We had a quick breakfast of Batatawada at the station and
then moved on to the Auto stand which is just outside the station. You will see
lots of tumtum and ST buses .
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Tumtum |
From here we have to go to Waghoba Khind or
Waghoba temple for which we can take a share a tumtum or ST buses going to
Manor and get down enroute at Waghoba Temple. As we wanted to start our trek as
early as possible so as to beat the heat we didn’t wait for the ST Bus and
instead jumped into the first Tumtum we saw.
Tumtum is nothing but a 8 seater
auto for transporting people and it is a wonder how they cramp 13 to 14
people in that compact space. We too were stuffed into this tumtum with the
fellow passenger almost breathing over us. Thankfully this journey was hardly
of 20 minutes when we saw Waghoba temple.
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Waghoba Temple |
The Temple is on the right hand side if you are going to Manor from Palghar Station. We got down at the temple and paid the auto guy. This short trip cost us only Rs 15 per person.The temple is easily noticeable as there is a huge sign
board of Waghoba
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Inside the Waghoba Temple |
Waghoba Temple :
The first thing I noticed at the Waghoba
Temple was cluster of 15 to 20 monkeys!! Just ready to pounce on you, here I
must caution my readers that one must be very careful with these monkeys
because they are aware that travelers carry food with them so they are ready to
jump on you. I went inside the temple and had a darshan of Shivling and
proceeded to start our trek.
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Shivling at Waghoba Temple |
Kaldurg Fort Trek starts from this temple, in other words
this is a base. Before coming on this trek I had goggled information about this
fort and most of the blogs mentioned that there is a possibility of losing your
way due to thick bushes and forestation hence I was little apprehensive before
the trek matter of fact I told Merwyn that we will hire a guide from the
village to take us up, but upon reaching here I realized that there is no
village only a solitary temple with a small shop adjoining it. The shop has
different kind of dry snacks like chips, biscuits cold drinks. The idea of
guide was tossed out our mental window and I understood that we are on our own.
The trek starts just from the right side of the temple and for a landmark you
can see a water hand pump on the right side of Waghoba temple.
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Water Hand Pump |
Trek begins:
The first thing that I noticed about this trek was that as
soon as we started to climb the initial ascent was quite steep and add summer
weather to that one can start panting in first 15-20 mins but thankfully the
initial portion is kind of a climb within the trees and shrubs so you are not
exposed to direct sunlight. As we were climbing the constant hum of trucks and
motorcars from the highway could be heard.
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Climb Through The Thick Forest |
While climbing on our right side we see a lovely lake and a
picturesque landscape.
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Lovely lake and a picturesque landscape.
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As we were trekking during the summer time the lake
seems to be half filled but I can very well imagine as to how beautiful it
would look during the monsoon,
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Half filled lake |
we kept climbing taking micro breaks to have sip
of water in between. Here again a little tip for my readers Please don’t
underestimate your thirst on one hand and summer trek on other hand so do carry
at least 3 ltrs of water.
We were very clear about our water management , both of us
was carrying at least 2.5 ltrs of water each and we had decided that till we
reach halfway mark we should manage in 1 to 2 ltrs of water because we don’t
want to be stranded on the top of the mountain with no supplies of water . We had
decided that at any given point of time during the trek if our water reserve is
less than 2 ltrs of water we will turn
back.
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Clouds shielding us from the sun
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Merwyn sitting on the Black Basalt Rock at the Plateau. |
Luckily for us the Sun god was kind on us and clouds were ever so helpful
that they kept shielding us from the sun and in 45 minutes we had reached first
plateau. It is nothing but a small portion of flat land consisting of black
basalt Rocks.
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Kaldurg Fort Behind Me |
Sitting on the rock here one can have a good bird eye view of
highway and nearby surrounding area. Both of us rested here for 10-15 mins . had
enough water so as to keep us hydrated . Standing here on this plateau with
your back to highway one can very clearly see Kaldurg fort.Merwyn and me had a small photo session here
Giving up the Trek at halfway:
The heat was
gradually getting intense and though we had come halfway through I was still
not getting the hang of the climb as the route was not well marked. Once or
twice we almost went on a wrong route but backtracked again to follow the
proper trail. Looking at the Kaldurg Top from the Plateau it looked very far
and secondly what was worrying me was that we were not very confident about the
route way up.
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Kaldurg looked very far from the Plateau |
At this point both of us gave up the thought of further climb
because both of us felt the top is too far, heat is also getting intense so let
us call it a day and retreat.
Merwyn looked disappointed because earlier also he had tried
but had to give up, He told me that his earlier team had gone further from here
and had lost their way ahead in a little distance and hence decided to turn
back.
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Wilderness of tall dry grass |
Further to make the matter worse there was not a single soul
throughout our climb so I was left wondering as to what will happen if both of get lost in
this wilderness. I was not so much worried about getting lost but I was more
worried what happens if the water we have gets over due to extension of trek
time. Here I want to mention that a trekker always have this bad habit of
pushing and backing themselves, we too did the same thing we decided we will
move little further and if we are not comfortable then we will retreat. We
decided that we will place markers so as not to lose our way. I took some
stones and made a small mound so that when we come back it will be a kind of
trail marker for us as we were not carrying any chalk or paint for marking.
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Trekker on their way again
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Trekker on their way again:
Anyway backing ourselves we started to move forward and were
surprised to note that the climb here was little easier but the only problem
was that the trail was getting more and more dense and at times the branches
and shrubs were so much entangled that making the way through it seems to be a task. Tip for my readers: Don’t
wear sleeveless T shirts as there are lots of thorns and narrow way between 2 shrubs.One can see lots of Cactus plants too .
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Cactus plants |
At few points we had to bend holding the branch and moving forward but once we
came out of this maze of wilderness the route became little marked and we could
see the trail, at one point the trail was going in 2 directions however we
chose the one going towards the Fort. We placed few sticks on the other trail
because we felt that while coming back we could make a mistake and can go down
the wrong trail hence this precaution.
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View from first enclave |
Finally we were into the last stretch of the climb and soon
we reached a small enclave where both of us rested for a while. The view from
here was very beautiful; one can see lake, lovely clouds and over all this
there was a gentle cool breeze which made us forget all our anxiety and
tiredness.
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View of Kaldurg top from first stone enclave |
Kaldurg top is hardly a stone throw away from here.After resting for
a while and absorbing the beauty of nature we moved toward the top.
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View From Kaldurg Top |
Kaldurg Fort Top:
There is nothing much on the Top to expore except another stone
enclave but little larger than the earlier one with a dry water tank. Another
thing on reaching the top I noticed was that how people have made graffiti on
the stone proclaiming their love for their girlfriend /boyfriend, Name of club.
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Graffiti on the stones |
It is indeed a shame that our heritage is been ruined in such merciless manner.
This sheer nonsense hurts me. It is my humble request to my readers to refrain
from such practice and if they see some one indulging in such nonsense to
discourage such people and if need be confront them.
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Empty but littered with beer bottles and plastic bags water tanks |
Secondly we noticed that all the three water tanks were dry
and littered with empty bottles of water and beer etc. It would indeed be noble thing if trekking
group come together and take initiative for cleaning these tanks as there is no
water source at the Top if these water tanks are cleaned the rain water so
collected in it can be effectively be used.
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Not much fortification at the Top
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There is not much fortification at the Top but the cool
breeze is abundant in supply. There were lots of holes at the top whose purpose
or significance I didn't understand.
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Holes in the ground |
We rested on the top for a while and took
some picture shots and soon started our return journey.
Descent from the Kaldurg Fort:
Because the climb was steep naturally the descent would have
the same problem. Further due to loose pebbles and mud getting down was little
trickier at least for Merwyn , However slowly and steadily we descended Fortunately for us the markers that we had
placed while climbing were very helpful while returning, At one point we
decided to take a different route but after walking for some time we realized
our folly and back tracked and followed our regular route. By the time we
reached Waghoba temple the time was 11, 45 am.
Both of us went to the hand pump and had a refreshing face
wash, Luckily for us an ST bus for Palghar was passing by which we hailed and
both of us hopped in it and was on our way back to Palghar Railway station .
Upon reaching Palghar we checked the timing of return train, it was at 2.45 pm
and right now the time was 12.45 so we decided to have our lunch and then
waited on the platform for the MEMU to come. The MEMU arrived at 2, 45 packed
with no place to sit, Standing we came to Virar and from where we took train to
Andheri. It was 5,00pm when I reached home.
Finally one more weekend well spent,
Kudos Weekend
Wanderer!!!
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Merwyn and me |