it lays in ruins.

Tank in front of the Shiva temple

  There are around seven rock cut tanks, known as Saptamatrika, on the fort. The rock from these tanks was used to construct walls and ramparts wherever necessary. At many places there are no fort walls…so one has to be very careful while walking here, especially if it’s raining or foggy. You will never know when u have over stepped in the valley..and then it’s a straight fall off atleast 200-300 feet.

There is one particular tank, which as

per my observations must have been a temple with a beautiful “pushkarini”. The remains of the temple include a few rock carved columns and beams, a broken Shivlinga, and a few strewn sections of the roof tower (kalas). 

The side of the tank which is along the mountain has a few niches with some idols. The side opposite to the main temple beyond the tank has a few steps. All in all this would have been a magnificent temple once upon a time.

Ruins of Shiva Temple

The fort offers a panoramic view of the many hills surrounding the area. On one side you can see the Manikdoh Dam back waters and Hadsar Fort. The top of the fort is a huge plateau with a small hill at the center. We circled this hill and later climbed the summit of the fort. At the summit, there is a small temple of the fort deity Goddess Chamunda. There is a small dipmaal and a a few more deities. The view from the summit was magnificent. The trek leader shared some information about the fort here and then we started our descent.

On the way up the hill the sole of one of my shoes gave up, so now I was trying to balance myself on one sole and that was a difficult task, especially while climbing down. After a few small falls, we climbed down the hill and started off to our left...and we lost our way! IN the clouds and the heavy rainfall…we lost our way. We once again circled the whole hill and passed the tanks and found that the way to base was exactly in front of us after we climbed down the hill. We missed it somehow.

A beautiful flower on the Fort

The cliff and the rock cut steps looked terrific now…rain was pouring down heavily..piercing through the clothes. We all were drenched. Slowly and steadily we climbed down the fort. It was already 3 PM and we were supposed to go to Kukadeshwar temple for lunch. Hungry we were and lunch was what we were looking forward to!

Shocks are a part of such treks and this one was no exception. We were all relaxed and happy after the trek. Lazily we were walking towards our bus when all of a sudden we realized that our bus was not standing straight…it was tilted!! One of the rear wheel had gone deep in a storm trench and was stuck in the mud.. and we were not alone, one more big bus was going through the same plight, and she had all her wheels dug deep in mud!

A tractor was called, but the ropes available were too weak. Our driver, a nice experienced guy had already left to fetch a Wire rope. How much time it would take for the buses to come out couldn’t be said unless the wire rope was in place.

The rains, the trek and the thrill had all made us hungry…breakfast was fast gone and we also had to kill time waiting for the wire rope..the organisers decided that we would have lunch there itself. And everyone was happy. The food was tasty, again served in biodegradable plates.

Our driver was back till we finished lunch..now the next task was to join the tractor and then as it pulled our bus out, from the front..we were to push form the back. We put all our efforts together. The tasty lunch had given us enough energy. In a couple of minutes all our efforts were rewarded and our bus was out of the trench. The other bus took a little bit more time, but it too came out and we were relieved.

Meanwhile the rain had stopped and we all had changed our drenched clothes…everyone was fresh with a new energy. Off we went to Kukadeshwar temple which is around 3 kms from the fort.

Temple Location: https://goo.gl/maps/QjvLZkbjoCm

Kukadeshwar Temple

This is a very old temple, built in the 12^th century as per the Hemadpanthi style of architecture. The carvings on the temple are beautiful. This place is also the origin of the Kukadi river.

The surroundings of the temple are scenic, green hills with black cliffs everywhere, waterfalls, gushing streams, rice fields filled with muddy water from the streams a farmer ploughing his field with a pir of bulls and his family sowing plants..all this made it a picture perfect moment. A perfect click to end the trek!

And so we were…mesmerized, shocked surprised, tired, energetic, enjoying every moment of the trek. And like all good things this to ohad to come to an end..the return journey started..the cream on the cake was the antakshari we played on our way back!! It was a rocking performance by all the teams. After a quick tea wada pav break at Purohit Veg, we headed off to Pune.

But this journey too was not simple…just a few kms before Rajgurunagar, we were stuck in traffic..and that was not at all pleasing after a funfilled day..it took us 2 hours to cover a distance of approximately 10 kms…and finally we reached Pune at 11:30 PM.

Every trek gives some new experience…this one was a message for me that I had not lost my passion…but I just need to rekindle it.

Life should have more mountains..and less stress!!