Arthur’s seat – Chandragad (Dhavale) Trek: Sep ‘09

Another one with a night out in thickly forested jungle infested with wild carnivores! Another night out in a jungle after an encounter with the deadly venomous Bamboo Pit Viper! Another night out in a jungle after some tired bodies with scared souls insisted on walking no further! Another night out in a jungle besides a gushing stream and a bliss..

Well, mid September is surely not an advisable time for the Arthur’s Seat – Chandragad trek, but then not paying heed to deterrent advice is what distinguishes this bunch… ready to rough it out kuch bhi..kaise bhi.. kabhi bhi…

Then what was the worrisome factor? That we were 14 of us and all of them weren’t prepared for kuch bhi and  kaise bhi..!!!

So the much awaited Friday night came as we boarded the Mahabaleshwar bound Asiad and after a bit of quiesence dozed off..! Came dawn and we alighted the bus at 6.00 AM and surprisingly Mahabaleshwar was neither chilly nor were there any traces of rainfall! Quite unusual..

We found a small ‘tapri’ to satiate our requirements of breakfast and tea and then came followed two hours of frustration. Waste of time. Arthur’s Seat point if 13 kms from the bus depot and we wanted to hire a ride till the point, so that we could save time and be fresh for the remaining par of the day. And 13 kms of tarred road is one of the leasut enthusing thing to do! But, the local cab wallahs were a bit adamant on the rates and their accommodation. The taxi unions vs the pvt. operators and all the nuisance delayed our proceeding by a good 2 hours. It was 8.30 AM by now and we were still reeling at the Mahabaleshwar bus depot! So after a bit of bargain and stuff, we managed to hire three taxis for an agreed sun of Rs 800. Barely 13 kms you see!

If you hire a single cab you have to shell out 355 Rs per cab. So for three cabs we would have shelled out 1065 Rs. A bargain of Rs 800 (saved 265 Rs at the cost of 2 hours..????) Not worthy in my opinion when you are pressed for time.. but the circumstances dictated otherwise..!

At 9.00 AM we arrived at Arthur’s seat point and after the gup-shup and gazing at the mesmerising panaroma and stretched out ranges inviting us, we began on our trek at 9.15 AM. Supposedly a 6 hours trek to reach Dhavale village at the foot hills of Chandragad.

Soon we realised that quite a lot of the pack were not really prepared t handly the slushy wet grounds and slippery treads. A descent slightly more than 75 degrees and a few of them slowed down considerably. The first slippery patch just below the Arthur Seat railing negotiated. Minus 45 minutes in our accounts

Another 5 minutes descent and a 10 feet rock patch, which was luckily dry due to the mercy of rain Goads. Another 45 minutes deducted from our accounts. one hour and 30 minutes and we were barely 200 feet below the starting point!!! Another 3500 odd feet remaining and we were gawking at the stretched out ravines and desnse vegetation in front of us!

The crux of the scene was that the area generally recieves very ehavy rainfall and the forest, infested with wild animals is very thick and a part of reserve forest. It is very easy to lose way and especially after monsoons when the route is not clear due to thick vegetation the chances of losing the way increases. We were hitting the arrows in the dark and luckily it hit the target until a point where thick karvi and bushes blocked the path. A little bit of here and there and a realisation that we are getting lost and Jayawant. Jayawant, a local guide at Mahableshwar came in and showed us the way till Bhairichi Khumti. An hours walk approximately from where we lost our way.

Bhairichi Khumti is a small landmark on the way. An small clearing with idols of Bhairoba with no shelter or any shade whatsoever. Just 5 minutes before this landmark is a small water tank and this is the only source of potable water enroute if you are not heading there just after the monsoons, wherein the streams would be dry.

So Jaywant bid us farewell at this point and explained the further route to us, which we semed to have understood . But when the person giving you directions says that he himself isn’t too sure about the route, especially in thick forests.. the situation becomes a bit dicy

After a round of Puran polis and lot of water we began marching, descending further in the thick forests along one of the ridges that we suppossed was the correct route!

So the trail was more or less well marked and without much difficulties we traversed along the mountain mass along the edge of the steep slopes. The slopes were sometimes a bit too precariously exposed threatening to throw us deep into the valley wih a minor slip. We negotiated the route carefully and slowly but surely. The traverse took a lot of time. The route however was clear.

The traverse completed and we entered a gully inbetween the casacading ridges of the hills. The forest became denser. The gradient of the descent however remained the same – very steep. Slippery. Amod was troubled by cramps in between. Some vital time lost. Ajay had started to show signs of extreme fatigue and with his bums already grazing the route with lot of slips, the going was becoming increasingly difficult one for him. Vishmita already has drooping shoulders, but hight spirits to combat that. Ravi had slipped once or twice and twisted some muscle, fine all the same. Myself, Devendra, Shailendra had for lng now carried two sacks – one on the back and one in the front to help out the troubled souls. Whoa.. a very wonderful picture cpainted on the canvas

The motivation, the cribs, the march.. all continued till the time when we were 100 percent sure that the route is the correct one, but the unsure of the distance that it had in stores to be covered. The sun lowered rapidly. Darkness engulfed the surroundings. Darting around in darkness, isolated, wild forest were 14 souls. Ajay was about to collapse. Finally after a close encounter with the Bamboo Pit Viper it was decided that we camp in the jungle.. whoaaa

An opening in the stream, gushing water nearby, tired souls, uneven teraaint o sleep on, humid ambiance and maggi and snacks to go along with the main course 14 souls rested, till 6.30 AM the next day.

Everything went back to normal. All refreshed, some niggles here and there, but overall ready to go. Not before a session of chai-biscuit and Sheera made in pure ghee. A delight. Photo sessions. Elated spirits. Energised. We moved further. Only to realise that 30 minutes more yesterday would have brought us to Dhavale village – our destination

We reached Dhavale. Freshened ourselves. Had a sauna bath is the streams Replesnished empty tummies. And 1.00 PM bus back to Poladpur. Dhavale is connected to Poladpur – only two buses in a day. One in the morning at 6.00 AM. This bus arrives at Dhavale the previous night at around 6.30 PM. And other one at 1.00 PM – the last one.

We reached Poladpur in an hour/ Lucky we immediately got a bus to Mumbai. 3 hours and came Panvel. Buid adieu to all the friends. A wonderful – easy for some and extremely difficult for some – came to an end. Truly a diverse group and a not-so-disappoining trek.. aah.,. sorry.. a wonderful trek!

Please note: The photographs used in this write-up are contributed by Vinita  C & Aniket M.

Tagged as: Adventure, Arthur's Seat, Chandragad, Dhavale, Jungle, Sahyadri, Trekking