There is this website called meetup.com. It allows users to create online clubs and create events. People with similar interest flock together and decide to well, meet up and do something together. We joined the hike through this unique platform since one of the senior member of my institute happened to be a member of such a trekking group, called Mumbai Explorers.

Our new year celebration was ushered on the first Saturday of January, a one day hike to Manikgad Fort. We were twenty odd travellers (half of which were from my department, so this became a class trip of sorts).

Wherever you are in Mumbai, you have to come to the central line and get up on a train to reach Panvel, latest by 7.30 AM. Try not to delay cause in case you fail to complete your trek before sunset, you are in for serious trouble. You need some vehicle to travel the distance between Panvel and the village on the foothills of Manikgad.

We hired two Tata Sumos where we crammed ourselves up somehow to reach the initiation point of the real trek. However you may take bus for cheaper rates as well.

We got a local guide at 500 INR which is highly recommended since people do get lost on their way. Whatever food or water you might need, do stock up from the village, especially if you are an amateur like me. Carrying glucose and first aid is as wise as wearing trekking shoes that do not slip.

Before I proceed any further, let me clarify the expectations set from this trip. One has to embark on 13 kilometer uphill walk, followed by 13km return, with no properly defined path leading to the summit. The height expected to travel is 1800 feet above sea level. In case you are traveling in monsoon, expect rains, fogs and slippery roads. If you are traveling in January like we did, the blazing sun can be a bummer.

We started walking through the village, atop black granite rocks, green patches of intermediate forests and ultimately dead hays which turn into lively bushes during monsoon. Our first destination actually is the top of a plateau for which we had to cut through an awful lot of hays.

Next up was a really long meadow with nothing but the sun killing our enthusiasm. As we approached grassy terrain with streams of water, we were informed by our guide that it was just the base of the actual monster. From the plateau, we could finally see the pointy peak to fathom how much more we need to hike.

Next up, we waded through this really really dense forest and random boulders providing grips to go on. Here losing your path is easy, with probable roads churning out randomly leading to dead ends. Due to differential speed among the trekkers, we did get manage to get lost once. I, unfortunately, hit my head against a thick tree branch in the process.

There was this one middle aged guy, almost on verge of giving up. Another girl kept moving into fits of periodic panic attacks and bouts of crying. All this confusion led to some hikers falling behind and losing the way.

The rescue process slowed us down by a good thirty minutes. On the way, we encountered a devastated mandir of Shri Hanuman with a Siva Linga. This was followed by a winding barren path and deep trenches where rocks kept slipping beneath our shoes. Unless you are careful, falling down can be seriously injurious to health. Everyone was treading so much carefully that taking photos was not an option.

Finally we reached the fort. In case you make it like we did, you will probably be cheering out to see the water pond inside the broken castle.

Most of us ended up collapsing on the ground though and opt for a quick nap.

Everyone was happy and relieved. We had packed lunch but water bottles were all empty by then. There were broken water cisterns with really dirty water. Due to our compulsion, we ended up drinking water from the rainwater powered pond few steps down.

If you are really pumped up like I was to see something substantial on top, you are in for major disappointment as the fort has nearly nothing left. There were some random bricks with more random coloured flags. A trek like this is aimed for those who enjoys the thrill of it.

We started descent at 3.00 PM which sufficed as winter has longer days and we took almost three hours to climb down. I found the descent comparatively difficult as my sport shoes started to slip, so it is wiser to just walk straight to maintain center of gravity. Using a strong stick to maintain balance can be very helpful.

As I was scrolling through the photos for the blog, I wondered what was the history behind the old Maratha warriors, who used to regularly travel with high risk to build a fort so high. This is a view from the top and the motivation started to make sense. It basically acted as a viewpoint to identify any threat to civilization below, a vantage point before possible attacks. I am still unsure of how they managed to use this during the fogs.

Tip Offs

• Carry waters and dry food, you will not survive without these two anyway.
• Shoes with good grip helps, especially in rainy season.
• Torch in case you are stuck in dark. Wikipedia mentions panthers habitat in this area although the villagers claimed none are left as of now.
• If you are planning to go cheap, you can get everything done at 150INR. Ours was a bit expensive with 400 INR inclusive food, guide and Sumo travel.
• Not for the Weak Hearted. Stay away!!!
• Carry point and shoot camera or light DSLR. We had Point and shoot, Canon 1200D and Nikon 5300D. Unfortunately most of the photos were taken with the Nikon whose memory card was misplaced in an auto during return.

My Recommendation

Till ten o’ clock in the morning, we were able to see both the sun and the moon, special thanks to the altitude which allowed us to do so. I found it interesting frankly and here is a photo to prove that it looks awesome.

We will travel somewhere completely different in next article.

Until Next Time.

Cheers

Sayantan