LOHAGAD - A TREK TO REMEMBER
Finally, after so many discussions and adjustments, we, a group of 6 college students decided to go on a trek to Lohagad.
We went up there in April. It was actually a planned day trek which eventually turned out to be a night trek. We took a train from Thane station to Lonavla station. We reached Lonavla station at 2.00 AM. Half asleep, we all took our backpack and went to Lonavla Bus Depot to have some food and beverages. We came back to the station and there were local rickshaws. We took 2 autos to Malavli station.
We reached Malavli station around 3.00 AM. Wondering about what to do next, we sat there for about 20 minutes and concluded to start walking. There's a bridge which leads to Lohagad Village. The village is situated on a mountain, above which the fort is built.
We started walking around 3.30 AM. We were a bit scared because THIS WAS NOT THE ACTUAL PLAN. We turned on our torches and started to walk, hoping that torches will guide us the path. But the local dogs were barking out loud as they saw unusual light in such night. We turned off torches and blindly followed the path. We could hardly see each other. The sky was lit up with stars though.
After half an hour of walk, the straight road ended and it took us to the mountains. The mountains were not actually a tough path to cover as they were normal GHATS. (We realised it later, because in the night, nothing was clearly visible & we were a bit frightened ) The mountain took us to the Lohagad village as we completed a 2 hour walk. There was a Statue of the Great Emperor Shivaji Maharaj which looked elegant in the dark as a small yellow light was highlighting the statue. We sat there and had some snack.
Within 15 minutes, we started walking again and then reached the gates of Lohagad Fort at 6.00 AM. Once you reach the village, then there are only stairs which take you to the fort. We sat at the stairs. Sun was about to rise. As the time was ticking, the sun was rising. The beauty of that scene cannot be explained with words.
At 7.00 AM, the gates were opened and we went in. The worst nightmare of any trekker is Monkeys! As we stepped in, there was a gang of 4-5 mokeys eagerly waiting to trouble all our fellow trekkers. We tried to ignore them, but one of them approached us and we started running.
We reached the plateau of the fort. There is a Temple, and a Big well. Then we kept on walking to the main attraction of fort which is VINCHUKATA (Scorpion's tail). Reaching there is not a simple job. There are 2 roads. Both has equal risks. One is where you have to descend through a rock for nearly 10-15 feet. If failed, you'll broke atleast 2 of your bones. (Consult a localist because it's a regular duty for them.) Another road is a narrow road which has a big rock on a side & a 1000 feet valley on the other. We took the second road. After crossing these patches, you will reach end of Vinchukata within 20 minutes.
We started our journey back to the base. This time while returning, we decided to climb the 10 feet rock. We successfully did it and started return journey. We were down till 11 AM. We took a train from Malavli station to Lonavla. We had a lunch at a local hotel. And took a train back to Thane station.
It was a wonderful experience as everything was happening OFF THE PLAN.
 |
| Lohagad Fort (Downloaded from Google) |
We went up there in April. It was actually a planned day trek which eventually turned out to be a night trek. We took a train from Thane station to Lonavla station. We reached Lonavla station at 2.00 AM. Half asleep, we all took our backpack and went to Lonavla Bus Depot to have some food and beverages. We came back to the station and there were local rickshaws. We took 2 autos to Malavli station.
We reached Malavli station around 3.00 AM. Wondering about what to do next, we sat there for about 20 minutes and concluded to start walking. There's a bridge which leads to Lohagad Village. The village is situated on a mountain, above which the fort is built.
We started walking around 3.30 AM. We were a bit scared because THIS WAS NOT THE ACTUAL PLAN. We turned on our torches and started to walk, hoping that torches will guide us the path. But the local dogs were barking out loud as they saw unusual light in such night. We turned off torches and blindly followed the path. We could hardly see each other. The sky was lit up with stars though.
 |
| Shivaji Maharaj Statue at Lohagad Village |
After half an hour of walk, the straight road ended and it took us to the mountains. The mountains were not actually a tough path to cover as they were normal GHATS. (We realised it later, because in the night, nothing was clearly visible & we were a bit frightened ) The mountain took us to the Lohagad village as we completed a 2 hour walk. There was a Statue of the Great Emperor Shivaji Maharaj which looked elegant in the dark as a small yellow light was highlighting the statue. We sat there and had some snack.
 |
| Sunrise Scenes |
At 7.00 AM, the gates were opened and we went in. The worst nightmare of any trekker is Monkeys! As we stepped in, there was a gang of 4-5 mokeys eagerly waiting to trouble all our fellow trekkers. We tried to ignore them, but one of them approached us and we started running.
 |
| Vinchukata (Downloaded from Google) |
 |
| 10 feet Rock Patch (Downloaded from Google) |
We started our journey back to the base. This time while returning, we decided to climb the 10 feet rock. We successfully did it and started return journey. We were down till 11 AM. We took a train from Malavli station to Lonavla. We had a lunch at a local hotel. And took a train back to Thane station.
It was a wonderful experience as everything was happening OFF THE PLAN.
Comments
Post a Comment