Straight to the first day of the trek, 4th June, I was supposed to catch the bus at TCS's Thane office, but I convinced the organisers to pick me up from Kalyan-Bhivandi ByPass. The bus was scheduled to reach the pickup point by 6:15 AM on that day, but as the fate may have it, the first delay of the trip, the bus was late by more than 1 hour and by the time I got into the bus it was already past 7:30 AM. Thus the onward journey started. The bus was full of TCS associates having a blast of a time leaving all the deadlines and stress behind and thinking only of the next 2 days. As I entered the bus I could see all new faces (as none of my friends could register for the trek), but within no time I joined them in their games.
The plan was to first visit Sandhan Valley on the first day and then Ratangad on the subsequent day. Thus our first destination was Samrad, a small village situated about 30-0dd kms away from Bhandardhara, behind Ratangad. We reached the village at 12:30 PM after 5-hours of non-stop journey and were very excited to see the surroundings full of greenery away from the city pollution. Pure and serene, the first words I got in my mind after seeing the place. We quickly settled down in a small school inside the village and freshened up, all set to explore our first trek destination Sandhan Valley after a brief lunch session.
The second delay of our trip occurred, when the lunch was not ready. Hence, to pass the time we started scrolling around in the surrounding areas. Thus we reached a small hillock near the village from where we could see 4 distinct peaks clearly. Kalsubai, which is the highest peak in Maharashtra standing at more than 5500 ft from MSL, Alanggad, Madangad and Kulanggad, popularly known as AMK, considered as one of the toughest treks in Sahayadri ranges.
After exploring the unplanned hillock we returned back to the village to have our lunch and proceed with the scheduled trek of Sandhan Valley which is about 15-20 mins walk from the village.
Sandhan Valley, as the name suggests is a valley, not any ordinary valley, but a gorge (a deep narrow, rocky, valley) in between two high standing mountains just 15 feet apart. It is a water-cut valley which has formed over a period of time of may be more than 1000 years.
Thus after a brief introduction and safety instruction session our trail started from Samrad vilage to Sandhan Valley at around 3:30 PM. We reached the valley within the stipulated time. Many were happy that they could make it to the valley and were satisfied without knowing what is in store for them ahead. The actual trail had just started. The valley was full of rock patch which was at most times slippery, as rains had already started in that region. On enquiring about the valley from a villager, I found that the valley is generally in full flow during monsoon and the height of the flowing water rises upto the level covering more than half of the valley. The very thought of it gave me shivers as it was already overcast and rain gods could pour down anytime. The walk inside the valley was supposed to last for more than 1 km with a steep valley at the other end of it.On the way, we found some 1-2 hip-deep water patches which we had to cross by crash landing on to them, but that did not demotivate us even a bit. The sheer excitement of reaching the tip of the valley overpowered every other emotions. Finally, we reached the tip of the valley and the feeling of being there was unexplanable.
Now it was time to turn back to the village. It was already 5:30 PM as we started our journey back which seemed more tiring as the excitement level had gone down. The journey back started to become more frightening as the climate started becoming dark with clouds hovering above us and ready pour on us. It was sure to rain and we had to cover as much distance as possible. We had not even reached 1/4th of the distance when it started raining, initially with light drizzles which ultimately grew to a heavy rain pour. The path being extremely rocky started to slip drastically and I could see people slipping and falling around me. Even I slipped a couple of times but could not help as all the grips in our shoes could not resist us from getting slipped on those wet and marshy rocks.
We were yet to cross the water patches which had by now risen to stomach level. Protecting our bags we crossed the water patches. But, worst part was yet to come as slowly the place started becoming foggy and we could not see anything beyond 7-8 feet and there was a constant fear of somebody getting lost in that mist (Controlling a crowd of more than 70 people is not an easy task). Luckily, everybody had stick together and reached the village safely. By the time we reached the village, everybody was completely drenched in rain and many of them were carrying injuries. The continuing rains was just adding fuel to our already injured and tired souls. Soon it became dark and being a tribal village, power cut was a common thing and people there were used to living in dark without any lights around. But for us who are used to switching on lights in every room we enter, it was a very new experience as we could not see anything and were often stumbling on each other for a while. Ultimately, we all got used to the darkness around and started enjoying the climate which by now had become more cooler and drier.
Everybody in the group was dead tired and was desperately waiting for their dinner so that they could squeeze in somewhere for some hours. Finally, the dinner was ready and served after which everybody started searching for a place to sleep. Finally, the day got over at 11:00 PM with everybody finding a small place to rest their heads on and have a sound sleep atleast for some hours.
The second day of the trek, 5th June, was supposed to start at 4:00 AM but by the time everybody was awake it was past 5:30 AM. Already late by more than an hour, everybody rushed to the nearby borewell pump to finish their morning chores. The group was ready in 1 1/2 hours and everybody was back in their respective buses.
Our next destination was Ratanwadi which is the base village for Ratangad. A quick breakfast (poha and chai(tea)) was arranged there. After a brief instruction session, the actual trek started which was supposed to last for atleast 2 hours one-way. The destination Ratangad was in front of us standing tall.
Ratan(Jewel)gad(Fort), as the name depicts is called the jewel among the forts standing at a height of 4650 Ft. above MSL. Though the fort does not have a very significant history, it is said that Shivaji Maharaj used to come to this fort to have a leisure time whenever he was not battling shooing away the enemies aound his territory. The highest point in the fort is called Nedhe which is a natural hole formed due to wind errosion over a period of time.
We started our trek to Ratangad at around 9:00 AM hoping to reach the fort top latest by 11:30 AM, explore the fort and return back to the base by 2:30 PM. The trek initially was a nature walk till we reached a small hillock from where we had to climb some steep hills amidst medium-dense forests for about an hour. Thus came the point from where the top of the fort seemed reachable. Suddenly, we spotted 2 ladders one after another that was leading to a door way; seemed like the entrance to the fort. Chill ran down the spine as we knew that it wont be easy for so many of us to cross that ladder. This is where we lost most of our time as 70-odd people crossing those ladders one by one was going to be a time-consuming exercise.
Atlast after some tense moments, we reached the top of the fort and I could see many satisfied and excited faces enjoying the nature and capturing mother nature into their cameras. Fortunately, the sky was clear and we could see the surroundings very clearly. On one side we saw Ghanchakkar, Ajoba, Agni Baan, while towards its right, we could see Baan, the highest rock climbing spot in Sahyadri ranges and the Sandhan Valley right in front of the Baan.
After the excitement receeded, people started feeling thirsty and tired. Now the question was, where to find drinkable water that would quench the thirst of so many people that too at such a high altitude. Then, one of the organizers told us that there was a water cistern where we could find drinkable water. All of us rushed towards that spot but could not see any cistern where we could quench our thirst. One of the organisers entered a small opening with a bottle and came out with water filled in it. This rejovenated all of us and we started to fill our bottles one by one from the cistern. The most surprising thing about that water was that it was very chilled as if it had been just taken out of the refrigerator. This cold water quenched all of our thirst and we were again energized to explore the highest point in the fort i.e., the Nedhe which was now in our sight.
Nedhe, a small opening at one end of the fort, is not easily approachable, as the route going towards it is very steep and the climb is exposed to a 1000 ft. valley. Still people managed to climb the patch and reach Nedhe from where we had to get down from the other side. We all spent some time at the point before starting the decent.
A long way back to the base with again having to cross the ladders one by one carefully and then a long walk down the hill before we reached the base village Ratanwadi at 4:00 PM. Thus started our journey back to Mumbai after a short relaxation. We took a small halt at Ghoti at 6:30 PM for having our lunch which we were devoid of since afternoon. Myself and 2 other guys got down at Kalyan-Bhivandi ByPass at around 9:30 PM and reached home at 10:30 PM after 2 hectic but fun-filled days.
Thus came to an end one of the most memorable, tiring, and distinct trip with satisfaction that I had achieved what many people are reluctant to achieve and I have been successful in overcoming my fear of heights.
Regards,
Shyamsunder Alooru
